Chris Barton

Founder And Creator Of Shazam | Entrepreneur | Inventor | Tech Investor

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Brand Leaders Business Leaders Entrepreneurs

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Business Strategy Communication Customer Experience Entrepreneurship Innovation Marketing Science & STEM Technology Workforce + HR

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Book Chris Barton, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Speaker

About This Speaker

Chris Barton wanted a way to identify songs anywhere he heard them. There wasn’t one, so he invented an app called Shazam. His creation is now considered pure magic. Chris aims to delight people by using technology to bring impossible ideas to life, and Shazam is just one example.

Along with creating Shazam, Chris Barton holds 12 patents and played key roles in the early days of Google and Dropbox. His newest venture, Guard, uses artificial intelligence to detect drowning in swimming pools. In his speeches, Chris’s story and storytelling captivate audiences. He inspires people to create magic in their organizations and to pursue ambitious ideas despite obstacles.

Chris grew up with a French mother and British father, both university professors. Academics were difficult for him until he discovered he had dyslexia. He now sees dyslexia as his superpower and credits it with helping him approach problems from fresh angles.

When Chris Barton imagined identifying music through a mobile phone, experts at MIT and Stanford said it was impossible. He invented the needed algorithm, built a search engine from scratch, and created the world’s largest music database. Shazam launched in 2000, before iTunes and long before the App Store. It struggled financially for years until the App Store’s launch allowed it to reach its full potential.

In 2018, Apple acquired Shazam for a reported $400 million. The app has been downloaded over 2 billion times and has more than 300 million monthly users.

Chris Barton also helped create the Android partnerships framework at Google and led carrier partnerships at Dropbox as one of its first 100 employees. Today, he invests in start-ups focused on AI and health and leads his third company, Guard. Chris holds master’s degrees from UC Berkeley and Cambridge University and enjoys time outdoors with his son, Jude.

Videos

Speaking Topics: Chris Barton

TECH INNOVATION: Bring Impossible Ideas to Life

Technology & A.I. are dramatically changing what’s possible in our world. Our challenge as we create new things is to dislodge from the comfort of what we already know. Chris created Shazam after being told by every “expert” that his outlandish idea was impossible. It was an idea far ahead of its time – eight years before iPhone apps even existed. In this presentation, Chris helps audiences imagine and then create new visions for the future. He inspires with jaw dropping stories about creating Shazam. Audiences learn a new framework of thinking to create change through technology.

CREATIVE PERSISTENCE: Overcome Obstacles with Imagination

A great idea gets you nowhere without tenacity. True disruption requires both persistence and creative solutions. In creating Shazam, Chris faced obstacles many thought were insurmountable. Most would have given up, but he refused. Instead, Chris challenged every assumption about the obstacles he faced. He shares stories and actionable lessons that inspire audiences to pursue their dreams. Chris urges audiences to question the status quo and to sweat the details on the path to redefining the future. Audiences learn new mindsets to break past barriers.

FRICTIONLESS: Eliminate Effort to Unlock Explosive Growth

We all know simple is great so why don’t all organizations create amazing things just like Apple? The reality is that friction permeates almost everything we do. This “extra effort” frustrates our customers, partners, and colleagues. In creating Shazam, Chris moved mountains to make one thing very easy – identifying any song. Shazam changed the way the world discovers music. Chris combines stories from creating Shazam with his twelve years at Android (Google) and Dropbox to provide concrete examples of how we can all push boundaries to eliminate friction. Audiences learn to identify and eliminate friction to drive growth.

ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET: Build the Vision You See, But Others Don’t

Entrepreneurs have passion, ideas, and desire but can get stuck on the difficult journey to achieving their dreams. They want to bring something truly new to the world, but need to learn how to overcome big obstacles, choose their priorities, and convince others of their vision. Chris inspires and teaches entrepreneurs using the story of Shazam’s creation including the scrappy and creative hacks that transformed an idea into a product with two billion customers. Audiences are inspired to embrace a mindset to create the next great companies.