


4 Aug 2026 · 32m · 16 chapters

Snap’s shift from feed-based social to private messaging and how AI will change marketing; Snap’s business state and its new ad format, “AI Sponsored Snaps,” plus the future of wearables/glasses.
Ajit Mohan, Chief Business Officer at Snap. Background: nearly a decade in management consulting; worked across Southeast Asia mobile and US/Europe media shifts; led India business at Meta; CEO of Hotstar (News Corp streaming platform).
Marketers have stuck with Meta/Google “new broadcast” habits for ~15 years; AI and the move from “scroll” to conversations will scramble the market. Snapchat’s audience is aging (many users 25+; sizable 35+). Snap’s strength is unique communities not found on TikTok/YouTube/Pinterest and iterative product innovation. Sponsored Snaps (ads in messaging) scaled successfully after being introduced last year.
Delta Airlines “ask about flight routes” via AI agents; grocery/Instacart analogy for habit change; “scroll is dying” vs discovery through conversations.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes.
Discussion on the shift in consumer behavior and the role of AI.
“The shift away from the feed to conversations and the shift away from performative to authenticity, along with all of the fabulous possibilities that AI is throwing into the mix.”
Ajit Mohan shares his professional background leading to Snap.
“I'm sure you must be quite busy here at the Possible Conference.”
Exploration of the transition from traditional media to AI-driven platforms.
“You look at something like online grocery shopping.”
Discussion on the evolving nature of social media and user engagement.
“that has defined social media for the last 15 years.”
Insights into how AI will change product discoverability and consumer recommendations.
“One, I guess, build on that is what about discoverability?”
Ajit Mohan discusses the future of devices like the iPhone and Snap's focus on wearables.
“A lot of the old ways will have to change and shift.”
Learn about Snap's commitment to developing its hardware and software independently.
“If you're able to solve for some of the hard technology problems, both on the hardware and software front.”
Explore how Snap has evolved from ephemeral messaging to a major platform.
“Caesar sauce at McDonald's for a limited time.”
Learn about Snap's user demographics and engagement compared to other platforms.
“So it is one of the large consequential consumer platforms in the world.”
Understand Snap's culture of innovation and its recent advertising shifts.
“I mean, if you talk about the brass tacks of marketing, it's a community that you have to reach out to, right?”
Discover Snap's introduction of sponsored snaps and its implications for advertisers.
“And one of the big reasons for that, Matt, is for the longest time, most people come to Snapchat to message.”
Learn about the new features of AI sponsored snaps and their benefits for brands.
“We have a community that is quite unique.”
Explore how AI can enhance brand-consumer interactions on Snap.
“But I think the other part of it is, good or bad, we are not spending tens of billions of dollars building our own LLM models.”
Learn about the potential for AI-driven consumer agents and the shift in marketing dynamics.
“And I'm surprised companies don't have, here's the verified consumer agent for Delta Airlines or Hershey's, and then they can put in all the data that they want consumers to see.”
Explore the skills and mindset needed for future careers amidst rapid change and innovation.
“And as I mentioned, Snap has been known for such a long time, diving in first and coming up with and executing on these incredible new concepts.”
Understand the balance between pursuing impactful goals and remaining humble in one's journey.
“So to wrap it up, we always ask our guests if there's a saying or mantra that helps encapsulate their professional journey.”

Get the gist, explore an idea or ask about something said.
On The Speed of Culture Podcast, what are the key points of this episode?
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.
0:00Suzy: Brand Week is back September 15th through the 17th in downtown Atlanta. And if you're serious about where marketing is going, this is the room for you. I'm Jenny Rooney, Chief Brand and Community Officer at Adweek. And for three days, we're bringing together the sharpest minds in marketing for the ideas, insights and connections shaping what comes next for brands. From culture and creativity to growth, leadership, and consumer behavior, Brand Week is where brand leaders come to think bigger, connect deeper, and leave with a clearer plan for what's ahead. Get your tickets now at brandweek.com and use code BW26 for 20 % off.
0:36Suzy: That's brandweek.com, code BW26.
0:43ACAST powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend. Ten years after Troy, Odysseus is still lost. I'm Tristan Hughes, and all of this month on The Ancients,
1:00Suzy: I'm going to be sailing through Homer's treacherous world of monsters, witchcraft, and tempestuous gods, exploring the real archaeology and history beneath the myths. Join us on The Ancients from History Hit. Listen now and subscribe on your favourite podcast player.
1:22Suzy: Acast helps creators launch, grow, and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com Blowing ad budget on metrics that look great till the CFO sees them. That's bull spend. And marketers are calling it out in Dashboard Confessions. I remember telling my boss, it'll be good for the brand when leads were slow. Yeah, it wasn't. Cut the bowl spend. LinkedIn lets you target by company, job title, and more. Advertise on LinkedIn. Spend$250 on your first campaign and get a$250 credit. Go to linkedin.com slash campaign terms and conditions apply. The shift away from the feed to conversations and the shift away from performative to authenticity, along with all of the fabulous possibilities that AI is throwing into the mix.
2:15I think the decades happening in weeks, I think we are in the middle of a big shift and a big moment right now.
2:22Suzy: To thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape, brands must move in an ever-increasing pace. I'm Matt Britton, founder and CEO of Suzy. Join me and key industry leaders as we dive deep into the shifting consumer trends within their industry, why it matters now, and how you can keep up. Welcome to the Speed of Culture.
2:44Suzy: We are live here in South Beach at the Possible Conference today. I'm thrilled to welcome Ajit Mohan, the Chief Business Officer at Snap. Ajit is a global business leader with deep experience across technology, media, and streaming, from leading Meta's India business to serving as the CEO of Hotstar. Today at Snap, he's focused on scaling the platform into a must-buy for marketers. So great seeing you. Thanks so much for taking the time. Thank you for having me here, Matt. Absolutely. I'm sure you must be quite busy here at the Possible Conference. So much action going on, so much innovation in our space.
3:13Suzy: But I'd like to start off with just getting an understanding of the path that led you to Snap. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your career journey to date. Sure. I spent almost a decade in management consulting. Okay. What was your biggest takeaway from that? It's a good career not to be on the hook for ourselves every day. I'm joking. I learned a lot from it. But a lot of time was spent in Southeast Asia in the early days, you know, when mobile telephony companies were coming up. And then I spent a bunch of time here in the US and in Europe when media was in the beginning of a big shift from traditional broadcast media to digital streaming platforms.
3:52And it's not a surprise, Matt. I think I'm now old enough where when I look back at my career, one of the things that kind of that old quote about nothing happens in some industries for decades and decades happen in a few weeks. I think for me, that's been the consistent thing that when you look at industries, people get into habits, leaders, you know, the wider set of teams and professionals, they get into entrenched habits that stick around for quite a long time. Old habits die hard, right? Then nothing happens and suddenly...
4:24Suzy: Well, COVID's a great example of that. You look at something like online grocery shopping. Like there are people that would say, I would never order groceries online. And then when you have no other choice, you do it. And then Instacart, it sticks. And now you're ordering groceries online. Yeah, and it keeps recurring, right? I mean, I think you mentioned some of my background. After spending time in North America, I had the opportunity to go back to India. And when I went back to India, I had the opportunity to work for News Corp and had the opportunity to build a streaming platform for what was then a very incumbent traditional media company.
4:58And the story repeats itself, right? When you're successful and you're being successful and being an incumbent, it's hard to kind of recognize the moment when things are shifting. And in this case, it was the big technology shift and Hotstar was really built on that. And I actually think now, clearly, I mean, it's so obvious to say this now, But I think with AI, and frankly, I think literally in the last four months, with the kind of advancements that we're seeing in AI, this is clearly a moment when companies like us, especially, everything is sort of being thrown into the air. And we see that as a huge opportunity for us, especially because, you know, we're a platform of nearly a billion users.
5:41But when it comes to advertising, we have been way behind Meta and Google. Right. Why do you think that is? I think a lot of it is they are the new broadcast television, right? I mean, they've built great platforms and marketers are quite used to spending money on them. And that has been sticky for the last 15 years. And no marketer is going to get fired for spending more money on Meta and Google. And I do think the big shift in AI will scramble everything once again. And it'll be an opportunity for a company like ours to reintroduce ourselves. to marketers and get them to really think about - Levels the playing field, so to speak.
6:21Yeah, and I think part of that is also, it's not just AI. I think it's also the big shift away from the feed or the scroll. I really think we are in the final stages of the age of performance that has defined social media for the last 15 years. So what do you mean by that? I think when you really look at the big backlash against social media, especially performative social media.
6:48Suzy: Oh, performative meaning like, look at my Lamborghini. Yes. Gotcha. And, you know, everything around sort of, which really has been the last 15 years, users putting out their best words themselves. Right, their highlight reels. Their highlight reels. Yeah. I think we're starting to move away from it. I think this is sort of the last stage of it where more of the energy is shifting to messaging. Look, I mean, one of my ex-colleagues at Instagram, you know, said the scroll is dead. Right. I think that's an exaggeration. I don't think it's dead yet. I think it's dying. Right. And I actually think people are starting to value not just for all of the recognition of the impact on society, of what's been the larger impact of the focus on performative social media.
7:32But also, I think people are really starting to understand that the real conversations where you really engage with the people that you care about, your friends and family, is really your private messaging feed. And I think that shift, the shift away from the feed to conversations and the shift away from performative to authenticity, along with all of the fabulous possibilities that AI is throwing into the mix. I think the decades happening in weeks, I think we are in the middle of a big shift and a big moment right now.
8:05Suzy: One, I guess, build on that is what about discoverability? Because one thing the feed does do is allow people to discover new places to travel, new restaurants to eat at, new shoes to buy. Where do you think consumers will get that in the world where the feed? And I agree with you. I think the feed, as much as it kind of enabled doom scrolling, I also think it was a fabulous opportunity for a lot of products and categories and brands to introduce themselves to an audience in a way that was difficult for them in the previous version. Creators. Media. And creators too. I think when I specifically look at brands, I think what we are seeing with consumers embracing AI is people are engaging in conversations with AI platforms, agents.
8:51And I think a lot of the discovery will happen through conversations. Now, there's a part to it, which I don't think has received a lot of scrutiny. While I do think discovery on the field has been a big part of the story of marketing over the last decade. The reality is we have always relied on our friends and family for recommendation. And, you know, of course, all of this is an argument that you would expect me to make given that I'm a part of Snapchat. But I think what we see is that the conversation between friends and family is not just about what they're sharing and what are they doing and sharing the experiences, but it's also a conversation about which movie to go to, which shoe to buy.
9:36So I think discovery has been happening on as a part of conversations forever. I do think that is now going to get hyper fuel by AI, right? I think if anything, you now have a layer where you're not just seeking recommendations from friends and family. You can also have conversations with agents and platforms to kind of like discover more. And I don't think we've all kind of stood back and really thought through what does it really mean for both demand and supply in a world where the answers that come back, so it's going to be different for different people based on the context, right? And I think that is adding complexity for sure, but I also adding a huge new vector of possibility when it comes to discoverability, that finally you may well be able to surface in conversations products and categories and brands that may not have surfaced at all on the feed.
10:38Right. Right. So, I mean, it's changing. A lot of the old ways will have to change and shift. But I think the canvas of what is possible in conversations, I think, is quite exciting.
10:48Suzy: And when we think about the feed, we're also thinking within the context of the iPhone. and many believe that we are not going to be holding devices like this the way that we have for the last 15 years in the future. I mean, I know that Snap, and I want to get into Snap's strategy in a second, but Snap has long been about wearables, right, and glasses, and there's many other companies in your space that have as well. What do you think the future is of a tool like the iPhone? Do you think it's going to be replaced by glasses or wearables, and when? I think the iPhone has been such a huge innovation for the world.
11:23Arguably the most successful product in history. Yeah, and I think it obviously continues to be a big part of people's lives. And I think there's been enough talked about this, right? When you look back at the history of new products, one of the interesting things is that they continue even when big, disruptive, innovative new products are built. The old ones sort of have a decay curve that can sometimes last quite a while. But I think to your question, Matt, Evan Spiegel, who is one of the co-founders of Snap and the CEO of the company, has had this very clear view of the role of glasses wearables.
12:02For a while. For a while, right? And as a company, we have been investing in building glasses that can work in the real world, where you and I wearing those glasses can engage with each other in the physical world. And a lot of his clarity has come from, I think, what you were hinting at, which is that we have all gotten so used to looking down at the phone, being disconnected from the real world around us. There's clearly a live conversation now about potentially the negative impact of addiction.
12:33Suzy: If you look at pictures from 1994, and like I saw a video on social media the other day of like a bunch of kids who are graduating high school. and, you know, it was the last day of school. And just the way they were interacting with each other without having phones, it was like a different species. And you realize how today that would just never be possible and all the other secondary effects that come out of that. Absolutely. Walking up and down the beach here in Miami, I'm struck about 80 % of the time, even folks who are walking, they're looking at the phone, right? And obviously I think the good part is people have this huge appetite to remain connected and they're engaging with friends and family and they're checking out what's happening in the world.
13:17I think the vision that we see is if you're able to leverage all of that power of the smartphone and package it into something that you wear on your face and you have the ability to connect with the physical world and still be immersed in it. And after investing for the last 12 years, we're going to launch the consumer version of Spectacles later this year. Really? Yeah. And I think we are excited. I think we... There's definitely a market for it. We believe that. And I think to your question, I mean, we do think about this as potentially the next canvas in computing, right? That we can imagine that as much as the laptops and televisions and the wider screens play the role and the smartphone, that there would just be power.
14:05If you're able to solve for some of the hard technology problems, both on the hardware and software front. As a company, we made the choice a while ago that we're going to build a full stack, right? Both build the hardware and the software around. You're manufacturing yourself. You're not partnering with. We are designing the hardware, right?
14:23Suzy: Of course, we'll have manufacturing partners. But the Snap... You're not throwing your technology and partnering with an eyeglass company, right? You're building your own. We're building our own. And I think we're excited that that is definitely the next frontier in computing. And the smartphone may still have a role to play, but a decade from now or even sooner than that, you can imagine that people will intuitively see the power of having a device that is easy to wear and it still allows you to connect to the physical world and yet augmented and unleash all the power of the digital in front of you.
14:56And when we launch our first consumer version this year and start talking about what is the progressive build vision that we have, I do think people will start to see how compelling it is.
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16:23Suzy: LinkedIn delivers the highest return on ad spend of major ad networks. Advertise on LinkedIn. Spend$250 on your first campaign and get a$250 credit. Go to linkedin.com slash campaign. Terms and conditions apply. Brand Week is back September 15th through the 17th in downtown Atlanta. And if you're serious about where marketing is going, this is the room for you. I'm Jenny Rooney, Chief Brand and Community Officer at Adweek. And for three days, we're bringing together the sharpest minds in marketing for the ideas, insights, and connections shaping what comes next for brands. Get your tickets now at brandweek.com and use code BW26 for 20 % off.
17:02Suzy: That's brandweek.com, code BW26. The snack wrap plus Caesar sauce equals extra crispy chicken Caesar-y greatness. Sounds delicious. Caesar sauce at McDonald's for a limited time.
17:24Suzy: So let's zoom out and talk about Snap, because obviously when it first came out, it became famous for the ephemeral messaging where you could send text to somebody and it would disappear. and then it was the first company to introduce, I believe, stories. And then very early with the wearables and often it got imitated and duplicated by larger companies, has been well documented. And over time, it has ebbs and flows as a company in terms of its performance on Wall Street, but it's still a major impact on consumer culture. And it still has a huge audience and is a great platform for brands. Just would love to hear from you.
18:01Suzy: What is the state of Snap today? For people who are listening that haven't really thought about Snap as a business, from a business perspective, what is interesting about where it is and where it's going? Yeah, I think, Matt, one, just to, you know, sort of lay out the facts, we are nearly a billion users around the planet. Monthly active. Monthly active and still growing fast. So it is one of the large consequential consumer platforms in the world. That's ever existed. Yeah. And I think one of the interesting things is, as you said, it started off with ephemeral messaging. It started off with a very young audience.
18:37And over the last decade, we have seen that audience age up, right? People stay with the platform. I think depending on which country, half of the users could be more than the age of 25, one third about the age of 35. and it still continues to be the place where people connect to their real friends and family. Like it's the place for real relationships. One of the interesting things from a marketing point of view, Matt, is when we look at Snapchat and look at the overlap with TikTok or YouTube or Pinterest, we find that there's a substantial community on Snapchat that is not on these platforms, right?
19:17On a daily basis, I think 40 % of Snapchaters are not on TikTok. Wow. The number is 50 % of YouTubers on a daily basis. And I think the number is close to 80 % of people on Pinterest, right? Right. So it's a sizable community, right? I mean, if you talk about the brass tacks of marketing, it's a community that you have to reach out to, right? And who are unlike, I think there's still some sort of sticky memes around. It's very young. We would love to be super young forever, but that is not the case. Right. Every social platform is the same. Yeah.
19:50Suzy: Projecting over time as they age up. Yeah. I think the second part is our strength, as you mentioned, is we continue to be extremely inventive. Yeah. Innovative, right? Builders. Vertical videos, stories. And I think that continues to be at the center of the company's DNA. I think we are very good at imagining new products. What is it that the culture enables you to do that? I think, you know, multiple reasons. I think it starts with the founders, maybe that we are in LA and not in the Valley. But a lot of it is, I think there is extreme openness to experimentation. I think we are very good with creating an answer and then looking at it a few days, a few weeks later and saying, let's kind of throw this out and let's find a new one.
20:38And sometimes it can be difficult, right? I think to be in an organization that is so persistently iterative, but it does create a, nurtures a great space for innovation. And so that is true. I think what is equally true is I don't think we focused enough on building a business around the things that make us unique, right? I mean, I think when you look at our scale and yet sort of, you know, if you look at our revenue, there's a huge disconnect. And one of the big reasons for that, Matt, is for the longest time, most people come to Snapchat to message. 85 % of the people kind of are obviously snapping, right?
21:22And yet, till last year, we didn't allow ads in messaging. So there was a disconnect between the engagement energy of the platform and the marketing possibility for advertisers. And we didn't do it for all the right reasons, right? We didn't know the private messaging space is a sacred one, right? For all the things that make us special, that you're able to be authentic, you're able to be in the moment. It also kind of was like, okay, what does it really mean to open that up to ads, right? But when we finally did it last year with sponsored snaps, putting ads and messaging, I think what we found out was that our community loves it, right?
22:04I I think they've embraced it so long. What's a sponsored snap? It's an ad on our messaging feed.
22:09Suzy: Okay. Right. And today I'm going on stage later to announce the next rendition of it. And we'll talk about it in a second. But I think that's been the big shift. We launched it last year about this time. And then really the second half of last year was really scaling sponsored snaps. And as more and more marketers are discovering it, I think we're finding that this is a game changer for us. And I think to where this conversation started, it so happens we are at the right moment when the industry is transitioning away from the feed to private messaging. I mean, I think that we're getting lucky that the big shift that's happening in the world, especially with AI, and both consumers and brands rediscovering the power of messaging, because at least today, almost all of your engagement with AI as a user is through conversations.
23:01Right. I think we're finding that we're in the middle of a great moment. And for me, that is the opportunity now that we have this scale. We have a community that is quite unique. We continue to be inventive on new formats. But finally, I think we're kind of realizing that there's the power for us to introduce marketers to the power of ads and messaging in a way that's already native to our platform. Right.
23:25Suzy: So I'm really excited to hear about the evolution of this product. Yeah. And I think today we're kind of, we're announcing AI sponsored snaps, which is sponsored snap essentially is a brand can send you a message and, you know, you can open it. It's a full screen ad and that's it. Right. With AI sponsored snaps, we're effectively introducing a two-way conversation for brands with agents that they own. That's awesome. So if Delta Airlines has a sponsored snap, you can ask it about its flight routes, or maybe there's a discount, or maybe there could be a celebrity voice coming in. There's so many, that's really smart.
24:02Suzy: I like that. And the good part is - It's the best idea I've heard of this conference. I'm glad to hear that. I like the affirmation. It's really smart. Thank you. Yeah. I think the power of that is, one, it's happening in a space where nearly a billion people are already used to the idea of conversations. Right. And very often they are talking about brands. And we've seen through the adoption of ChatGPT and Claude and these tools that, because there's no learning curve for conversations. You just talk, right? That's right. So that's one. But I think the other part of it is, good or bad, we are not spending tens of billions of dollars building our own LLM models.
24:40So we are a neutral party. We are not directing people to our own agent or our own AI platform. We are telling marketers, you bring whichever agent you want to work with. Powered by whatever LLM that's behind it. Yeah, and I think I'm sure you're seeing this matter as well, right? I think the great thing about this moment is there is so much excitement about AI. Companies are really leaning into the idea of building useful agents, right? And this is going to evolve pretty quickly, and different companies will make different choices. So we are saying, come with what you have, right? And then, of course, the third part of it is the conversation will, of course, go in different directions based on what the user is prompting.
25:24So you have the option of... And you can capture data from it, et cetera. And that's for the advertiser to decide, right? How they want to shape it. But it could have advertiser-led prompts, but the answers that come back will be on the basis of the specific conversation with the Snapchatter.
25:40Suzy: Are you going to help companies develop these agents as part of your advertising platform, or do they bring them? They bring their agents. And you're giving them the specs? Yeah, we're making it very easy for them to essentially bring that agent, put it inside Snapchat. I don't think people are, there is so much energy at the moment in terms of building agents and so many companies out there. What that means, though? Agents are thrown around in so many different ways. I think it'll evolve pretty quickly. But my point there was there's enough companies who didn't even exist two weeks ago who have enough funding to kind of help other companies build agents, right?
26:17A hundred percent. Or leverage the current platforms and run different models. So that's not where our power is. I think our power is bring that into a conversation with Snapchat us. Absolutely. By the way, I mean, it's great you mentioned that word. I think that's where we're discovering that there is a massive plethora of new AI platforms and agents. They're all looking for distribution. Of course. Right? And we happen to be one of the few neutral bodies without -
26:48Suzy: Right. You're right. The cost of nature to create technology is lower than ever before. Yeah. But distribution is harder than ever before. Everyone's clamoring for attention. That's right. We're not trying to direct people to any particular model or a platform or an agent ecosystem. And I think there is power in that combination of scale, the neutrality, and then building really on all of the learnings that we have had with sponsored snaps in the last year. Again, I feel like we have landed in a good moment. It so happened that we introduced this a year ago, and we really have a lot of good learnings, which I think some of the other LLM platforms will take a bit of time to discover what does it mean to put an ad that leads to a conversation with an agent in a way that is native and relevant to the Snap, to someone in the context of private messaging?
27:37I don't think that's an easy one. And I think because we've had a lot of learnings, I feel excited about the launch of AI-sponsored Snaps and how we can really help companies as they think through how to build automation and how to build agents into everything from discovery to driving conversions, right? Driving real sales. This is a pretty powerful canvas.
27:59Suzy: You know what's interesting is that companies have their official profile page on Snap or on Twitter or anywhere, and they don't have official agents yet. And I'm surprised companies don't have, here's the verified consumer agent for Delta Airlines or Hershey's, and then they can put in all the data that they want consumers to see. They can bring the brand persona out, and then you could interact with the official agent of that company. I'm surprised it doesn't exist yet, and I predict it will happen sooner rather than later. Yeah, I think at the moment, I think if you think about it, if you go to many companies' websites, most companies are experimenting with having some agent present there.
28:38But I think the reality is we don't need more places to go and find AI. Right. We need AI to come to where you are. And first, that's the power of AI sponsored snaps is there are a billion people who are already engaging in conversations. And if you can make it easier for them to engage with agents, that's the power, right? And again, it's the power of distribution. But really, I think it's really the power of making marketing come alive at a time when energy shifting from the feed to conversations.
29:11Suzy: So you have this really exciting new product, which to me feels like the right product at the right time. You're the chief business officer of Snap. How are you spending your time? And how do you plan on spending your time after you announce this on stage today to basically evangelize this? What does that look like for you in terms of your role? I think it's a lot of conversations with marketers, right? I think the reality is, again, I think, Matt, to where we started this conversation, this is a time of big change. It is. But it's also true that it's a time when there are a lot of sticky habits that have formed over the last 15 years.
29:45and marketers and brands, large and small companies, maybe less so in the case of small companies, I think they're more innovative and they're always looking to optimize that last dollar, but especially large companies. I think so much of the marketing system has been built around the scroll, has been built around the feed. There are some pretty entrenched habits. So I do think the task that I have and the task that my colleagues have is to help marketers understand that they need to now start thinking about solving for the next 10 or 15 years. And a lot of that energy is around conversations and they need to start thinking that a lot of what they have built around the feed may change pretty quickly, especially when it comes to consumer habits and consumer attention.
30:31So I think we have an exciting product, but I do think we have a lot of hard work to do to nudge CMOs and the marketing community to get over the inertia of moving beyond many of the systems and habits they've built over the last decade.
30:45Suzy: Yeah. So shifting gears, we wrap up here. One common theme throughout this conversation has been change and innovation and embracing change. And as I mentioned, Snap has been known for such a long time, diving in first and coming up with and executing on these incredible new concepts. What does that mean in terms of who you're looking for? So for some of our younger listeners in the pod who are starting off in their career and want to end up in a cool role at Snap like you in the C-suite, right? Where are the areas you think they should focus given the state of the world today here in 2026? That's a great question.
31:16I think one, Matt, I mean, you and I are both seeing this, right? I think, and I have two young boys, 12 and seven, and a lot of what I think about is like, where's this headed? One of the things that's pretty clear is if I look at the next 25 years or even the next 10 years versus the last 25, right? My career over the last 25, I think folks are in for a rapid acceleration in the number of things and the extent of change that's going to happen. Unprecedented. Right. And it's pretty massive. And, you know, if you look at history at every moment, everyone feels like they are going through a time that is unprecedented.
31:56But I do think some pretty big things are shifting. Right. I think if you look at AI, obviously, if you look at what's happening in the world. So I do think what I look for or the younger folks amongst your listeners is you need to be ready to reinvent yourselves almost every week. Right. I think maybe it was every couple of years. Maybe it was every few months. I think you really need to be ready to say that the answer about which you had massive conviction two weeks ago, that needs to change. and I don't think there's going to be a career out there that is not going to require people to be extremely adaptive, to be extremely willing to change and shift answers, to experiment and iterate.
32:46And that's not easy. That's not easy.
32:49Suzy: Especially for people who spent maybe decades refining a craft. You know, you spent two decades learning how to code and being an expert coder and now you have a tool that can code faster than you. What do you do? You say this is bad and stomp your feet, or do you try to use the tool, or do you try to do something completely different? A lot of people are faced with that question, right? Absolutely. So I think that's essential. I think the second thing, and this may be, you know, sort of the companies that I've worked with, but I think there's always going to be particular value for people who are willing to walk up a mountain versus people who are looking to drive down an easy expressway, right?
33:29Suzy: It's one thing that will stay the same. Yeah, and I don't think that's changing, right? I think any leader, when they're looking to build something new, when they're looking to grow, they're looking for people who are happy with friction or comfortable with friction and are willing to put in the effort, are gritty. And I think we're about to enter a world where there's going to be even more of a premium on it. And the last thing I would say is, despite all of this change and being willing to kind of adapt, I think there's still going to be a premium on kindness. I think it's going to be a big differentiator, right?
34:04I think especially at a time of big change, I think people are going to gravitate towards leaders who are kind and leaders - And likable. And likable. Yeah. And leaders are going to gravitate towards people who are willing to grit it out, are willing to adapt to change, but are kind as well.
34:21Suzy: Yeah, I'm glad you said that. So to wrap it up, we always ask our guests if there's a saying or mantra that helps encapsulate their professional journey. So what comes to mind for you? I think I try this idea of build for legacy, but stay rooted, right? I think you have to aspire to building things that will have massive impact over a long time period, but you also can't be a victim to the hubris, right? I think when you chase legacy and when you're trying to do big things, sometimes you can be caught up in sort of too much grandiosity, right? and for me, I think it's equally important to stay rooted.
34:56And the combination, I think, is what I try and live up to. That's fantastic.
35:00Suzy: Well, thanks again for taking time out of your busy schedule. Best of luck with this launch. I'll be cheering from afar and can't wait for our listeners to hear this great discussion we had today. Thank you, man. I enjoyed the conversation. Absolutely. On behalf of Susie and Adwee team, thanks again to Ajit Mohan, the Chief Business Officer at Snap for joining us today. Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review the Speed of Culture podcast wherever you get your podcasts. We're here live in South Beach at the Possible Conference. We'll see you soon. Bye-bye.
35:27Suzy: The Speed of Culture is brought to you by Suzy as part of the Adweek Podcast Network and Agass Creator Network. You can listen and subscribe to all Adweek's podcasts by visiting adweek.com slash podcasts. To find out more about Suzy, head to suzy.com. And make sure to search for the Speed of Culture in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere else podcasts are found. Click follow so you don't miss out on any future episodes. On behalf of the team here at Suzy, thanks for listening. Hey!
36:23Suzy: We'll be right back. Cut the bull spend. LinkedIn lets you target by company, job title, and more. Advertise on LinkedIn. Spend$250 on your first campaign and get a$250 credit. Go to linkedin.com slash campaign. Terms and conditions apply.
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37:24Suzy: and monetize their podcasts everywhere. ACAST.com
Ajit Mohan, Chief Business Officer at Snap, joins The Speed of Culture podcast to explore the fundamental shifts redefining the digital landscape. The discussion covers the transition from public feeds to private messaging and how augmented reality serves as a bridge to the physical world. Ajit shares insights into Snap's unique audience reach and the role of AI in creating neutral distribution platforms for brands. The episode concludes with a look at the future of wearables and the importance of adaptive leadership in a rapidly accelerating industry.
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