Discord: Jason Citron

In this episode of How I Built This, Guy Raz interviews Jason Citron, the founder and CEO of Discord, about his journey building the platform. Citron recounts his early interest in coding and game development, leading to his first company, OpenFeint, which was later sold. He discusses the challenges and pivots he faced while trying to create successful games, ultimately leading to the creation of Discord, a communication platform initially designed for gamers. Citron explains the evolution of Discord, its unique features like servers and channels, and its growth beyond gaming communities. He also addresses the challenges of moderating the platform and maintaining user privacy, as well as the decision to turn down a $10 billion acquisition offer from Microsoft, focusing on the company's mission to create belonging and its path to profitability through its Nitro subscription service.