How to start a startup podcast

A startup podcast is a long-term trust builder. Customers hear how you think before they talk to sales. Investors hear your judgment before the meeting. Candidates hear what it is like to work with you.

It is not a fast acquisition channel. If you need customers next month, do sales. If you want a reputation in two years, start a podcast.

• Customer interviews: talk to people in your market about their problems. It doubles as research. See the customer interview podcast template.
• Industry show: interview experts in your space and become the place your market learns.
• Build in public: share the journey, decisions and lessons as they happen.
• Founder conversations: founders and operators sharing what worked.

Customer interview shows tend to deliver the most business value, because every episode is also a relationship with a potential customer.

Founders do not have spare time, so design a show that fits in one hour a week: a 30-minute conversation, a quick edit, and publishing in the same tool. Batch record two or three episodes when you have a free afternoon.

Avoid handoffs between people and tools. Each handoff adds days. Hilite records, edits by transcript, writes show notes and publishes, so one person can finish an episode end to end.

Building in public works when you share decisions and lessons, not confidential details. Do not share customer names without permission, unreleased financials, or anything under NDA. Agree with co-founders what is off limits.

If investors or board members may listen, assume they will. That is mostly an advantage.

If your show has guests, choose them for the people they will help you reach as well as for what they know: customers you want to work with, partners, experts your market respects, and investors whose audience overlaps with yours.

Prepare a short brief for each guest, keep recordings to 30 minutes, and send them the finished episode with a ready-to-post clip. A guest who has a good experience becomes an advocate. See podcast interview questions for preparation.

Share each episode with the guest's network, your investors, your customers and your team. Clip the best insight for LinkedIn. Consistency matters more than polish.