Growth Expectations: Insider Insights on Startup Success, Straight from GO Ventures’ Head of Investments, Paul Grech.
When I got married over twenty years ago, I found out that all the things that used to happen magically when I still lived with my parents - floors getting washed, plates cleaned, clothes ironed - no longer got done by themselves.
Thankfully the iPod had launched around that time so I would just plug on my earphones and listen to it as I did the chores around the house. It was around that same time that I discovered podcasts and immediately became a huge fan. Listening to people talk about subjects I enjoyed and getting me to think suddenly made having to spend an hour ironing not that big of a deal.
That’s a long-winded way of telling everyone that I’ve been a fan of the band podcasts before they were famous. Some I listen to occasionally, others I make a point not to miss.
Of the latter there are only a handful but these are so good that rarely do I walk away without a new idea coming to mind or finding a different angle to view an existing concept. They are the ones that make me better at doing what I do and which I feel anyone in the startup scene should really be listening to.
How I Built This
If you’re in the startup space then you’ve probably heard about this one. In each episode Guy Raz (“one of the most popular podcasters in history” as per The New York Times) interviews founders of startups that have become huge. It is a really simple format - taking the founders on a journey from their childhood through to how they set up their business and made it a success (as well as the failures that helped pave the way - yet it can get pretty deep. That depth is what makes this podcast special, as well as the diversity - not only in ethnicity but also in what their companies do - in founders he speaks to.
Where to start: I believe that the series starts with Spanx founder Sara Blakely and I’d start there, not least because it also highlights the risk of investors funding only what they understand and experience.
Masters of Scale
I have a lot of time and respect for Reid Hoffman, a member of the famed ‘PayPal Mafia’ as the early leaders of the payment company - most of whom went on to dominate Silicon Valley (think Elon Mush and Peter Thiel) are known. On his part, Hoffman co-founded LinkedIn (sold to Microsoft in in 2016 for $26 billion) as well as becoming an early investor in Facebook among others. For all his success, he has remained quite humble, projecting a persona of someone who is interested in learning what brings about success and sharing that with his audience. Each episode of Masters of Scale typically includes an interview (although not always in a Q&A fashion) which serves to highlight and expand on a key takeaway.
Where to start: The epiodes that won me over were the two-part chat with Daymond John (famous for being one of the sharks on Shark Tank America) particularly when he speaks of the early days of his hip-hop clothing brand FUBU.
Hungry
This is a recent addition to my playlist and arguably the least famous / most niche podcast. Hungry focuses on "challenger food and drink brands" (think innocent or Brewdog) which, frankly, is not an area that I typically pay too much attention to. Which, probably, is why I like this so much; it looks at familiar problems (hiring of people, maintaining company culture etc.) but from a slightly different angle to what I’m used to (which helps stave the boredom that eventually sets in from the same stories and theories.
Where to start: I really enjoyed the episode with David Hieatt, a founder of a number of successful business whose focus extends beyond purely making money. Their Espresso episodes - where a particular idea from a recent episode is condensed in a few minutes - also help provide a quick hit.
Help us grow: share Growth Expectations with someone you feel might enjoy it as much as you do!
Conversations With Tyler
As per his Wikipedia page, Tyler Cowen is an American economist, columnist and blogger…[as well as] a professor at George Mason University, where he holds the Holbert L. Harris chair in the economics department. I know him more as a provocateur on his podcast. Insanely well read (check out the blog he co-authors, Marginal Revolution), he hosts some of the world’s most interesting and brightest thinkers whom he then grills with some seriously intense questions. The result is an incredibly energising hour long conversation from which I often find walk away with a handful of new concepts that I need to research.
Where to start: As a bit of a sci-fi buff, the conversation with Neal Stephenson was fascinating for more than one reason.
99% Invisible
Unlike the other four podcasts on the list, this is not a ‘business’ podcast but rather one that explores the process and power of design and architecture. It focuses on the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world; a sound-rich, narrative podcast that uses storytelling to delve into the history and meaning behind everyday objects and structures. So why do I think you should listen to it? Because with its focus on the mundane and ability be fascinating on the most common of objects, 99% Invisible also invites us to think more deeply about the world around us and how things are connected with each other. It is in those connections that great ideas lie.
Where to start: On Containers, an episode that goes through the history and impact of the shipping container. Such an unassuming object, yet after hearing this you won’t be able to think of anything that has played as key a role in globalization and the global economy.
Do you listen to podcasts? Which is your favourite from this list? And am I missing any great podcasts in my playlists? Let me know.