As a long-distance commuter, I listen to a LOT of podcasts. And given the explosion in podcasts on tech startups, it’s hard to keep track of them all. There really isn’t a good discovery source, although Product Hunt and The Podcast Wire come closest. So here’s the survey we’ve been missing. I have left out general business podcasts and most of the podcasts for small business (although I kept those few specializing on women entrepreneurs, whose focus is mostly on small bootstrapped companies,) and focus on the ones relevant for the founders of VC-backed startups who are looking to go big.
Before we hit the ranked list of 75, yes, 75! podcasts below, a few thoughts.
A) The formats of almost all of the best podcasts are interviews or taped lectures. 16 of the 24 podcasts graded A- or better are one or the other.
B) Interview quality varies greatly, even with the same host. Jason Calacanis (This Week in Startups) and Andrew Warner (Mixergy) each have done many hundreds of podcasts. So not only can the quality of the guests vary, sometimes the hosts has a bad day. (A guest like Chris Sacca or Danielle Morrill brings out Jason’s best, at which times there is no one better. But when he’s not really into the guest, he reverts to constant name-dropping and “me-me-me” mode. That’s why he has a massively polarized audience, with 90 5 star iTunes ratings…but 30 1 stars. He’s someone I love and hate at the same time…so “A” Jason + “C” Jason resulted in a B rating from me.)
C) The podcasts available in both audio and video versions generally are better than audio-only podcasts. Better production value, better preparation, better guests. Similarly, the video content on Youtube for any one speaker is superior to the audio podcasts. Best example: Eric Ries videos (like this talk at Google) are preferable to his podcast. Why? I think people just work harder on videos. Another example, discussed below: Y Combinator’s “How to Start a Startup” video podcast is great, but it’s audio-only “StartupSchoolRadio” is lacking.
D) If the podcast comes from a blogger, the blog is better crafted and quicker to consume. One example is Steve Blank’s podcast, which is delivered unconvincingly by a voice actor reading over the excellent blog. It’s lost in translation. Similarly, John Gruber’s Daring Fireball blog is incisive and readable, but his podcast meanders forever. One possible exception is the output of Ben Thompson: while his outstanding Stratechery column is superior to his podcast, the two ARE additive. If you don’t subscribe to Stratechery, at least check out his Exponent podcast; it is free and features the most incisive thinking in tech.
E) VC and company-sponsored podcasts generally are solid, but accelerator-sponsored podcasts don’t cut it. 3 out of the 6 A+ rated podcasts come from VCs. The VC winners: “Ventured” from Kleiner Perkins, “A16Z” from Andreessen Horowitz, and “Traction” from NextView Ventures. They are putting their reputations on the line, and podcasting is one way they try to attract the best entrepreneurs. Similarly, the better corporate podcasters (e.g., Hubspot, InsightSquared, Intercom, 37 Signals) are trying to gain goodwill by being thought leaders more than just shilling their product. But the podcasts from the accelerators inexplicably are so-so to poor, with a B going out to Seedcamp, a B- to the (discontinued?) 500 Startups podcast, and a generous C+ to the tone-deaf StartupSchoolRadio from Y Combinator. To be fair, Sam Altman of YC organized a Stanford lecture series “How to Start a Startup” which featured great lectures from incredible speakers. However, the podcast shows the damage a mediocre host can do. The host, (who incidentally was only in one startup, which cratered quickly in spite of raising a bunch of money,) tries to parrot Paul Graham’s more famous sayings onto any conceivable example, without nuance or in some cases understanding. Just go to the source and read Paul’s brilliant essays instead. And going back to point C), check out 500 Startups terrific Youtube video channel for great lectures on growth-hacking.
F) Anything Stanford touches is gold. How to Start a Startup and especially Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders are awesome. It’s not just the household name speakers. Wondering about what goes into acquisitions of startups by larger tech companies? Check out Jeff Seibert’s wonderful lecture, dealing with the good and bad he learned from selling 2 companies (to Box and Twitter) and buying some for his new bosses. (BTW, if you want the best digital startup education out there, StartupSecrets films a great class by VC/HBS Prof Michael Skok and puts it on the web. Not a podcast, not on iTunes, so not included on list below, but otherwise A+! Curriculum/readings included.)
Explanation of the Table
The podcast name and its embedded link is followed by my personal, subjective grade, along with the number of podcasts in the series , the number of 5 star ratings/total ratings in the iTunes Store for consensus opinion, and date of the last podcast to show frequency.
At the bottom. I have more detailed notes. Let me know which ones I’ve missed or where you disagree in the comments.
Name
Summary
#
Itunes
Ventured
A+
From Kleiner Perkins: Randy Komisar and friends. Check out Bill Campbell episode.
14
5/9
How to Start a Startup
A+
The biggest names in Silicon Valley take on a topic in this Stanford lecture series
20
21/39
Startup Podcast
A+
Following 1 startup a year, NPR-style storytelling
32
4004/4027
Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders
A+
More talks at Stanford by Steve Blank, Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman, etc.
251
166/256
Traction
A+
Getting growth between seed and A round
16
64/64
Dorm Room Tycoon
A+
The biggest names, interviewed skillfully
131
24/24
Work in Progress
A
37 Signals execs talk openly and honestly about running the company
59
6/6
Design Details Podcast
A
Designers at GoPro, Etsy, Pinterest talk shop
93
141/152
Product People
A
Emphasis on virality and engagement; Aimed at bootstrappers
75
44/47
UX and Growth Podcast
A
Hubspot Designers/Developers talk their subjects
15
n/a
A16Z
A
A16Z partners talk about current tech topics
187
18/28
Tech In Boston
A-
Interviews of players in the Boston tech ecosystem
57
18/18
Bothsides TV
A-
Mark Suster and guests. I’ll consume anything Mark puts out.
19
3/6
Intercom.io Podcast
A-
Product management, design, and marketing
11
n/a
Exponent
A-
Tech and Society: Ben Thompson and James Allworth’s weekly discussion
62
54/61
The Tim Ferriss Show
A-
Author/investor Tim Ferriss interviews world class performers
132
1855/2822
Foundation with Kevin Rose
A-
Terrific TV from the very connected investor Kevin Rose
43
12/14
Founder Calls with Aaron Levie
A-
Fun but still meaty. Aaron Levie of Box interviews his peers
6
n/a
Re/Code Decode
A-
More journalism than education:stars interviewed by Kara Swisher
33
32/50
The Rocketship Podcast
A-
Lots of accelerator grads and MDs; ability to search by topic
106
126/126
Venture Studio
A-
Dave Lerner’s terrific interviews primarily with NY-based investors
16
14/14
Customer Success Radio
A-
Interviews about growth and metrics with solid guests
25
10/10
The Growth Show (Hubspot)
A-
Interviews from Warby Parker to Facebook to AirBnB to Heady Topper
59
111/125
The Startup Chat
A-
Two pros chat about SaaS, metrics, Growth
67
94/96
VentureBeat’s What to Think
A-
Tech news
61
Full Ratchet
A-
Interviews with partners at Spark, Social Capital, other cutting edge VCs
88
41/41
This is Product Management
B+
Everything through the eyes of Product. One guest per week
Hallway Chat
B+
Fun. Two Spark Capital VCs discuss trends. (But most shows dated)
21
n/a
Million Dollar Insights
B+
Top SaaS practitioners interviewed
24
70/72
Tech.eu
B+
Discussion of European startup news
25
The Pitch
B+
Like SharkTank, with guest VCs–easy, fun listening
14
75/83
Collective Wisdom for Tech Startups
B+
VCs doing a deep dive with startup CEOs
8
13/16
From Scratch Podcast
B+
Half startup gods, half inspirational people from the real world
85
20/22
Product Hunt Radio
B+
Hippest podcast going, interviews by Ryan Hoover.
38
n/a
Reboot
B+
CEOs baring their souls to Jerry Colonna, a top Executive Coach
30
13/13
The James Altucher Show
B+
Quirky writer/entrepreneur interviews A-listers
149
321/381
HBR IdeaCast
B+
HBR editors discuss their articles–can be dry
504
108/182
Venture Voice
B+
Plenty of interesting guests–albeit from 7 years ago
60
19/22
Startup Grind
B
Live interviews from conferences of bigger names
100
16/16
Seedcamp Podcast
B
Good guest list, mostly Americans being interviewed by British accelerator
69
n/a
Startups for the Rest of Us
B
Small business approach rather than venture-backed startups
270
279/296
LeanStartupCo
B
Interviews with practitioners of Lean Startup techniques by Eric Ries & co
174
n/a
Acquired
B
Tech acquisitions that actually went well
5
n/a
Mixergy
B
From big names to unknowns–check transcripts first. More details below.
1249
226/264
The App Guy Podcast
B
Startup discussion revolving around mobile apps
401
39/39
TwentyMinuteVC
B
VCs fawned over by an overenthusiastic Brit.
20
19/21
Developer Tea
B
Quick topics for coders
178
135/140
This Week in Startups
B
The best guests ever. The polarizing Jason Calacanis as host. Highest highs, frequent lows
611
91/137
The O’Reilly Data Show Podcast
B
Data Scientists. Pretty dry.
20
500 Startups Podcast
B-
Not as good as their YouTube stuff. Discontinued?
53
18/18
The Talk Show with John Gruber
B-
Discussion with Guest Pundits. Too longwinded and rambling
141
717/1785
Hack the Entrepreneur
B-
mixed crowd
173
288/305
Hack to Start
B-
Plenty better than this
78
n/a
Seth Godin’s Startup School
B-
Very basic. One topic per lecture. If you like Godin (I don’t), it’s an A-
15
94/122
NYRD Radio
B-
A discontinued but fun podcast with Alexis Ohanian of Reddit
9
14/15
Perpetual Traffic
B-
Panel discusses getting paid traffic to websites.
27
366/405
Startup Nation
B-
Israeli entrepreneurs
4
n/a
Women Who Startup Radio
B-
Panel style discussion of, by and for women entrepreneurs
10
Startup School Radio
C+
Interviews mostly of YC alums and staff
30
Angel Insights
C+
European/British Angels
29
n/a
The Competitive Edge
C+
A few good names, but generally schlocky
61
n/a
SaaS Revolution Show
C+
Probably the weakest of the SaaS specialty broadcasts, but not just SaaS
32
n/a
She Did It Her Way
C+
Interviews with female entrepreneurs
53
21/22
The Gently Mad
C+
“Inspirational” startup stories with soul-searching
60
108/126
The Slow Hustle Podcast
C+
Founder lessons on “managing the pendulum swing”
62
31/33
Ask Gary Vee
C
Over-caffeinated celebrity-investor host offers good insights delivered like AM radio. Not my style, but plenty love him.
192
536/558
Angel Investing with Tatyana Gray
C
For beginning angels…by a relatively new investor.
15
40/41
Entrepreneur on Fire
C
Popular for reasons beyond me. Pass.
1175
2079/2169
Steve Blank Podcast
C
Voice-overs of Steve’s blogposts by other people
68
Zen Founder
C
The soft stuff: how to survive as a founder, by a psychologist
50
28/28
The Struggling Entrepreneur
C
For solo, underfunded entrepreneurs
284
Go For Launch
D
Total “Get Rich Quick” crap. Avoid at all costs
45
43/44
Freelancers Show
NR
Had technical problems, didn’t review
183
5/5
Venture Confidential
NR
Silicon Valley VCs, just started. First guest: Bessemer VC
1
n/a
The Changelog
NR
What’s new in open source for hard core techies
189
13/15
Stray Reviews
The one that got away: Startup Secrets Unfortunately, this is not included in the table above because it is only available for web viewing, but I have to highlight it. Startup Secrets goes right into serial entrepreneur/VC/HBS professor/Techstars mentor-instructor Michael Skok‘s class at Harvard, recording the lectures. Not just videos, but slideshares, course notes, reading. Simply the best resource I’ve ever seen from one person. Thanks @mjskok!
Venture Studio Dave Lerner, repeat entrepreneur, prolific angel, and currently Director of Entrepreneurship at Columbia University, assembles a list of sterling, but not necessarily well-known, names of investors who are at the top of their field (like Matt Harris of Bain Capital, considered the best fintech investor around), changing investing paradigms (like Dustin Dolginow of Maiden Lane Ventures and AngelList), or just spearheading NYC’s charge to arguably the 2nd most important region in startups (Alex Iskold of Techstars and David Tisch of Box Group.) Dave is soft-spoken but just as insightful as his guests. My favorite shows: those with John Frankel of ff ventures.
Collective Wisdom Founders Collective’s partners have done it all–success both as entrepreneurs and as VCs, with seed or A round investments in Uber, Buzzfeed, and Hotel Tonight. Eight hourlong fireside chats with founders (TripAdvisor, ZocDoc, Behance…), along with short clips of the highlights of the talks with investors, advisors, service providers. I should probably upgrade this–I hope they do more podcasts!
Mixergy. Andrew has amassed an enormous library of interviews. While many are with bootstrapped small business owners, he also has talked, all of them gets down to real details of strategies, and Andrew is fearless of asking any question and getting detailed examples. His two talks with Harley Finkelstein (here and here), head of business development for Shopify, are required listening for any biz dev producer or manager. Unfortunately, most of the archive are behind a paywall–you can try several for free, or subscribe and get current releases without paying. I recommend screening the transcripts before deciding which episodes you want to download.
Re/Code Decode. Technews journalism from a masterful Kara Swisher. Timely interviews with both Dick Costolo and Ev Williams just after the latest regime change, digging for dirt. Other episodes in the same vein, like when she quizzes Brian Chesky about AirBnB’s future plans. You get the picture. Skilled interviews, but more entertaining than educational by design, and I personally opt more for education.
Thanks to Techstars Boston Program Director, Ty Danco for this post. Originally posted here.
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The post Every Damn Imaginable Startup Podcast Reviewed appeared first on Techstars.