Episode 606 | The Podcasting Landscape, Keeping Your Saw Sharpened, and Scaling Your Team with Craig Hewitt
Jun 7, 2022
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Craig Hewitt, founder of Castos and a podcasting innovator, shares insights on navigating the evolving podcast landscape. He discusses Spotify's recent acquisitions and their implications for analytics and data privacy. The conversation dives into the unique challenges of measuring listener engagement compared to traditional web metrics. Craig also reflects on the difficulties CEOs face in staying engaged as their teams take over daily operations, emphasizing the importance of OKRs for strategic alignment. This episode is packed with valuable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs.
The complexities of podcast analytics highlight the difficulties in obtaining accurate listener data due to decentralized distribution systems.
Founders transitioning to strategic roles must hire skilled team members to bridge knowledge gaps and engage in industry trends effectively.
Deep dives
The Business Model of Open Source
Open source software presents significant benefits for developers, users, and businesses alike, with numerous successful models exemplified by companies like WordPress and Automattic. These organizations offer free tools that users can utilize independently while also providing premium, managed versions for a fee. This approach fosters community-based accountability, which contributes positively to the industry by creating a sense of shared ownership and involvement. The discussion highlights that open source not only supports community engagement but also serves as a viable business strategy that can lead to sustainable revenue streams.
Challenges in Podcast Analytics
The nature of podcast analytics is inherently complex due to the decentralized system of podcast distribution, making it difficult to obtain accurate listener data. Metrics such as download counts can vary significantly among different platforms, often leading to confusion for creators when trying to assess audience engagement. The conversation emphasizes the limitations faced by analytics providers, as they have no visibility over what happens after a podcast file is downloaded. This lack of comprehensive data can hinder efforts to understand listener behavior and refine content strategies.
Scaling as a Company and Staying Informed
As companies grow, founders often face the challenge of staying updated on industry trends while transitioning to a more strategic role rather than an operational one. The importance of hiring skilled team members who can bridge this gap becomes evident, as they can provide fresh insights and maintain momentum in their respective fields. Engaging in ongoing conversations with employees and external networks allows leaders to remain aware of emerging trends and innovations. This collective intelligence becomes crucial in making informed decisions and driving the company's vision forward.
Implementing OKRs for Focus and Growth
Implementing Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) can significantly enhance focus and alignment within a growing organization, facilitating clarity on priorities for teams and individuals alike. By setting specific, measurable goals each quarter, employees are encouraged to concentrate on a limited number of tasks, improving efficiency and productivity. This structured goal-setting process also enables leaders to ensure that all efforts are aligned with the long-term vision of the company. As companies reach a certain size, such frameworks become essential for sustaining growth while fostering accountability and performance across teams.
In episode 606, Rob Walling chats with Craig Hewitt, the founder of Castos. They talk about company building, staying up to speed when you are no longer doing the day-to-day tasks as well as their thoughts on a recent string of acquisitions happening in the podcast ecosystem.
Topics we cover:
[1:24] 2 MicroConf Local events happening in Chicago and Denver
[3:50] The pros and cons of Spotify acquiring a couple of podcast analytics platforms
[7:51] The specific challenges with podcast analytics
[12:39] Spotify vs. Apple
[16:31] Staying up to speed as CEO once you have a team doing the day-to-day tasks
If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you.