10 startup podcasts you should be listening to today
This article is a crosspost with Nuwait.
Despite the short attention span of online readers, good content still ranks highly.
With the global adoption of smartphones online content has taken a different form, the most popular of which is podcasts.
In 2003, one of the first podcasts to be recorded sparked over a decade of momentum as the popularity of podcasts has boomed. A study by Edison Research in the United States revealed a growth in podcast consumption amongst the surveyed population in the US from 11 percent in 2006 to 33 percent in 2015.
Today’s entrepreneurs and employees are finding audio content more efficient and time saving than reading longform articles. “Podcasts offer convenience to any person who can listen to any content they are interested in, at any time,” said Sultan AlSultan, one of the cofounder of SJ.Nutshells’ Podcast, an Arabic podcast launched in Kuwait in 2013.
Whether globally or regionally, many podcasts nowadays are providing knowledge-thirsty people with content that inspires them to launch their startups, gives them insights into new trends and industries, and helps them develop professional skills.
Here are few podcasts from Kuwait, MENA, and the US that will help listeners to improve their personal and professional lives.
Launched in 2013 by Kuwaiti cofounders Sultan AlSultan and Jasem Hasan, SJ.Nutshells’ Podcast provides Arabic content on topics such as self-help, technology, economics, science, gaming, books, and more. The platform has released over 140 podcasts to date.
Launched in 2014 by Kuwaiti Khalid Al-Zanki, this platform publishes weekly podcast interviews with successful entrepreneurs and professionals who share their journey and challenges with listeners. The platform publishes in both Arabic and English.
3 Albald
Launched by New Media company in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2013, Albald has released seven Arabic podcasts so far. They have featured interviews with several entrepreneurs including Kaswara Alkhatib, cofounder of UTURN, the leading online entertainment network in Saudi Arabia, and Loai Nassim, founder of Lomar, an online store for selling traditional Thobe.
This Arabic podcast was launched by Hind AlNahedh in 2015 to offer tips and insights on social media and digital marketing practices in Kuwait. AlNahedh is also the CEO of Socialobby, a social media and digital marketing services company, and the president of Social Media Club, a non-profit community of social media professionals.
This Week in Startups was launched in 2009 by serial entrepreneur and angel investor Jason Calacanis from the United States, who has built several startups including tech content platform Engadget,Inside, an app for news curation, and LAUNCH, a global startup event. His podcast publishes weekly interviews discussing the journeys of different entrepreneurs.
6 Iqraaly
Iqraaly (“read for me” in Arabic) converts written online content into Arabic-language podcasts. The Cairo-based startup was launched in 2013 and has an app available on iOS, Android, Blackberry, and Windows 8 devices.
7 Menassah
Menassah (‘stage’ in Arabic) is a podcast-hosting platform launched in Cairo in 2013 to let users upload their own audio files to the website so that others can listen to what they’re reading.
Founded by Derek Andersen in 2010, Startup Grind is a startup community present in around 125 cities around the world. Its objective is to encourage successful entrepreneurs and mentors to share their stories with others though small events organized in each city. (Learn more about their activities in Kuwait here). Their podcasts cover diverse topics, focused on the tactics and strategies applied by the Startup Grind community, such as product pricing, common startup mistakes, leadership principles, and more.
The Lean Startup methodology was developed by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Eric Ries who has worked with many startups throughout his career. His method, explained in the book The Lean Startup, explains how entrepreneurs can shorten the lifecycle of their product development by launching a minimal viable product (MVP), get users’ feedback, then iterate according to market validation.
Although not launched by Ries, the podcast titled Lean Startup covers topics related to bootstrapping a startup concept. It was launched by Mark Graham in 2005.
This podcast is run by the founders of 500 Startups, a seed fund and startup accelerator based in Silicon Valley. The podcast features interviews and talks with founders, entrepreneurs and influencers worldwide. The duration of most of these podcasts do not exceed one hour, which makes listening to them perfect while commuting or even when taking a lunch break.
What podcasts do you listen to? Share it with us in the comments section below!
