This is a series about what happens when someone who knows nothing about business starts one. It's called StartUp.  In episode one, Alex Blumberg botches his pitch to Silicon Valley billionaire Chris Sacca.

#1 How Not to Pitch a Billionaire

Dreaming big is harder than you'd think. 

#2 Is Podcasting the Future or the Past?

How much of your company should you give up when you bring on a partner?

#3 How To Divide An Imaginary Pie

StartUps are a risky business, but there's lots of reasons to write a check. 

#4 Startups are a Risky Business

Choosing a favorite is only the beginning. 

#5 How To Name Your Company

To listen, subscribe on iTunes or visit hearstartup.com

StartUp: A New Podcast Series About Launching a Business

#6 How To Value Your Startup

#7 How Listeners Become Owners

#8 Our New Show

Gimlet Media addresses a company mistake.

#9 We Made A Mistake

Lessons on outgrowing your business plan 

#10 Mixing Art And Business

Lessons on building an audience 

While working on this episode, we realized we want to know more about our audience. So, we created a survey. It takes about two minutes to complete, and you can find it at startuplistener.com  We would be very grateful if you took the time to help us learn more about our listeners. Thanks!

#11 Know Your Customer

Recovering from a breaking point

Thanks to everyone who took our listener survey last week. To see the results, visit: https://hearstartup.typeform.com/report/ofUGcO/wheU 

#12 Burnout

Episode 13 addresses a question that has been dogging us since the company’s beginnings: Are we a technology company or a content company?

This question led to months of debate. Many voices weighed in on either side, including Marco Arment, the lead developer of Tumblr and creator of Instapaper, who came in surprisingly anti-tech.

A few weeks back, we had a breakthrough when one of the most successful tech companies in the world paid a visit to the Gimlet Media headquarters.

SPOILER: Check out the video demo of the app prototype we built with Google Ventures on this week’s episode of StartUp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqGLrMjBLZ4 

We should caveat that this is not a real app, it’s just a prototype - a series of images stitched together to give the appearance of an app. You can’t download it in the App store, or anywhere else.

After you watch the video, we’d love your feedback. Fill out our survey about the prototype here: http://bit.ly/1HPFFWu

For more about design sprints, how they work, and how you can do one yourself -- check out this tutorial from the Google Ventures team: http://www.gv.com/sprint

#13 Fake It Til You Make It

Startup from Gimlet Media

#14 Where We Are

We return to the offices of Gimlet for the start of a new mini-season. It's been a year since the company launched and things are changing... fast. In this episode, Alex and his wife, Nazanin, wrestle with a huge decision that has implications for both the company and their family.

#15 Married To Your Business

Gimlet is making a big, expensive bet. The kind of bet that could make or break the company. And it’s a bet that comes down to one factor: What is Gimlet’s competitive advantage? As the company launches its fourth new show, “Surprisingly Awesome,” we take a deep dive in to how the show was made. From the kernel of an idea to the final product. And, along the way, we look at what we believe is Gimlet’s secret formula for making podcasts.

The Facts:

Our theme song was written and performed by Mark Phillips.

John Kimbrough composed music for this episode.

More music written and performed by John Delore along with his band mates, Jordan Scanella, Sam Merrickand Isamu McGregor.

Our Sponsors:

Squarespace – This week, we featured Squarespace user Lumio.

PC Does What? – This week, we featured PC user Ministry Of Supply

#16 The Secret Formula

Gimlet is starting a new line of business, and it’s a complicated one: Branded content. Branded content is a piece of media (a video, a story, a podcast, etc.) paid for by a company that then has editorial control over the product. Lots of companies have been asking Gimlet to make podcasts for them. But, as we see in this episode, there are some very real anxieties about how to do this right. 

As part of this episode, we’ve put together Gimlet Media’s Advertising Guidelines. You can find them on our website.

Our theme song was written and performed by Mark Phillips.

John Kimbrough composed music for this episode.

More music written and performed by John Delore along with his band mates, Jordan Scanella, Sam Merrick and Isamu McGregor.

Our Sponsors:

Ministry Of Supply: Menswear made smarter.

PC Does What?!: This week, we feature PC user (and podcaster) Matt Freedman.

#17 Words About Words From Our Sponsors

Gimlet is growing fast. We have four shows on the air, and several others in pre-production. If we want to grow faster, though, we could use some more cash. Matt and Alex head back into the world of venture capital, deciding whether or not to raise another round of financing, this time, much bigger.

Our theme song was written and performed by Mark Phillips.

John Kimbrough composed music for this episode.

More music written and performed by John Delore along with his band mates, Jordan Scanella, Sam Merrickand Isamu McGregor.

Our Sponsors

Ministry Of Supply: Menswear made smarter.

PC Does What?!: This week, we feature PC user 

Stamps.com: Postage on demand. 

#18 Pitch Perfect 2

If you were to walk into Gimlet HQ, there are a few things you’d probably notice right off the bat. First, it’s crowded - like a grungy dorm room. Second, the lighting… it’s not great. Not many windows. Third, it’s white. Really white. 24 of Gimlet’s 27 employees are white. In this episode, we look at diversity (or lack thereof) at Gimlet. And we try to figure out what diversity should mean for the company going forward. 

The Facts:

Our theme song was written and performed by Mark Phillips.

John Kimbrough composed music for this episode.

More music written and performed by John Delore along with his band mates, Jordan Scanella, Sam Merrick and Isamu McGregor.

Our Sponsors:

PC Does What?!

Audible.com

#19 Diversity Report

As we wrap up this mini-season, Lisa Chow comes back from maternity leave and notices some big changes at Gimlet. And these changes... they aren't all for the better. Lisa talks to Gimlet employees about concerns over power, accountability, and control - things that crop up when you go from startup, to regular company. And she takes those concerns to the bosses. 

Music for the episode from the band Hot Mom's Dot Gov. Our theme song was composed and performed by Mark Phillips. Ad music from the band Build Buildings.

Thanks to our sponsors Audible.com and Naturebox. 

#20 Disorg Chart

Earlier this year we asked listeners to call us with questions for Gimlet Founder Alex Blumberg. Alex answered a bunch of them in an episode last season. But one caller’s question was so big, it needed its own episode. Skyler Gronholz had decided to make a podcast about starting up his life again after several years in prison. But he was anxious about making something bad, and wanted Alex’s advice. In this week’s episode, we find out: can making a podcast about your life actually change the way you live it?

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