Let's hum together!

I continue to build my new startup project in public. Thank you for all your contributions.

Photo by Michał Parzuchowski on Unsplash

As my buddy Pierre says, “Designing a startup is a constant process that should start very early and continually refine until the start-up is humming.” That's exactly what this newsletter is all about—a place to hum together.

These last few weeks, I had the opportunity to talk about my new startup project with several of you. Those conversations have been an occasion for some fascinating discussions. We have talked about what we are trying to accomplish. Our mission. The problem we are focusing on and how our solution is different from what exists today.

I wanted to thank you for taking the time to chat with me (sometimes for hours). As a founder, I love these early-stage discussions. They motivate me. They force me to make choices and help me to design our next product. Without you, I wouldn’t be standing here today.

A quick summary of some of our recent conversations below.

About Our Purpose

I believe that human beings need more authentic and humane online connections closer to real-life interactions.

I firmly believe social contact helps us cope with stress and significant life changes, like losing a loved one, divorce, or redundancy. Knowing that others value us is an essential psychological factor in forgetting our lives' negative aspects and thinking more positively about our environment. We are social animals. We crave contact with others, but as our lifestyles become ever more reliant on digital, these simple interactions are under threat. Helping the world engage more authentically and interact as we used to in “real life” excites me greatly.

About Our Vision

Our ambition is to create an unparalleled level of interaction between content creators and their audiences.

Podcasting is full of a lot of growth potential, but we need to see more innovations in this space. As a seasoned podcaster myself, I want to contribute to this effort. I have quite a bit of experience, and I see what's missing. Today's podcasting is a very passive experience with very few interactions between content creators and their audience compared to other forms of content (blogging, live streaming, social media...). Traditional platforms haven't done anything with this. I think that podcasting is not just about telling stories. It's also about engaging audiences and building communities around audio-based experiences. I believe there is something special in engaging with audio, and today we are only scratching the surface of it. I want to push the podcasting experience a step further.

About Our Mission

We are building a tool that allows content creators to embed their audience into their creative process.

Leading podcasting players today focus on creating more quality content and delivering it to the masses. Apple Podcast and Spotify are trying to make a Netflix of podcasting when what we really need is more of a Twitch or Youtube situation. Very few players focus on developing social experiences to allow listeners and content creators to interact and co-create together. Think about what Twitch has been able to create between streamers and viewers. Creators can customize their channel pages with interactive experiences. These interactions are directly integrated into the fabric of their content. They foster a unique relationship between creators and their communities, leading to higher engagement and more dedicated fans. It's time to do the same with audio content. We need a place where listeners and podcasters can have direct interplay.

About the Problem

Traditional podcasting is a one-way street that creates intimacy but not engagement.

I have talked with more than 100 podcasters these last few months. I ran a survey with them and asked them what their primary motivation as a podcaster was. 62.9% said, "Learning from my guests and my audience." 57.1% responded, "Make new contacts." Another 51.4% answered, "Helping people." To the question, “What are the biggest challenges you face as a podcaster?” of course, 71.4% answered, "Reaching new listeners;" 42.9% said "Monetization," but 37.1% responded, "Interacting more with my audience." Discoverability is a problem, but it doesn't resonate with my mission. I want to focus on engagement. Monetization is an exciting topic I definitely want to address; still, if I managed to create more engagement between podcasters and their audience, I think we would have the opportunity to introduce innovative forms of monetization.

About the Solution

Our solution gives podcasters the power to turn their recording sessions into live social experiences.

One of the great tips I've received over the last few weeks is to ensure that our solution leverages something our targets are already used to doing. It's always challenging to introduce new habits and always simpler to improve existing ones.

Twitch, for example, did not make people play video games. They just allowed them to stream their already existing late-night games live and increase the number of people watching them. Creating a new habit implies too much effort on the user side. They must first recognize an unconscious need, understand it, and then find time to implement it into their already busy schedule. Very few products manage to accomplish this. Instead, piggy-backing on an existing behavior with the promise of a new potential gain is more interesting. Once trust is in place…then, yes, you can start inspiring your users to do new stuff with your product.

I have decided to embed our solution into the existing content production process fabric—the recording. This critical stage is an exciting moment in which the listener is rarely included. The recording is usually conducted in private, and only guests are invited to join. Today, podcasts are created behind closed doors and delivered to the audience later on. I think this unique creative moment is a missed opportunity for podcasters to create an inspiring experience with their audience.

It's something I've long thought of as a podcaster myself. Instead of engaging with my community post-recording, why not have my audience directly with me when I record my content? It would be like shooting two birds with one stone! Creating content AND engaging with my audience at the same moment. Before I start the recording, they can help me get ready and make suggestions about the story I am about to record. During the recording, they can chat live with the rest of the community and influence the running conversation. I can even bring some of them on air with me. After the show, I can allow them to talk directly with my guests and me. It's a bit like inviting my audience into the studio with me. For my community, this is an opportunity to access my content at the exact moment it's made. People crave authentic relationships and want direct connections with content creators they respect or admire. There is no more true moment than the moment I record my content. By inviting my listeners to participate in my recordings, I can create— at no extra cost— a whole new content and a unique experience for my audience. Now they have access to an uncut version of my content (the live recording session) and the edited version (the final episode posted to podcasting platforms). It doesn't change anything to my existing process. It just adds value to it.

What’s Next?

We are now working hard on our Minimum Viable Product, and I think we will have something ready to test in a few days. If you are interested in joining our beta, please leave me a comment below.