My 6 top business podcasts for entrepreneurs

By dan - On

In this week’s post I’m discussing top business podcasts, and specifically which ones I gain the most insight and enjoyment from. I’ll let you know why you should listen, what differentiates them from the myriad of other podcasts out there, together with a few of my favourite episodes that I recommend you have a listen to.

Entrepreneurial News Style Podcasts

This Week in Startups (TWiSt)

Let’s start with one of my all-time favourite podcasts, This Week in Startups, which has been going strong now for over 500 episodes. Jason Calacanis, the host, is one of the most respected startup influencers and angel investors in the world. He’s somewhat opinionated and a brilliant interviewer, which makes for an entertaining, hard hitting and ‘real deal’ listening experience.

He hosts a semi-regular show called News Roundtable, which I’ve been listening to for years. It lets me keep my finger on the pulse when it comes to the latest in Startup news, which for someone like me is vital for keeping up with the game when residing in a place more known for its idyllic lifestyle and tourism industry!

Another reason I’m a big fan is the standard of guest he has on the show. With his reputation and connections, Jason’s interview subjects tend to be people who aren’t part of the usual Online Marketing podcast circuit, which makes a refreshing change from listening to your usual over exposed BS merchant plugging their latest book or trying to sell you something. Entertaining, hard hitting and relevant, this is why TWiSt sits at number one on my list of favourite news-centric podcasts. Here’s a few of my favourite episodes: Chris Sacca, David Heinemeier Hansson, Gary Vaynerchuk,Peter Diamandis.

Related: Applying billionaire investor Chris Sacca’s investment advice to starting companies

Skype and in-person interview style podcasts

Interview style podcasts are all over the net, and many tend to follow a formula of the host interviewing a standard set of guests via Skype. There’s plenty of these out there, so rather than wade through a sea of mediocrity to find the gold amongst this bunch, here’s a few that I’ve found stand out from the crowd, either via their interview approach, the quality and uniqueness factor of their guests, or their willingness to embrace more in depth, in-person interviews.

The James Altucher Show

I really like this show due to the quirkiness and lack of ego of the host, James Altucher.

He comes across as a funny, likeable guy who often asks left field questions that elicit entertaining and enlightening responses from his interview subjects. He’s also not one of these annoying interviewers who talks about himself too much. Newsflash..I’m listening in to learn more from the guests, not to hear the host stroke his own ego or tell me how much he learnt while virtually regurgitating the entire interview prior to playing it!

James gets to the point and has a genuine interest in his subjects, so if he’s reviewing a book he’ll actually have read it and provides quality analysis, which is sadly not always the case with some podcast hosts out there. In addition to the podcast interview regulars he also tends to get a few more unique guests due to his respected reputation as an entrepreneur and thought leader. As an example he recently interviewed Brian Koppelman and David Levien, who wrote the movie Rounders and the TV series Billions.

Foundr Magazine/Podcast with Nathan Chan

A plug here for a fellow Aussie! Nathan is another likeable guy who regularly gets an impressive array of guests on his show, such as Tony Robbins, Richard Branson and Gary Vaynerchuk. He’s a master at establishing rapport and comes across as a knockabout, down to earth host who never comes across as too cheesy. Foundr as a whole are definitely switched on when it comes to delivering valuable and relevant entrepreneurial content..recommended!

Joe Rogan Podcast

This podcast is a great example of an in-depth interview style podcast done exceedingly well. As an entrepreneur you cross over into a multitude of creative realms, and while not strictly sticking to entrepreneurial topics, Joe Rogan delivers interesting and educational long form conversations done ‘in person’. I enjoy them for their in depth analysis and their ability to get you thinking outside of the square and adding to your knowledge base…exploration, design and performance enhancement are just some of the value learnings that Joe’s podcasts touch upon. They have a very real and raw feel to them. Joe is also a comedian and doesn’t hold back, so if blue language and non pc topics offend, it may be best to steer clear..which I’m sure will be none of my followers!

The episodes where he interviews Graham Hancock come highly recommended. They discuss historical exploration of ancient civilisations to hallucinogens..fascinating stuff!

The Lance Armstrong interview and the episodes with Bitcoin entrepreneur Andreas Antonopoulos are also very eye opening and educational and well worth a listen.

Documentary Style Podcasts

Documentary style podcasts are another entertaining and worthwhile sub-set of podcast. These tend to adopt a ‘fly on the wall’ behind the scenes type approach, audio storytelling in a way that will get people hooked and wanting to listen in to the next episode. Kind of like an ongoing radio drama series. This American Life and Serial are good examples of this style of podcast.

StartUp by Gimlet Media

I was totally hooked on the first season of this one, and for mine it’s definitely one of the best series of entrepreneurial slanted documentary style shows out there. It was the one that inspired me to do my own Operation Brewery series of podcasts. I don’t think the second series quite lived up to the lofty standards of series one, which if you haven’t yet listened to yet, I cannot recommend highly enough!

Motivation/Inspiration

These style of podcasts are all about staying motivated and keeping the creative juices flowing as you navigate the entrepreneurial waters.

Tim Ferriss

A ‘big ticket’ name in entrepreneurial circles and author of ‘The Four Hour Work Week’, Tim’s reputation speaks for itself. His podcasts incorporate both skype and in-person interviews and the standard of guest he gets on his show is pretty darn impressive! Ed Norton, Laird Hamilton and even The Terminator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger has turned up on here. A good solid listening option if you feel the need to be entertained or inspired.

In my book Content Machine I stress the need for differentiation when it comes to delivering your content. There’s lots of generic content out there and the saturated world of podcasts is no different. So if you don’t want to become lost in the white noise of 1001 formulaic offerings, you need to make sure that you are bringing something unique or niche to the table. I think that this is what unites the varied podcasts I’ve listed here, their ability to stand out from the crowd and deliver something valuable, interesting and memorable, that most importantly will get you coming back again. Without this you’re just another random extra in a cast of many.

If you’re looking to launch a project like a podcast or an online business, be sure join my 7 Day Startup Challenge, to give you the inside edge in bringing your project to fruition.

And let me know what you think of my podcast choices, as well as some of your personal favourites, either entrepreneurial or general interest.

 

dan
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