Shows
Metacast: Behind the scenes73. Holiday updateIn this holiday episode, we celebrate reaching over 300 paying subscribers and 1,500 monthly active users. We also discuss recent backend infrastructure optimizations, critical bug fixes, and future plans, including a new pro plan with expanded features like higher private podcast limits and custom audio uploads.
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:47 - Business updates
04:55 - Recent projects: cost optimizations, bug fixes, CVEs
12:36 - Future plans
15:59 - Recommendations
Download the Metacast podcast app for free
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player
Get in...
2025-12-2523 minMetacast: Behind the scenes72. New features & LLM-induced drama inside the teamNew app features: listening history, continue listening, and transcript exports + navigating LLM-induced team drama.
Chapters
00:00 - Welcome and business update
02:13 - Metacast v1.25 Overview
02:50 - New Feature: Listening History
08:08 - New Feature: Continue Listening
12:41 - New Feature: Exporting Transcripts
20:24 - Website outage
22:21 - The Pro Tier in v1.26
23:06 - Team conflict: LLM miscommunication
31:21 - LLM Etiquette in Teams
35:50 - Podcast & book recommendations
45:34 - P.S. We're YouTube stars (FWIW)
Links
Metacast v1.25 blog post
Podcasts:
Tech Brew Ride Home Oct 16
Scott & Mark: The AI productivity trap
American Gods
The Sandman
Download...
2025-11-0747 minMetacast: Behind the scenes71. Survaviversary: We survived 1 year in production + limited time sale for new usersWe celebrate Metacast's one-year "survivalversary" with a special $10/year sale and share what we're working on.
Chapters
00:28 - - State of the business
05:20 - - The Survaviversary
09:16 - - New creator transcript feature
16:04 - - Upcoming playlist and history features
21:25 - - Podcast recommendations
Links
Survaviversary blog post
Creator transcripts blog post
Tip Jar for supporters: Buy Me A Coffee
Podcasts:
The Panel
Big Think
Endless: A Sandman Podcast
Download the Metacast podcast app for free
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536
Android: https://play.google.com/store...
2025-10-1326 minMetacast: Behind the scenes70. Summer update & Metacast v1.24What we've been up to in the second half of the summer + update on the just released Metacast v1.24.
Chapters
00:00 - Summer hiatus and personal reflections
02:16 - User growth and trials
03:44 - Website traffic and SEO success
08:14 - Managing website costs and bots
12:38 - Metacast v1.24: New features
16:14 - Web app development & podcaster tools
22:50 - Data analytics and privacy
25:16 - Anniversary sale
27:44 - Upcoming app features and goals
31:50 - Recommendations: The Sandman
36:25 - Recommendations: The Birkin Bag Story
Show notes
Birkin: The Handbag That Costs More Than Your House on The Best Idea Yet
...
2025-09-1141 minMetacast: Behind the scenesWeekly-ish Update (July 26, 2025): Private podcasts are now generally available!We've GA-ed private podcasts! In this episode, we talk about the feature, the extra perks for Premium users and celebrate completion of the table stakes features. We end the episode with a banter about Claude Code and a few German phrases.
Chapters
00:00 - Private Podcasts Are Now Live
02:03 - Explaining Private Podcast Limits
06:26 - Next Steps and Metacast's Vision
10:54 - Personal Recommendations and Banter
Show notes
Michelin Guide: The Tire Company That Accidentally Conquered Food on The Best Idea Yet
Falling In Reverse - "Watch The World Burn" (live)
Download the Metacast podcast...
2025-07-2614 minMetacast: Behind the scenesWeekly-ish Update (July 15, 2025): On the finishing line to launch v1.22, ops-heavy week, web app updatesWe're on the finishing line to launch private podcasts in GA, but it takes a while because we've wasted a lot of time dealing with ops post-Google billing incident.
Chapters
00:00 - Ops Challenges and Private Podcast Quotas
02:37 - Web App Enhancements and Scalability
04:49 - Growth Milestones and Upcoming Features
Show notes
Back To The Future... And Back - 40 Years of Marty, Doc, & Mayor Goldie Wilson on Talk Is Jericho
Download the Metacast podcast app for free
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details...
2025-07-1508 minMetacast: Behind the scenesWeekly-ish Update (June 30, 2025): Preparing to launch private podcasts, marketing stuff, huge bill from GooglePreparing to launch private podcasts, marketing projects, ops stuff, and a huge (with a capital "H") bill from Google
Chapters
00:00 - Weekly-ish Update and Big Incident
00:50 - Addressing Major Google Cloud Bill
03:00 - App and Web Development Progress
05:11 - Marketing, Communication, and Roadmap
10:52 - Weekly Podcast Recommendations
Show notes
The Side Hustle King: “I’m making $8K/DAY from easy businesses” on My First Million
The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance by Josh Waitzkin
Flybot by Dennis E. Taylor
Dennis E. Taylor, author of best-selling sci-fi series Bobiverse on Builders Gonna...
2025-07-0312 minMetacast: Behind the scenesWeekly-ish Update (June 12, 2025): Private podcasts, podcast search on web app, making moneyEvery week, we meet for a standup. We summarize our progress in short weekly updates that we record right after our meetings.
In this update, we discuss launching private feeds, the new podcast search feature on the web app, and making money.
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction and Funding Metacast
03:31 - Launching Private Feeds Beta
06:19 - Web App Search and Website Updates
08:13 - Upcoming Work and Recommendations
Show notes
Bobbi Althof's The Really Good Podcast
Andre Agassi on Served
News in Slow Spanish
The Game with Alex Hormozi
Download the Metacast podcast app...
2025-06-1311 minMetacast: Behind the scenesWeekly Update (May 24, 2025): Podcast summaries, private feeds, in-person meetup!Every week, we meet for a standup. We summarize our progress in short weekly updates that we record right after our meetings.
In this update, we discuss episode summaries, chapters, and performance improvements. We also cover ongoing backend work, in-person meeting experience (!), planning for upcoming features like private feeds, and share podcast recommendations.
Chapters
00:00 - Welcome and In-Person Update
00:28 - App Feature Releases and Updates
03:25 - Travel, Planning, and Backend Work
06:21 - Upcoming Releases and Recommendations
Show notes
Asterix and Obelix on Netflix
Everything Everywhere Daily
Download the Metacast podcast app...
2025-05-2409 minMetacast: Behind the scenes69. New podcast sharing experience (QR codes FTW!)In this episode we discuss why and how we built the new sharing experience (see blog post for v1.19).
Chapters
00:20 - Opening
00:57 - New weekly update episodes
05:22 - New podcast sharing experience in Metacast
06:52 - Why we are working on sharing?
09:32 - The new sharing experience
14:35 - QR codes
16:51 - Optimized image loading
17:53 - Problems with the old URL sharing
23:04 - The technical solution for consistently working app links
24:43 - The complexity of the change
28:45 - Preview of the next episode about rebranding
33:26 - Recommendations
Show notes
New sharing experience announcement blog
Latest weekly...
2025-05-1444 minMetacast: Behind the scenesWeekly Update (May 6, 2025): New sharing experience, new logo & brandingEvery Tuesday, we meet for a weekly standup. We summarize our progress in short weekly updates that we record right after our meetings.
Chapters
00:30 - Mobile App Update and New URLs
02:26 - Logo Update and Rebranding Details
06:39 - Mobile App Future Development Plans
09:41 - Podcast Recommendations and Show Conclusion
Show notes
311: The Long Term on Under the Radar
When Exactly Did the Roman Empire Fall? on Everything Everywhere Daily
Download the Metacast podcast app for free
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details...
2025-05-0711 minMetacast: Behind the scenesWeekly Update (Apr 30, 2025): Upgrade hell & preparing v1.19Every Tuesday, we meet for a weekly standup. We summarize our progress in short weekly updates that we record right after our meetings.
Chapters
00:48 - App Upgrade Issues and Fixes
03:15 - Upcoming App Release and Features
06:14 - Podcast Recommendations and Timer Challenge
Show notes
Calendar Reform on Everything Everywhere Daily
10 growth tactics that never work | Elena Verna on Lenny's Podcast
317: Optimizing for Battery Life on Under the Radar
Download the Metacast podcast app for free
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id...
2025-04-3008 minMetacast: Behind the scenesWeekly Update: What we've done last week and what we're working on nextEvery Tuesday, we meet for a weekly standup. We'll summarize our progress in short weekly updates that we record right after our meetings.
Chapters
01:15 - Public Roadmap and User Feedback
02:06 - Mobile App Updates and Challenges
04:21 - Web App Bot Invasion and Solutions
07:40 - Next Week's Focus and Recommendations
Show notes
Attack of the LLM bots (blog post)
Big Takeaways From Podcast Movement Evolutions 2025 on Buzzcast
Episode 2 - “Through the Valley” on HBO's The Last of Us Podcast
Download the Metacast podcast app for free
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id64...
2025-04-2211 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes68. Q1 Update: new features, struggles, hopeIn this episode we recap our Q1: what we shipped, distribution challenges, siloing engineering workstreams + a bunch of tangential topics.
Chapters
00:00 - Opening
02:09 - New feature: Chapters
05:27 - New feature: Following a.k.a. Podcast Inbox
06:17 - Feedback from Grumpy Old Geeks
08:10 - Ilya turning into full-time engineer
12:02 - We don't vibe code!
14:49 - AI summaries in the web app
16:52 - Full transcripts in the web app
18:39 - Web is the innovation platform
19:45 - Better sharing images
21:01 - New blogging framework
24:08 - Restarting marketing
26:05 - The distribution challenge
27:13 - Discoverability on App Store
28:34 - The cold...
2025-04-1749 min
Builders Gonna BuildMoment: Ditching unlimited pricing for a B2B SaaS (ep. 9)Co-founder of Honeybadger Ben Curtis talks about unlimited pricing, its deficiencies for a bootstrapped startup, and how they ditched unlimited all-you-can-eat buffet in favor of usage-based pricing.
Full episode: 9. Bootstrapping a SaaS for 13 years | Honeybadger co-founders Ben Curtis and Joshua Wood
Where to find the badgers
Honeybadger
FounderQuest podcast
Ben: Bluesky, LinkedIn
Joshua: Bluesky, LinkedIn
Listen to this podcast on our app!
Metacast, a podcast app with transcripts: metacast.app
Builders Gonna Build on Metacast
Metacast: Behind the Scenes on Metacast
Get in touch!
Send us an email at hello...
2025-04-1404 min
Builders Gonna BuildMoment: It took us two years before we switched to our business full-time with Honeybadger co-founder Ben Curtis (ep. 9)Co-founder of Honeybadger Ben Curtis discusses freelancing before switching to work on the product full-time.
Full episode: 9. Bootstrapping a SaaS for 13 years | Honeybadger co-founders Ben Curtis and Joshua Wood
Where to find the badgers
Honeybadger
FounderQuest podcast
Ben: Bluesky, LinkedIn
Joshua: Bluesky, LinkedIn
Listen to this podcast on our app!
Metacast, a podcast app with transcripts: metacast.app
Builders Gonna Build on Metacast
Metacast: Behind the Scenes on Metacast
Get in touch!
Send us an email at hello@buildersgonnabuild.com
Ilya's LinkedIn
Arnab's LinkedIn
2025-03-2501 min
Builders Gonna BuildMoment: How we got first customers for our SaaS with Honeybadger co-founders (ep. 9)Ben Curtis and Joshua Wood discuss getting the very first customers and making first sales for their app and error monitoring SaaS Honeybadger.
Full episode: 9. Bootstrapping a SaaS for 13 years | Honeybadger co-founders Ben Curtis and Joshua Wood
Where to find the badgers
Honeybadger
FounderQuest podcast
Ben: Bluesky, LinkedIn
Joshua: Bluesky, LinkedIn
Listen to this podcast on our app!
Metacast, a podcast app with transcripts: metacast.app
Builders Gonna Build on Metacast
Metacast: Behind the Scenes on Metacast
Get in touch!
Send us an email at hello@buildersgonnabuild.com
Ilya's LinkedIn
...
2025-03-2202 min
Builders Gonna Build9. Bootstrapping a SaaS for 13 years | Honeybadger co-founders Ben Curtis and Joshua WoodHoneybadger co-founders Ben Curtis and Joshua Wood discuss the origins and growth of their app monitoring product, challenges of bootstrapping, calm work environment, evolution of co-founder relationships, and buying out a departing co-founder.
Chapters
01:27 - Introduction of Honeybadger
03:50 - The genesis of the company
10:40 - The first customers
12:26 - How much money do you need to feel like it's real?
14:37 - Switching to the business full-time
16:42 - Moving from unlimited to usage-based pricing
21:14 - Stress about revenue
23:40 - When do you start paying ourselves?
26:29 - The evolution of founder relationships
31:14 - Dealing with a co-founder departure
34:49...
2025-03-1943 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes67. Attack of LLM botsOur website got slammed by LLM bots from Amazon and Anthropic, which could've cost us $7k in Vercel image optimization costs!
Get Metacast podcast app for Android and iOS at https://metacast.app.Join the r/metacastapp subreddit.
Chapters
00:20 - Introduction and episode overview
01:31 - New features and updates
03:02 - Why do we keep applying to YC?
08:53 - The LLM bot invasion incident
21:26 - We re-allowed LLM bots to crawl the site
28:22 - Book & podcast recommendations
**Show notes**
Posts
LLM bots + Next.js image optimization = recipe for bankruptcy (post-mortem)
Boo...
2025-02-2732 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes66. Lowlights of 2024 and what's up for 2025In the first episode of 2025, we discuss the lowlights of last year and sharing our high-level plans for 2025.
Get Metacast podcast app for Android and iOS at https://metacast.app.Join the r/metacastapp subreddit.
Chapters
02:23 - User feedback
06:48 - Fixing the leaky bucket of the intro screen
11:00 - New feature: Episode inbox
15:11 - Investing in the web app
18:24 - The hard parts of 2024
23:25 - We have to make it work, or else...
30:38 - Why we're putting energy in SEO
33:28 - Becoming more pragmatic
35:57 - Podcast & book recommendations
Show notes
Podcasts
Bootst...
2025-01-2947 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes65. The first outage and an unexpected saveIn this holiday edition episode, we discuss the past year's highlights, a recent outage, and the rapid emergence of Bluesky as a social media platform.
Get Metacast podcast app for Android and iOS at https://metacast.app.Join the r/metacastapp subreddit.
Chapters
00:20 - Welcome to the holiday edition
01:24 - Year in review: launches and growth
04:06 - Challenges and user feedback
07:12 - The big outage and serendipitous solution
10:16 - Switching to a new transcription service
18:39 - App updates
21:37 - The journey of implementing timestamps
24:58 - The rise of Bluesky
37:55 - Podcast recommendations
Show notes
Po...
2024-12-1844 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes64. VC-backed vs. bootstrapped startupsWe've chatted with a VC-backed founder who is on the brink of closing shop. Listen to our reflections on this. Plus, a breakdown of latest Metacast features!
Get Metacast podcast app for Android and iOS at https://metacast.app.Join the r/metacastapp subreddit.
Chapters
01:26 - New features in Metacast
01:42 - Sleep timer
06:21 - Speed control
12:32 - Grid view in playlists
15:37 - Goals for the next month
17:07 - Our chat with a VC-backed startup founder
28:56 - Podcast and books recommendations
Show notes
Podcasts
Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories
Broken Record with R...
2024-11-1341 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes63. Dropping the priceWe've launched with a price of $49.99/year, but we realized it's too high. We're lowering it to $19.99/year or $1.99/month.
Get Metacast podcast app for Android and iOS at https://metacast.app.Join the r/metacastapp subreddit.
Chapters
01:14 - How we decided to lower the price for Metacast
03:03 - Initially we had three plans
04:48 - Pulling the andon cord
06:40 - One password app's reference point
08:21 - Why we're not adding ads
11:35 - Enshittification of consumer apps
14:21 - Our costs for running the app
17:52 - Rolling out the pricing change
20:05 - Podcast and book recommendations
...
2024-10-1730 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes62. Rejected by AppleWe've launched Metacast in Apple App Store. In this episode, we talk about the process and Apple's feedback.
Get Metacast podcast app for Android and iOS at https://metacast.app.Join the r/metacastapp subreddit.
Chapters
00:51 - Big milestone!
02:38 - Apple requires screenshots for older phones
05:23 - iPad screenshots
07:17 - Apple's responses
12:11 - The rejection we couldn't figure out
16:14 - Apple vs. Google review feedback
20:26 - Marketing the app
25:13 - Podcast and book recommendations
Show notes
Podcasts
#2190 - Peter Thiel - The Joe Rogan Experience
#442 – Donald Trump Interview - Lex Fridman Podcast
2024-10-0235 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes61. Confessions of a lonely founder, Flutter & iOS woes, app positioningIn this episode we discuss a couple of weeks when our Slack went silent, a slow grind to launch on iOS, and talk about the word we want Metacast to be known for.
Get Metacast podcast app for Android and iOS at https://metacast.app.Join the r/metacastapp subreddit.
Chapters
02:12 - Confessions of a lonely founder
07:12 - iOS and Flutter woes
18:33 - The Wizard of Oz feature for OPML import
23:30 - What is the word you want to be known for?
29:38 - Podcast and book recommendations
Show notes
Podcasts
596: A New Found...
2024-09-1838 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes60. First haters, first violations, the launch process and smelling like teen spiritWe've launched Metacast on Android. In this episode, we talk about the feedback we received, first haters, Google Play store violations, and our launch process. We cover topics of feature toggling, version
Get Metacast podcast app for Android and iOS at https://metacast.app.Join the r/metacastapp subreddit.
Chapters
02:16 - Quick update on Android launch
07:57 - Marketing and retention
11:17 - Our first one-star review on Play Store
15:39 - Feedback from the Overcast subreddit
19:37 - Our launch process
23:15 - Our first violation in the Play Store
25:13 - Feature toggling
27:48 - Versionarte
29:05 - Transitioning of existing users
32...
2024-09-0441 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes59. Metacast for Android launched!Big announcement - we've launched Metacast on Android in Google Play Store! In this episode, we talk about deciding the scope for v1, punting on features, and pricing.
Get Metacast at metacast.app. New users get 51% off Metacast Premium until end of August 2024.
Join the r/metacastapp subreddit.
Chapters
00:22 - We've launched in Google Play Store!
02:58 - Preparation for launch
04:01 - What makes Metacast app different from other podcast apps?
13:49 - Features we punted at launch
20:45 - Pricing Metacast Premium
27:48 - Podcast and book recommendations
**Show notes**
Podcasts
Подкасты Михаила...
2024-08-1433 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes58. The 1 Year AnniversaryIt’s been a year since we started working on Metacast. In this episode Arnab and Ilya reflect on the journey and compare working on a startup with the old corporate days.
Get Metacast at metacast.app.
Join the r/metacastapp subreddit.
Chapters
05:35 - No going back to corporate
06:21 - Annual reviews
13:43 - Best year of Ilya's career
15:49 - Frustrations with corporate
20:32 - Anxiety and collaboration
26:41 - Playing a long game
27:33 - Letting go of old habits
34:13 - Getting back into coding
37:22 - What's new in the app
40:55 - Book & podcast recommendations
**Show notes**
2024-07-1755 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes57. Positioning, power struggle, DUNS bureaucracyWe're discussing the dilemma of positioning Metacast as both powerful and simple, break down the recent power struggle about 5% transparency of a UI element, and share our experience with the DUNS number that developers have to get to be in Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Get Metacast at metacast.app.
Join the r/metacastapp subreddit.
Chapters
02:00 - The positioning dilemma
10:15 - Remaining features to launch the app and recent updates
13:30 - Power struggle between Arnab and Ilya
17:40 - DUNS (doh...)
23:08 - Book and podcast recommendations
**Show notes**
Links
D-U-N-S...
2024-05-1730 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes57. How we hired an engineering intern (can I work for you for free?)"Can I work for you for free?" - we received an email with this subject in November 2023. We spoke to the author and ended up hiring him as an intern who eventually produced our website and web app at https://metacast.app.Get Metacast at metacast.app.Join the r/metacastapp subreddit.Segments[00:21] Intro of Jak[07:02] Why offer to work for free work for a company?[13:20] How we made a decision to hire Jak[19:20] Jak's feedback to us, the hosts[22:52] Our reflection on the internship[34:10] Would we do this again?[38:59] What beginner engineers need to be...
2024-05-1650 min
Builders Gonna Build8. Growing your LinkedIn and newsletter audience | John CrickettJohn Crickett is the creator of Coding Challenges, a newsletter for engineers that has over 54k subscribers. John’s LinkedIn profile grew from 3k to 150k+ followers in a year. In this episode, we dive into the process and mindset that allowed John’s following to grow so quickly.
Chapters
00:58 - Introduction
03:18 - Spending a million Euros and a year on an MVP
05:54 - Coding Challenges
08:15 - MVP for an info product vs. software
13:51 - Growth on LinkedIn
17:32 - Post structure
19:48 - Comments on posts
21:48 - Twitter/X
25:15 - Coding Challenges newsletter
27:12 - Building a personal bran...
2024-05-0953 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes56. We're back!We're back and this is a massive update on what we've been up to since our last episode!
Get Metacast at metacast.app.
Join the r/metacastapp subreddit.
Chapters
00:24 - We're back
03:23 - Tangent about our names
05:00 - First full-team offsite in Florida
08:27 - We made Android cool again!
12:44 - Paid app subscriptions with RevenueCat
16:04 - Reflection on working in person vs. WFH
21:01 - Seeing alligators in the Everglades
24:08 - How we got an intern/contractor to build a website
27:33 - We've applied to YC for the third time
28:13 - Filing corporate taxes for 2023
31:41...
2024-05-0138 min
Builders Gonna Build7. Jason Fried on building products, calm companies and the Jeff Bezos investmentJason Fried is a co-founder and CEO of 37signals, the company behind Basecamp and HEY. Together with his business partner David Hannemeier Hanson, Jason co-authored seminal entrepreneurship books Rework, Remote, and It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work.
This episode was originally published on the Metacast podcast, episode 28 in July 2023.
Chapters
03:17 - Introduction of Jason and 37signals
05:38 - Founder role vs. CEO role
08:37 - Working with the same co-founder for 20 years
11:10 - Disagreements between founders
13:31 - Disagree and commit principle
15:14 - The business side of things (numbers, accounting, etc.)
18:17 - On costs and...
2024-04-241h 15
Builders Gonna Build6. Creating a niche of your own | Corey Quinn, The Duckbill GroupCorey Quinn is the Chief Cloud Economist at The Duckbill Group and a big celebrity at the AWS circles well known for his sense of humor and unrelenting focus on making some good fun of the cloud providers.
In our interview, we are learning Corey’s background, how The Duckbill Group got started, and how he runs the media side of his business. As usual, we talked about bootstrapping and running consulting services while building a product.
This episode was originally published on the Metacast podcast, episode 32.
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
01:49 - Meet Co...
2024-04-101h 14
Metacast: Behind the scenes55. Leaving Google and Amazon to bootstrap Metacast (rerun of ep. 24)We took a leap of faith and left our jobs at Google and Amazon to jump into the unknown. It wasn't easy and required quite a bit of planning. This is a rerun of June 2023 episode where we talk about how we did it.
Get Metacast at metacast.app.
Join the r/metacastapp subreddit.
Links
Show notes for part 1 and part 2 can be found on our website.
Chapters
00:00 - Cold open
00:21 - Rerun intro and Metacast promo
02:11 - The original episode begins
03:07 - Ilya's last day at Google
08:34 - Career recap: Amazon, Googl...
2024-03-201h 32
Builders Gonna Build5. Don't do agile, be agile | Co-author of Agile Manifesto and Pragmatic Programmer | Dave ThomasDave Thomas, co-author of The Pragmatic Programmer and Agile Manifesto, on the true spirit of being agile (vs. "doing agile"), mistakes engineering teams make, and common practices of successful teams.
Chapters
10:29 - The genesis of The Pragmatic Programmer
11:41 - People don't know what they want, importance of feedback loops
22:17 - Doing Agile vs. being agile
26:36 - Practices of successful engineering teams
36:35 - Being pragmatic at an early stage startup
44:10 - Things that are still true 24 years after the book was published
55:25 - How does a book define its author's identity?
Show notes
The Pragmatic...
2024-03-1359 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes54. How we chose the market to go afterWe got asked how we were thinking about product-market-fit, potential revenue, and entering a market that already has strong players. We’re giving a full breakdown of our thought process.
Get Metacast at metacast.app.
Join the r/metacastapp subreddit.
Chapters
01:35 - Ilya's “fun” interview with Google (tangent)
05:52 - How we chose the market to go after
21:42 - Our financial model approach
27:06 - Thinking about the company size early on
31:09 - How much money do we personally want to make
35:33 - Non-financial motivation
38:51 - The value of an MBA
41:03 - Books, podcasts and movies recommendations...
2024-03-0649 min
Builders Gonna Build4. Henry T. Kirk, entrepreneur, ex-engineer at Google & AmazonFor 10 years, Henry built mobile apps at Google and Amazon. Now he is a partner at a software development agency studio.init(). Henry shares his thoughts on using cross-platform frameworks vs. native languages, argues that Apple’s 30% cut of the in-app purchases is acceptable, and tells us how Google layoffs became a blessing in disguise.
Chapters
01:31 - Introduction
04:03 - Viral LinkedIn posts about layoffs
08:13 - Google layoffs
17:36 - Cross-platform app development with Flutter vs. native languages
30:12 - Getting apps into app stores
31:43 - Apple's 30% in-app purchase fees
42:09 - Building apps within Google and Amazon
50:30 - Starting st...
2024-02-2859 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes53. How we launched Metacast in betaWe broke Metacast just before launching it in open beta. Ouch.
On this episode, we talk about the launch, how it went, and what we’ve learned.
Get Metacast at metacast.app.
Join the r/metacastapp subreddit.
Chapters
02:13 - Get The Pragmatic Podcaster book for free
03:33 - We broke Metacast just before launch
08:39 - How we fixed the problem
14:04 - The other way we broke the app
16:27 - Publishing to Apple and Google
20:04 - Marketing for open beta
24:10 - Business metrics
30:38 - This is just the beginning
34:20 - Podcast and book recommend...
2024-02-2140 min
Builders Gonna Build3. Dennis E. Taylor, author of best-selling sci-fi series BobiverseDennis E. Taylor built software for 35 years before trying himself as a sci-fi author. His first novel Outland earned him some “Starbucks money” on Amazon, but his second book We Are Legion made him a best-selling author. Dennis retired as an engineer and became a full-time writer.
In this episode, we talked about the parallels between writing software and writing books, Dennis’s process of coming up with ideas and turning them into reality, working with agents, and writing audio-first books.
Chapters
02:30 - Introduction
04:42 - Transition from software engineering to writing
07:37 - Primer on Dennis...
2024-02-1448 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes52. Our first existential startup crisisWe had our first existential crisis when Apple announced that they're adding transcripts to Apple Podcasts. We panicked for a few minutes, regrouped, and decided to ship Metacast in open beta ASAP.
On the episode, Arnab, Ilya and Jennie discuss the whole ordeal as it was happening.
Get Metacast at metacast.app.
Join the r/metacastapp subreddit.
Chapters
01:09 - Launch stages at Google and Amazon
07:21 - Our secret sauce
13:00 - Why we decided to start talking about the app openly
17:22 - Our first existential crisis
31:07 - Re-evaluation of priorities
34:35 - Buil...
2024-02-0847 min
Builders Gonna Build2. Justin Frankel, creator of Winamp and ReaperJustin shares how he created Winamp and sold it to AOL at age 20 and tells us about his current project, digital audio workstation (DAW) Reaper.
Chapters
03:16 - The genesis of Winamp
11:07 - Winamp whips the llama's ass
14:06 - Nullsoft
16:27 - Winamp as a platform
23:16 - The business side of Winamp
24:11 - What was it like to work at AOL?
27:06 - Why Justin doesn't use streaming services
30:03 - Justin's website
32:06 - Why Justin created Reaper
35:48 - Shipping v1 of Reaper
37:02 - Reaper is built by just a few people
38:53 - Cross-platform codebase
40:48 - Reaper as a platform
43:42...
2024-01-3154 min
Builders Gonna Build1. Christian Selig, creator of Apollo Reddit app and Pixel PalsChristian tells a story of how Apollo got started, grew and eventually had to shut down following Reddit's API pricing decision.
Chapters
00:46 - Introduction of Christian
01:58 - How Christian got into app development
03:36 - Internship at Apple
06:38 - The origin of the name for Apollo
07:49 - Launching v1 of Apollo
13:12 - Pricing the app
17:46 - Apollo t-shirts and custom app icons
21:38 - Adding notifications and being rejected by Apple
26:15 - Initial reception of Apollo and building a community
31:32 - Apollo's growth
39:39 - Challenges with Reddit API
41:51 - The demise of Apollo
47:11 - Apollo in metrics
54:14...
2024-01-3059 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes51. Post vacation guilt, writing docs, new podcastWe took a break from the startup for the holiday season and were welcomed back to work by a warm embrace of guilt. Should we feel guilt when building a startup? Today we also discuss the launch of our new podcast Builders Gonna Build and how we made the decision to start it. We talk about writing a doc, just like in the good ol’ days at Amazon. Listen to Builders Gonna Build - Apple Podcasts - Spotify - YouTube - Substack
Chapters
02:57 - Snowmaggedon in Vancouver
09:04 - Post-vacation guilt
21:32 - Not building a unicorn
24:30 - In...
2024-01-2450 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes50. Year 2023 in review, plans for 2024What was 2023 like to Metacast, what's ahead for us in 2024, and our favorite podcast recordings of 2023.
Chapters
02:39 - Year 2023 in review
18:59 - Could we have shipped Metacast faster?
23:45 - Our plan for 2024
31:36 - Our favorite behind the scenes episodes of 2023
39:04 - Books and podcasts recommendations
Download the Metacast podcast app for free
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player
Get in touch
Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com
Ilya's LinkedIn
Arnab's LinkedIn
2024-01-1050 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes49. Our favorite books, podcasts, products and experiences of 2023To close off 2023, Arnab and Ilya sat down for a lighthearted review of our favorite books, podcasts, products and experiences of 2023.
Chapters
01:51 - A lesson in geology
03:16 - Our top books of 2023
23:46 - Our favorite podcasts of 2023
41:04 - Our favorite products
49:34 - Experiences of the year 2023
Show notes
Books
Arnab’s
The Ministry for the Future: A Novel by Kim Stanley Robinson
Project Hail Mary: A Novel by Andy Weir
Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi
The Mom Test: How to talk to cu...
2024-01-0359 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes48. Pros and cons of working at Google and other Big Tech companies with Alex RechevskiyAlex Rechevskiy, PM career coach, tells us about his time as a PM at Google, his solopreneur coaching practice, and Comment Armor, his YouTube spam comments management startup.
Chapters
01:46 - Why product management is hard?
07:27 - Alex' solopreneur coaching business
19:30 - Experience working at Google as a PM
41:18 - Building social media following
44:11 - Preventing spam in YouTube comments with Comment Armor
58:01 - Book recommendation
Show notes
Alex on LinkedIn
Alex’s website
Alex on YouTube
Alex on X/Twitter
Cracking the PM Interview
Krazam video on Microservices
Krazam video I Have Delivered Value... Bu...
2023-12-201h 00
Metacast: Behind the scenes47. Is fair equity compensation possible in a startup? with Outseta's co-founder Geoff RobertsGeoff Roberts, co-founder of Outseta, on a compensation model that allows employees earn founder-level equity.
Chapters
01:06 - Intro of Geoff and Outseta
03:42 - How Outseta got started
10:50 - Current state of Outsetta business
18:35 - Customer acquisition through content marketing, affiliates and partnerships
33:27 - Compensation philosophy
40:57 - Cash vs. equity
48:18 - Voting rights, scaling, and risks of Outseta's model
1:01:52 - Hiring
1:03:35 - Mechanics of the ledger and corporate structure
1:07:15 - Book recommendation
Show notes
Outseta All-in-one membership software
Geoff’s Twitter/X: @geofftroberts
Geoff's LinkedIn
Outseta blog
Outseta operating agreement
Metacast Ep. 36 - Building a st...
2023-12-061h 10
Metacast: Behind the scenes46. Why we build Metacast in public?Metacast co-founders discuss benefits and risks of building a startup in public.
Chapters
02:06 - The "build in public" movement
08:46 - Why we share what we do?
22:59 - Downsides of building in public
33:49 - Book and podcast recommendations
Download the Metacast podcast app for free
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player
Get in touch
Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com
Ilya's LinkedIn
Arnab's LinkedIn
2023-11-2941 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes45. Lego Blocks vs. Model Airplanes of Software ProductsArnab and Ilya discuss different approaches to building products from the angle of do-what-you-want platforms vs. opinionated products.
Chapters
00:29 - Lego Blocks vs. Model Airplanes
01:38 - Prioritizing Simplicity for Metacast
05:15 - User Needs, Complexity, AWS Explained
08:39 - Platform Growth and Service Bloat
13:30 - Avoiding Customization Pitfalls
16:09 - Apple's Complex, Simple Ecosystem
18:45 - Apple Apps vs. Notion Flexibility
23:21 - Word's Complexity and Clippy
27:06 - Metacast Playlists and Super Apps
30:41 - Startup Product Philosophy: Model Airplane
33:12 - Cautionary Tales of High Growth
36:12 - Listening: Fall of Civilizations
38:36 - Listening: Navigating Societal Polarization
42:56 - Podcast Outro and Feedback
...
2023-11-2244 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes44. Doing Agile vs. being agile with Pragmatic Programmer Dave ThomasDave Thomas, co-author of The Pragmatic Programmer and Agile Manifesto, on the true spirit of being agile (vs. "doing agile"), common mistakes engineering teams make, and common practices of successful teams.
Chapters
00:23 - Dave's background
08:45 - The genesis of The Pragmatic Programmer
12:47 - People don't know what they want, importance of feedback loops
20:24 - Doing Agile vs. being agile
24:43 - Practices of successful engineering teams
34:42 - Being pragmatic at an early stage startup
42:07 - Things that are still true 24 years after the book was published
53:32 - How does a book define its author's identity?
Show...
2023-11-1557 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes43. Becoming social media influencers (but not LinkedIn Lunatics)Arnab and Ilya reminisce about their first social media experiences with ICQ and Orkut, discuss fixing X-Twitter, read an eulogy for Threads, and strategize about becoming social media influencers.
Chapters
03:12 - First experiences with social media
10:52 - Reddit
16:19 - Threads
18:35 - Misuse of Instagram as a text blogging platform
21:25 - Can existing social networks be replaced?
23:47 - The hard life of a social media influencer
25:28 - X / Twitter
29:04 - AI content creation
32:23 - Value of being an influencer
37:10 - Downvotes and dislikes
40:25 - Engagement pods
42:07 - LinkedIn Lunatics
43:43 - Our social media strategy
54:05 - Book and...
2023-11-091h 02
Software MisadventuresWhen enough was enough - practical and emotional drivers for leaving big tech to bootstrap Metacast | Arnab Deka & Ilya Bezdelev (AWS, Google)Should engineers and product managers “stay in their lanes”? What big company habits should you keep vs unlearn when transitioning to working at a start-up? Could an ayahuasca retreat give you more clarity on your career goals? Ilya and Arnab join the show to share their journey quitting big tech to bootstrap a podcasting startup. Arnab and Ilya are the co-founders of Metacast. Before starting the company, Arnab was a Principal Engineer at AWS while Ilya was a Sr. Product Manager at Google and Principal PM at Amazon before that. While at Amazon, Arnab and Ilya worked toge...
2023-11-071h 17
Metacast: Behind the scenes42. Equity compensation at a pre-revenue bootstrapped startup with Jennie BuechnerJennie Buechner is a Senior Software Engineer and the first hire at Metacast. We discussed leaving Amazon to join an early stage startup and how we thought about equity compensation when we can't afford to pay a salary yet.
Chapters
02:04 - Jennie introduces herself
03:57 - ChatGPT introduces Jennie, Ilya and Arnab
07:29 - Explaining the number 42
10:38 - Leaving Amazon
20:46 - Joining Metacast
28:08 - Working for equity without a salary component
45:57 - Living off savings
49:29 - Jennie's role at Metacast
Show notes:
Metacast Ep. 17: From Teacher to a Software Engineer at Amazon: https://www.metacastpodcast.com...
2023-11-0159 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes41. Differentiating vs. table-stakes features, MLP vs. MVP, YC applicationWhat features do you build first - table stakes or what makes you differentiated? What's the difference between an MVP and an MLP? Is it worth applying to YC? ...and a few recommendations of books and podcasts that we're into these days.
Chapters
03:40 - Differentiating features vs. table stakes features
06:58 - MVP vs. MLP
14:00 - The MAYA principle
16:57 - We applied to YC
23:31 - Building a landing page with Carrd
26:22 - Chaos engineering for customer empathy
31:56 - The Three-Body Problem trilogy
35:28 - Elon Musk's biography
38:50 - Blackberry
41:37 - Podcasts we listen to
45:00 - Remembering Reply-All
...
2023-10-2548 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes40. Automating mobile app releases with Tramline foundersA conversation with founders of Tramline, a CI/CD platform for mobile apps that we use for releasing Metacast. We talked about release standards (or lack thereof) for mobile and how Tramline solves this problem. We also dug into the founding story of the company, how they sold to first customers, fundraising from angels, and a few more topics.
Get tramline at https://www.tramline.app/
Tramline on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tramlinehq
Pratul Kalia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pratulkalia/
Nivedita Priyadarshini: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nid90/
...
2023-10-181h 18
Metacast: Behind the scenes39. Work and life in immigrationHow living on a work visa affects your risk appetite? How does immigration change you? What are some gotchas? Today, we talk about our immigration journeys and discuss these important questions.
Chapters
03:42 - Musings about languages and automatic translations
08:48 - Our immigration journeys
15:52 - US immigration challenges for Indians and Chinese
17:52 - How living on a work visa affects your risk appetite
31:38 - Immigration changes your perspective on life
34:43 - What we're reading and listening these days
Download the Metacast podcast app for free
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536
Android: https...
2023-10-1144 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes38. Wharton professor Karl Ulrich on teaching entrepreneurship and value of MBA in 2023A discussion with Wharton professor Karl Ulrich on teaching entrepreneurship, value of MBA, working at the MIT AI lab in the 1980s, and a career as a professor and founder.
Chapters
03:42 - Karl introduces himself
06:17 - PhD at the MIT AI Lab
12:57 - First job as a professor
16:34 - Entrepreneurial trends at Wharton
22:11 - Can entrepreneurship be taught?
30:53 - Innovation tournaments
36:08 - Do innovation labs in big companies work?
40:45 - Starting the Semester in San Francisco program
47:35 - Is it worth to do an MBA?
53:22 - Karl's companies
56:54 - The Xootr story
1:05:43 - Podcast and book...
2023-10-041h 11
Metacast: Behind the scenes37. CEO vs. CTO a.k.a. Product vs. EngineeringToday we're reflecting on our previous episode (ep. 36 with Melissa Kwan) and are talking about the collaboration between business and technical functions in a company - both in our startup as well as reminiscing about our days in AWS.
Chapters
00:33 - Teaser of the next episode
02:45 - Update on the podcast
10:38 - Reflection on the latest episode with Melissa
15:55 - CEO vs. CTO role a.k.a. Product vs. Engineering
27:16 - Book and podcast recommendations
Show notes
Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson: https://amzn.to/3ZvLnbc
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson: https://amzn.to/3...
2023-09-2733 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes36. Building a startup with contractors with Melissa Kwan, co-founder & CEO of eWebinarWe sat down with Melissa Kwan, a 3x bootstrapper, to talk about her entrepreneurial journey, working with contractor developers, getting first customers, developing social media presence, and going to Burning Man in 2023.
Show notes
Melissa's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissakwan/
eWebinar: https://ewebinar.com/
The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs (book): https://amzn.to/3t4sK20
Stay in touch:
Chapters
00:19 - Introduction
03:16 - Becoming an entrepreneur
07:06 - Starting the first company
07:53 - Appreciating coding as a non-technical founder
09:39 - Working with contractors
21:41 - Journey prior to founding eWebinar
28:03 - Splitting...
2023-09-201h 00
Metacast: Behind the scenes35. Early Stage Startup Kitchen - positioning and software toolsToday, we discuss positioning the startup to the outside world in social media and software that we use to build our software. We go into detail of our CI/CD pipeline for the mobile app and our project management practices. As usual, brace yourself for a lot of tangents!
Chapters
02:53 - Positioning ourselves into the outside world
23:01 - Processes in our startup
Show notes
https://tramline.app - a CI/CD orchestration tool for mobile app development
https://bitrise.io - a tool for building mobile apps in the cloud
Download the Metacast...
2023-09-1343 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes34. How we wrote the book part 2: process, tools, publishing, ads...In this episode, we break down the process of how we wrote The Pragmatic Podcaster book, discuss how writing is similar to programming, talk about tools (Adobe InDesign, Kindle Create), describe the process of getting an e-book and a print version on Amazon, and muse about Google Ads that didn't generate any sales for us.
Chapters
02:38 - How did the book start
04:57 - "Day 0 - Day 1 - Day 2" framework for creating software and podcasts
08:00 - The process
12:14 - ChatGPT for writing a book??
13:36 - Learnings from writing a book
16:03 - Writing out of coffee shops
19:34...
2023-09-0653 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes33. Behind the covers of The Pragmatic Podcaster pt. 1This week, we are discussing The Pragmatic Podcaster book that we’ve just self-published on Kindle and in paperback and hardcover formats on Amazon.
Chapters
00:00 - Cold open
00:20 - Welcome to episode 33
01:01 - Weekly updates and private beta launch
04:26 - Newsletter strategy and social media
07:05 - Perception vs. reality of our product
09:36 - Introducing The Pragmatic Podcaster
12:51 - Why write a book while building an app
15:54 - Perfect is the enemy of done
20:08 - Technical half of the book
27:24 - Reaper vs. Audacity and post-production tools
32:16 - Sourcing guests and the guest ladder
36:34 - Where to bu...
2023-08-3041 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes32. Creating a niche of your own with Corey QuinnThis week we sat down with Corey Quinn, the Chief Cloud Economist at The Duckbill Group and a big celebrity at the AWS circles. Corey is well known for his sense of humor and unrelenting focus on making some good fun of the cloud providers.
In our interview, we are learning a bit of Corey’s background, how The Duckbill Group got started, and how he runs the media side of his business. As usual, we did talk about bootstrapping and running consulting services while building a product.
Chapters
00:00 - Introductions
04:23 - What does Co...
2023-08-231h 13
Metacast: Behind the scenes31. Behind the scenes (season 2!)We’re starting season 2! Going forward, most of our episodes will be conversations about how we’re building our business. We’ll keep doing guest episodes as well, mostly with people who we and other entrepreneurs get to learn from. Listen on to follow our journey.
Chapters
03:10 - Season 2 and the changes we're making to the podcast
13:22 - Rat race
17:15 - Working in-person in Vancouver
29:08 - Long-term vs. short-term thinking in a startup
33:26 - Ilya is starting to code again
42:58 - ChatGPT for social media posts
46:38 - The Pragmatic Podcaster book
54:51 - Teaser of the next episod...
2023-08-1656 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes30. Startup Therapy with Wil Schroter and Ryan RutanA conversation with Startups.com founders about venture capital, bootstrapping, and finding your podcasting voice
Chapters
01:11 - Introduction
03:42 - The Startup Therapy podcast
06:49 - Almost no one knows about venture capital
10:17 - Wil’s and Ryan’s startup journeys
16:12 - Venture backed vs. bootstrapped startups
22:18 - Distractions of fundraising
29:09 - Doing consulting work on a side to fund the business
36:29 - The origin story of startups.com
48:31 - How Startup Therapy podcast is run
56:52 - Bad interview episode experiences and finding your own voice
1:01:29 - Podcast recommendations
Show notes
Podcasts
Startup Therapy: The...
2023-08-091h 08
Metacast: Behind the scenes29. The SaaS Subscription PandemicIn this episode, we cover the topic we wanted to cover for the last few weeks but always ran out of time. It’s the topic of SaaS subscriptions. As a business that doesn’t yet make any revenue, we pay quite a bit in subscription fees because these days everything is a subscription. Apparently, soon we’ll be paying a subscription to heat our butts in cars — Arnab tells a story of a car manufacturer that will ship cars with all the hardware, but will disable “premium” features unless you pay a monthly fee. In this episode, we introduce ou...
2023-08-0240 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes28. Jason Fried, Co-founder/CEO of 37signalsThis week, we were lucky to talk to Jason Fried, co-founder and CEO of 37signals (the company behind Basecamp and HEY) and a co-author of Rework, Remote and a few other books.
Chapters
02:07 - Introduction of Jason and 37signals
04:28 - Founder role vs. CEO role
07:27 - Working with the same co-founder for 20 years
10:00 - Disagreements between founders
12:21 - Disagree and commit principle
14:04 - The business side of things (numbers, accounting, etc.)
17:07 - On costs and profitability
19:51 - Intentionally keeping the company small
22:51 - Managing risk
25:01 - Jeff Bezos’ investment
31:24 - Working on several products at the sa...
2023-07-261h 14
Metacast: Behind the scenes27. Why podcast apps suck, the "why" behind our companyWe are starting to share bits of what we’re working on — a podcast app! The main topic of today’s episode is podcast listening apps and the things they suck at. Also in the episode: some backstory of how we decided to work together, golden handcuffs of a big tech, the working backwards approach, and importance of checklists.
Chapters
01:34 - RSS feeds, the backbone of podcasting
04:37 - Why are we doing a podcast about podcasting?
06:28 - Why are we building yet another podcast app?
10:56 - Podcasts vs. YouTube videos
15:04 - Podcasts as a library of conten...
2023-07-1945 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes26. Change is the only constantWe’ve heard feedback that listeners really love our metasodes — the episodes where Arnab and I chat about all things podcasting, careers, books, etc. We also heard feedback loud and clear that our episodes are too long…
On today’s episode, we chat about these changes, producing a video episode in Descript, Conway’s law, our new merch store, our upcoming book, and a few more things.
👉 Book on starting a podcast: https://bit.ly/metacast-book
👉 Metacast merch: https://metacast.creator-spring.com/
Chapters
00:56 - We're slightly tweaking the format
03:58 - Discussing feedb...
2023-07-1238 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes25. How to start a podcast in 2023 / What we've learned from 25 episodes of MetacastStarting a podcast can feel daunting but it need not be. In this episode, we've put together insights from our interviews with podcasters, creators of tech for podcasters, and radio hosts.
👉 Get our book on podcasting here: https://bit.ly/metacast-book
Chapters
01:03 - Starting a podcast can be daunting
02:08 - Microphones for podcasting
06:35 - Headphones for podcasting and post-production
08:23 - Recording on an iPhone
09:28 - Pop filter
10:20 - Preparing the space for recording a podcast
12:39 - Reverberation and echo
15:10 - Recording with remote guests
17:22 - When to add video
19:37 - The content of your pod...
2023-07-051h 29
Metacast: Behind the scenes24-2. Non-linear career paths, culture at Google vs. AmazonPart 2 of the episode about taking a break from corporate careers to start our own podcast technology company. We’ll soon announce our product, so stay tuned!
Chapters
02:10 - Arnab's story: from SDE I to a Principal Engineer at Amazon
06:35 - Getting promoted to your level of incompetence and leaving
11:44 - Google vs. Amazon culture
23:09 - One thing we'd take away from Amazon and Google to our startup
25:32 - Join our alpha program
25:51 - Time for silly questions
28:21 - Working from a Google office
30:28 - Biggest risk Ilya took previously
35:58 - Goals for the next year
37:32...
2023-06-2847 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes24-1. Leaving jobs at Google and Amazon to start a podcast tech companyWe’re taking a short break from our usual programming about podcasting to dive into what’s next for us. Ilya quit his job at Google on June 1st and Arnab left his job at Amazon last year. On this episode, we’re discussing why we decided to jump ship, how we manage risk, financial planning, etc. We’re also going a bit personal and talking about our approach to career planning.
Chapters
00:00 - Episode Intro and Google Domains
01:39 - From Google to Entrepreneurship
08:44 - Corporate Burnout and Job Transitions
17:20 - Embracing the Entrepreneurial Path
22:17 - Overcomi...
2023-06-2147 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes23. Radio ain't dead, starting a company with little kids (Metasode)It’s official — we are creating a company together and in this episode we’re starting to talk a bit about that. Going forward, we’ll use our metasodes to provide an update on how the business and product development is going, so, if you’re interested in our entrepreneurial journey, subscribe/follow our show!
Chapters
00:39 - Arnab’s computer possessed by ghosts
03:36 - Quick recap of the last episode with TechTalkRadio
10:19 - Working together for 30 years on radio and in music
12:59 - Is radio dead yet?
15:19 - Analytics and ratings in radio
18:31 - Starting a company with...
2023-06-1435 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes22. Running a radio show with TechTalkRadio's Andy Taylor, Justin Lemme and Shawn DeWeerdWe sat down with TechTalkRadio's hosts Andy Taylor, Justin Lemme and Shawn DeWeerd to talk about all things radio.
Topics in this episode:
Story of one of the very first podcasts out there
What are AM and FM radio stations anyway?
Role of AM radio in emergencies
Syndication in the world of radio
Audience measurement and ratings
Live reporting for television using a satellite truck
Sticking to producing a show and not giving up
Segments about tech products on TV
Taking phone calls on live radio
Recording gear: Arrakis, Comrex, etc.
Going with the flow
Funny...
2023-06-071h 18
Metacast: Behind the scenes21. All Things Tangential a.k.a. MemesodeArnab and Ilya talk about:
Cookie-cutter, pre-recorded intros/outros (meh, we don't like those)
Using GitHub to manage our podcast workflow
What happens when podcasts change hosts
Our inability to stick to a topic. It needed a meme, so we made one up!
Tangents: video codecs, Back to the Future, music (Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Judas Priest), Tony Fadell's book "Build," and thermostats.
Chapters
00:00 - Cold Open
01:44 - Cookie-Cutter Intros and Outros
03:57 - Podcasts Changing Hosts
05:52 - Metallica and Music Evolution
07:31 - Alice in Chains and Judas Priest
09:27 - The Tangent Meme
12:29 - Justin Jackson Episode...
2023-05-3141 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes20. Benefits of Decentralization in Podcasting with Justin Jackson, Co-founder of Transistor.fmJustin Jackson, co-founder of Transistor.fm, shares his views on decentralization in podcasting, the unrealized hype created by Spotify investing $1B into podcasting, and the benefits of friction in leaving comments.
Chapters
00:00 - The Philosophy of Decentralization
00:26 - Welcoming Justin Jackson of Transistor.fm
01:38 - Justin's Journey: Podcasting and Startups
05:13 - Podcasting's Growth and Listener Evolution
07:46 - Understanding "Jobs to be Done" in Podcasting
09:56 - Listener Engagement and the Role of Friction
11:54 - Building the Transistor.fm Team and Partnership
15:40 - Evolution of Podcast Hosting via RSS
17:24 - Decentralization's Power: Creator Optionality
19:54 - Friction as a...
2023-05-2450 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes19. Promoting Our Podcast on Social Networks (Metasode)In this episode, we shared how we promote our podcast on social networks, what worked and what didn’t so far. Obviously, we have a limited sample, but we found some success on LinkedIn and Reddit and pretty much no success on Twitter and Instagram.
Chapters
00:00 - Cold Open
01:40 - Funny Podcast Ads
04:42 - Recap of Podder Episode
07:36 - Reading Listener Reviews
13:37 - Promoting on LinkedIn
16:04 - Instagram and Twitter Results
18:12 - Facebook and Enshittification
20:49 - Reddit and the Winamp Post
26:31 - YouTube as a Platform
29:20 - AirPods and Recording Gear
35:11 - Arc Browser
43:00 - First Em...
2023-05-1752 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes18. Podcast Analytics with Podder Co-founders Christian Sorensen and Antoine MazurierWe sat down with Christian and Antoine, co-founders of a podcast insights platform Podder (https://www.podderapp.com), and discussed why podcast analytics is such a pain. We talked a bit about technical complexities of the distributed podcasting ecosystem and how Podder aggregates data across multiple platforms and data sources to provide podcasters with cross-platform insights.
Chapters
00:21 - Understanding Podcast Analytics Challenges
03:53 - Flawed Download Metrics and Standards
08:11 - Podcasting's Open Ecosystem and Unification
10:35 - Ad Monetization: Verification and Types
14:28 - Podder's Setup and Differentiation
20:07 - Aggregating Performance and Engagement Data
29:12 - Content Optimization with Advanced...
2023-05-101h 00
Metacast: Behind the scenes17. From Teacher to Software Engineer at AmazonWe sat down with our dear friend and ex-colleague Jennie Buechner to reflect on how her career took a sharp turn after a bootcamp at Ada Developers Academy.
Chapters
00:00 - Welcome, Metasodes, and Guests
01:48 - Quirky Introductions and Podcast Detours
08:13 - Teacher to Software Engineer Journey
11:07 - Ada Developers Academy Program Details
14:44 - Navigating the World of AI and ChatGPT
19:38 - AI on Ourselves and Public Figures
22:54 - Challenges and Strengths of Career Switchers
25:13 - Importance of Diversity and Representation
33:45 - Empathy and Parents on the Team
36:27 - The Podcast Superfan Experience
39:26 - Seeking Feedback and...
2023-05-0355 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes16. Women Who Code and Record PodcastsAn Interview with Women Who Code's Communications Team - Kimberly Jacobs and JL Lewitin.
Chapters
00:00 - Welcome and Guest Introductions
01:39 - Women Who Code Podcast Genesis
02:12 - Pivoting to Multimedia Content
05:36 - Member-Focused Podcast Strategy
07:45 - Kimberly's Role and Podcast Types
08:46 - Women Who Code Organization Overview
11:08 - Empowering Women with Resources
12:45 - Impact of Female Leadership
15:04 - Addressing the Tech Gender Gap
18:31 - How to Join the Community
20:38 - Podcast Content Curation Process
29:11 - Content Planning and Adaptability
32:36 - Logistics of Podcast Production
37:28 - Mission and Podcast Impact
42:06 - Challenges for Women in Tech
44:30...
2023-04-2651 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes15. The In-Person MetasodeWe recorded this episode when Ilya was visiting Arnab in Vancouver. This is the first time we did it in person and boy did it make a difference. Enjoy the sparkle of a wonderful human connection!
Chapters
00:00 - Hard Work Should Feel Pleasant
00:31 - Welcome and In-Person Setup
01:45 - Traveling with Audio Equipment
03:06 - Recording Video Together
04:45 - Dogmen Books Sponsorship Joke
05:27 - Meta Layoffs and Zuckerberg
07:17 - Two-Mic Bleed and Pro Tips
08:23 - Reflecting on the Justin Frankel Episode
09:01 - Audio Drift and Sample Rate Fix
12:33 - Feedback for Squadcast and Reaper
14:57 - Favorite Moments...
2023-04-1932 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes14. Creator of Winamp and Reaper, Justin FrankelA conversation about early days of Winamp, Justin's time at AOL, creation of Reaper and questions from our listeners!
Chapters
00:00 - Welcome Justin Frankel: Winamp and Reaper
01:48 - Early Music Discovery and Winamp's Genesis
03:25 - Creating Winamp: MP3 Decoding and Metadata
05:51 - Download Speeds and Music Formats Past
06:56 - The Evolution of Music Listening
09:37 - Winamp's Iconic 'Llama' Sound
11:54 - Winamp's Cultural Impact and NoSoft
14:01 - The AOL Acquisition and Platform Design
17:15 - Winamp's Tech Stack and John Carmack
20:35 - Reflections on Selling Winamp to AOL
22:34 - Working for AOL and Streaming's Flaws
26:58 - Personal Music...
2023-04-1254 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes13. The Slowsode MetasodeThe video we never published, hugging guitars and missing the office.
Chapters
00:00 - Intro
00:34 - Welcome and the video experiment
05:19 - Hugging guitars in Peru
07:23 - Episode numbering and scheduling
09:23 - Cloud recording vs local tracks
13:01 - Meet Masha and Misha, our editors
20:13 - Discussion format vs interview format
22:37 - Writing emails that get a yes
23:08 - Previewing the Justin Frankel episode
31:00 - First Spotify rating
31:52 - The Sandman audiobook experience
34:10 - Takeaways from Software Misadventures
39:48 - The cost of video gear
42:42 - Wrapping up
Show notes
Gear
iPhone 14 Pro
DEKIRU Acoustic...
2023-04-0545 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes12. Podcasting Misadventures with Software Misadventures' Ronak Nathani and Guang YangIn this episode we sat down with hosts of the Software Misadventures podcast Ronak Nathani and Guang Yang to chat about podcasting, careers and remote work.
Chapters
00:00 - Initial Banter and Introductions
02:16 - Guests' Backgrounds and Podcast Origin
04:54 - Securing First Podcast Guests
06:43 - Balancing Technical and General Topics
11:59 - Memorable Episodes and Career Inspiration
21:22 - Remote Work and Lifestyle Choices
23:20 - Startup vs. Big Company Careers
25:54 - Podcasting Tools and Production Workflow
31:54 - Marketing, Metrics, and Listener Engagement
Show notes
Podcasts
Software Misadventures
Michael Lynch
Kelsey Hightower
Ryan Underwood
David Henke
...
2023-03-2956 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes11. The Metaiwan MetasodeA reflection on the previous episode with the hosts of the Hearts in Taiwan podcast and a random chatter about everything (as usual).
Chapters
00:00 - Intro
00:27 - Welcome to the Metaiwan Metasode
03:43 - Did we talk enough about podcasting?
06:16 - Listener stats and feedback
09:22 - Takeaways from Hearts in Taiwan
11:07 - The Procrustean bed and labels
18:02 - Navigating sensitive topics
19:14 - Does publishing schedule matter?
24:10 - Taiwan's semiconductor dominance
27:36 - Flying on a Hello Kitty plane
29:55 - United Breaks Guitars
30:37 - Emulating podcasts you admire
32:03 - Podcast tools and costs
36:46 - The check police concept
...
2023-03-2239 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes10. Hearts in Taiwan with Angela Yu and Annie WangA conversation with hosts of the Hearts in Taiwan podcast, Angela Yu and Annie Wang, about culture, identity and running a podcast that touches on sensitive topics
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction to Metacast and Hosts
01:54 - Introducing Hearts in Taiwan Podcast
03:31 - Hearts in Taiwan: Heritage and Identity
04:12 - Cousins Exploring Family History
05:08 - Bridging Cultures: American Born Confused
07:33 - Complexities of Taiwanese Identity
09:58 - Podcast Impact on Identity Exploration
11:10 - Anglicized and Chinese Names
12:22 - First Generation Immigrant Identities
16:59 - Parental Influence on Identity
19:07 - Taiwanese Identity Evolution
19:47 - Hearts in Taiwan's Unique Niche
20:34 - Surprising...
2023-03-151h 33
Metacast: Behind the scenes9. The Czech Police MetasodeIn this metasode (meta-episode about creating Metacast, our podcast about podcasting), Arnab and I go back to the topic we brought up in the very first episode. We talk about the importance of checklists that we ourselves consistently failed to use for our podcast. This has caused us to forgot to ask people’s names, forgot to mention where to find them, etc., etc.
Being lousy doesn’t feel good...
Chapters
Show notes
Software
Ferrite -- a DAW for the iPad that works with the Apple Pencil
SquadCast -- a powe...
2023-03-081h 03
Metacast: Behind the scenes8. SquadCast Founders on Remote Collaboration in PodcastsA conversation with Zach Moreno and Rock Felder about their journey of creating podcast recording software SquadCast.
Chapters
00:27 - Introducing Squadcast: Remote Recording Solution
05:47 - Squadcast: Local Recording, Speed, and ISO
13:30 - From Sci-Fi Podcast to Squadcast Vision
18:06 - Engineering Scale; Remote Recording Benefits
21:13 - Bootstrapping Squadcast: Growth and Team
26:45 - Dogfooding & Evolving: Video and Use Cases
33:07 - Video in Podcasting: Trends and Challenges
36:26 - Metacast's Video Production Considerations
41:28 - Streamlining Post-Production Workflows
47:17 - Community: Collaboration Over Competition
52:07 - "Between Two Mics" Format Evolution
55:19 - Host Development and Interview Strategies
1:01:42 - Favorite Podcasts and Final Thoughts
2023-03-011h 04
Metacast: Behind the scenes7. Metasode: Podcasting Hacks with editaud.io CEO Steph ColbournIn this metasode (meta-episode where we talk about our own podcasting experience), Arnab and Ilya discuss how the previous recording went, how to deal with initial awkwardness, and how to fix audio quality.
We go through a few most important audio repair effects in the iZotope RX software and cover things like removing echo, breaths, mouth clicks (yuck!), hums, noises, and other unwanted artifacts that make you sound like a rookie.
It wouldn’t have been a good metasode if we didn’t go on tangents…
Do you know what the Canadians call a couc...
2023-02-151h 10
Metacast: Behind the scenes5. The Unscheduled Reflections MetasodeArnab and Ilya react to Jonathan Courtney's (the guest of our previous episode!) new podcast "The Unscheduled CEO" and ramble about the usual podcasting stuff like multi-track recording, NSA dropping in to give us a 5-star review, and dog farts.
Chapters
00:00 - Welcome and what's been happening
02:01 - Brian McCullough's shoutout on Techmeme Ride Home
03:37 - Camping in Florida next to the Everglades
05:34 - Binging Jonathan's Unscheduled CEO podcast
08:52 - The 10-12 rule for CEOs
10:04 - Work-life balance is bullshit
11:28 - Jonathan reading articles on his show
12:48 - The live unedited feel
15:54 - Content over production...
2023-02-011h 31January 2023 MetacastPresenters: Marguerite Kenner and Alasdair Stuart Hey folks, welcome to an Escape Artists metacast. I’m Marguerite Kenner. And I’m Alasdair Stuart. For those of you who have never heard a metacast before, think of this like a mini State of the Union address, a way for us to update you about what’s been happening at EA. The […]
The post January 2023 Metacast appeared first on PodCastle.
2023-01-3114 min
Metacast: Behind the scenes4. Jake & Jonathan Do AmericaWe sat down with Jake Knapp and Jonathan Courtney, the hosts of the Jake and Jonathan (f.k.a. Product Breakfast Club) podcast where they used to ramble about all things product design, Lord of the Rings, toilets, and other important things.
Jake Knapp is a former Google designer, an investor, and a New York Times best-selling author of books "Sprint" and "Make Time". Jonathan is the CEO of the product design company AJ&Smart.
Chapters
00:00 - Cold open with the theme song
00:29 - Welcome and guest introductions
01:06 - What is the Jake and...
2023-01-251h 27
Metacast: Behind the scenes3. The MetasodeIn this inaugural metasode, we chat about our first and second episodes, checklists, Napster, bootstrapping a podcast in listening apps, internet porn, and room tone. Sounds like a pretty random list but the conversation flowed so well, so believe it or not, it’s actually a cohesive set of topics.
We also discussed Arnab’s reflections on being a first-time podcast host and how both of us made a mistake of trying to get feedback from our families.
Chapters
00:00 - Welcome to the Metasode
01:30 - The importance of checklists
03:44 - Late intro, five minutes in
0...
2023-01-1846 min