20 VC FF 030: Gimlet Media's Matt Lieber on The Future of Podcasting and Life @ Gimlet

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

The Twenty Minute VC

Finance, Venturecapital, Tech News, News, Siliconvalley, Technology, Investing, Startups, Business

4.4 • 637 Ratings

🗓️ 15 January 2016

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Matt Lieber is cofounder and President of Gimlet Media. In a previous life, Matt produced radio shows (On Point, Fair Game) and podcasts (Slate Culture Gabfest). He also worked as a management consultant at The Boston Consulting Group, where he focused on media and digital business. Then he chucked it all for Gimlet. He holds an MBA from MIT Sloan.

In Today's Show You Will Learn:

1.) Matt reveals the origins of Gimlet?

2.) What were the dilemmas for Matt in raising Gimlet's round? What determinant made Matt realize raising was right? What advice would Matt give to founders who are unsure if they should raise or not?

3.) One of the main concerns with raising suggested by Alex Blumberg was that the company would feel like a totally different company, and by different ‘I mean worse’, to quote Alex. So how can a Founder maintain company culture as they grow excessively?

4.) Why did Matt decide to play it cool and not announce to VCs Gimlet were raising? Did Matt expect to get a term sheet as quickly and easily as he did? Were there any hiccups to the funding process? Were Gimlet tempted by any other offers? What value add about Tim O'Reilly made Gimlet most attracted to him?

5.) Question from Matt Hartman at Betaworks: How does Gimlet decide which new shows to create? Is it about creating new shows for an overlapping audience or to expanding audience demographics??

6.) Where does Matt see the future of podcasting going? Many do not believe in it’s potential to be a big business, what does Matt say? What are the challenges, what needs to happen to combat them?

Items Mentioned In Today's Episode:

Matt's Fave Book: Great Plains by Ian Frazier

Matt's Fave Blog: Stratechery by Ben Thompson

As always you can follow The Twenty Minute VC, Harry and Matt on Twitter here!

Likewise, if you would like to see a more colourful side to Harry with many a mojito session, follow him on Instagram here!

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You are listening to The 20 Minute VC and of course Founders Friday with your host Harry Stebbings.
0:05.7	Now, if any of you didn't know, I love podcasts. And for all of you who join me in this love,
0:11.4	I think we can all agree there's one podcasting company that is the Supreme Storyteller,
0:16.8	producing the most beautiful episodes and narratives. It is, of course, Gimlet Media. And today I'm so
0:22.5	thrilled to welcome Matt Lieber, co-founder and president of Gimlet Media. And in a previous life,
0:28.1	Matt produced radio shows On Point and Fair Game, and also podcasts, Slate Culture and GabFest.
0:35.3	He also worked as a management consultant for his sins at the Boston
0:39.0	Consulting Group. Then he chucked it all in for Gimlet Media. And you can follow him on Twitter at
0:44.8	M. Lieber. In today's show, we discussed the future of podcasting, Gimlet's latest fundraise,
0:50.7	and a little on what life is like working at Gimlet. Here's a little preview.
0:55.9	Showed up to work, tripping on acid. But before we dive into that very interesting story with Matt,
1:01.9	I'd like to say a huge thank you to Erin Glenn at Choir for introducing me to Matt, without which
1:06.7	this episode could not have happened. And finally, a huge hand to Mattermark for being the
1:11.5	legends that they are and providing the 20 minute VC with all the data and analysis used in
1:16.3	today's episode. And if you have not done so already, sign up for Mattermark daily. It really is the
1:21.4	one stop shop for all things operator and VC reading material. And that's all down to At Thinker for that
1:26.9	one. So a massive thank you to At Thinker on Twitter.
1:29.9	But now it's time to dive into the show today.
1:32.5	Therefore, I'm thrilled to interview and welcome the main man, Matt Lieber, co-founder and president at Gimlet Media.
1:39.6	Three, two, one, zero.
1:48.0	You have now arrived at your destination.
1:50.7	Matt, a huge welcome to the 20 minute VC.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Twenty Minute VC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Twenty Minute VC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.