Metacast: Behind the scenes

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.Show notesAsterix and Obelix on NetflixEverything Everywhere DailyDownload the Metacast podcast app for free:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player

In this episode we discuss why and how we built the new sharing experience (see blog post for v1.19).Download the Metacast podcast app for free:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.playerSegments[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] RecommendationsShow notesNew sharing experience announcement blogLatest weekly update episode: Weekly Update (May 6, 2025): New sharing experience, new logo & branding67. Attack of LLM bots (podcast) + blogEpisode with Jennie: 42. Equity compensation at a pre-revenue bootstrapped startup with Jennie BuechnerVoices in my head by Falling in ReverseGet in touch

Every Tuesday, we meet for a weekly standup. We summarize our progress in short weekly updates that we record right after our meetings.Show notes311: The Long Term on Under the RadarWhen Exactly Did the Roman Empire Fall? on Everything Everywhere DailyDownload the Metacast podcast app for free:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player

Every Tuesday, we meet for a weekly standup. We summarize our progress in short weekly updates that we record right after our meetings.Show notesCalendar Reform on Everything Everywhere Daily10 growth tactics that never work | Elena Verna on Lenny's Podcast317: Optimizing for Battery Life on Under the RadarDownload the Metacast podcast app for free:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player

Every Tuesday, we meet for a weekly standup. We'll summarize our progress in short weekly updates that we record right after our meetings.Show notesAttack of the LLM bots (blog post)Big Takeaways From Podcast Movement Evolutions 2025 on BuzzcastEpisode 2 - “Through the Valley” on HBO's The Last of Us PodcastDownload the Metacast podcast app for free:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player

In this episode we recap our Q1: what we shipped, distribution challenges, siloing engineering workstreams + a bunch of tangential topics.Download the Metacast podcast app for free:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.playerSegments[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 start problem[30:04] 1000 fans[30:56] Distractions in Q1[31:15] Spiking GCP costs[33:52] LLM bots update[34:28] Taxes[37:55] Siloing[39:20] Working in person again![40:11] What we're listening to[48:20] Where people can find usShow notesBlog postsMetacast: Q1 2025 RetrospectiveOur biggest struggle — distributionEpisode chapters now available in Metacast podcast appPodcast Inbox now available in Metacast podcast appLLM bots + Next.js image optimization = recipe for bankruptcy (post-mortem)DIY Delaware C-Corp taxes for a new startup with no funding, no payroll and no assetsPodcasts661: The Nightmare Before Overcast on Grumpy Old GeeksEverything Everywhere DailyDo trade deficits matter? on Planet MoneyJosh Waitzkin on The Joe Rogan Experience#792: Seth Godin on Playing the Right Game and Strategy as a SuperpowerBooksThe Art of Learning by Josh WaitzkinGet in touch

Our 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.Segments[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 recommendationsShow notesPostsLLM bots + Next.js image optimization = recipe for bankruptcy (post-mortem)BooksRed Rising by Pierce BrownLittle Golden America by Ilya Ilf and Eugene PetrovGet in touch

In 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.Segments[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 recommendationsShow notesPodcastsBootstrapped WebThe PanelPostsWhat's happening with founders over 40 by Justin JacksonBooksRed Rising by Pierce BrownThe Pragmatic Programmer by Dave Thomas & Andrew HuntLittle Golden America by Ilya Ilf and Eugene PetrovGet in touch

In 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.Segments[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 recommendationsShow notesPodcastsThe Joe Rogan ExperienceGet in touch

We'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.Segments[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 recommendationsShow notesPodcastsGet Sleepy: Sleep meditation and storiesBroken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond7. Jason Fried on building products, calm companies and the Jeff Bezos investment - Builders Gonna BuildMy Dad Wrote A PornoThe Big Porn Debate (3 Experts Debate): The Unseen Dangers Of Nofap, The Adult Industry Is Exploiting Our Brains, How Porn Will Change Your Brain! - The Diary Of A CEO with Steven BartlettBooksObviously Awesome by April DunfordOtherLinkedIn post about speed control in audio by IlyaGet in touch

We'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.Segments[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 recommendationsShow notesPodcastsPrevious episodes with Jennie: 42. Equity compensation at a pre-revenue bootstrapped startup, 17. From Teacher to Software Engineer at AmazonHandsomeThe Mark Zuckerberg Interview - AcquiredMeta's Race for Your Face + Google's Hit A.I. Notebook + HatGPT - Hard Fork#446 – Ed Barnhart: Maya, Aztec, Inca, and Lost Civilizations of South America - Lex Fridman Podcast#369 – Paul Rosolie: Amazon Jungle, Uncontacted Tribes, Anacondas, and Ayahuasca - Lex Fridman Podcast#429 – Paul Rosolie: Jungle, Apex Predators, Aliens, Uncontacted Tribes, and God - Lex Fridman PodcastBooksFast Second: How Smart Companies Bypass Radical Innovation to Enter and Dominate New Markets by Constantinos C. Markides, Paul A. GeroskiGet in touch

We'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.Segments[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 recommendationsShow notesPodcasts#2190 - Peter Thiel - The Joe Rogan Experience#442 – Donald Trump Interview - Lex Fridman PodcastBooksNot Till We Are Lost: Bobiverse, Book 5 by Dennis E. TaylorGet in touch

In 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.Segments[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 recommendationsShow notesPodcasts596: A New Foundation for Progress - Accidental Tech Podcast300: The Aftermath - Under the RadarI like to Read My Podcasts - Comfort ZoneBooksThe Storyteller by Dave GrohlThe 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al Ries & Laura RiesNight Watch: Book One by Sergei LukyanenkoGet in touch

We'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, versionGet Metacast podcast app for Android and iOS at https://⁠⁠⁠metacast.app⁠⁠⁠.Join the ⁠⁠r/metacastapp⁠⁠ subreddit.Segments[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[32:20] What we're listening to and readingShow notesPodcastsNetworks & Audiences on Bootstrapped Web#1881 - Rick Rubin on The Joe Rogan ExperienceBooksThe Storyteller by Dave GrohlDavid and Goliath by Malcolm GladwellGamesNeed For Speed: No LimitsGet in touch

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.Segments[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 recommendationsShow notesPodcastsПодкасты Михаила ГребенюкаThings You Thought You Knew – Planet X on the StarTalk Radio podcastBooksAnansi Boys by Neil GaimanNeverwhere by Neil GaimanGet in touch

It'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.Segments[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 recommendationsShow notesLinksIlya's LinkedIn post with reflectionsPodcastsMetacast Ep. 24, part 1: Leaving jobs at Google and Amazon to start a podcast tech companyMetacast Ep. 24, part 2: Non-linear career paths, culture at Google vs. AmazonWhat Are Sperm Whales Saying? Researchers Find A Complex 'Alphabet' on the Short Wave podcastWas the 401(k) a Mistake? on The Daily podcastGoogle Eats Rocks + A Win for A.I. Interpretability + Safety Vibe Check on the Hard Fork podcastAdam Mosseri on the Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin podcastBooksThe 4-Hour Workweek by Tim FerrissThree-Body Problem by Cixin LiuMusashi by Eiji YoshikawaThe Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto MusashiRevolutionary Road by Richard YatesThe Celestine Prophecy by James RedfieldBurn Book: A Tech Love Story by Kara SwisherMovies & TVShogun TV seriesRevolutionary RoadFord v FerrariGet in touch

We'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.Segments[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 recommendationsShow notesLinksD-U-N-S NumberPodcastsMicrosoft episode on AcquiredThe Point of ConvergenceThe Emerald: For the IntuitivesBooksThree-Body Problem by Cixin LiuGet in touch

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.Segments[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] What we're listening, reading and watchingShow notesSoftwareNext.jsVercelOutstaticFondoGustoPodcastsMicrosoft episode on AcquiredTetragrammaton with Rick Rubin: Edward Norton, Jon Kabat-ZinnBooksThree-Body Problem by Cixin LiuDune by Frank HerbertRevolutionary Road by Richard YatesWherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-ZinnMoviesThree-Body Problem series on NetflixDune, Dune 2Star WarsRevolutionary RoadGet in touch

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.LinksShow notes for part 1 and part 2 can be found on our website.Get in touch

We 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. Segments [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 Links Metacast ⁠Get Metacast for iOS and Android⁠ ⁠r/metacastapp subreddit⁠ ⁠The Pragmatic Podcaster⁠ book by Ilya Podcasts Earned Secrets on the a16z podcast (August 4, 2018) 21 Brutally Honest Lessons About Life - Alex Hormozi on Chris Williamson's podcast Controversial Truths You Need To Hear - Pt.1 (on the Modern Wisdom Podcast) | Ep 673 on the The Game w/ Alex Hormozi podcast Books The Science of Interstellar by Kip Thorne Dune by Frank Herbert Children of Dune by Frank Herbert Bone by Jeff Smith Movies Interstellar Harry Potter Get in touch

We 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. Segments [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 recommendations Links Metacast Get Metacast for iOS and Android r/metacastapp subreddit The Pragmatic Podcaster book by Ilya Open beta launch content and mentions Reddit post LinkedIn post Pod News mention Tools Tramline - CI/CD for mobile apps Podcasts Metacast Ep. 40 - Automating mobile app releases with Tramline founders Builders Gonna Build Podcast Marketing Trends Explained We Tried the Apple Vision Pro + Can Congress Protect Kids Online? + Cruise's Crash on the Hard Fork podcast The Vision Pro Reviews Are Here on the Techmeme Ride Home podcast Zuckerberg on the Vision Pro vs. Quest (video) How the Acquired podcast grew, and why they switched to Transistor on the Build Your SaaS podcast NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang on the Acquired podcast Charlie Munger on the Acquired podcast Books Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson The Midnight Library by Matt Haig Children of Dune by Frank Herbert Get in touch

We 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. Segments [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] Building a community on Reddit [38:03] Books and podcasts recommendations Links Metacast Get Metacast for iOS and Android r/metacastapp subreddit Podcasts Interview with Christian Selig on Builders Gonna Build Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness The Game w/ Alex Hormozi Books Broken Code: Inside Facebook and the Fight to Expose Its Harmful Secrets by Jeff Horwitz The Wanderer by Sharon Creech The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. & E. B. White Learn Spanish with Paul Noble for Beginners by Paul Noble Next Steps in Spanish with Paul Noble for Intermediate Learners by Paul Noble Bone by Jeff Smith Sandman by Neil Gaiman Dog Man by Dav Pilkey We Are Legion (We Are Bob): Bobiverse, Book 1 by Dennis E. Taylor Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell Shows Queer Eye on Netflix Get in touch

We 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 Segments [02:57] Snowmaggedon in Vancouver [09:04] Post-vacation guilt [21:32] Not building a unicorn [24:30] Introducing Builders Gonna Build [32:15] When in doubt, write a doc [38:07] Readers gonna read Get in touch

Wee-oo wee-oo wee-oo... we've got an important announcement to make! Bulders Gonna Build podcast: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Newsletter on Substack: www.buildersgonnabuild.com Give it a rating, a follow and repost to help us out!

What was 2023 like to Metacast, what's ahead for us in 2024, and our favorite podcast recordings of 2023. Segments [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 Get in touch

To close off 2023, Arnab and Ilya sat down for a lighthearted review of our favorite books, podcasts, products and experiences of 2023. Segments [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 customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you by Rob Fitzpatrick Bobiverse by Dennis E. Taylor By His Bootstraps by Robert Heinlein Seveneves by Neal Stephenson Ilya's The Three-body Problem trilogy by Cixin Liu Books about Apple and simplicity Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products by Leander Kahney Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making by Tony Fadell Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success by Ken Segall Creative Selection: Inside Apple's Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs by Ken Kocienda Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson Becoming Supernatural: How Common People Are Doing the Uncommon by Dr Joe Dispenza Music, addiction, etc. It's So Easy: and other lies by Duff McKagan How To Be A Man (and other illusions) by Duff McKagan Slash by Slash and Anthony Bozza Podcasts Get the Metacast podcast app to open links or reach out to us at team@metacast.app to get early access if the app is not yet public by the time you're reading this. Ilya's Metacast: Behind the Scenes Mark Cuban: “And for that reason I'm out” on "The Really Good Podcast" Bobbi Althof interviews Drake (bootleg video) E235: The Man That Makes Millionaires: How To Turn $1,000 Into $100 Million!: Alex Hormozi on the "The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett" podcast Arnab's The Bing Who Loved Me + Elon Rewrites the Algorithm on the "Hard Fork" podcast Las cartas de papá on "Duolingo Spanish Podcast" Show 69 - Twilight of the Aesir & Show 70 - Twilight of the Aesir II on "Dan Carlin's Hardcore History" Products Metacast podcast app - the best podcast app. Ever. Period. Duolingo Learn Spanish with Paul Noble for Beginners – Complete Course: Spanish Made Easy with Your Personal Language Coach by Paul Noble What ayahuasca feels like: It opens the heart of darkness | Paul Rosolie and Lex Fridman Get in touch

Alex 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. Segments [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... But At What Cost? Not Boring newsletter Hooked by Nir Eyal Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman Get in touch

This is a re-run of our "very second episode" originally published on Jan 11, 2023. -- For our second episode (and the very first one with a guest!), we sat down with Brian McCullough, creator of the ⁠Internet History Podcast⁠, one of Ilya's all-time favorite podcasts. Brian's current podcast is ⁠Techmeme Ride Home⁠, a popular daily summary of tech news that has over a million downloads every month. Brian is also an investor running the ⁠Ride Home Fund⁠ and a resident at TED (check out Brian's ⁠talk⁠). Brian is on Twitter as @brianmcc (⁠https://twitter.com/brianmcc⁠). Full show notes with links: ⁠https://newsletter.metacastpodcast.com/p/002-brian-mccullough-internet-history⁠

Geoff Roberts, co-founder of Outseta, on a compensation model that allows employees earn founder-level equity. Segments [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 [01:01:52] Hiring [01:03:35] Mechanics of the ledger and corporate structure [01:07:15] 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 startup with contractors with Melissa Kwan, co-founder & CEO of eWebinar No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram Reinventing Organizations Get in touch

Metacast co-founders discuss benefits and risks of building a startup in public. Segments: [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

Arnab and Ilya discuss different approaches to building products from the angle of do-what-you-want platforms vs. opinionated products. Show notes Insanely Simple WeCrashed Super Pumped Blackberry Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Fall of Civilizations Hardcore History What Now? Podcast Industry News The Metallica Podcast

Dave 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. Segments: [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 notes: - The Pragmatic Programmer book: https://amzn.to/47ewEnU - The Pragmatic Bookshelf: https://pragprog.com/ - The Agile Manifesto: https://agilemanifesto.org/

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. Segments: [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 podcast recommendations

Jennie 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. Segments: [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 ✉️ Subscribe to Metacast newsletter: https://www.metacastpodcast.com

What 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. Segments: [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 ✉️ Subscribe to Metacast newsletter: https://www.metacastpodcast.com

A 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/ Akshay (kitallis) Gupta: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kitallis/ Segments: [10:48] How Tramline was started [16:40] The world without Tramline [24:43] Incumbents and competitors [32:29] Why offer open-source in addition to a commercial product? [38:57] Who does what in the company [41:00] Positioning Tramline to first customers [51:02] Fundraising in a "slow VC" mode [58:25] AngelList's RUV [01:00:30] Future of Tramline [01:03:14] How can startups leverage development agencies in India? [01:10:27] Book and podcast recommendations ✉️ Subscribe to Metacast newsletter: https://www.metacastpodcast.com

How 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. ✉️ Subscribe to Metacast newsletter: https://www.metacastpodcast.com

A 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.

Today 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.

We 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: ✉️ Subscribe to Metacast newsletter: https://www.metacastpodcast.com

Today, 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! [02:53] Positioning ourselves into the outside world [23:01] Processes in our startup ✉️ Subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.metacastpodcast.com Support us:

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. ✉️ Subscribe to Metacast newsletter: https://www.metacastpodcast.com

This week, we are discussing The Pragmatic Podcaster book that we've just self-published on Kindle and in paperback and hardcover formats on Amazon.

This 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. Full show notes with links: https://www.metacastpodcast.com/p/032-corey-quinn

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.

A conversation with Startups.com founders about venture capital, bootstrapping, and finding your podcasting voice

In 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 our lovely Chief Dog Officer who often inserts a few soundbites into our podcast. Sometimes he takes a bite too. He's a star employee and we love him. We covered a few other topics like how producing TikTok worthy content changes who you are and the crab emoji at Google that can be funny but also passive aggressive. Segments [00:38] First annual Metacast all-hands [02:33] Creating TikTok worthy content [05:58] Active listening strikes back [08:05] In-person recording setup [10:03] Introducing our CDO, Chief Dog Officer [10:52] Crab emoji at Google [12:09] Reflection on the Jason Fried episode [15:45] User research studies for our app [20:58] The original name for our company [22:56] The SaaS Subscriptions Pandemic [33:55] Google vs. Amazon culture

This 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.

We 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.

We'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.

Starting 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.