10 podcasts for entrepreneurs

Did you know, podcasting dates back to the 1980s (although it was first known as ‘audio blogging’)? Since it gained momentum in the early 2000s - thanks to the availability of broadband internet and portable streaming devices - the landscape has exploded. There are now millions of podcast episodes available, at your fingertips, on every topic imaginable. On Apple alone, there are more than 60,000 business podcasts and almost 7,000 dedicated specifically to entrepreneurship. So, where to start? To save you time, we’ve put together a list of ten awesome podcasts for entrepreneurs that exude inspiration, wisdom and - in many cases - a slice of humour.

Being Boss

If you're after a large dose of inspiration and positivity, independent business owners and "business besties", Emily Thompson and Kathleen Shannon, may have just the tonic. With over 8 million downloads from a global audience, Being Boss is a weekly podcast, often featuring interviews with entrepreneurs from across the creative industries. It's all about exploring mindset and behaviours that keep entrepreneurs going - with lots of real-life anecdotes and a humourous edge.

Following Your Different

Following Your Different zones in on success stories of entrepreneurs with an edge. It tackles the question: What happens when you stop trying to fit in and start capitalising on what makes you different? If you're looking for something a little different, this one's for you. From an interview with Metallica's performance coach, to former head of the FBI Behavioral Analysis Program, you're bound to get engrossed and inspired by some pretty unique perspectives.

Goal Digger

Goal Digger is all about just that: finding the means to achieve your goals. Host, Jenna Kutcher, started her own business as a side hustle ten years ago, armed with just a $300 camera and a passion for wedding photography. She gradually amassed a huge social media following, picking up an award or two along the way, and started to create online courses to help and inspire others to embrace their passion and get paid for it. Jena's business now generate seven figures a year, and she wants to share her thoughts on how it's possible to grow a profitable business that allows you to live more and work less.

How to Start a Startup

This one's actually a video podcast, in the form of a series of 20 Stanford lectures, each focusing on a different topic in relation to starting a business. From legal and accounting basics to culture, there's bound to be something to pique your interest. If you struggle to stay focused when listening without visual aids, How to Start a Startup may be a good one for you to get stuck into - and if you'd rather just read, transcripts are also available for each lecture.

Masters of Scale

Masters of Scale, hosted by Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, investigates how the approaches successful companies have taken allowed them to grow from nothing, to something huge. Each episode begins with a story that introduces his theory of how the business scaled and develops into a thought-provoking discussion. Reid has also more recently launched a 'Rapid Response' series which looks at how companies have reacted and adjusted to fast-moving challenges, such as COVID-19.

Mixergy

Mixergy, as the name suggests, mixes things up a little. It's all about getting the most insightful information out of each of the startup founders that are interviewed. This keeps things interesting, as the result is a complete mishmash of highly personal interview topics, from 'How to teach your kids to build their own businesses' to 'How to recover from bad advice from an investor'.

The Knowledge Project

The Knowledge Project is all about unlocking deeper understandings of topics. It does this by interviewing a broad range of personalities - from activists, to mathematicians, to writers - bringing us deep views into some pretty niche topics. Lauded by Wired as “A regular dose of insightful perspectives on life and success from a huge range of backgrounds and experiences”, it's a down-to-earth series of episodes, which anyone can enjoy - even if you're not planning to build an entrepreneurial empire. Each episode is helpfully accompanied by a useful snapshot of the conversation, enabling you to determine whether it's one you want to listen to.

The Startup Chat

The Start Up Chat, hosted by Steli Efit and Hiten Shah, two Silicon Valley-based entrepreneurs, tackles pertinent topics such as 'How to get good at taking critical feedback' and 'How to notice your own bias', assessing them and offering actionable advice that's applicable to startup life. It's bi-weekly, with some episodes as short as 10-minutes, so if you do get stuck in, you won't be waiting ages between episodes.

The Strategy Hour

If you want to pack a lot into an hour, The Strategy Hour is a great go-to. It’s aimed at helping those with great ideas keep things streamlined and progressing by applying tried and tested tactics and business strategies. Hosts, Abagail and Emylee met online and found mutual ground over their passion for helping people transform their ideas into profitable businesses (and they did just that, together).

The Tim Ferriss Show

A highly popular podcast, the Tim Ferriss Show, hosted by - you guessed it - Tim Ferriss, author of 'The 4-Hour Work Week' and has won a ton of accolades. Each episode explores the factors that make successful people successful. Guests include internationally known names from a variety of fields, such as LeBron James, Maria Sharapova and Reid Hoffman (whose podcast, Masters of Scale, is also included in this list).