Startup Podcast by Alex Blumberg Episode 1 Review

Podcast Episode 1 Review


How to Not Pitch a Billionaire


Alex begins the podcast by explaining that this podcast is a behind the scene look at how he is attempting to get this company up and running off the ground. When I clicked on this podcast I didn’t really expect what I got at all. IF YOU ARE GOING TO PITCH FOR VENTURE CAPITAL then listen to what Chris Saca says to Alex as he’s pitching his business. Here is what he says -



“Hey look can I get two minutes from you? Here’s the thing you probably know me producer of This American Life successful radio show, top of the podcasts, etc. Here is the thing I realized there is a hunger for this content out there. It’s just a bunch of jerk off podcasts, nothing is out there. Advertisers are dying for it, users are dying for it. If you look at the macro environment were seeing more and more podcasts are being integrated into cars. People want this content. Its a whole new button on the new iOS. Heres the thing, no one else can make this shit. I know how to make this better than anyone else in the world. I’ve already identified a few key areas where I know there is hunger for the podcast. We’ve got the subject matter. Were going to launch this shit. We have advertisers that want to get involved. Here is the unfair advantage I have because of my past careers people are willing to straight up pay for this stuff. I’m not just talking traditional subscriptions. We did a tshirt experiment over at planet money where we got 600k where people actually gave us money for shirts with our logo on it as part the content. It was integrated directly and I know we can replicate that across these other platforms. So we are putting together 1.5 million and having three guys start up podcasts in the next couple months and we think we can get to 300k-400k net subscribers. With CPMs where they are and this market right now and advertising alone we can get to break even. I know with integration. I know what we are going to have on our hands right now is something that will ultimately scale to 12–15 podcasts. The audience is there. No one else can build it like we can. Are you in?”



HOLY SHIT! Read this! Dissect it and figure out how to plug in your story. If you don’t know who Chris Saca is you need to look into him. He is the king of the Angel Investing world so check him out! I’m excited to check out the rest of this podcast as it appears this guy is going to make it eventually but it really lays out the brutality of starting up a business. Especially when his significant other starts laughing at his name for the business at the end.



So let me break Chris Saca’s pitch down in a few points


  1. Make your pitch short and to the point. If you have to explain it for too long then how are you going to explain it to a customer who has an even shorter attention span?
  2. Talk about why you are qualified to do this briefly. If you have experience but not on a large scale do you still bring up the experience?
  3. BE CONFIDENT! You notice throughout the whole segment he’s straight forward and concise. He isn’t mincing words.
  4. Discuss the market direction. Use examples such as on iOS
  5. Point out your unfair advantage. I AM THE BEST AT MAKING THIS SHIT! (Give an example)
  6. Talk about expectations.
  7. Talk about the entire direction of the company itself in the future.
  8. Talk about how you are going to make money and what experience you have using that business model.
  9. Give them a reason/need to invest. Make it seem like you have people lining up and you don’t need them. But don’t be a douche.


That is my quick 30 second overview. I am not sure if I got everything out of it that was intended but hey I’m learning. I will definitely come back to this if I ever decide to pitch investors for capital.


Check out the podcast and let me know what you think!



Thanks!