Máuhan Zonoozy: 5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Very Successful Podcast
An Interview With Jason Hartman
Do something you love — Whenever an aspiring young padawan asks me for professional advice, I always ask them the same question, “When you open a newspaper — or TikTok — what category do you go to? Sports? Music? Tech? Food?” — The answer to that question is where you should focus your time, energy, and attention. Say its music — you can still be a lawyer or an agent or a writer — but if it’s in and around music, your heart will sing. And that shows. People can feel it.
As part of my series of interviews about “5 things you need to know to create a very successful podcast”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Máuhan Zonoozy.
Mauhan “M” Zonoozy is a creative tech entrepreneur, investor and executive with 15 years’ experience launching and scaling zero-to-one products in consumer and prosumer tech, new-media and the arts. A pioneer in innovation with a passion for exploring the complex intersection of technology and culture, Zonoozy is a former Partner at BCGDV and Spotify’s new Head of Innovation, where he will define the company’s long-term commercial and growth path and identify potential Spotify “moonshots.” Among his many accomplishments ,the serial entrepreneur’s last startup, Bubbl, was backed by Warner Bros. and acquired by Cricket Media. Zonoozy is a cum laude graduate of Georgetown University, as well as a graduate of Georgetown Law and a Stanford Ignite graduate at the Graduate School of Business.
Can you tell us a bit of your personal backstory? What is your background and what eventually brought you to starting the Same Same but Tech podcast?
For sure.
My heart beats to create new things, whether that’s a tech company or an art project. Manifesting an idea into reality — going zero to one — that’s my truth. And a lot of times creating something new means living at the edge of what’s possible. Dabbling in the future. Designing it.
That’s led me to spend most of my career in and around early and growth-stage startups, which has also translated into a lot of different roles. I’ve been an early-stage investor and venture capitalist, a startup lawyer, a successful and unsuccessful founder, led product teams large and small, started venture and design studios, and worked extensively in corporate innovation. As long as I was close to the future, I’ve been happy.
The thing is, working on things that have to do with “the future” can feel experimental, or nascent. People love to say things are “too early.” Or that they feel like tiny little wrinkles. But to me, the tech innovations, the trends, the human creativity — it all feels like so much more. And I knew if I could just get people to sit on the sand with me for a bit, clear their preconceptions, and look out into the sunset — they’d see that those wrinkles start to look like waves.
And that’s what our team is trying to do with Same Same But Tech. We want to show you the waves, but make it cute.
Can you share a story about the most interesting thing that has happened to you since you started podcasting?
Got myself deepfaked!
We did an episode on deepfakes recently featuring the team from a startup called Lyrebird, which was acquired by Descript, as well as a couple brilliant humans from MIT Media Lab.
Lyrebird was the team that created deepfake videos of Obama, Trump, and Hillary. And, perhaps not as notably, they’ve now also created an audio deepfake of your boy (me). It’s a super, super cool technology.
Deepfake me actually recorded the entire episode. He’s called all my family members. He’s doing this interview.
Can you share a story about the biggest or funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or takeaways you learned from that?
Pffffft. We made no mistakes.
How long have you been podcasting and how many shows have you aired?
I actually was a gen 1 podcaster in 2010 when I was a music journalist. Back then, I was living in LA writing for a bunch of ‘zines. In addition to the millions of dollars they’d pay me, they afforded me the opportunity to interview a ton of cool artists — The Dandy Warhols, OK Go, Glitch Mob, Lil Jon.
I’d always record the interviews (with permission) to grab quotes for the articles I was writing. But low-key, I’d also remix those interviews in GarageBand into podcast episodes (with less permission). I’d publish on my Tumblr and on Apple under my pseudonym, Brody Chillston. No flex, but those podcasts had a weirdly large followership — which probably had more to do with Lill Jon than little me.
Fast-forward a few years and Bro Chill went to law school, changed his name, got into tech…
And after about a decade long hiatus, I picked podcasting back up in 2020 with Same Same But Tech. We’ve aired 25+ episodes across two seasons, and we are literally the best tech podcast out there — at least according to me, and Brody.
What are the main takeaways, lessons or messages that you want your listeners to walk away with after listening to your show?
Our show lives somewhere between telling a story, explaining a technology, and waxing on our culture and humanity. Our unique angle is that we explore with a truly positive outlook. I’m a huge tech optimist, and I try to bring that energy to the show. It’s so easy to go down the dystopian route when talking about emerging technologies. Tech can be scary. Will AIs take our jobs? Will robot dogs police our streets?
Yes, for sure they will do those things. But they’re also great! Same Same But Tech will tell you why.
In your opinion what makes your podcast binge-listenable? What do you think makes your podcast unique from the others in your category? What do you think is special about you as a host, your guests, or your content?
It’s the “anti-tech podcast” tech podcast — no pretentiousness, no formality, no ivory tower. Just peeking into the future with your tech-optimist homie who gets a little too hype on AI-generated art and plant-based meat. In a good way though. In a “I’m so stoked I want to invite all my smartest friends over and learn about NFTs” sort of way.
And with great stories. And insanely smart guests. And sound effects.
Doing something on a consistent basis is not easy. Podcasting every workday, or even every week can be monotonous. What would you recommend to others about how to maintain discipline and consistency? What would you recommend to others about how to avoid burnout?
Have a great team. Only reason this thing works is because of the Same Same But Tech and BCG Digital Ventures family, Corinne, Steph, Lee, Ibrahim, Alice, and Melinda.
Beyond that, I’d focus on enjoying yourself. Don’t lose sight of the fun. Don’t take yourself too seriously. There’s so much noise out there about posting consistently, being super active on social media, building your brand, SEO optimizing your face, etc.
Sure, all of that is very important, but sometimes it can also be a buzzkill. It’s easy to get so wrapped up in the weeds that you can’t zoom out and realize how cool this whole podcasting gig is.
When I take a step back, I quickly realize this is one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. Because of Same Same But Tech, I have the opportunity to learn about crazy topics, speak to some of the smartest people in the world, and pose all sorts of crazy questions about the future of humanity. Then I get to go work in a writers’ room with two unbelievably talented creatives, Lee and Ibrahim, to piece together a piece of art — every week!
What resources do you get your inspiration for materials from?
Tupac.
Is there someone in the podcasting world who you think is a great model for how to run a really fantastic podcast?
I feel like I keep getting made fun of for saying this, but Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! is my inspiration.
If you’re reading this Peter Sagel, let’s collab babyyy.
What are the ingredients that make that podcast so successful? If you could break that down into a blueprint, what would that blueprint look like?
There’s a quote about creating documentaries that I’m certainly going to butcher, but it’s something like, “If you end up with the film you sought out to make, you weren’t listening along the way.”
Blueprints are great, but your show is going to change. You’re going to change. So, all you really should do is focus on creating something you love, and would love to listen to. Bring your authentic self. And just do it. Just start recording. It might take ten “blueprints” or more to get where you want to be. That’s okay.
Don’t hesitate — always full send.
Can you share with our readers the five things you need to know to create an extremely successful podcast? (Please share a story or example for each, if you can.)
- Do something you love — Whenever an aspiring young padawan asks me for professional advice, I always ask them the same question, “When you open a newspaper — or TikTok — what category do you go to? Sports? Music? Tech? Food?”
— The answer to that question is where you should focus your time, energy, and attention. Say its music — you can still be a lawyer or an agent or a writer — but if it’s in and around music, your heart will sing. And that shows. People can feel it.
— I’d say the same thing goes with creating a podcast. Find something you love.
— I’m sure some people will tell you to instead find gaps in the market, solve a problem for the listener, etc. — but if you’re not in love with it, what’s the point? - Tell a story — It’s funny, when we created Same Same But Tech, we actually set out to create super short, bite-sized episodes where we’d have someone super smart try to explain a complex tech concept using a made-up analogy. We wanted the episodes to be under five minutes! It was meant to be informative but fun, and sort of cheeky. As we started producing the show, it took a life of its own. It became less about a quirky tech dictionary and more about the stories we were hearing from these brilliant people. One episode in particular told the story of catching Dread Pirate Roberts, the guy behind the Dark Web marketplace Silk Road. That episode was like a movie — it was so engaging.
— After we heard that episode — and all the positive feedback — we realized what we needed to do. From that point on, we cut the tech dictionary bit and refocused on incredible stories.
— And as those stories unraveled, we couldn’t help but extrapolate how those applications were changing the very fabric of our culture. Our writers’ room is famous for getting weirdly philosophical. It’s still fun, and sort of cheeky, but now there’s a bit more of a beginning, middle, and end. ^^Please note I used a story to answer this question. ;-) - Embrace your listeners — That’s your community! Those are your people! HUGE shout-out to all of the Same Same But Tech subscribers and listeners — we couldn’t do any of this without you. Thank you 10000000x.
- Make it high quality — Equipment matters.
— I take two microphones, a mic stand, a mixer, two headphones, a big foam microphone insulator, and a bunch of cables everywhere I go. Typically, I take this in my carry on when I fly to make sure nothing gets damaged. This has led me to be stopped by security at least a dozen different airports across four continents and detained by a handful. Apparently, a bunch of cables and electronics looks a bit funky in an x-ray…
— I remember I got stopped in an airport in Italy and this sweet, older security agent asked me what was in my carry on as if I was her long-lost grandson. I told her it was a microphone and some equipment.
She asked, “Are you a singer?”
I said, “No, I podcast.”
Confused, she asked again, “Are you a singer?”
“No, I podcast. I talk.”
“Oh. You sing?” she repeated, almost gingerly.
“No. Talk! Podcaster,” said me, frustrated.
“Awww. Okay, you’re a singer.”
And with that my Italian grandmother shooed me along. - Find a great team
Podcasting is much more fun with friends.
For someone looking to start their own podcast, which equipment would you recommend that they start with?
Don’t overthink it, go with a USB mic. People like the Blue Yeti. We use the Rode NT Mini. For the price, it’s amazing. If you want to go to the next level, the SHURE 7B is the best mic around.
Record in your closet. Make sure you dress nicely too — it comes through in the audio. If it still sounds funky, put on a bolo tie and get the weirdly-named Kaotica Eyeball. It goes over your mic and blocks out room noise. I use it because Kanye uses it (I think).
Anchor is a great way to start when posting your podcast. If you want more control, Simplecast and Transistor are good platforms. For editing, Audacity is cool and cheap, but we use Logic X because we’re SO CREATIVE THAT WE NEED ALL THE CONTROL.
If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
For real, how do we not have universal healthcare, education, and affordable housing??
Also, decriminalize siestas. After the aforementioned.
How can our readers follow you online?
Instagram @mauhan
Twitter @_mauhan
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/mauhan
Clubhouse @mauhan
Thank you so much for sharing your time and your excellent insights! We wish you continued success.
