Agnes Kozera | Podcorn
What Is Podcorn? Tell Us About What You Do And How Your Platform Works.
Podcorn is a self-service marketplace that connects podcasters with advertisers to collaborate on native sponsorships. The platform gives podcasters the creative control to monetize their content with brands that align seamlessly with their audiences and enables advertisers to collaborate on organic ads that resonate with listeners and drive business results.
What Is Your Background? What Led You To Starting Your Own Company? And How Did You Choose This Space?
For a long time now, my co-founder David Kierzkowski and I have been passionate about empowering creators and brands on different mediums. Prior to Podcorn, Dave and I co-founded FameBit, the leading marketplace connecting brands to YouTube content creators for sponsorships and endorsements, which was acquired by Google in 2016 and then became YouTube’s branded content arm. After David and I spent time as product managers at Google, we saw podcasts emerging as the next big creative medium. We also saw a lot of monetization problems unfolding, similar to the issues we saw in the early days of video creators, and we wanted to solve those in the podcasting space. This is when we decided to start Podcorn together.
Prior to FameBit, I founded a company called SeasonsBox, a monthly subscription service of curated, eco-friendly products, which is actually what led me to discover the need for FameBit and which started my entrepreneurship journey. I have a master’s degree in Socio-Legal Studies and dropped out of law school to pursue my entrepreneurship journey.
What Was The Inspiration Behind The Company Name?
The name Podcorn is a combination of the words “podcasting” and “popcorn.” It is meant to symbolize podcasting as the next big entertaining medium.
What Have Been Both Your Favorite And Least-liked Parts Of Your Entrepreneurial Journey? What Have Been Your Most Challenging And Most Exciting Moments For You And The Company?
I have so many favorite things about entrepreneurship. It’s very exciting how quickly things move in the startup world. Due to the fast pace and ability to wear many hats, I constantly feel that I’m growing and learning new skills. But by far, the most incredibly rewarding part of entrepreneurship is the contribution aspect of putting something out into the world and seeing user adoption.
There have been so many exciting moments from getting funding to launching and seeing product-market fit right away. The most exciting moments are when we hear positive feedback from podcasters about how our platform is helping them monetize their passions.
Since we are a marketplace, a constant challenge is maintaining the right balance between supply and demand.
Who Are Your Co-Founders Or People Who You Work Very Closely With? How Do Their Skills Supplement Yours?
David Kierzkowski and I co-founded Podcorn together. Previously, David and I co-founded and led FameBit together. David is also a serial entrepreneur and prior to FameBit, he co-founded Tapclicks, an end-to-end solution for marketing analytics. Dave and I are great as co-founders because we work well together on all strategic and operational efforts for the company but we also have very different and complementary skills that make us a very strong team. Dave is the technical co-founder who leads all aspects of product, design and engineering, whereas I lead the brand vision, marketing, communications and creative sides of the business.
What Was The Fundraising Process Like For You? Tell Us About Your Investors And What You Use The Money You’ve Raised For.
We have raised $2.2 million in seed funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, 500 Startups, Global Founders Capital, Alumni Ventures Group, and ACT Capital Partners, among others. We were fortunate to raise our seed funding right at the idea stage. This funding has been used to develop our tech platform and go to market.
Tell Us About Your Numbers. How Has Growth Been Over The Past Couple Of Years?
We saw immediate product-market fit, which is a dream come true for any startup. Within the first four months post-launch, we were already growing three times faster than we were with our previous company, FameBit. Right now, we have more than 30,000 podcasters and hundreds of advertisers, who have completed thousands of campaigns. Since launch, we’ve seen lots of big campaign wins, including one by Lumen (the first hand-held device to measure your metabolism in real-time), which partnered with podcasters through Podcorn and yielded a return on ad spend (ROAS) of more than 300%. In addition, Seriously’s mobile game Best Fiends used Podcorn to scale their podcast influencer marketing efforts and hired 100 podcasters that generated 500 native endorsements, resulting in more than 9 million downloads. Our clients now include brands like Sony and Hulu.
Do You See Podcorn Operating Exclusively In The Podcast Space, Or Are There Plans To Use Your Platform For Other Content Generators As Well Such As Youtubers Or Bloggers?
Our main focus is exclusively on podcasters and solving their monetization problems. However, podcasters are influencers who often leverage other social media platforms to distribute and promote their podcasts, such as vodcasts (video podcasts) on YouTube or episode snippets on their podcast’s Instagram and Facebook pages. So we do see an opportunity in the future to integrate other platforms to help podcasters monetize their podcast presence in additional ways.
Anything Exciting Launching Soon?
We’ve recently forged new partnerships with podcast hosting platforms Buzzsprout, Podomatic, RSS Captivate and Omny, in an effort to help with monetization for as many independent podcasters as possible.
Tell Us About Your Typical Workday Schedule.
I find that my approach to workday scheduling has become a lot more flexible over time. In the past, I would try to schedule everything and account for every minute of the day. I used to schedule my meetings back to back with virtually no breaks until the last meeting was finished.
Over time, I learned that this wasn’t the most efficient strategy for me. Not only does it burn you out, but it also makes it difficult to adjust to constantly changing circumstances and demands that are thrown at you daily when you’re building a company. I now try to keep a flexible schedule so that I can easily shift focus when something else comes up that needs attention. This approach also gives me the flexibility that I need to think and be creative throughout the day and evening versus just being too busy.
What Are The Most Important Skills A Modern Day Entrepreneur Needs In Order To Be Successful? What Advice Do You Have For Entrepreneurs Who Are Just Starting Out?
The first important skill is being able to focus under extreme uncertainty since as an entrepreneur, you’re pursuing something that doesn’t have certainty that it’ll work.
The second most important skill is determination because the entrepreneurship journey is filled with obstacles and rejections, so you can’t get discouraged easily.
The third most important skill is being adaptable. You have to be nimble and open to learning from your team, your customers, and the market. You also have to be open to changing direction or pivoting when required.
Tell Us A Story Of Something That Happened To You, Something You Heard, Or Something You Saw, That Either Made You Laugh Or Taught You An Important Lesson.
One thing that I heard, implemented, and found to be accurate is that in the early days of your customer acquisition, your focus should be on quality versus quantity of customers. In other words, your focus shouldn’t necessarily be on getting as many customers as possible but on finding and converting the right customers for the right reasons. You want to find customers who are strategically aligned with your product and the problem that it is solving, who will become your product evangelists and give you useful product feedback.
If You Can Have A One-Hour Meeting With Someone Famous Who Is Alive, Who Would It Be And Why?
As someone who loves the world of fashion as much as the world of tech, I would love to chat with one of the most influential women in fashion media, Anna Wintour, about how tech and social media influencers are changing the fashion industry.
What Do You Do In Your Free Time?
I love watching movies, reading, solving jigsaw puzzles, and playing tennis.
What Is Your Favorite Quote And Why Does It Resonate With You?
The following quote resonates with me because I’m a strong believer that you can accomplish anything as long as you love what you do.
“Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson
What Does Success Mean To You?
To me, being successful means that you are feeling useful.
Agnes Kozera’s Favorites Stack:
Books:
Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts by Annie Duke
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
The Leadership Pipeline: How To Build The Leadership Powered Company by Ram Charan, Steve Drotter and Jim Noel
Podcasts: