In this article I cover the three best business podcasts for entrepreneurs. I recommend a few of the best episodes of each podcast and somethings I learned from each. Enjoy.
Podcast One: How I Built This
How I Built This is one of the best business podcasts out there. On How I Built This host Guy Raz interviews successful entrepreneur on how they built their companies. The podcast is filled with interesting stories told by extremely inspiring people. Here are three episodes to start with.
Yvon Chouinard – Patagonia
Yvon Chouinard the CEO of Patagonia is my hero. He got into business to solve a problem for himself as well as to take care of the environment. I consider him my perfect idea of the sustainable business man. This is a person who doesn’t compromise his soul, principles and environment but still profits.
What I learned:
- Team building matters. If you hire amazing people and trust them then your business will grow. An study of Patagonia employees found that hey won’t be able to work anywhere else because of how independent they were. They get their work done and like Ants are natural builders.
- Being an amazing boss directly leads to more revenue, attracts the best talent and leads to a great working environment
Mark Cuban
This episode almost made me legitimately quit my job. Cuban worked both smart and hard to build his empire.
What I learned:
- Learn to sell and you will always have a job
- Believe in yourself and learn how to find and capitalize on opportunities
- Having a great boss is a blessing. If you have a shitty boss ignore them and keep pursuing your dreams.
VICE: Suroosh Alvi
Suroosh Alvi cofounder of Vice was addicted to heroin. He is incredible. He beat that habit and wandered into the publishing world not knowing anything about the industry. He and his partners built Vice through pure will power and perseverance.
What I learned
- Never give up and surround yourself with people who will support you
- You don’t have to have experience in an industry to thrive in it. Learn the industry and build your dream.
Jenn Hymman – Rent the Runway
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This episode tells the story of how Jenn Hyman and her cofounder pitched and built Rent the Runway. Jenn went through sexual harassment, faced sexism , had a terrible boss, got rejected by investors and still built a multi-million dollar empire.
What I learned:
- If you are determined enough you can over come any obstacle
- If you hustle you create your own luck
- Don’t take no for an answer
- Be the best boss you can be to your employees. Jenn had a boss who tore her down and another who built her up. She credits the boss who encouraged her for how successful she has been.
Podcast Two: The James Altucher Show
The James Altucher show is another fantastic business podcast. James Altucher is the man. I read his book Choose Yourself and it gave me a new perspective on entrepreneurship and how to value yourself in todays marketplace. He interviews some amazing people who have valuable insight on life, business, entrepreneurship, technology, writing and more.
Mr. X – Government Hacker turned Entrepreneur
Mr.X is has an incredible back story. When he was 15 he hacked one of the largest internet company in the world. He stole 90 million credit card numbers by accident. He sent the company a note on how he did it so that they can secure their platform. A few days later the FBI shows up and asked him how he did. They let him go once they found out that he had no malicious intent. Fast forward a few years Mr.X began working for the government and now is a successful entrepreneur. This episode helped me think outside of the box and it led to a break through in a product I am developing.
What I learned:
- Learning the basics of how to secure your identity is important. Start by reading more on the topic and start building good habits like updating the software on devices like your phone, router and TV.
- Build the habit of learning. There are countless things to learn and the more you know the more choices you have to reach financial freedom, start a business and accomplish your dreams.
- Think differently about how you approach solving problems. Keep looking for new solutions and build on what others have built to create new solutions.
Brandon Webb – Navy SEAL turned CEO
Brandon Webb was a Navy SEALs Sniper who wrote several books including Killing School and most recently Total Focus. James interviews him about why he left an amazing military career and how he grew his million dollar business.
What I learned:
- Don’t stay at a job you don’t love. Money comes and goes but you can’t put a price on doing what you love
- Having an amazing boss is important for your growth
- Life happens and you have to learn how to deal with the ups and downs of it
- Build your dreams while you work. If you stay focused you can get anything done despite how “busy” you think you are
Shane Snow Founder of Contently
Shane Snow is the founder of the content marketing platform Contently. Contently is a great product if you are looking for ways to scale your content marketing efforts.
His company let’s you hire freelance writer to help improve your SEO, increase website traffic and sales.
What I learned
- You can’t be an entrepreneur alone. You need a strong support network to helps you succeed. This doesn’t mean business partners. It means friends and family because they will be there for you regardless of you fail or succeed.
- Being successful takes work. You have to use smart short cuts to help you get ahead.
- Don’t be entitled and expect things to be given to you. Work hard/smart and earn the respect of your peers.
Podcast Three: From Scratch
Jessica Harris hosts From Scratch which is a business podcast that celebrates entrepreneurs. It is one of the best business podcasts because Jessica interviews a wide array of successful business people. They offer a wealth of information and can help you navigate starting, running and selling your business. Here are a few of the best episodes.
Luis von Ahn- Duolingo
Luis von Ahn is the founder of Duolingo and reCAPTCHA. He is an incredible overachiever who built business out of solving problems. His story is both inspiring and humbling.
What I learned:
- There are some ridiculously smart and clever people out there using their skills to solve real problems.
- Your idea does not have to be complicated, it just has to solve a problem. If it solves a problem people will pay you money for it.
- Stay true to your long term goals and don’t sell out for short term money. Duolingo could have easily been a translation service since a lot of clients started to pay for that. They ended that service despite the money and pushed towards the goal of helping people learn a new language in an affordable way.
Nolan Bushnell – Atari & Chucky Cheese
Nolan Bushnell is a legend in the gaming world. He invented the first coin based video game machine and helped build the video gaming category. Nolan also hired Steve Jobs before he founded Apple and had the chance to invest in him early on. Nolan is extremely interesting and full of wisdom.
What I learned:
- Always bet on Steve Jobs or an employee that is wildly passionate about their dreams or you will regret it. He kissed the opportunity to support Steve Jobs when Steve was working for him.
- Learn how to sell or talk people into buying what you are selling. Practice this often to build up the skill.
- Help your employees develop their skills it will pay off in the long run
- Being arrogant isn’t worth it. Keep your ego in check other wise life has a way of doing it for you
What are some of your best business podcasts?
These are three of the best business podcasts that I listen to. I’m always looking to add more to my rotation so please let me know what you are listening to in the comments below. I’d also love to hear your opinion on the business podcasts above and any great episodes I might have missed.
