Image via NextView Ventures
This post was written by Boston Content Co-Executive Director Mike Baker, content strategy manager at InsightSquared. Follow him, @MarketingBaker.
As an organization built to support content marketers, we are always thrilled when we can promote the incredible work our community is doing. That’s why I’m excited to tell you all about the launch of a new podcast created by someone near and dear to the Boston Content community: Co-founder Jay Acunzo. The podcast, called Traction, was created for NextView Ventures, where Jay works as vice president of platform, and gets to the heart of what unscalable tactics early-stage startups employ to ... well ... scale.
Calling a Spade a Spade
Yes, Jay is a co-founder of Boston Content, and the first episode features an interview with Fred Shilmover, CEO of the company I work for. But here’s the thing: I'm recommending this because I actually think it's great.
Gaining Traction
I'm always happy to promote great work from the community, but especially when it's a podcast. I love podcasts. It feels like every day I’m recommending a new favorite to someone. The only problem is that, while the number of podcasts I try increases, the number I actually think are worth listening to rarely changes. The rapid rise of podcasts — which are somehow simultaneously ushering in a new media age and making a comeback — means I now spend a large portion of my free time sifting through the mass of new podcasts in search of the few hidden gems.
The Real Deal
Traction’s primary purpose is to help share the stories of entrepreneurs and how they achieved early success when the odds were stacked against them. How they hustled for early results; what hard lessons they learned early; what they did when they found themselves at an apparent dead end.
It’s a great listen for anyone involved, or interested, in the startup scene, but is particularly relevant for people who create content or love thinking about marketing from the ground up. It manages to offer real tactical advice without getting buried in minutiae. And, at the same time, it tackles big issues but never lets its scope become too unwieldy.
Fake It 'Til You Make It
I have exactly zero qualms about stumping for Traction. It has the polish and storytelling flair typically found only in established programs like This American Life, Radiolab, and the recently launched (and similarly themed) StartUp. Yet this is one of us, trying something new, making an educated guess and putting it out there. It’s the perfect example of both startup content marketers and agency marketers trying to perfectly pair content and form, and coming up with something we can all look to as content creators.
The whole Boston Content committee is proud of what Jay and the NextView team has done and, after listening to the first three episodes, we truly recommend it and think others should listen to it, too. I’m already excited to see how Traction evolves and grows from here.
Give it a listen for yourself.