The Pitch: Get inside the minds of investors in this Shark Tank-esque listen

The Premise (from Apple Podcasts):

Named 'the best business podcast on startup life' by Fortune. Listen as real entrepreneurs pitch to real investors—for real money. In each episode, we take you behind closed doors to the critical moment when aspiring entrepreneurs put it all on the line. While it offers a glimpse into the high-stakes world of venture capital, it’s really a show about human relationships: how people sell their ideas, what makes investors tick, and how these initial conversations can bloom into business deals—or die on the vine.

Series or standalone:

Standalone

Begin listening to:

Any episode (but do listen to them all)

Format:

Hard to categorize, but it's basically like you're eavesdropping on a pitch meeting with investors!

Host(s):

Josh Muccio

Sound/production quality:

Very good

Rating/age suitability:

The episodes are all clean, as far as I can remember, but there's probably the most appeal or teens/adults.

Approximate length of episodes:

30 minutes

Curricular ties:

This would work spectacularly in an economics/business/entrepreneurship class or lesson if your school offers that.

Similar recommended pods:

How I Built This; Passion Economy

Podcast Librarian’s Review:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I’m been binge-ing this pod for the last couple weeks and am completely obsessed. The best way to describe it is an audio-only version of Shark Tank. Each episode, an entrepreneur pitches their startup venture to a panel of investors who ask tough questions to determine whether they ultimately want to invest. The parallels to ST are clear, but obviously, these are businesses that are tech-based and do not (typically) involve a physical product that you need to see to understand like many of the Shark Tank products. Some of my favorites are Dig (a dating app for dog owners) and Shift (this one is a tear-jerker!). The really exciting part of the show is that investors might commit on the spot or might wait and commit later—or not. Sometimes, they invest initially but later withdraw after they get more specific financial info. It all feels much more realistic than ST; more than one venture capitalist can invest, and they often do. Host Josh provides occasional commentary throughout the episode to recap or further explain what is happening in the moment. He also revisits with some entrepreneurs after their initial pitch on the show to check in and find out how business is going. This pod is so compelling to me; I think it has the perfect amount of suspense so that it almost feels like a reality show but without all the cheesiness of ST. I’ve listened to many episodes but am working my way through the entire catalog. You don’t need to know much about startups or VC to enjoy and get sucked into this pod!

Update 10.31.2020

Shortly after writing this review, I got all caught up on the back catalog of the show. It's still appointment listening for me; I listen as soon as a new episode drops. They've been doing some cool episodes around pandemic-related startup issues. Definitely a Podcast Librarian Top Pick!