Podcast Valley: 7 Podcasts to Help Grow Your Silicon Valley Business

Are you a podcast person? It's not the case for everyone. You might prefer reading. Or, if you're listening to music, it could be music-or-bust. No matter your content you prefer podcasts are growing in popularity.

In February, Spotify paid close to $500 million for two podcasts and their CEO made the prediction 20 percent of all streaming will be non-music content in the near future.

According to Musicoomph, there are more than 700,000 active podcasts which is up from 550,000 in. The podcasts in Silicon Valley, there are numerous podcasts devoted to the world of technology and startups. The topics range from unicorn CEO interviews, to talking about whether or not to be nice to your intelligent personal assistants (sorry for all the times I've had to yell at you, Siri) Topics cover a wide range in Silicon Valley alone.

How can you use this kind of media to improve your business, your visibility, or your company mission? I've listed some of my favorites below to keep you on top of the who's, what's, and how's of the world's biggest tech corridor.

1. Stanford Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders

"Who you are defines how you build." This slogan from Stanford's eCorner is the basis to the Entrepreneurial Thought Leadership podcast. Every week throughout the academic year, the Thought Leaders speaker series offers podcast episodes of each lecture that feature entrepreneurs and thought leaders in Silicon Valley and beyond.

They share the lessons they've acquired and shared with others while "developing, launching, and scaling disruptive ideas." Some of the questions are "what have you been working on?" "what does the history of your company look like?" "how did you take your initial idea and turn adopters into customers?" and "how do you gain traction in Silicon Valley?" Interviews from the latest series of "The Silicon Valley Show" include the CEOs of Google, Harvard Business School, 23andMe, Microsoft, MobileIron, and many, many more.

2. EntreLeadership

Hosted by Ken Coleman, EntreLeadership is a bi-weekly show that offers info, tips, interviews, as well as other things that can assist in the growth of "you and your business".

Each episode will focus on a different lesson in advancement and includes topics such as "Are you in the right place for growth?" "3 ways to engage your team" and "4 steps to avoid hiring mistakes." Imagine EntreLeadership a self-help for business podcast, with the added feature of well-known guests such as Mark Cuban, Seth Godin, and Daymond John. The podcast not only offers instructions on scaling your company, but also how to create the most efficient workplace you can.

3. Why'd You Push That Button?

Converge is a show produced by the Verge and hosted by The Verge's Ashley Carman and Vox.com's Kaitlyn Tiffany. This show could be my top pick on the list because it asks questions about how modern technology requires us to make bizarre, complicated, confusing choices. Imagine Black Mirror, but in an unnerving and much more real.

Each episode poses a specific question, and features guests with answers and stories that address that topic. The hosts are young, funny, and interesting and make this podcast appear like chatting with acquaintances. It's millennia-focused, so if you're looking to establish a brand that appeals to young people in an elegant contemporary, innovative, and hip style I suggest giving this podcast a go.

My absolute favorite episode has been "What makes a place Instagram-worthy?"

4. Exponent

I'm listening to the current show on Exponent: "Game of Phones," in which hosts Ben Thompson and James Allworth discuss the WWDC keynote and why it was so important to Apple to get past the iPhone. These shows usually go over recent announcements in the tech industry, with recent episodes focusing on WWDC the Slack IPO, Disney+, and the trade war between China and the United States.

What does this announcement mean to the tech world? What is the impact on everyday people? The companies themselves? This is a question that Exponent hopes to address.

5. Valley Talks

Valley Talks has, sometimes the most streamlined episodes of any of the shows included on this list. The episodes range from 12 minutes to 45. Each episode of Valley Talks aim to provide lessons in growing a Silicon Valley brand. Each season is focused on a specific area of Silicon Valley startup life, the current season is startup branding. This season features episodes that cover influencer marketing, how to pitch your company to journalists, and how to use your brand's potential to its fullest.

6. Tech Crunch: Equity

Equity is Tech Crunch's venture-capital particular podcast. The show is presented by Connie Loizos, Silicon Valley Editor at TechCrunch and Alex Wilhelm, Editor-in-Chief of Crunchbase News, Equity examines everything M&A, recently-secured funding rounds as well as Silicon Valley investing.

This podcast is definitely a deep dive to the VC world, which is super helpful for people at companies such as PAN that have clients who are preparing for IPO and securing new financing. Even if your company isn't close to an exit strategy, it's good to know what the general opinions are about events such as Uber's less-than-ideal IPO and what VCs think about cannabis-related industries, and the best way for a business to decide between M&A and IPO.

As a frequent Pros/Cons list maker, I don't see many cons to listening to podcasts. As Craig T. Nelson said on his show Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert, podcasts are freeform radio. They feature many people, they cover a variety of topics - my personal favorite is Ear Hustle. It covers the prison life of San Quentin prison, so it's clear that there's a podcast that is suitable for all. The six I've included above are such a small part of the form however they're ones that provide valuable information and have interesting questions to ask regarding the technology world we've dedicated lots of our time to.

7. Silicon Valley Tech Talks

Silicon Valley Tech Talks is an silicon valley podcast platform that aims at democratizing information about innovation and technology, especially for young professionals and students. It was founded by Faisal Wattoo, who has over twenty years experience in the technology industry with leadership roles in companies like Qualcomm, Amazon, and Meta Platforms, the platform offers engaging tech podcasts featuring industry leaders and innovators.

The platform covers a vast range of topics, including artificial intelligence cloud computing fintech, healthcare and biotech, best practices for leadership, semiconductors and hardware as well as wireless and connectivity and many other digital technologies. These podcasts provide listeners with direct insights into the newest advancements and trends in technology.

In addition, to long-form podcasts, Silicon Valley Tech Talks offers short clips and targeted insight, along with highlights from tech-related conferences like Open Silicon Valley 2023. It serves as an interface between tech-savvy users and professionals, helping to develop a deeper understanding of the technology landscape.

For more information or to explore their content, you can visit their official website at siliconvalleytechtalks.com or their YouTube channel at Silicon Valley Tech Talks - YouTube.