Mastering Growth: Hiring Right, Scaling Smart, and Overcoming Roadblocks

Uncomplicated Marketing

In this episode, we're joined by Jeff Umbro, founder and CEO of Podglomerate, a company that has been pivotal in redefining podcast production, monetization, and marketing. Jeff oversees all of Podglomerate's service departments, driving both strategy and innovation as the company expands its IP slate and revenue initiatives. Before launching Podglomerate, Jeff worked at Goldberg McDuffie Communications, leading online campaigns for some of the biggest names in literature, including Ben Horowitz, Ariana Huffington, and Stephen King. He has been featured in major outlets like Bloomberg and Morning Brew and has spoken at events like SXSW and Podcast Movement.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. The Aha Moment Behind Podglomerate: Jeff reveals how his passion for podcasting, sparked during his time as a book publicist, led to the creation of Podglomerate. He shares the journey of identifying a gap in the market, which he first envisioned as an ad agency for smaller podcast publishers, and how this eventually evolved into a full-service podcast company.

2. Navigating a Rapidly Growing Industry: Jeff discusses the challenges of building a podcast agency in an industry that was rapidly growing and changing. He explains how Podglomerate transitioned from working primarily with individual podcasters to supporting larger firms, all while navigating the evolving landscape of podcast advertising and content production.

3. Referral Marketing as a Growth Engine: Learn how word-of-mouth marketing and strong networking played crucial roles in scaling Podglomerate. Jeff emphasizes the power of building authentic relationships in the industry and how client referrals helped the company grow from just one person to a team of 10 full-time employees.

4. Knowing When to Scale and Bringing in the Right People: Jeff shares insights on recognizing the need for help and scaling the business responsibly. He talks about the importance of hiring operational minds to grow a company and how bringing in a chief operating officer helped streamline Podglomerate's processes and made its growth sustainable.

5. Marketing Tactics for a Niche Business: Jeff opens up about Podglomerate's marketing strategy—from leveraging organic marketing and relationship-building in the early days to now exploring paid campaigns as a more established business. He provides a candid look at the challenges and opportunities that come with scaling a marketing approach in a niche industry.

6. Advice for Entrepreneurs and Founders: Jeff offers practical advice on building a business from scratch: focusing on word-of-mouth marketing, consuming everything you can about your industry, and learning how to compartmentalize work in a healthy way as an entrepreneur.

This episode provides an in-depth look at the journey of building a podcast company from the ground up, highlighting the importance of scaling responsibly, the power of community, and practical marketing tactics.