Best Startup Podcasts in 2021

Our list of the best startup podcasts for founders. These are great podcasts for building a startup and being inspired by other founders building cool stuff.

For busy founders, podcasts are a great way to learn while on the go. The problem is, there are a lot to choose from! Luckily for you, we’ve listened to nearly all of them, so you don’t have to. Here’s are the best startup podcasts, in our humble opinion.

How I Built This

How I Built This is what the title suggests - host Guy Raz interviews founders on how they built companies most of us will recognize. What’s I love about How I Built This is it isn’t limited to just tech. Past guests include Steve Ells, founder of Chipotle, Kenneth Cole, Dave Dahl of Dave’s Killer Bread, and tech founders like Drew Houston of Dropbox.

You can expect to learn about the ups and downs of being a founder.

This Week in Startups

This Week in Startups is the startup podcast I listen to most regularly. It comes out several times a week and has a few different formats. Generally, it involves interviewing a successful founder and learning more about their story and approach to startup building.

This Week in Startups is hosted by Jason Calacanis - a founder and angel investor who’s backed startups like Uber, Calm, and Robinhood.

Expect to learn lots of tactical advice for running a startup, as well as more about how investors think.

Twenty Minute VC

Host Harry Stebbings started as a kid trying to break into VC fan. Now he's a prolific venture capitalist in his own right. Each episode he interviews top VCs a couple times a week in, as the title suggests, about 20 minutes. Harry also interviews founders and shares key learnings from each episode on the Twenty Minute VC website.

Past guests include Bill Gurley from Benchmark, Keith Rabois from Founders Fund, and Sarah Guo from Greylock. 

Expect to learn a lot about venture capital and how VCs think.

Startup

I love everything about the early seasons of Startup. The podcast is hosted by and follows the founder of Gimlet Media, Alex, as he stumbles through starting a startup and getting his podcasting empire off the ground. He covers everything from pitching investors (poorly), how to come up with a company name, even how to split equity between cofounders. What's great about it is how meta it all is. You are listening to a podcast about a founder creating podcasts.

They are no longer making new episodes, and in my humble opinion the first season is best. Later seasons switch between following the Gimlet story, and following stories of other founders.

Give it a listen if you are looking to hear in depth stories of another founder's journey.

Y Combinator Podcast

They stopped shipping new episodes of the YC podcast over a year ago, but it still remains one of the best startup podcasts I’ve listened to. The feed blended episodes with interviews of founders, along with YC content from startup school.

Expect to learn from successful founders, along with tactical startup advice, from idea to launch to exit.

Inside Intercom

This excellent podcast covers a wide range of topics geared towards product teams, startups, and founders from the Intercom team. They cover everything from product management, to growth, to scaling.

If you are a product-focused founder, then this is a great podcast for you. Expect to learn lots of product management best practices from a successful startup.

Equity (TechCrunch)

Equity is TechCrunch's venture capital focused podcast. it covers news and emerging ideas in VC and Silicon Valley more generally.

Recent episodes cover Deliveroo's IPO, how equity crowdfunding is making private markets public, and Stripe's recent fundraise.

This is a great listen if you want to stay up to date on what's going on in tech and VC.

The Pitch

The Pitch is another Gimlet podcast. It's essentially the audio version of Shark Tank. Each Wednesday you'll hear founders pitch their startup and sell their vision to actual investors, who are ready to write a check.

If you are looking to nail your investor pitch, it's always good to hear how other founders do it. There's a lot to learn from their successes, as well as their mistakes.

Summarizing the Best Startup Podcasts

• How I Built This: For founders looking for inspiration
• This Week in Startups: For founders looking for tactical advice on startup building
• Twenty Minute VC: For founders wanting to better understand VCs
• Startup: For a fun listen and insight into another founder's ups and downs
• Y Combinator Podcast: For founders looking for advice from idea to exit
• Inside Intercom: For product-focused founders
• Equity: For staying on top of funding news and what's going on in tech
• The Pitch: For founders who want to improve their investor pitch