Best Startup Scotland
Colin Gray of The Podcast Host and Alitu.com.
Where in Scotland are you located?
Inverness
Tell us about yourself?
I’m a podcaster, a writer, a video presenter and a speaker – probably most so, I like to teach! I founded thePodcastHost.com (our content site) back in 2010, to teach people how to run a great podcast. And I founded Alitu.com (our podcast maker app) in 2017 to help them do it more easily with software.
What lessons has being an entrepreneur taught you?
It’s taught me that having all the freedom, running your own schedule and being your own boss isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be! Most of the time it’s really good to have a schedule, constraints and accountability, even when you’re working on your own.
If you could go back in time to when you first started your business, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
Grow it slowly, sustainably. There’s rarely truly a rush. And if there really is a rush, then be prepared for a whole lot of stress, needing help and giving up a lot of control to those that can give you the rocket fuel to get there.
A lot of entrepreneurs find it difficult to balance their work and personal lives. How have you found that?
It’s hard, yes. In the early days when it’s just fun, and a game, it’s hard to switch off because you WANT to do more. And in the later days, when it’s scale, process and recruitment, it’s hard to switch off because of the responsibility and the stress.
The biggest thing for me is keeping your home work-free. If you have more work to do, keep it at the office. Keep home for home, and that helps a lot with the compartmentalisation.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
Helping anyone, anywhere to get their voice out into the world.
What do you think is your magic sauce? What sets you apart from the competitors?
We live and breathe it, having run podcasts ourselves for more than a decade. We believe in simplicity, clarity and brevity. So everything we do is no-fluff, to the point, down to earth, and has action in mind. From our content to our app, it’s always there just to help you, the podcaster, achieve your goal.
How have you found sales so far? Do you have any lessons you could pass on to other founders in the same market as you just starting out?
We do it all via content. We write helpful articles, create helpful videos and record helpful podcast episodes.
People find those, because they’re searching for a solution to their problems. And once we help them solve a problem, we’ve built trust, so they’re more than happy to think about buying our products.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced so far in your business, and how did you overcome it?
Recruitment… it takes soo much time. We took on a new team member specifically to help with this, and we’ve done a lot of work on process to make it simpler.
What do you consider are the main strengths of operating your business in Scotland?
Good funding options, good value office space and… honestly… a bit of uniqueness in our content because of the accent 😀
What if any are weaknesses of operating your business within Scotland?
Definitely a little harder to recruit, since the pool is smaller.
What influence does being part of the UK have on your business?
Not a lot, if I’m honest. We’re part of a global podcasting community and most of our customers and not UK based!
What do you want to accomplish in the next 5 years with your business?
We want Alitu to be the number one choice, and the best choice, for anyone starting a podcast.
How has Brexit impacted your business (if at all)?
Recruitment, again! Harder to bring great developers into the UK, if they want to do in-person work.
And finally, if people want to get involved and learn more about your business, how should they do that?
If anyone wants to start a podcast, then go to https://www.ThePodcastHost.com/start – it’s way easier than you think!
Follow The Podcast Host and Alitu.com on Twitter or Linkedin.
