The Come Up: A New Podcast by RockWater

September 10, 2020 by  Chris Erwin

Today we launch The Come Up, our new podcast series. As your host, I’ll interview entrepreneurs and leaders from exciting new industries. Like new hollywood, podcasting, food and sports media, ecommerce, and the metaverse.

Our goal is to find founders and execs that are really shaking things up in the business world—and then share their best, untold stories with all of you. Like how they stumbled into starting their companies, and then pulled off a big exit. Or how they dealt with investor bias and funding challenges, or fumbled a major new product launch.

There’s plenty of podcasts that interview leaders, and just discuss the state of the industry. And our team listens to a lot of them.

But that’s not our show.

This next generation of leaders needs a new platform to share, and to be asked questions they’re not getting asked elsewhere. So that you, the listeners, can hear what if feels like to build a company. And perhaps be inspired to shake things up yourself.

You can subscribe to our show on Apple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsOvercast, Amazon Music (they’ll add podcasts soon) and the many 3rd-party podcast apps that pull from Apple’s directory.

Our ask: if you use Apple Podcasts, please give us a rating and write a short review. Or forward this email to a friend. Doing so will help others discover The Come Up.

This podcast has been over a year in the making. We actually started recording interviews in early 2020, before COVID hit. Now nearly six months later, our launch wasn’t delayed due to the pandemic, but instead because we wanted to get everything right. The branding, music, editing, my podcast voice, distribution, and all else that goes into making a great listener experience for all of you.

We believe it’s paid off. And because the stories from our guests are evergreen, they are as entertaining and inspiring today as they were when we first recorded them some months ago.

Today we kick off with our show trailer. It gives a sense of the sound and feel of The Come Up, and previews our first two episodes.

Our first full length interview drops next Wednesday September 16, and will feature Nicole Staple, the co-founder and CEO of Brideside. Nicole and her her team reinvented the bridal shopping experience, and have raised more venture capital than any other female-led business out of Chicago. We discuss investor bias towards women, managing through rapid growth during her husband’s cancer battle, and what rap lyrics have to do with ending meetings. And despite being recorded back in February, Nicole’s points about the softening consumer markets in 2020 are quite prescient.

Subscribers will get notified via their podcast app as soon as we release it. We’ll also send an email announcement.

Our second episode feature Adam Sachs, a digital media OG. Adam is well known for his podcast prowess, as the COO of Team Coco, an advisor to Higher Ground Audio by the Obamas, and as the former CEO of Midroll Media, leading them through a sale to E.W. Scripps. But I’ve known Adam since preschool, and his rise as a digital leader starts well before his podcasting days. His full story is a fun ride, and will drop over the next month.

Ok, that’s a lot to take in. Many of you have demanded more content from us, and we’re glad to deliver in a new form.

A few quick notes:

  • We want your feedback and guest ideas. Email us at tcupod@wearerockwater.com

  • Follow us on twitter @TCUpod

  • Our RockWater team has more podcast formats in the works. Like audio versions of our newsletter, a weekly microcast about industry news, and some some peer collaborations. Realistic launch dates are in 2021 😉

 

Alright, in closing…I’m flexing a lot of new creative muscles here, and definitely drinking from a firehose. The process has been challenging, yet incredibly fulfulling. This has been some of the most fun work of my career. And I’m fortunate to have a great team helping me.

A huge thank you to our engineer, Daniel Tureck, who just gets us. He’s a been a guiding light since day one of this project. And special thanks to our music composer, Devon Bryant, and our graphic designer, Kevin Zazzali. And of course, much appreciation to Andrew Cohen and Sean Diep from the RockWater team, and to the many friends, family, and mentors who’ve supported us along this journey.

Lastly, thanks to all of you for being loyal readers of Through Line and RockWater supporters. We’ll continue working hard to bring you smart industry insights, unique POV, and executive access. So we can continue earning your readership, and now your downloads.

Onward. And reminder to subscribe!

PS – Next Thursday our newsletter will feature an analysis of recent investments and M&A in the industries we cover. We’ll identify key themes that can serve as a guide for investors and corp dev teams as we prepare to enter 2021. 

Ping us here at anytime. We love to hear from our readers.

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