Prompt Cast
Pilot.com: A Startup-Focused Accounting Firm Providing Financial Services for Startups and Growth Companies
TLDR Pilot.com offers accounting, tax, and bookkeeping services for startups and growth companies, allowing them to focus on their product while Pilot takes care of their financial needs.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Pilot.com is a startup-focused accounting firm that provides accounting, tax, and bookkeeping services for startups and growth companies, allowing them to focus on what makes their product better while Pilot takes care of their financial needs.
05:03
This episode covers the acquisition by Scripps of both Midroll and Stitcher, two companies in the podcasting space.
10:52
Midroll, a podcast advertising company, was acquired by Scripps for $50 million up front and $10 million earn out, which is a significant return considering Midroll's annual revenue is estimated to be around $2 million.
16:12
Scripps acquired Stitcher, a podcast client for mobile devices, for $4.5 million in cash after it had previously been acquired by Deezer, a music streaming company, and had failed as a venture-backed startup.
21:42
The challenge for Scripps is to make Stitcher appealing enough for people to seek out another way to listen to podcasts rather than using the built-in Apple podcast client, and Scripps understands that this is the way to unlock the value in the podcasting ecosystem.
26:52
Scripps needs to build an incredible technology-enabled user interface in order to make Stitcher a successful product and compete with Apple's built-in podcast client.
32:22
Stitcher's acquisition by Scripps will likely involve creating exclusive content and potentially adopting a subscription-based model similar to Netflix in order to generate revenue.
37:22
Apple created the podcasting medium but doesn't care about it and is not taking advantage of its potential, and SoundCloud and Apple are more focused on music than podcasting.
42:06
The podcasting industry is dominated by a few top publishers, making it difficult for new platforms to compete with the default options like Apple's podcast app.
46:54
Midroll's acquisition is seen as a risky move due to the high price tag and the need for significant changes to make it profitable, while Stitcher's acquisition is seen as a potentially cheaper way to access a large user base, although the success of the integration is still uncertain.
51:49
Twitch has launched a new feature called cheering, which uses a virtual currency called bits and has the potential to unlock massive revenue for the company.
56:51
The hosts discuss their personal carve outs for the week, including a writer joining The Ringer and the use of OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) for self-management and team management.
Categories:
Technology
Business
