Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick (Pat) Tanahan and Nerses (Posh) Aposhian.
Pat and Posh met at USC in 2012 and have been best friends ever since. During and after college, both Pat and Posh often found themselves having incredibly meaningful conversations with founders and leaders of startups, companies, nonprofits, and movements in Los Angeles and were inspired by their upbringing and stories. Being born and raised in L.A., they knew they had to share these stories with the world because of their belief that there’s truly something awesome brewing in the City of Angels, something special that you just can’t find anywhere else. Since then, the podcast has expanded beyond only LA with no signs of slowing down.
Pat and Posh started listening to podcasts during their long commutes to work as a therapeutic escape from hours of driving 5 mph (L.A. traffic SUCKS!). This led them to want to be a part of the podcast movement and make others’ drives (and days) a little more bearable. So it began. Pat and Posh bought a couple of mics, emailed friends of theirs who were founders, and embarked on the journey.
So far, they have released 115+ episodes with founders across pretty much every industry, including “Milkshake” singer, Kelis, social media influencer Teni Panosian, author Robert Greene, pro skateboarder Paul Rodriguez, the founders of Tender Greens, Mendocino Farms, The H.Wood Group, Clare V., The Honest Company, Howlin’ Ray’s, Theragun, Pressed Juicery, FabFitFun, Riot Games, Lunya, Ikonick, Porto’s Bakery, Hautelook, Young & Reckless and many more.
Has it been a smooth road?
Like any project or business, there are always challenges. Some small, some bigger. For the most part, we were able to gain significant interest from guests and listeners from the very beginning because we believe that the vision and mission of sharing stories of the humans who are behind the most recognized businesses and movements in the community are very clear and something that resonates with everyone who is looking to build something great.
The real challenge for us has been growing the podcast to reach the most listeners as possible and keeping every episode interesting and engaging while also thinking about the future of the show and where things go from here.
Both Pat and Posh don’t have a journalism background. Pat’s background has been in business and Posh’s background is law and consulting. We have personally seen our growth as podcasters and storytellers and make sure we learn each and every day by watching interviews, reading books, staying up-to-date with current events, topics, pop culture and news around the world. Being in tune with the world we live in has helped ask us better and more intuitive questions to really delve deep into the mind of the founders we sit down with.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into The Founder Hour story. Tell us more about the business.
The Founder Hour is a podcast show hosted by Pat & Posh, which dives into the minds of founders, creators, and entrepreneurs in LA and beyond to share their stories and discuss relevant topics and current events. It’s also bigger than just that. It’s a platform aimed at fostering a community of folks who want to spark ideas and movements, and make a difference in this city and beyond.
To date, we are most proud of our growth and how many people around LA, California, the United States and around the world are tuning in. We have listeners in 123 countries! We also love the willingness of these founders to take the time out of their day to sit down with us, share their journies and inspire people of all ages and backgrounds.
Although there are plenty of podcast shows, The Founder Hour is unique because we take a super conversational approach and really try to highlight the human side of the guest to make it as relatable as possible to the listeners.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The podcast industry is only going to continue to grow massively over the next 5-10 years. It’s never been easier for anyone to pick up a microphone and have a voice and broadcast it to the world. If you are a professional, expert in a field, or a thought leader, you most likely will have your own podcast at some point.
The largest opportunity, in our eyes, is going to be curation and discovery since thousands and thousands of new podcast content is being created every single day and people have only a finite amount of time in the day to consume.
On this note, we will also see heavy consolidation in the form of networks (think Netflix for podcasts). Companies such as Luminary, Wonder Media, and Gimlet Media (recently acquired by Spotify) are already at the forefront of this. The podcasts with the best content and largest audience will naturally rise to the top, as videos did on YouTube and music on Spotify.
It’s going to be exciting to see what the future of podcasting looks like!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thefounderhour.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/thefounderhour
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/thefounderhour
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/thefounderhour
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-founder-hour/id1308141699?mt=2
Image Credit:
Mike Mora, Kenny Lewis, Jake Dahm, Edrick Tanahan
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