Podcast Review: Seth Godin’s Startup School #1 – Freelancer or Entrepreneur?
Rating: 3.5 / 5
I found this podcast by reviewing the iTunes Store’s “new and noteworthy” section in the Podcast app on my iPhone. I just downloaded and started using the app this week, and was hoping to find something fresh to get me out of my podcast routine.
Seth Godin is a well known internet celebrity and author who focuses on entrepreneurship and writes in neat and pithy style. While his posts can sometimes seem a little too pat, his short and direct blog entries often neatly drop a nice package of inspiration or wisdom. I was drawn to the podcast because I’ve enjoyed reading Godin’s blog and some of his books, and because I have growing interest in the topic of entrepreneurism.
Startup School podcasts are taken directly from a program he ran this past summer, teaching a 3-day program to “extremely motivated entrepreneurs, right at the beginning of launching their project.” The first episode serves as an introduction, but Godin wastes no time getting right into, posing the important question: do you want to be a freelancer or entrepeneur.
Like many good popular business writers, Godin has many sharp anecdotes and metaphors at his disposal. At the intro he compares starting a business to an architect with an empty lot. If he doesn’t like the house he ends up with, it’s because of the choices he made, he can’t blame anyone else. Then he relates the story of the lessons he learned being mostly forced to play ice hockey growing up in Buffalo, NY, and what that taught him about the three things it takes to excel. This anecdote doesn’t exactly mesh cleanly into the topic, but Godin moves swiftly enough that it doesn’t mar the proceedings.
What matters is that Godin gives a very succinct gloss of the topic and clearly delineating the choice of freelancer vs. entrepeneur. For a live recording from a class/seminar the audio quality is pretty good, with minimal room noise. It’s also well edited, with almost no fat.
I’m not sure this is a general interest podcast. But if you have an interest in starting your own business, or being more entrepreneurial in what you do, I think you’ll enjoy this podcast.
