How Vygo Used Podcasting to Gain Access to a Billion-Dollar Business Coach & Investors
Contents
The benefits of a branded podcast are more than you could imagine. A podcast could help you bring your startup to a new level, access new investors and the world’s best business coach, and strengthen company culture. Here to prove it is Vygo. Together with Lower Street, they published the Unicorn Launcher podcast, a show that brought them all that and more.
Vygo is a platform to connect students with mentors and guides to help them achieve their best. Unlike other student support apps, Vygo connects students with their peers, advisors, and mentors– everyone they need to provide them with proactive and personalized support when and where they need it.
Co-founders Joel and Ben were proud of Vygo, but they realized that even established entrepreneurs always have more to learn. And they wanted to learn from the best. They set their sight on Matt Mochary - author of The Great CEO Within and business coach to the CEO of leading companies such as OpenAI, Canva, Brex, OpenSea, and more.
Matt told them there was no way he would coach them - they were still small and not his usual clientele in the industry. But rather than take no for an answer, they got a little creative.
They approached him with a new project: make a real-life documentary-style podcast together. Matt would get to share his expertise, and the Vygo team would get to learn from a leader who helps build billion-dollar businesses.
"We went to him, and we said, “ Look - We’re radically transparent. We want to share the journey, coach us, and we’ll record the whole thing. We’ll turn it into a podcast where you get to get your information out in the world.”Joel Di Trapani, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Vygo
Lower Street brought Joel and Ben’s vision to life with Unicorn Launcher. This eight-episode podcast successfully brought Matt Mochary’s coaching to Vygo. But it also had other surprising benefits. These benefits included new access to investors, as well as stronger relations with investors. It also included a stronger company culture - with higher employee retention and better candidates from the start.
Key Highlights
Vygo Cofounders Joel Di Trapani and Ben Hallett made it their mission to secure Matt Mochary as their coach.
With the vision of a documentary-style podcast, they were able to convince Matt to join them in recording a unique-branded podcast and share his work with the world.
Recognizing that they needed real experts to produce high-quality work - they turned to Lower Street.
Together, we took a new approach to branded podcasting. We brought the audience on an eight-part journey into the good, the bad, and the ugly of startup life.
Promotional marketing on strategic platforms brought over 1 million impressions of Unicorn Launcher’s release.
The Unicorn Launcher podcast secured Matt as the team’s coach for 2 years. It also brought in new investors and brought Vygo the added benefit of a stronger company culture and employee retention.
Problem
The Vygo team came to us with a vision: a branded podcast with a very unusual KPI: Get the best coach in the world to coach them.
"We’ve always just seen podcasts as a way to get access to people. So this is our way to get access to Matt."Joel Di Trapani, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Vygo
Joel, one of Vygo’s co-founders, wanted a very specific approach. He wanted an engaging storytelling podcast set up like a documentary.
"We'd had some experience creating interview-style podcasts before, but we knew we wanted to make a narrative production podcast. And we can’t do that on our own."Joel Di Trapani, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Vygo
He envisioned story arcs within each episode, as well as a greater story arc through the whole podcast season. Rather than a classic interview podcast, this meant the team had to look at the big picture, look at every challenge, and break it down into engaging stories.
While recording a few conversations was one thing, piecing them together, adding effective narration, and pulling it all together for a story - is another.
"Our executive producer created a whole new process where instead of doing a traditional narration, he would interview us and just orchestrate conversations where he could pull the narration out of that. So he was able to understand us, work with us, and then create an amazing outcome based on who we were and where our limitations were."Joel Di Trapani, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Vygo
A podcast would be able to show the raw reality of a startup - including even the most vulnerable sides of the journey.
"Podcasting is one of the most effective tools in the world to build relationships with people."Joel Di Trapani, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Vygo
It wouldn’t benefit only the Vygo team - framing the podcast in a documentary style would also be an opportunity for Matt Mochary. He’d be able to share his expertise with a greater audience through a real-time case study.
Once they got Matt on board with the idea they knew they needed to find the best team to produce Unicorn Launcher.
"When we locked in Matt -we knew we didn’t want to produce something subpar We wanted to do something above and beyond what was out there. We need experts in this space."Joel Di Trapani, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Vygo
That’s when Joel and Ben found us at Lower Street.
Solution
Joel and Ben, co-founders of Vygo, already had created podcasts in the past. But this time around, the stakes were too high: they needed a high-quality production to get Matt on board for coaching. They shopped around to find the right production team. After we got to know each other, it was clear Lower Street was just who Joel and Ben needed to help them produce the Unicorn Launcher podcast.
"Harry and Lower Street just stood head and shoulders above the rest. They understood what we were trying to get out of it. They worked with us to unpack our idea and create the story in more detail. They could add value and bring context from day one, which we just didn't know how to do."Joel Di Trapani, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Vygo
With a stellar idea and Lower Street on their side, Joel and Ben were able to secure Matt as a coach. He was thrilled at the opportunity to use a podcast medium and take a different approach to his coaching.
Lower Street brought Joel and Ben’s unique vision to life. We produced an eight-episode podcast that successfully engaged listeners. They listened and loved every vulnerable twist and turn through Vygo’s journey. Unicorn Launcher was an engaging documentary-style journey into the true life of entrepreneurs.
"The style created a much richer story and a much more textured narrative so people could really understand the process. And that was one of the things we wanted to get across what it's actually like to be a startup."Joel Di Trapani, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Vygo
Unicorn Launcher not only included the voices of Joel, Ben, and Matt, but also of their investors, and everyone they took on this journey.
"People like being on podcasts, they get a chance to share their story and their journey and they get to push this widely as well. So we wanted to bring people and give as many opportunities as possible to bring people that were important to us into this and give them a chance to tell their story as well."Joel Di Trapani, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Vygo
The Lower Street and Vygo team knew that the best content wouldn’t come from a dry narration. We needed something else to carry the full story.
"Our executive producer really cared and he seemed to love being involved in it. So we were able to build a really strong relationship and build a lot of trust in that."Joel Di Trapani, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Vygo
Outcomes
Apple podcast #1 in Australia in Entrepreneurship
Apple podcast #1 in Australia in Business
Apple podcast #19 in Australia in All Podcasts
Apple podcast #1 in the US & Finland in Marketing
Apple podcast #21 in the US in Business
Featured in the editorial selection of Castbox & Pocketcast
W3 2022 Gold award for best-branded podcast or segment Mini Series & special documentaries
A promotional campaign brought in over 1 million impressions
Unicorn Launcher successfully brought Joel and Ben together with legendary coach Matt Mochary. But it gave them access to even more great minds - it gave them more personal access to investors, employees, and other voices to guide them in growing Vygo.
"I think it was produced and made so well and it told a compelling story that I think a lot of people got a lot out of it."Joel Di Trapani, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Vygo
Matt followed the pair for two years of their journey, helping them through personal and professional challenges. He helped them to unlock their full potential.
The Unicorn Launcher podcast was produced at the same time Vygo was preparing for another investment round. It allowed Joel and Ben to access new investors. The pair would often invite investors on the show and share with them a transparent view of the company. This open way of welcoming them into Vygo’s world creates much stronger relationships.
"The value we got for the company was immeasurable. We completed investment rounds, and we got to hire great talent, all because we had access to this coach who gave us access to a community that we could have never dreamed of."Joel Di Trapani, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Vygo
Internally the podcast inspired current employees and strengthened the company’s mission. But it also helped with future hiring.
"Internally, our team loved hearing the podcast. They got really revved up as well. I think it was great for inspiration, motivation, and clarity for our team about what we were doing and how the company was doing over that period."Joel Di Trapani, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Vygo
As the podcast gave an honest look at their work ethic, style, and vision, new applicants came in knowing exactly what to expect. Since the release, they’ve seen higher employee retention and a stronger internal company culture.
"We’ve had great employee retention since launching the podcast. When they join us, they already know everything about us thanks to it, there are a lot fewer surprises waiting for them."Joel Di Trapani, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Vygo
Additionally, the podcast saw great success - topping the charts in Apple Australia for entrepreneurship and business. It also took home numerous awards.
Beyond Vygo’s goals, Joel was inspired by his talks with thought leaders and launched a new podcast “Do as I Say”. When inviting new high-profile guests, they look to the Unicorn Launcher podcast as proof of credibility and are excited to sit down with Joel. His guests have included executives and CEOs from billion-dollar companies.
"I think that the Unicorn Launcher's largest ongoing benefit has been for doing other podcasts. We had a lot of immediate business benefits, but the ongoing benefit has been related to podcasts. I can tell new guests “Check out my old podcast. It won all these awards. It charted in all these different countries. It had a bunch of traction.” And so it gives me a whole lot of credibility that I never had before."Joel Di Trapani, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Vygo
Joel loved the podcast so much - he even got a tattoo of the cover art. Unicorn Launcher offered an incredible opportunity for the co-founders. It changed the way they see business and their personal lives. We’re happy to have been along with them on the journey.
Conclusion
Vygo approached us with a unique vision, it was more than a branded podcast, but a chance to become a part of their growth. We led them through new narration styles and helped them produce a high-quality product that gained them access to a leading Silicon Valley business coach. Matt’s coaching and Joel and Ben’s honesty allowed the podcast to show the reality of startup life, the challenges, struggles, and wins.
"Everyone appreciated the vulnerability and the authenticity. And people seem to love that."Joel Di Trapani, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Vygo
Besides reaching its main goals, Unicorn Launcher has brought many benefits to Vygo and its co-founders. This includes getting new investors, making employee relationships better, building new connections, and inspiring other entrepreneurs.
Unicorn Launcher truly speaks to just how beneficial a podcast can be for your brand.
"Podcasting can be part of your Business Development, your Product Development or even just for fun because they're extremely fun to do. You'll never have a better conversation than you have when you're recording, you're so present and so mindful. So do a podcast, you will not regret it."Joel Di Trapani, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Vygo
Ready to add podcasting to your strategy? Contact us to see how we can help you connect with your listeners and launch your own branded podcast.
Author
Steven Bonnard
Head of Marketing
Hi, I'm Steven. I'm a globe-trotter who loves running long distances and listening to podcasts, especially from the news, politics and fantasy categories.
