upside
Podcast about startup communities outside of Silicon Valley
The startup investment landscape is changing, and world-class companies are being built outside of Silicon Valley.
We want to give them their proper share of the spotlight.
Last summer, we filmed a full-length documentary about the Columbus, OH, startup ecosystem.
The film premiered in September at the Film Festival of Columbus, where it won Best Ohio Feature.
After touring other festivals, we released the film for public viewing and are donating half the proceeds to a local COVID-19 relief effort.
Synopsis:
There is undeniable energy and momentum in the growing startup ecosystem of Columbus, Ohio. Test City, USA explores this moment in time for the city, how the ecosystem evolved, and the challenges of what comes next.
Watch the film:
https://upside.fm/test-city-usa/
In July 2019, we signed our second advertising partner, Integrity Power Search.
IPS partners with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and executives to build amazing companies. We hire executive, product, sales and technical teams for companies all over the Midwest.
Eric and I released the second issue of our digital publication, the update. The update is a quarterly publication of editorials, trends, and stories happening outside of Silicon Valley — following in the same vein as our podcast, upside.
One of those articles went to #1 on HN the next day.
The update is a quarterly publication featuring editorials, trends, and stories happening outside of Silicon Valley. Our contributors live in the world outside of Silicon Valley and we think you’re going to love their genuine perspective.
We released our 50th total episode on February 20, 2019. It was a take-home test for STDs and other diseases, the results of which could be read with your phone.
This episode was recorded live at SXSW 2019 and one of the most fun and bizarre episodes we've done.
In February, we signed our first advertising agreement with Taft Stettinius & Hollister.
Taft is a full-service law firm known for assisting entrepreneurs across the Heartland. They sponsored 10 episodes and we made special ad creative for each episode.
You can listen to the ads here: https://upside.fm/taft/
In September 2018, upside was named a Top 27 Business Podcast by Fortune Magazine.
"This podcast is dedicated to startups outside of Silicon Valley. These entrepreneurs are smart, resilient, capital-efficient individuals building a company at what many would consider a geographical disadvantage.”
We released our first three episodes and trailer of the podcast in May 2018.
We interviewed three companies in different cities:
- tilr (Cincinnati)
- Rapchat (Columbus)
- LawnGuru (Ann Arbor)
Every Wednesday, we speak with an early stage founder. We interview them as if we are angel investors considering the company as an investment opportunity.
Each show has three segments:
1.) Intro: independent research of the company
2.) Interview: interview with the founder
3.) Debrief: breaking down the opportunity
On Mondays, we share Coffee Chats interviewing venture capitalists, community builders, and later-stage founders.