Matt Lieber
Co-Founder, Heap's Ice Cream. On 2 shows, 2 appearances. The Shows tab opens the full record on each.
founderexecutiveoperator@mlieber ↗gimletmedia.com ↗
Lieber co-founded narrative podcast company Gimlet Media with Alex Blumberg in 2014 and served as its president through its acquisition by Spotify in 2019. After departing Spotify in 2022, he co-founded Brooklyn-based Heap's Ice Cream alongside chef Sarah Sanneh.
2shows
2appearances
16statements
1resolved
1supported
0contradicted
100%fully supported
5said about them ↓ Everything Matt Lieber said on any show that made the record, most notable first. Each card names its show and opens the statement there.
VCs told Gimlet Media to ignore revenue and focus on user growth
“We had conversations with some VCs who we would begin to talk about revenue, and they're like, we don't want to hear it. We're not actually interested in that. We want to see just a really steep user growth curve, and like, we know that if you get a large audi…”
Podcasting is a hot sector with very few investable companies
“The round went very well, and there was a lot of interest in our company because podcasting is kind of a hot space, but there aren't A lot of investable companies in this space.”
Lieber: Podcasting needed better discovery and analytics to reach full potential
“There were two, like, Basically, industry-level challenges that we were confronting along with every other podcast company, and one was audiences are still having a really hard time discovering new podcasts. Like, if you ask people how they find out new podcas…”
Founders should not emulate Steve Jobs' monomaniacal management behaviors
“He is a revolutionary, and he's a visionary, and he created incredible products that changed the world, but he, I don't think people loved working for him, and I think that he also has, like, monomaniacal behaviors that I would not want to adopt, because that'…”
Lieber: Many of the world's most popular podcasts use This American Life's sound
“Which is funny, because now, like, a significant portion of the most popular podcasts on earth are this sound, but at the time, it was really weird.”
Lieber: Every new medium produces new defining media companies
“Every time a new medium comes about, New media companies get built. This is true across the last, you know, hundred years of history, and I thought someone will build a defining media company around on-demand digital audio”
Lieber: Three major public radio stations passed on investing in Gimlet
“When we first started the company, when we were out pitching to raise money, we pitched the company to probably three of the biggest public radio stations. And none of them invested.”
Lieber: Wealth from selling Gimlet didn't bring happiness, but brought safety
“Well, I'm really f***ing rich, and it turns out money doesn't make you happy. But it does make you safe.”
Matt Lieber: Gimlet's Success Came Primarily From Luck, Privilege, and Timing
“I think it's mostly luck but not in the obvious way. Like, I think I think for me it was the luck of, like, being born into the family I was born into at the time that I was. So I had the luck of being in a family where my parents sent me, like, paid for my co…”
Gimlet Media generated revenue from inception through podcast ad sales
“Unlike, I think, most sort of Silicon Valley startups that have started in the last year or two, we had revenue from the very beginning, because we were selling advertisements on our show.”
Gimlet co-founders retained over 50% voting control after Series A
“It was really important to Alex and I that we both still controlled our own destiny, that we controlled more than 50% of the company, and we wanted to have a small board.”
Advertising and subscriptions hold Gimlet's greatest monetization potential
“I think the advertising business, and then down the road the subscription business has the biggest potential, together.”
Lieber: Gimlet initially planned to reach profitability on its $1.5M seed round
“Well, when we raised the first million and a half dollars of financing, our plan was that that would take us through to profitability, and then we would fund our growth through profits.”
Lieber: Each podcast functions as an individual business requiring upfront investment
“Because the way the podcasts work is you launch a podcast, and when you launch it has an audience of zero. But you have to pay the people to make the podcast, and they're going to work for you for a few months before you're able to launch. And then once the po…”
Lieber: 80% of Gimlet Media's listening happens on mobile
“We're totally mobile media company. It's like 80% of our listening happens on mobile devices.”
The other half of the tape: Matt Lieber's own voice is left out of every number here. Other people bring the name up 3 times in 2 episodes across the shows. 2 statements on the record name them. every mention, with the transcript →
Who brings them up most Guy Raz 2Harry Stebbings 1
Statements about Matt Lieber, by other people (2)
Blumberg: Initially offered co-founder Matt Lieber only 1% to 10% equity
“I think it was, I think I said in the range of one to 10. I'm key to the success of the company, and I want to feel I want to feel that that is reflected in the cap table, I guess.”
Every mention by year
tap a year for its mentions
How I Built This 2
20VC 1
2023 2 mentions in 1 episode
One line per show, most statements first. The link opens Matt's full record on that show: the calibration, argument clarity, speaking style and every statement made there.
| Show | Role there | Eps | Statements | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20VCLEDGER | Co-Founder, Heap's Ice Cream | 1 | 8 | 100% 1/1 | full record on 20VC → |
| HOW I BUILT THISLEDGER | Co-Founder, Heap's Ice Cream | 1 | 8 | — | full record on How I Built This → |