Podcasts, a name invented by BBC journalist Ben Hammersley by combining “iPod” and “broadcast,” have emerged as a preferred method of consuming audio content in the internet age. Richie Burke, founder and CEO of local digital marketing agency GoGeddit, recently launched The GoGedders, a podcast featuring Burke interviewing prominent local entrepreneurs and community leaders. We spoke with Burke about his podcast and whom he hopes to get on the show in the future.
Before we get into the podcast, how did you start GoGeddit?
I graduated from Marquette in 2011, and didn’t really know what I was going to do with my life. I decided I wanted to start a business so I looked at my past skill set. I had a door-to-door sales job the year before, and had some marketing experience. So I decided to start GoGeddit, which was kind of a socially responsible deal site targeted toward college students and young professionals. I started going door to door to a lot of local businesses, trying to get them to run promotions on my site.
In the first year we had over 15,000 users and over 100 clients. Things were going well, but we realized that business model wasn’t going to make money and it wasn’t solving any real problems. We were a little late to the game, but had all these small business owners that we’d built good relationships with who weren’t really good at marketing their businesses. We saw an opportunity there to help them.
How is this podcast a natural progression from the marketing business?
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It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while. I thought about doing a podcast just about digital marketing. I thought about doing The GoGedders nationally and trying to get the highest-profile people I could possibly get, but one of the coolest things about starting my business in Milwaukee is all of the cool people I’ve met. There are so many people doing cool things around the city that have amazing stories, and there isn’t really a podcast highlighting them. It’s not a unique or brilliant idea. People have built podcasts off of interviewing entrepreneurs and community leaders before, but no one is really doing it here so I thought it would be a good opportunity to create a platform like this, and it’s been fun so far.
What are your goals for the podcast?
Getting the stories out there of people who are doing great things in the community. Milwaukee kind of gets a bad rap. I think it’s the second-to-last metro area for small business growth in the nation, so highlighting the startup community can get some momentum going. A lot of the people I’m interviewing are good representations of what we value here at our company, which is the small business growth agency.
Do you have a favorite guest you’ve had on so far?
That’s a good question. It’s been such a unique lineup. I liked having Matt Cordio from Milwaukee Startup Week on. Adam Von Rothfelder, who is on NBC’s “STRONG,” is an extremely interesting person. I’m trying to get a diverse lineup. Andy Nunemaker came on, and he’s obviously super successful and established. I think it depends on the viewer and what they want to get into.
Who’s the one guest you really want to get on the show?
I would love to get Giannis Antetokounmpo on the podcast. That might be a little far out, but I love that guy. That might be a year or two down the road. I’m a die-hard Bucks fan so getting Giannis or one of those guys on would be amazing.
Listen to "The GoGedders" here.
