Team Simplecast Spotlight: Lem

How long have you been working podcasting? What brought you there?

Several years ago I did a podcast in LA for the Hollywood Fringe Festival for a couple of years. That was my biggest foray into podcasting–using one to help people navigate the theatre fest. But I’m a huge fan and I’ve always wanted to get more involved in the space, because I love working with creators and people who are creating things that you can listen to, read, watch, or be a part of–things that are experiential.

What podcasts do you listen to?

Good One by Vulture, it’s a comedy podcast. Definitely Reply All, The Nod and Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata’s Best Friends. And then I listen to Up First and The Daily semi-regularly.

I've been a fan of Culturally Relevant and I'm getting into Smartless–and they're real fun.

What do you find so compelling about podcasting?

There’s a lower barrier to entry, which I think levels the playing field, so you don’t necessarily need a complete studio setup. You can do things in really creative ways, and create a mix of news and storytelling. You have an opportunity to really play around with the medium and how people experience it.

Is there anything that’s exciting to you about the podcasting industry right now?

The thing that’s most exciting to me, at least over the past two years, is seeing the investment that’s happening in the industry. In the last two years, I’ve seen it grow from sort of a hobbyist thing to a full-on industry that can hold its own. Podcasting is digging into the main part of the media industry now, so much so that brands have gotten into the business of creating these stories. Almost every comedian I like now either has or is considering creating podcast, whereas seven or eight years ago when I lived in LA, they all wanted to make a web series or short film. And now they’re all like “well, I’m working on a  podcast.” It’s exciting, right?

What are you excited to do as an Account Manager?

I'm looking forward to the opportunity to help others achieve a lot. I think it's real energizing work to be around creators and producers. I'm a theatre person - and spent so many years working around artists, while I may not have been the main person on stage it's an exciting feeling being connected to all these creative people building something.

As an Account Manager I love being able to help someone achieve their own success and help them grow. The thing I love most is building relationships and creating a community, so I hope the Simplecast customers I work with think of Simplecast as more than just a basic dashboard they log into but like a core resource connected to real people who build and support them on it. I want customers to get more ownership out of the product. That's the sort of thing I really like.

What do you do when you’re not podcasting?

I make ceramics! I’m a ceramicist. I do hand-building, so I’m not sitting at the wheel like in Ghost, but I’ll do like pinch-pots or slabs. That’s the stuff I make. And I recently did a comedy class, which was a lot of fun!