<p><a href="https://in.linkedin.com/in/rohan-nayak" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong>Rohan Nayak</strong></a> is the Co-founder &amp; CEO of <a href="https://pocketfm.com/us" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong>Pocket FM</strong></a>, a company redefining audio storytelling for the world.</p><p><em>While we’ve recently been publishing video episodes, this one’s a throwback to pure audio. Rohan had to travel unexpectedly, but we didn’t want to miss the chance to capture his insights on building one of India's fastest-growing consumer tech companies.</em></p><p>Pocket FM is making waves globally — having recently raised <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/20/pocket-fm-bags-103m-in-funding-as-it-eyes-global-expansion/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong>$103 million in Series D funding</strong></a>, bringing total funding to $196.5 million, with backing from Lightspeed, Tanglin Venture Partners, Goodwater Capital, and Naver. With $150 million+ in ARR and 57% QoQ growth, they’re showing that audio isn’t just alive — it’s thriving.</p><p>In today's episode, Rohan shares how building from India creates efficient growth playbooks, the nuances of global GTM, and why the future of content might sound a lot more like audio than you think.</p><p>⌛ <strong>Timestamps:</strong></p><li><ol><li>Motivation behind starting a company (3:55)</li><li>Why Rohan chose audio as a medium (5:20)</li><li>Early reactions to Pocket FM’s vision (12:20)</li><li>How audio is transforming short-form storytelling (22:10)</li><li>Why audio has a higher creative bar than video (24:30)</li><li>Localization and Pocket FM’s global expansion plan (25:40)</li><li>The role of A/B testing in content development (32:25)</li><li>How A/B testing works specifically for audio (37:20)</li><li>Audio’s ability to transcend cultural boundaries (39:39)</li><li>How Pocket FM finds breakout "blockbuster" shows (40:40)</li><li>Why US-origin stories scale better globally (42:25)</li><li>What content categories work—and which don’t (43:00)</li><li>Top 3 learnings from going to market in the US (43:52)</li><li>Mistakes Pocket FM made in their GTM journey (47:32)</li><li>How culture shapes global go-to-market strategy (50:35)</li><li>How Pocket FM is using AI to enhance storytelling (54:50)</li><li>Rohan’s five-year vision for Pocket FM (1:01:35)</li><li>Why AI will supercharge the next generation of creators (1:03:39)</li><li>Personal lessons Rohan has learned as a founder (1:07:00)</li><li>What keeps him grounded — the concept of "Basecamp" (1:11:15)</li></ol></li><li><p><br /></p><p>🎥 Subscribe to watch more unfiltered, unscripted conversations that will inspire, educate, and entertain!</p><p><strong>Support the podcast:</strong></p><ul><li>🔗 SUBSCRIBE on <a href=" https://youtube.com/@thedesivc?si=f3U31CkDeiFzk21c" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a></li><li>🎧 Follow us on <a href="https://spoti.fi/41OVDhM" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a></li><li>📸 Follow us on <a href="instagram.com/bhatvakash" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a></li><li>🐦 Follow us on <a href=" ⁠https://x.com/bhatvakash" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter/X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a></li><li>💼 Follow us on <a href="linkedin.com/in/bhatakash" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a></li><li>🎵 Follow us on <a href="https://tiktok.com/thedesivc" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a></li><li>💌 BTS content on <a href="https://thedesivc.substack.com⁠" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠</a> </li></ul></li>