Seven Cool Podcasts Created by IE Business School Alumni

Daily newsletters sent to your email, articles flooding your social media feed. The constant claim on our attention by an ever-increasing battalion of reports and feature stories fights for our limited attention. It seems impossible to keep abreast of all the must-read news and thought-leadership available.

Welcome to the world of podcasts.

Podcasts let users listen to news, business topics, self-help, meditation and anything else during their commute to work or while doing laundry.

Recent statistics show a dramatic rise in podcast popularity, with Spotify boasting 2.2 million podcasts in the fourth quarter of 2020, with 25% of monthly active users tuning in to podcasts-- up from 22% in the third quarter.

According to 2020 statistics from Edison Research, podcast listeners have grown 37.5% in three years in the U.S., with 55% of Americans having listened to a podcast.Podcast advertising revenues are expected to surpass $1 billion in 2021-- and 82.4% of podcast listeners spend more than seven hours a week listening to podcasts.

Always ahead of the curve, IE Business students and alumni have launched podcasts that tackle business tips, creativity in business, current challenges, life coaching and a range of other topics.

Here are some IE Business School community podcasts to tune into:

Shaping Business Minds Through Art

International MBA alum Nir Hindi has used his passion for art and entrepreneurship to create something really special-- his podcast, Shaping Business Minds Through Art, that covers both topics in a way that highlights why they should go hand-in-hand. Instead of limiting art to its own separate field, Hindi combines the two mindsets to encourage new ways of thinking in others that goes beyond the norm.

“We often speak about the need to humanize technologies, think out-side-of-the-box, be original and innovative. Artists are precisely doing that, so we aim to change the perception about art - because it does matter in entrepreneurship and innovation. The podcast is an opportunity to learn how they do it and how art influences innovation processes and business practices.”

Nir Hindi

The podcast can be found on popular platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Amazon Music, and on 15 other platforms that are popular amongst podcast listeners. Shaping Business Minds Through Art has also had the opportunity to feature several special guests who have start-ups of their own, who used their interest in both topics to cultivate their own initiatives.

“Since I was a child, I had two big passions - art and entrepreneurship, yet, my society pushed me to choose - business or art, analytical or creative thinking. As a business entrepreneur, I began to notice similarities between the two worlds, and out of curiosity, I started to research it - I wanted to understand why we separate disciplines,” explained Hindi.

Spotter

Sajal Singh, an IE International MBA graduate from 2013 created a podcast called Spotter to bring awareness to the variety of challenges and opportunities when faced with a digitalized world. Particularly, it relates to how the digitalization of society has influenced the transformation of personal businesses.

Singh is a member of the Board of Advisors for the TechMBA at IE, but he also holds an Advisory Council position at Harvard Business Review, and works as a Global Innovation expert at the United Nations.

Singh said he draws on his time at IE to inspire subjects for Spotter.

“While the world learns from Google, we got a glimpse into the future at IE. From cutting edge ideas like strategy by design to rolling WACC in private equity, the business school prepared us to be nimble, flexible and to allow change to take control rather than us to control the change,” said Singh.

Spotter has already made a big splash, listed in the Top 10 for streaming in Russia, Sweden and the Netherlands. In India, it’s in the Top 30 most-listened to podcasts.  Singh said he hopes listeners that tune in on Spotify, Apple and Stitcher will be inspired to make changes in society that could make a real impact.

“Not just for the podcast, but in all facets of life, IE has been pivotal in shaping my thinking about who we are as a culture, as employees and as citizens.”

Sajal Singh

Grow B2B Faster

Created by Sammy Gebele, an alum from the International MBA, Grow B2B Faster is a podcast centered on B2B topics. In the podcast, Gebele explores proven growth hacks and strategies to help B2B businesses grow. Gebele asks top CEOs and sales and marketing leaders-- like Marten Mickos, CEO of Hackerone and Rob Gonzalez, CMO and co-founder of Salsify-- for tips to help businesses grow faster.

“We want to learn from the smartest company, sales and marketing leaders in the B2B space and help our audience and core target market win more clients through learning the hacks and strategies of the best of the best in B2B,” said Gebele.

Gebele said IE Business School was key in helping instill his international mindset and entrepreneurial verve.

“IE and especially Enrique Dans and José Esteves inspired me to become an entrepreneur. I learned a lot during the interactions with founders that were invited to the classes and the interaction we could have with them. So our podcast enables us to connect to our main target group – CEOs, Sales & Marketing leaders that are potential clients for my company SAWOO.”

Sammy Gebele

Grow B2B Faster is available on Sawoo’s website and all common podcast platforms. The podcast is updated on a weekly basis with episodes lasting around 60 minutes.

Gowtham Nair Podcast

After Gowtham Nair graduated from a dual Masters Degree in Business Administration and Data Analytics in 2020, he wanted to learn more about the people he met during his studies at IE.

Now he works at Amazon in Barcelona, but still has found the time to make his podcast Gowtham Nair Podcast which is focused on understanding the main motivations that drive people to follow their dreams and face risks head-on.

The podcast can be streamed on Spotify, Apple, and other popular platforms. Each episode highlights the life stories of people who are applying their goals and passions into projects to change the future.

“With the wealth of people I had met in IE, it seemed only natural for me to have interesting conversations with all of them. I've done 19 episodes so far, and instead of focusing on one area of topics I chose to talk to an interesting set of people instead,” said Nair.

“The kind of people I met at IE truly inspired me to continue having these conversations. I always enjoyed getting to know someone new-- understanding their motivations.  IE provided a diverse set of people for me to interact with. The podcast seemed a natural way to extend that IE experience.”

Gowtham Nair

Voz Anonima

In the middle of the covid lockdown, Alexandra Salume, 4th year Bachelor in Business Administration & Bachelor in International Relations student, took time to reflect and to analyze how satisfied she was leading her life. Having always dreamed of becoming a motivational speaker, Salume realized it was time to start working towards it. Leaving excuses aside, Salume got certified as a life coach and began her podcast with just Zoom and a pair of headphones. She realized that many people in generation felt the same way as she did: lost and unsure about their goals and dreams.

So she launched the Spanish-language podcast Voz Anonima, to address issues like mental health and wellbeing. Voz Anomia covers mindfulness, law of attraction and meditation.

The podcast is a tool to support Salume’s coaching business by providing free content for people to focus on personal growth topics.

Salume uploads new episodes each week. The content varies among solo episodes (in which she speaks of her experiences), tips and discussion, and interviews with experts (yogis, coaches, doctors etc.). Those episodes last 45 minutes while her short guided meditations last between 5 to 15 minutes. Salume’s podcast can be found on her website, Spotify and Apple podcasts.

“The most important lessons from IE that I've implemented in my podcast are good communication, presentation skills, the power of rhetoric, and the importance of research and argumentation,” Salume said.

“I use the knowledge IE has given me on entrepreneurship, running a business, and appealing to clients and caring for the customer journey for my coaching business, which is part of my brand portfolio.”

Alexandra Salume

ieUnfolded

Master in Management graduates, Giorgio Gallo and Roniette Cardozo created a podcast with the support of the ieThink Club, called ieUnfolded.

“The objective is to unveil the human factor that makes our institution what it is today. Discovering personal and professional stories of students, alumni, professors and even the management team. All in a 30 minutes "coffee with a friend chat" format addressed to anyone who is or is willing to be part of the IE community. Themes are various and only depend on the guests we have and their areas of expertise and interest.”

Giorgio Gallo

The goal of the podcast is to engage with members of the IE community. According to Gallo the podcast doesn’t have a unique target, but rather shows a diversity of backgrounds, interests and personalities of the guests, meaning that anyone can find something they enjoy.

ieUnfolded can be found on Spotify at the ieThink page.

The Busi Life

Maya Jans and Reina Mawlawi, currently Bachelor in Business Administration students, decided to collaborate and create a podcast aimed at self improvement for university students. The Busi Life gives students a direct reference to real-life situations they encounter daily.

“The main thing that has become a huge part of our message is that you are much more interesting than you think you are,” said Mawlawi. “Through clases and the community we began to realize abundance is everywhere and there is room for every single person in every single room.”

Both said they learned to believe in themselves through acknowledging that their own personal experiences are valuable and help others create a sense of comfort with the university experience.

The podcast is available on common platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Anchor.

“At first, we both didn’t think we had what it takes, but IE gave us the assurance that we are smart and capable. We are challenged every day by our professors and peers in a way that has given us more confidence in our abilities and ourselves.”

Maya Jans