Scout.fm creates personalized, hands-free podcast stations by asking listeners a few setup questions and then assembling a curated queue optimized for smart speakers and mobile use. The service launched from experiments on Alexa, where the team built over 30 skills to test topics and formats, and it is also available as iOS and Android apps. Scout.fm handwrites brief spoken introductions for each episode, favors episodes without front-loaded ads, and adapts over time by removing shows listeners tend to skip. The curated catalog comprises a few hundred high-production podcasts from outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, ESPN and networks like Gimlet, Wondery and Parcast. The company was founded just over a year ago by Cara Meverden (CEO), Saul Carlin (president and COO) and Daniel McCartney (CTO). Operationally, Scout.fm has accrued 1.5 million minutes listened across its experimental apps, with Alexa users listening about twice as long as mobile users; the service is not currently generating revenue but the team envisions call-to-action ads and Alexa in-app purchases as future monetization paths.

Total raised

$1M

Funding rounds

1

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

May 2018