140: A Woman on a Mission with Melinda Wittstock and Erin Shaw

by | Apr 18, 2021 | Podcast | 0 comments

Change It Up Radio with Paula Shaw - Episode 140: A Woman on a Mission with Melinda Wittstock and Erin Shaw

Today we’re talking about women in business and the latest state-of-the-art, game-changing podcast platform that’s enhancing the world of podcasting in a big way.

 

If you’re a podcaster, then you know just how challenging it can be to build an engaged listenership, accurately track audience data and insights, find sponsorships, and make a profit from podcasting. The reality is that 85% of podcasters don’t make any money from their podcast, and 95% don’t land a single advertising or sponsorship opportunity.

My powerhouse of a guest, Melinda Wittstock, is here to change that. When growing her own podcast, she was deeply inspired to change the game for podcasting. So, she set out on a mission to do just that… and that’s when Podopolo was born!

Podopolo™ is the world’s first socially interactive and gamified podcast app and network created to share revenue with podcasters, provide them with audience insights, and match them with targeted podcast network advertising, sponsorship, and premium opportunities to make money and grow their show much faster. Their mission is all about enlightening and empowering people, one podcast at a time while putting profit and power into the hands of independent content creators so they can be paid what they deserve.

Founder and CEO of Podopolo, Melinda Wittstock, is a 5-time serial entrepreneur, an acknowledged visionary in tech, media, mobile platforms, and social content, and the host of the fast-growing “Wings Of Inspired Business” podcast. She joins me today to talk about women in business and her mission to change the world of podcasting through Podpolo, a state-of-the-art platform that helps podcasters get discovered, know and grow their audience community, and make money from podcasting.

My daughter, Erin Shaw, also joins me for our weekly segment of Rut Busters. While we normally use this segment to share new challenges each week that can help you get your creativity and energy flowing, today, Erin takes this time to initiate a very important conversation about police violence in America, touching on topics of victim-blaming, police accountability, and the mental health of police officers.

 

“Podopolo is a completely game-changing platform and mobile app that makes podcasting social, where people can find great podcasts around their friend relationships, find great friends, both new and old around podcasts, unlock a library of 2.5 million podcasts and more than 100 billion episodes, and go on a personalized listening journey to really build their library based on their interests, their friend relationships, and much more.”  –  Melinda Wittstock

 

About Melinda:
Image of Melinda Wittstock, Serial Entrepreneur, Founder and CEO of Podopolo™, and host of Wings of Inspired Business podcast

Melinda Wittstock is a 5-time serial entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Podopolo, the world’s first socially interactive and “gamified” podcast app and network where people gather to discover their favorite podcasts, connect with hosts and each other, and win rewards as they put lessons learned into action to enhance their lives and engage in world-changing social impact initiatives.

An acknowledged visionary in tech, media, mobile platforms, and social content, Melinda has built four other businesses in media and tech to 7- and 8- figure success.

She also hosts the fast-growing “Wings Of Inspired Business” podcast named by Entrepreneur Magazine as #8 of 20 of the top business podcasts for 2020. The Wings mission is to #LiftAsWeClimb, helping female founders leverage their feminine power and collaborate to change the game of business and succeed without tradeoff, guilt, or apology. Melinda also hosts the transformational mastermind and luxury retreat “Wings of The Empowered Women” for top women entrepreneurs.

Formerly an award-winning journalist, executive producer, and TV anchor for the BBC, ABC News, CNBC/Financial Times Television, and MSNBC, Melinda created and grew a BBC show to a 20 million audience and also innovated one of the first crowd-sourcing mobile apps, growing unique users to 3 million in 8 months.

Steve Jobs told her she “asked the best questions” when she interviewed him as a 24-year-old correspondent of the Times of London. Her previous companies include: Capitol News Connection, a political news agency serving 300+ TV and radio stations nationwide; NewsiT, an award-winning mobile app for crowd-sourced content, and Verifeed, the social intelligence platform assuring a Return on Authenticity™ from social media engagement.

A spiritual practitioner of meditation, yoga, and gratitude, Melinda is passionate about encouraging conscious leadership and evolved entrepreneurship using business as a canvas to solve global challenges.

Her travels have taken her to many exotic places including Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island and the Amazon Rainforest. She’s a loving mom to two teenagers, her daughter Sydney Witt, a singer-songwriter and recording artist, and her son Finn, an accomplished soccer player and gamer. Her golden retriever Auggie is the Podopolo mascot.

Melinda has spoken at Voice Global 2020, Podfest Global, SXSW, Google, Fidelity Investments, Maverick 1000, Unicorn, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, Voice 2018, Georgetown University, Relentless MV, Columbia University, Underground Online Seminar, Pinnacle Global Network, and many more.

 

“We set out to improve the listener experience, improve the podcasters experience, and namely enable the podcaster to be more easily discovered by people who are already interested in their mission and what they were talking about, to help podcasters engage audiences in real-time, and by doing so, also getting to know them so they can be more responsive in their content. And, here’s the big headline, actually make money from podcasting!”  –  Melinda Wittstock

 

 

About Erin:
Image of Erin Shaw, author of Party Girl - A Modern Fairy Tale and Have Baggage, Will Travel - on Change It Up Radio with Paula Shaw

Erin Shaw is the author of the critically acclaimed novel, Party Girl – A Modern Fairy Tale, (2014) which was loosely based on her experience moving to New York City during the height of the 2008 recession and performing as a birthday party princess to stay afloat.

In addition to fiction writing and screenwriting, Ms. Shaw has worked in media and publishing as a food, travel, lifestyle, and small business writer for more than a decade.

She has written for several national publications including LA Confidential Magazine, Daily Candy, FATHOM, Hello Giggles!, Biz New Orleans, and Quarterly Magazine.

Erin is currently based in Los Angeles and has completed a feature-length screen adaptation of Party Girl with her gal pal and writing partner, Kaitlyn McQuin. Her second novel, Have Baggage, Will Travel is now available on Amazon!

 

“I think it’s important that we get comfortable confronting our history, and in some cases in this country, our present, and that we talk about things that are uncomfortable so as to raise awareness and do our part to help.”  –  Erin Shaw

 

Check out the video below to watch our interview:

 

Resources Mentioned:

 

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