Podcast App’s Martín Siniawski on funding options for new apps and more

Martín Siniawski, co-founder and CEO of Podcast App and Rest, initially faced rejection from Y Combinator (YC) but succeeded on a second attempt, leveraging lessons learned from bootstrapping his previous venture, Streema, a leading online radio streaming service. The shift from radio streaming to podcast services was driven by the trend towards on-demand audio, leading to the creation of Podcast App, which, along with Streema, has amassed over 100 million downloads. Despite concerns about competing with giants like Google, Spotify, and Apple, Siniawski emphasizes that the choice between bootstrapping and venture capital hinges on the desired entrepreneurial journey and trade-offs between growth acceleration and maintaining autonomy. His experience with YC highlighted the importance of exposure to investors and the complexities of scaling a business in a competitive landscape.