When Austin podcaster and producer Greg Soros launched Podcraft Media Lab, he had an easy path available: chase big budget corporate clients and let the marketing take care of itself. He chose a different route. A large share of his company’s time now goes toward mentoring podcasters from communities that rarely get access to premium studios, equipment, or industry contacts, largely through the Podcast Academy’s diversity fellowship program.

Opening Doors In A Closed Industry

Greg Soros has spoken openly about what he sees as an accessibility gap in podcasting. Independent creators without connections or capital, he argues, often struggle to reach the technical quality that larger, better funded shows take for granted. Podcraft Media Lab‘s answer has been to put its production knowledge and network directly in front of newer podcasters, rather than treating that expertise as a service reserved only for paying clients.

The approach has already produced tangible outcomes. Several podcasters who came through the mentorship program have gone on to land distribution deals with established networks. Three shows connected to the program reached six figure downloads within their first year on air, a benchmark that can take other independent podcasts years to approach.

Teaching The Business Behind The Microphone

Mentees in the program learn more than recording techniques. Sessions cover narrative structure, sound design, and the practical side of running a show, including monetization and audience growth. Soros also opens up his contact list, introducing new podcasters to potential sponsors, distributors, and collaborators who might otherwise be out of reach for a first time podcaster.

That combination of creative coaching and business training has caught the attention of larger podcast networks, some of which have started building comparable mentorship efforts of their own. For Greg Soros, seeing competitors follow suit is less a threat than a sign that the model works. Greg Soros continues to frame the mentorship work as central to Podcraft Media Lab’s identity, not a side project layered onto the company’s paid production business. Visit this page, for related information.

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