Metacast: Behind the scenes

In this holiday episode, we celebrate reaching over 300 paying subscribers and 1,500 monthly active users. We also discuss recent backend infrastructure optimizations, critical bug fixes, and future plans, including a new pro plan with expanded features like higher private podcast limits and custom audio uploads. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction 00:47 - Business updates 04:55 - Recent projects: cost optimizations, bug fixes, CVEs 12:36 - Future plans 15:59 - Recommendations Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn

New app features: listening history, continue listening, and transcript exports + navigating LLM-induced team drama. Chapters 00:00 - Welcome and business update 02:13 - Metacast v1.25 Overview 02:50 - New Feature: Listening History 08:08 - New Feature: Continue Listening 12:41 - New Feature: Exporting Transcripts 20:24 - Website outage 22:21 - The Pro Tier in v1.26 23:06 - Team conflict: LLM miscommunication 31:21 - LLM Etiquette in Teams 35:50 - Podcast & book recommendations 45:34 - P.S. We're YouTube stars (FWIW) Links Metacast v1.25 blog post Podcasts: Tech Brew Ride Home Oct 16 Scott & Mark: The AI productivity trap American Gods The Sandman Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn

We celebrate Metacast's one-year "survivalversary" with a special $10/year sale and share what we're working on. Chapters 00:28 - - State of the business 05:20 - - The Survaviversary 09:16 - - New creator transcript feature 16:04 - - Upcoming playlist and history features 21:25 - - Podcast recommendations Links Survaviversary blog post Creator transcripts blog post Tip Jar for supporters: Buy Me A Coffee Podcasts: The Panel Big Think Endless: A Sandman Podcast Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn

What we've been up to in the second half of the summer + update on the just released Metacast v1.24. Chapters 00:00 - Summer hiatus and personal reflections 02:16 - User growth and trials 03:44 - Website traffic and SEO success 08:14 - Managing website costs and bots 12:38 - Metacast v1.24: New features 16:14 - Web app development & podcaster tools 22:50 - Data analytics and privacy 25:16 - Anniversary sale 27:44 - Upcoming app features and goals 31:50 - Recommendations: The Sandman 36:25 - Recommendations: The Birkin Bag Story Show notes Birkin: The Handbag That Costs More Than Your House on The Best Idea Yet The Sandman: Netflix, Comics, Audio Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn

We've GA-ed private podcasts! In this episode, we talk about the feature, the extra perks for Premium users and celebrate completion of the table stakes features. We end the episode with a banter about Claude Code and a few German phrases. Chapters 00:00 - Private Podcasts Are Now Live 02:03 - Explaining Private Podcast Limits 06:26 - Next Steps and Metacast's Vision 10:54 - Personal Recommendations and Banter Show notes Michelin Guide: The Tire Company That Accidentally Conquered Food on The Best Idea Yet Falling In Reverse - "Watch The World Burn" (live) Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn

We're on the finishing line to launch private podcasts in GA, but it takes a while because we've wasted a lot of time dealing with ops post-Google billing incident. Chapters 00:00 - Ops Challenges and Private Podcast Quotas 02:37 - Web App Enhancements and Scalability 04:49 - Growth Milestones and Upcoming Features Show notes Back To The Future... And Back - 40 Years of Marty, Doc, & Mayor Goldie Wilson on Talk Is Jericho Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn

Preparing to launch private podcasts, marketing projects, ops stuff, and a huge (with a capital "H") bill from Google Chapters 00:00 - Weekly-ish Update and Big Incident 00:50 - Addressing Major Google Cloud Bill 03:00 - App and Web Development Progress 05:11 - Marketing, Communication, and Roadmap 10:52 - Weekly Podcast Recommendations Show notes The Side Hustle King: “I’m making $8K/DAY from easy businesses” on My First Million The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance by Josh Waitzkin Flybot by Dennis E. Taylor Dennis E. Taylor, author of best-selling sci-fi series Bobiverse on Builders Gonna Build Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn

Every week, we meet for a standup. We summarize our progress in short weekly updates that we record right after our meetings. In this update, we discuss launching private feeds, the new podcast search feature on the web app, and making money. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction and Funding Metacast 03:31 - Launching Private Feeds Beta 06:19 - Web App Search and Website Updates 08:13 - Upcoming Work and Recommendations Show notes Bobbi Althof's The Really Good Podcast Andre Agassi on Served News in Slow Spanish The Game with Alex Hormozi Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn

Every week, we meet for a standup. We summarize our progress in short weekly updates that we record right after our meetings. In this update, we discuss episode summaries, chapters, and performance improvements. We also cover ongoing backend work, in-person meeting experience (!), planning for upcoming features like private feeds, and share podcast recommendations. Chapters 00:00 - Welcome and In-Person Update 00:28 - App Feature Releases and Updates 03:25 - Travel, Planning, and Backend Work 06:21 - Upcoming Releases and Recommendations Show notes Asterix and Obelix on Netflix Everything Everywhere Daily Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn

In this episode we discuss why and how we built the new sharing experience (see blog post for v1.19). Chapters 00:20 - Opening 00:57 - New weekly update episodes 05:22 - New podcast sharing experience in Metacast 06:52 - Why we are working on sharing? 09:32 - The new sharing experience 14:35 - QR codes 16:51 - Optimized image loading 17:53 - Problems with the old URL sharing 23:04 - The technical solution for consistently working app links 24:43 - The complexity of the change 28:45 - Preview of the next episode about rebranding 33:26 - Recommendations Show notes New sharing experience announcement blog Latest weekly update episode: Weekly Update (May 6, 2025): New sharing experience, new logo & branding 67. Attack of LLM bots (podcast) + blog Episode with Jennie: 42. Equity compensation at a pre-revenue bootstrapped startup with Jennie Buechner Voices in my head by Falling in Reverse Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn

Every Tuesday, we meet for a weekly standup. We summarize our progress in short weekly updates that we record right after our meetings. Chapters 00:30 - Mobile App Update and New URLs 02:26 - Logo Update and Rebranding Details 06:39 - Mobile App Future Development Plans 09:41 - Podcast Recommendations and Show Conclusion Show notes 311: The Long Term on Under the Radar When Exactly Did the Roman Empire Fall? on Everything Everywhere Daily Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn

Every Tuesday, we meet for a weekly standup. We summarize our progress in short weekly updates that we record right after our meetings. Chapters 00:48 - App Upgrade Issues and Fixes 03:15 - Upcoming App Release and Features 06:14 - Podcast Recommendations and Timer Challenge Show notes Calendar Reform on Everything Everywhere Daily 10 growth tactics that never work | Elena Verna on Lenny's Podcast 317: Optimizing for Battery Life on Under the Radar Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn

Every Tuesday, we meet for a weekly standup. We'll summarize our progress in short weekly updates that we record right after our meetings. Chapters 01:15 - Public Roadmap and User Feedback 02:06 - Mobile App Updates and Challenges 04:21 - Web App Bot Invasion and Solutions 07:40 - Next Week's Focus and Recommendations Show notes Attack of the LLM bots (blog post) Big Takeaways From Podcast Movement Evolutions 2025 on Buzzcast Episode 2 - “Through the Valley” on HBO's The Last of Us Podcast Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn

In this episode we recap our Q1: what we shipped, distribution challenges, siloing engineering workstreams + a bunch of tangential topics. Chapters 00:00 - Opening 02:09 - New feature: Chapters 05:27 - New feature: Following a.k.a. Podcast Inbox 06:17 - Feedback from Grumpy Old Geeks 08:10 - Ilya turning into full-time engineer 12:02 - We don't vibe code! 14:49 - AI summaries in the web app 16:52 - Full transcripts in the web app 18:39 - Web is the innovation platform 19:45 - Better sharing images 21:01 - New blogging framework 24:08 - Restarting marketing 26:05 - The distribution challenge 27:13 - Discoverability on App Store 28:34 - The cold start problem 30:04 - 1000 fans 30:56 - Distractions in Q1 31:15 - Spiking GCP costs 33:52 - LLM bots update 34:28 - Taxes 37:55 - Siloing 39:20 - Working in person again! 40:11 - What we're listening to 48:20 - Where people can find us **Show notes** Blog posts Metacast: Q1 2025 Retrospective Our biggest struggle — distribution Episode chapters now available in Metacast podcast app Podcast Inbox now available in Metacast podcast app LLM bots + Next.js image optimization = recipe for bankruptcy (post-mortem) DIY Delaware C-Corp taxes for a new startup with no funding, no payroll and no assets Podcasts 661: The Nightmare Before Overcast on Grumpy Old Geeks Everything Everywhere Daily Do trade deficits matter? on Planet Money Josh Waitzkin on The Joe Rogan Experience #792: Seth Godin on Playing the Right Game and Strategy as a Superpower Books The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn

Our website got slammed by LLM bots from Amazon and Anthropic, which could've cost us $7k in Vercel image optimization costs! Get Metacast podcast app for Android and iOS at https://⁠⁠⁠metacast.app⁠⁠⁠.Join the ⁠⁠r/metacastapp⁠⁠ subreddit. Chapters 00:20 - Introduction and episode overview 01:31 - New features and updates 03:02 - Why do we keep applying to YC? 08:53 - The LLM bot invasion incident 21:26 - We re-allowed LLM bots to crawl the site 28:22 - Book & podcast recommendations **Show notes** Posts LLM bots + Next.js image optimization = recipe for bankruptcy (post-mortem) Books Red Rising by Pierce Brown Little Golden America by Ilya Ilf and Eugene Petrov Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn

In the first episode of 2025, we discuss the lowlights of last year and sharing our high-level plans for 2025. Get Metacast podcast app for Android and iOS at https://⁠⁠⁠metacast.app⁠⁠⁠.Join the ⁠⁠r/metacastapp⁠⁠ subreddit. Chapters 02:23 - User feedback 06:48 - Fixing the leaky bucket of the intro screen 11:00 - New feature: Episode inbox 15:11 - Investing in the web app 18:24 - The hard parts of 2024 23:25 - We have to make it work, or else... 30:38 - Why we're putting energy in SEO 33:28 - Becoming more pragmatic 35:57 - Podcast & book recommendations Show notes Podcasts Bootstrapped Web The Panel Posts What's happening with founders over 40 by Justin Jackson Books Red Rising by Pierce Brown The Pragmatic Programmer by Dave Thomas & Andrew Hunt Little Golden America by Ilya Ilf and Eugene Petrov Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn

In this holiday edition episode, we discuss the past year's highlights, a recent outage, and the rapid emergence of Bluesky as a social media platform. Get Metacast podcast app for Android and iOS at https://⁠⁠⁠metacast.app⁠⁠⁠.Join the ⁠⁠r/metacastapp⁠⁠ subreddit. Chapters 00:20 - Welcome to the holiday edition 01:24 - Year in review: launches and growth 04:06 - Challenges and user feedback 07:12 - The big outage and serendipitous solution 10:16 - Switching to a new transcription service 18:39 - App updates 21:37 - The journey of implementing timestamps 24:58 - The rise of Bluesky 37:55 - Podcast recommendations Show notes Podcasts The Joe Rogan Experience Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn

We've chatted with a VC-backed founder who is on the brink of closing shop. Listen to our reflections on this. Plus, a breakdown of latest Metacast features! Get Metacast podcast app for Android and iOS at https://⁠⁠⁠metacast.app⁠⁠⁠.Join the ⁠⁠r/metacastapp⁠⁠ subreddit. Chapters 01:26 - New features in Metacast 01:42 - Sleep timer 06:21 - Speed control 12:32 - Grid view in playlists 15:37 - Goals for the next month 17:07 - Our chat with a VC-backed startup founder 28:56 - Podcast and books recommendations Show notes Podcasts Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond 7. Jason Fried on building products, calm companies and the Jeff Bezos investment - Builders Gonna Build My Dad Wrote A Porno The Big Porn Debate (3 Experts Debate): The Unseen Dangers Of Nofap, The Adult Industry Is Exploiting Our Brains, How Porn Will Change Your Brain! - The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett Books Obviously Awesome by April Dunford Other LinkedIn post about speed control in audio by Ilya Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn

We've launched with a price of $49.99/year, but we realized it's too high. We're lowering it to $19.99/year or $1.99/month. Get Metacast podcast app for Android and iOS at https://⁠⁠⁠metacast.app⁠⁠⁠.Join the ⁠⁠r/metacastapp⁠⁠ subreddit. Chapters 01:14 - How we decided to lower the price for Metacast 03:03 - Initially we had three plans 04:48 - Pulling the andon cord 06:40 - One password app's reference point 08:21 - Why we're not adding ads 11:35 - Enshittification of consumer apps 14:21 - Our costs for running the app 17:52 - Rolling out the pricing change 20:05 - Podcast and book recommendations Show notes Podcasts Previous episodes with Jennie: 42. Equity compensation at a pre-revenue bootstrapped startup, 17. From Teacher to Software Engineer at Amazon Handsome The Mark Zuckerberg Interview - Acquired Meta’s Race for Your Face + Google’s Hit A.I. Notebook + HatGPT - Hard Fork #446 – Ed Barnhart: Maya, Aztec, Inca, and Lost Civilizations of South America - Lex Fridman Podcast #369 – Paul Rosolie: Amazon Jungle, Uncontacted Tribes, Anacondas, and Ayahuasca - Lex Fridman Podcast #429 – Paul Rosolie: Jungle, Apex Predators, Aliens, Uncontacted Tribes, and God - Lex Fridman Podcast Books Fast Second: How Smart Companies Bypass Radical Innovation to Enter and Dominate New Markets by Constantinos C. Markides, Paul A. Geroski Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn

We've launched Metacast in Apple App Store. In this episode, we talk about the process and Apple's feedback. Get Metacast podcast app for Android and iOS at https://⁠⁠⁠metacast.app⁠⁠⁠.Join the ⁠⁠r/metacastapp⁠⁠ subreddit. Chapters 00:51 - Big milestone! 02:38 - Apple requires screenshots for older phones 05:23 - iPad screenshots 07:17 - Apple's responses 12:11 - The rejection we couldn't figure out 16:14 - Apple vs. Google review feedback 20:26 - Marketing the app 25:13 - Podcast and book recommendations Show notes Podcasts #2190 - Peter Thiel - The Joe Rogan Experience #442 – Donald Trump Interview - Lex Fridman Podcast Books Not Till We Are Lost: Bobiverse, Book 5 by Dennis E. Taylor Download the Metacast podcast app for free iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/metacast/id6462012536 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.metacast.podcast.player Get in touch Contact us: hello@metacastpodcast.com Ilya's LinkedIn Arnab's LinkedIn