In 2011, EU-Startups tried making a podcast. It released three trial editions, then stopped. Nine years later, the microphone came back out. That interval is the most revealing thing about this company’s audio business: an idea can be sensible before the people expected to make it, and the people expected to use it, are ready.
- Free founder and investor interviews, in English, on audio and video.
- A European focus backed by an established publication and conference.
- A 2020 relaunch that began with startup pitches, followed by an expanding interview archive.
Three episodes. Then silence.
The relaunch announcement gives the explanation unusually plainly: the team decided that both it and the world were unready in 2011. Reader requests eventually changed the calculation. On July 3, 2020, EU-Startups returned with The BIG PITCH, selecting 30 one-minute audio pitches from more than 150 applications. It promised a fortnightly publishing rhythm.
Notice the choice of first episode. A publisher covering entrepreneurs handed the microphone to entrepreneurs. One minute forced each participant to describe something concrete. A listener could sample a collection of young companies without sitting through a conference day. The format suited the community the publication already served. It also gave the returning show a reason to exist beyond another interviewer asking another founder to recount a career.
The address book behind the microphone
EU-Startups Podcast is the audio and video product of a larger media operation. Thomas Ohr launched the publication in 2010; Menlo Media S.L. is its corporate home. The surrounding business includes journalism, the EU-Startups Summit, and data and consulting services. Its stated mission includes connecting aspiring entrepreneurs with people already working in the startup ecosystem.
That helps explain the show’s position. In a crowded interview market, its useful distinction is the combination of a European brief and a publisher’s existing relationships. The podcast sits alongside reporting and events attended by the same kinds of people it interviews. My reading of that arrangement: every conversation begins with more institutional context than a newly launched show could readily assemble.
The guests make the range visible. Dexory co-founder Oana Jinga discusses moving from robotics innovation toward customer needs and global scale. Vienna Textile Lab founder Karin Fleck explains textile dyes derived from microorganisms. Atomico’s Tom Wehmeier brings the investor’s view. This is a practical advantage for listeners whose work crosses industries: the next useful idea might arrive from someone outside their own sector.
Free to listen. A business to run.
The listener can press play on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or watch interviews on YouTube. The paying side of the relationship is different. Shareworks by Morgan Stanley sponsored the 2020 relaunch. Vanta is identified as the sponsor of the 100th episode, published in December 2024. Those are actual commercial relationships, rather than a hypothetical monetisation plan.
For a sponsor, the attraction is a subject-specific audience: founders, investors and people responsible for growing companies. For the publisher, interviews add another way to serve that audience alongside its advertising and event businesses. The company’s media page reports more than 350,000 monthly readers for the publication. That figure describes the publication, not the number listening to the podcast.
The broader business has also taken outside backing. A Seedrs campaign closed in December 2019 with more than €73,000 from 81 investors. In November 2025, Ohr announced that EU-Startups and Menlo Media had joined MeOut Group, with him continuing as CEO and the team operating independently in Barcelona. These milestones belong to the parent company; they should not be mistaken for the podcast’s budget.
A change of voice, with a racket
In December 2025, the show found an entertaining way to change hosts. David Cendon Garcia interviewed outgoing host Marcin Lewandowski on a padel court, in one take, while they played. Lewandowski had hosted for more than two years and over a hundred episodes. Garcia, an editor with a background in EU journalism and policy, took over the microphone.
The farewell conversation contains a small operational lesson. Lewandowski had wondered whether interviews over Zoom would have the same energy. Meeting interesting people regularly changed his view. For someone planning a niche show, that is a useful hypothesis to test: guest selection may matter more than an elaborate set.
“I wanted to make it fun and personal and tell great stories”Marcin Lewandowski, on his approach to interviewing
Europe gets a view from Singapore
By October 2026, the European brief included looking outward. Working with NUSX, the National University of Singapore’s innovation and enterprise arm, EU-Startups published a series filmed at the A5X conference. Six conversations covered university venture building, defence innovation, healthcare AI and the movement of research into companies. Interviews with hackathon winners extended the package.
That is useful positioning for a European startup publication. Keeping Europe in the title need not mean keeping every guest in Europe. A founder trying to commercialise research can learn from a university ecosystem elsewhere. The editorial question becomes which conditions travel: access to talent, connections between institutions and investors, or the steps required to turn a laboratory result into something customers use.
Listen with a question in mind
For a prospective founder, the archive offers a low-cost way to prepare for unfamiliar conversations. For an investor or corporate innovator, it offers introductions to sectors and the people working in them. Start with a problem you actually face, choose a relevant guest, and write down one decision worth investigating. Send the episode to a colleague with that question attached.
Keep the conditions in view. A company with patient investors, specialist researchers or a particular distribution channel may have options your business lacks. An interview is a participant’s account, so use it to form questions and check claims. The copyable lesson from EU-Startups itself is narrower and sturdier: build around a community you understand, and return to an abandoned format when demand gives you a reason.
Pick a seat. Press play.
Watch next: The episode 100 compilation · What Europe can learn from Asia · How Europe is helping startups succeed