Podcast Producer &Storyteller for a SaaS / Media Company - remote

So let's do better. 

Let's do different.  

Let's raise the bar.

Let's create things that inspire us and our people to do work that matters.

If it's not worth our time, why should we ask someone else to tune in?  If we're not hooked and eager to find out what comes next, why should we publish another episode?

You agree?  Then maybe this role is for you...

Shiny Objects is my new company (I'm Brian Casel, by the way.  Hi 👋).  This thing started as a software company.  Our newest product is ZipMessage, a tool for async video conversations.  It's off to a great start with some exciting early traction. 

But if this company is going to thrive and grow, we need to be something more than just another SaaS in a sea of "alternatives".

Shiny Objects is being built as a creative media company that happens to make and sell software.  We make inspiring and worthy media content for our favorite people.  And we make simple, useful software that our favorite people love to use.  That's the business plan.

To that end, as the first key hire, I'm looking for a collaborator to be our lead Media Creator.

If you were designing your dream role, you'd probably describe it in this way — But if something here isn't quite you, that's OK.  If you're interested, please still apply :)

💡 Space to explore your curiosity
You're endlessly curious about what other people are building—especially those who are building interesting things in online business.  You search for their hidden stories and find creative ways to tell them, so that our people can see the same inspiring bits that you see.

🎙 Podcasting is your happy place
Hopping on the mic for a natural on-air conversation doesn't feel like work to you.  It's what *you'd be doing anyway*.  But you also know that a great podcast is so much more than just recording and uploading.  It requires a creative premise, careful planning, exceptional production quality, and distribution to reach our people.

🎥 Video production gets your juices flowing
Sometimes, a story or an idea is better told on video.  You're no stranger to being on camera and you've been around the block when it comes to video production.  Writing compelling scripts, setting up the perfect shot, storytelling through editing, queuing up the perfect music track, geeking out on gear—all in service of your viewer's experience.  That's the stuff that gets your creative juices flowing!

🧰 Writing, design, music, tech, ideas
As a creator, you're never in short supply of ideas and finding creative ways to ship them.  Your craft demands a working knowledge and appreciation of *all the things*.  From thoughtful writing, to your eye for design, a feel for music, and the technical chops to put it all together. 
This is *what you do*.

🙋 A people person (who craves deep work)
You get energy from your personal connections with other creators and builders—whether you're collaborating directly or watching them work from afar.  This translates to natural curiousity, which makes you a great interviewer.  You're also happy to work collaborativity with a small creative team.  But in order to ship amazing work, you need those long, uninterrupted deep work sessions too.  That's where the magic happens.

🌱 Build something out of nothing
The work of creating isn’t enough. You want to know that you’re helping to build something bigger, making a long-lasting impact.  You want to look back on this time and feel proud of your contribution and say, “I helped make that.  I was there from the very beginning”. 

Things you might find yourself doing:

Location independent                
However, North America or Europe are preferred.  I'm based in Connecticut and the ideal is to find someone with plenty of timezone overlap and relatively short travel distances.

Remote work + Asynchronous communication
Day-to-day, we're fully remote and we lean on asynchronous communication (ZipMessage, Slack, etc.) whenever possible.  We'll meet live occasionally for collaboration, but we're very anti-zoom-fatigue here ;)

Calm, flexible hours
Yes, we value shipping at a consistent, efficient clip and making our best working hours count.  NO, we won't sacrifice our rest time, family time, happiness, and personal mental and physical health for the sake of "hustle".  Set your own hours and your own pace.

Small, collaborative team. 
You’ll be directly involved in big creative decisions and directions, collaborating with the founder (me :) and others as we form our small crew over the next 12 months.

It's a new role.  We're a new company.  Help make it great.
This is a new role in a new company so I'll value your input when it comes to shaping the ideal structure for this position and all of our positions going forward.

Hear more about this position 🎧
I recently chatted on my podcast about how I'm thinking about this role for this new company.  Have a listen here :)

Let me introduce you to your potential teammates and collaborators: 

Founder / Head of Product

Hi, I'm Brian Casel, founder of ZipMessage, and its new parent company/brand that I'm calling Shiny Objects.

I've been building businesses full-time and customer-funded for 13 years and counting.  I'm a web designer by trade.  As as a multi-time founder, I've managed to learn (and continue to learn!) all the things:  team building, marketing, engineering, design, writing, etc.  In recent years, I've been focused on software product design.  I think of myself as a creative entrepreneur and I intend for this next company to be the most creatively-driven venture to date.

I've been the co-host of the Bootstrapped Web podcast (7+ years running!).  This episode and the one before it had me talking at length about how I'm thinking about this role... These chats led me to write this job posting :)

In this new company, most of my time will be spent as the head of product, working on ZipMessage.  You would be the creative force driving the media content side of the business.  I'll give my input and collaborate with you on that, but I intend to give you the creative freedom to run with and execute on our best ideas.

What else?... I live on the Connecticut coast (an hour north of NYC) with my wife and 2 young kids and we can't wait to get back to our favorite pre-pandemic pastime, traveling.  I'm also a lifelong musician and hobbyist music producer, and love that intersection of tech and creativity.

Technical Marketer

You’ll work alongside our Technical Marketer, who’s focus will be on distribution and executing audience growth initiatives.

This Technical Marketer role is also currently open, so if that’s more your thing or you know someone, here’s the link!

To apply, please fill out the form here

For bonus points, you could send me a ZipMessage too 😉
https://zipmessage.com/brian