It started out as a small local cultural podcast several years ago; now it’s grown into a full-blown online-based radio station with half a million listeners per month. detektor.fm, on 24 hours a day, is broadcast right here from Plagwitz, but casts a much wider net than Leipzig: Its focus is on news and events of nationwide importance rather than the local scene.
High-profile politicians have been on there. It works with 20-30 freelancers. It produces podcasts for a national newspaper. It’s got both a journalistic and musical focus, and it can play anything it wants. The radio station’s founder, 2008 Leipzig University graduate Christian Bollert, sat down with me last week to tell us a bit about their successful local-based but national-minded business. I asked things like why they chose Leipzig as their headquarters, the profile of their listeners, how detektor.fm works and what it features, the business side of detektor, tips for budding entrepreneurs, and more.
He kindly recorded this half-hour-long podcast with me in detektor.fm‘s studio. I came up with it spontaneously during the Startup Safary Leipzig tour that featured detektor.fm and a few other companies here that were once small startups and are now big success stories, such as Spreadshirt. I must say that visiting the radio station and getting an insider look from Bollert was my favorite part of the whole business safari experience.
It also gave me some insights into how to build a media-related enterprise. For example, they have used crowdfunding, something I’ve had interest in researching. They also managed to build a pretty good audience (probably an understatement).
Our podcast today is pretty much uncut, as if it were live. I wanted it to be more like radio, and more like a conversation. Hope you enjoy! If you have suggestions of podcasts you’d like to listen to here, write us at contact@leipglo.com.
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