# Zencastr

Zencastr is an all-in-one podcasting platform focused on podcaster success

- Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/zencastr
- Entity ID: wefunder:company:124801
- Last updated: 2026-06-08T05:01:11Z
- Generated at: 2026-06-08T23:45:25Z

## Quick facts
- Backed by Kickstart Fund
- Zencastr is already a dominant player with 15% of active podcasters using our platform
- More than 30,000 passionate creators actively use Zencastr
- The Podcasting Industry is projected to grow to more than $150B by 2030!
- Podcasting Advertising was the fastest growing marketing channel in 2021
- Record, Produce, Host, Analyze and Monetize. All In One Podcast Platform
- Seasoned team of startup veterans, technologists and marketing experts
- Some of our larger customers include Spotify, Adobe, NPR CBS, Netflix and many others

## Active fundraises
- wefunder:fundraise:72202: 4(a)(6) successful (USD)
- wefunder:fundraise:72203: 4(a)(6) successful (USD)

## Story
The podcasting industry has grown at an exponential pace over the past two years and experts do not foresee a slowdown – Acumen Research predicts it will be a $150 billion industry by 2030. Demand for podcasts and technology advancements in podcast creation, such as the addition of video, are accelerating investment from advertisers and brands as they find new and innovative ways to reach new audiences.With thousands of customers, Zencastr has become the preferred platform for creators to create, grow and monetize their podcast. It's been an incredible journey so far, but we're not stopping - we see a tremendous need in the market to expand monetization opportunities for creators. Full-size deck: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/13cJYqoIdh4RBaH4ifpTJVeK4utfa6aB3k4GCumeaVbw/edit#slide=id.p

## FAQ
1. **does investing mean being part of the Zencaster Creator Network?**
   - Hi Urna, We’d welcome your support in our crowdfund and appreciate your interest in joining the Zencastr Creator Network! Currently investing in this crowdfund is not tied to ZCN membership. If you could please reach out to the ZCN team via email at creatornetwork@zencastr.com, I’ve let them know of your interest and they’d love to get you more information on our programs, as well as next steps on joining! Your support is truly appreciated! Josh
2. **What are the details of the $500k loan to the CPO and the $1MM loan to the CEO that were listed in the financial disclosures?**
   - Hi David, Our fundraise in 2020 was massively oversubscribed so the founders sold some of their personal equity. We did this by way of loans that are backed by founder equity. *edit: these loans have now been paid back and are no longer on Zencastr's books.
3. **Hey Josh I have actually used the platform and am curious about a tiny detail to my right the Valuation Cap of 33M was scraped for 28M what is the reasoning there?**
   - Hey Dan, We wanted to make sure our early supporters get a great deal with a discount on the full valuation. Once the campaign launches out of the early bird phase, the valuation will be 33m.
4. **I don't understand this. Is this like an IPO?**
   - Hi Diane, There are a fair bit of differences between an IPO and Crowdfund. The crowdspace did a great writeup on the differences here https://thecrowdspace.com/blog/ipo-vs-equity-crowdunding/
5. **At the current burn rate ($175k/mo if I'm not mistaken) the current round will only provide 10 months of runway. How do you plan to extend it? What are your sales/burn projections for next year? Thanks**
   - We generally aim for 10 - 12 months of runway when fundraising as we have a path to increasing growth and revenue to the point where we can raise our next round in ~6 months.

## Team
- Josh Nielsen (CEO)
- Adrian Lopez (CPO)

## Q&A
- Q: What are the details of the $500k loan to the CPO and the $1MM loan to the CEO that were listed in the financial disclosures?
  - A: Hi David, Our fundraise in 2020 was massively oversubscribed so the founders sold some of their personal equity. We did this by way of loans that are backed by founder equity. *edit: these loans have now been paid back and are no longer on Zencastr's books.
- Q: Any updates on the investment?
- Q: Is this project dead? What's going on? An update would be greatly appreciated.
- Q: I'm invested! Though just a couple weeks later, I discovered this: https://podcast.adobe.com/ Soooo... how are we feeling about a deep pocketed familiar name (lots of folks use Audition) suddenly being in the space?
  - A: Hey Pandora, thank you for your investment and great question! Adobe, like many other companies, are jumping into the podcast production market. We have found that high quality recording and production is only the start of a great podcast. This is why we have extended into helping with distribution, promotion, and monetization in a way that would be very hard for a company that is not entirely focused on podcasting to follow.
- Q: Any new updates, or numbers to share? We have not had an update in a year now. I’m sure others are looking for the same.
- Q: I love your product, and your vision. But it looks like your burn rate is un-sustainable, and I don't see how you could raise enough capital to survive. Where does the 33M valuation come from? Predictions of the overall podcasting growth?
  - A: There are two major levers we can pull to lower our burn rate. One is to reduce costs which we are doing via consolidation of our cloud infrastructure and related costs. The other is to generate more revenue. We are in the final stages of connecting our creators’ inventory with programmatic advertising marketplaces. There is a huge amount of unmet demand there and this will greatly impact our revenue story and burn rate in the coming months. We raised a seed round at a $25m valuation at the end of 2020 before we launched distribution or the advertising network. Early bird investors will be able to participate using a SAFE with a $28m post-money cap. Once we launch out of early bird, then the valuation will go up to $33m.
- Q: Hi! When will you provide investors with any information?
- Q: October 2025!! End of the fiscal year, guys! Let's have an update for 2025! Last time the company put out anything was 2023!! You can do better!
- Q: So, safe to say this funding round was not successful? I'm assuming the project is dead/dying, based on the complete lack of response from the Zencastr team.
- Q: Hello, as I had no news from you from months, I would like to be refunded. Please let me know how to proceed. Was it all a scam?
- Q: Hi team, any updates on the Series A timeline?
- Q: David asked about the $1.5m of loans to the CEO and CPO in 2020. You replied that you sold equity by way of loans that are backed by founder equity. But loans aren't selling equity. Why not just sell equity? Adding large personal loans to the balance sheet isn't good for the business. A software co. in a growing market should be profitable, so a $2m+ loss in 2021 is surprising. In this funding environment, raising only enough to cover 12 months runway also feels risky. Lastly, how did you reach a $33m valuation? Needed something higher than your previous $25m in 2020? And, why not raise with VCs? Were they put off by the above issues and increased competition? Sorry guys, I like the product but this feels way too risky for small investors.
  - A: Thanks for the questions and consideration, Al. We sold our personal equity by way of these loans due to tax considerations. These loans will be paid off this quarter and disappear from the company’s balance sheet entirely. Zencastr was bootstrapped and profitable for several years until we raised money in late 2020 and intentionally went into burn so we could quickly build out the distribution and monetization network. We will soon be launching programmatic ad monetization which has the potential to dramatically reduce our burn rate and extend runway but are open to raising additional funds as well. As far as valuation, we raised at a $25m valuation in 2020 when we were solely a remote recording utility. Now we have built out all of the remaining products needed for distribution/promotion/monetization with our only real competitor being anchor.fm who was purchased for ~$140m Our seed round and half of our extension round has been raised from traditional VC. As part of our mission to partner more closely with our podcast creators, the crowdfund creates an opportunity for these creators to participate in the value of the platform they are helping to build.
- Q: HI:) I am looking for information about the status of the investment and its value. I need to get my 200 :) back. Sorry :)
- Q: Where or when can I receive information about my investment? I think I invested 6-12 months ago. I don't remember. I'm not a knowledgeable stock market person.
- Q: Do you have any updates to share with investors? There has not been an update since the funding round ended in April.
  - A: We've been super busy building out our monetization network as well as launching some exciting new product features. A full update should be sent out via email early next week. Stay tuned.