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Subscriptions are eating the world. Join us as we spotlight the heroes behind the world's most successful subscription businesses. Brought to you by Churnkey.
Craig Hewitt: From Podcast Editor to SaaS CEO | Subscription Heroes #11
Subscription Heroes
32 minutes 19 seconds
7 months ago
Craig Hewitt: From Podcast Editor to SaaS CEO | Subscription Heroes #11
In this episode, Craig Hewitt discusses about his journey from running a podcast editing service to building a SaaS podcast hosting platform. They cover the challenges of transitioning from services to SaaS, customer retention in podcast hosting, pricing struggles, and scaling a SaaS business in a competitive market. Craig also shares insights into product development, hiring, and future plans for Castos.
About Craig Hewitt:
Craig Hewitt is the founder and CEO of Castos, a leading podcast hosting and analytics platform. He started his journey in podcasting with PodcastMotor, a productized podcast editing service, before expanding into SaaS by acquiring the Seriously Simple Podcasting WordPress plugin. Under his leadership, Castos has grown into a full-featured hosting platform, serving independent podcasters and brands. Craig also shares insights on entrepreneurship through his Rogue Startups Podcast and Founder Insights newsletter.
Here is what we cover:
Craig’s Background & Castos' Growth – Started with Podcast Motor, acquired a WordPress plugin, and built Castos into a SaaS platform.
Services to SaaS Transition – Services provided cash flow but were hard to scale; Castos still retains a services division (25-33% of revenue).
TinySeed & Fundraising – Raised $750K, joined TinySeed, now profitable and self-sufficient.
Podcast Hosting & Retention – Differentiates with UX/UI, WordPress integration, and strong support; low churn due to content retention.
Challenges of Low-Priced SaaS – $19/month pricing limits growth, CAC vs. LTV constraints, hard to scale paid acquisition.
Scaling & Product Development – Focused on UX, partnerships, and premium features; balancing speed vs. maintainability.
CEO’s Role in Growth – Shifted focus to sales, marketing, and partnerships; leverages content marketing and SEO.
Future of Castos – Expanding monetization options, integrating more content types, and strengthening its brand.
To lower your churn, visit https://churnkey.co
-------------------------- About Churnkey --------------------------
Churnkey is the retention automation platform that lowers your churn, boosts your MRR, speeds your growth, and launches your enterprise value to the moon. We help companies stop churn at the point of cancellation, recover failed payments, learn why customers are cancelling, and fix it. We don't just provide data. We take action.
Subscription Heroes
Subscriptions are eating the world. Join us as we spotlight the heroes behind the world's most successful subscription businesses. Brought to you by Churnkey.
