KATE HUTCHISON, founder
I knew I wanted to move to New York after tagging along on my mom’s business trip here when I was seven. It was probably around that time that I also realized that I wanted to be an agent. My mom, who I was obsessed with like a lot of girls are, was a concert agent. I remember looking forward to days I didn’t have school and could go with her to her office in Beverly Hills and listen to her on the phone while I drew on a legal pad. I never loved music but I have always loved books. Becoming a literary agent in New York seemed like a no brainer.
I spent a decade working in publishing, starting out working at literary agencies: Trident Media Group and WME. I loved the hustle and bustle and working in clients. I did not like having to wait patiently to get promoted. Instead, I left to become an editor at Amazon. I then spent the rest of my time in publishing learning as much as possible about the industry, working at places such as Hachette and Rizzoli, before pivoting my career towards digital publishing and NY’s startup scene.
It was when I got some distance from books and started learning more about others form of publishing, like podcasts, that I saw how the early days of audio were mimicking the early days of ebooks. Creators were signing contracts that weren’t in their best interest, there was confusion over who had what IP, even delivery dates were unclear. And that’s how Lasso was born: to make sense of the “wild west” of podcasting.
In addition to Lasso Audio, I have spent time at SiriusXM and Acast’s Podchaser (where I currently work now). At SiriusXM, I was Director of Business Development for Podcasts and worked across their adtech platform, AdsWizz, and their hosting platform, Simplecast. This experience gave me unmatched knowledge into how podcasts are able to monetize through an ad based model and what the alternatives are. I also learned the various types of podcast advertising and their value propositions. At Podchaser, I have been working with brands who want to work more closely with podcasters on host read sponsorships.