My 2021 recap! Talking a little about my lessons learned so far, some future guests, episodes, and plans for the podcast, and some of my stats so far. Will be back to regularly scheduled guests from next week!
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2021 Review
What a year! 6 months of the podcast done and dusted. Beyond grateful for the ride so far and looking for a bigger and better 2022!
Here are the stats:
Episode Transcript
Kalani Scarrott (00:31): Alrighty, how we doing? So a little bit of a different episode this week, just a, maybe a reflection or a recap type post, I guess. I don’t plan on doing this of episodes often. I cannot stress you how much I hate talking in long-winded answers myself. I really like to ask questions and get the outta way. So, yeah, not planning on doing this often. I’m only doing it this week, cuz I’m assuming listenership will drop through the holidays and new year and whatnot. And I don’t want guests have a smaller than normal audience.
Kalani Scarrott (00:59): I don’t think that’s fair on them. So I’m hoping not to be too self-indulgent and venting too much. And like everything that I do, I’m gonna try and make this valuable for you and worth ya time. So I’ll basically be going over just some future episodes and guests, lessons so far, what the stats generally look like, and my plans for the future and what I hope to achieve. So I’ll probably be over and done within 20 minute. And so that’s hope because I seriously cannot envision myself chatting for that long. I don’t know how other people do it, but yeah, that’s just me. So before I get started onto all the specific details of the podcast and lessons and future episodes, I just really wanna say thank you beforehand because, I’ve got the best job in the world. I really, I just wanna say thank you to listeners, to guests, to my missus who helps out with the transcripts.
Kalani Scarrott (01:47): It’s extremely humbling. It’s pretty surreal. I don’t know. I’m not quite used to this yet. It’s um, it’s cool. Don’t get me wrong. I love it. It’s amazing. It’s just, um, yeah, it’s all new to me. So I really appreciate people that listen and reach out with feedback. And it honestly means a lot because a lot of the time it is just me and a laptop, doing all the editing, doing all the transcript, and it can get a bit lone sometimes and no one really understands. So, uh, I’m not trying to, I’m not trying to ask for pity or anything, but um, no, I just wanna say I’m really grateful for people that listen and tune in. So to terms of future episodes and guests lined up and in the works, I’ve got Greg Lam who runs the life run from YouTube channel. So he’s currently got about 1.5 million YouTube subscribers.
Kalani Scarrott (02:33): So I was lucky enough just to reach out and get a, um, yeah, get a response back and we’ve recorded the episode. That’s gonna be a video interview as well. So on the YouTube channel it’ll actually be able to watch the interview. Um, if you’re into that kind of thing, I guess. Um, so we chat about basically the YouTube landscape, what it’s like making videos, what his whole process is like. I’m super interested in that kind of stuff. So for me it was fun. Hopefully you find it as interesting as I do. So that’ll be on the sixth of Jan. Next one after that is Pratyush Rastogi on Grab. So second time on the podcast, but we’ll be talking this time about Grab. So it’s a big, deep dive in their business model, their history, management regulation, what it’s all like it’s probably another 50 minute deep dive.
Kalani Scarrott (03:17): I really enjoyed recording that one so that I’m putting, editing that together now. Um, so they’re, they’re ready to go done done ish like recorded and done ones. I’m planning for in the works. There’s an Nintendo episode coming up soon in January, hopefully. And then there’s another one I’m trying to get really hard. It’s close. I’m just trying to book a time. I think with Rachel Lao, hopefully I’m allowed to mention names and stuff, but Rachel Lao. Um, and that’ll be about the sort of VC / private equity space in Malaysia. So that’s coming up soon as well. So hopefully that’ll be around January and then yeah, I’m always looking for more guests and stuff. So feel free to reach out. This is my, this is my ask. My one and only ask, if you ever have a suggestion, a close contact that you know, that might be interested.
Kalani Scarrott (03:55): Yeah. Put ’em in touch cuz but yeah, that’s probably the best bit about the podcast is that you can get guests anywhere, anywhere. Anyhow lessons. So far the biggest one having a podcast is basically a cheat code. So the people you get access to is honestly unreal. I wouldn’t dream of asking and talking for an hour with some of the people I’ve had on so far. It’s just, um, unreal. And I don’t know how else to put it. It’s just like, yeah. I encourage everyone to try their own podcast. If you, if you keen about that sort of stuff. I don’t know. I like it and it’s forced learning as well. So I love it. The next lessons probably get organized and get on things early. So the weeks come around faster than you think. Especially with a weekly podcast, it is to just like, go, go, go all the time.
Kalani Scarrott (04:42): And same thing sometimes you’ll record heap of episodes and get, and getting them all ready and you’re putting them out and you, you feel like you’re on a roll and then you’ve sort of forgotten to reach out to more guests and you, and, and then you’re back on the reaching out train again. You know what I mean? So, so yeah, that’s a big thing is get organized and get on things early because things just come quickly, way more than you think. And the next probably lesson that was big for me is just to prep, prep, prep some more because no matter how prepared you think you are, you always have to be twice as prepared. And even then I don’t think you ever really do feel prepared. It’s just more comfortable maybe, but I don’t know. I get violently sick before podcast sometimes because I just get so nervous and no matter how much research I do it still flares up, but it helps a little bit.
Kalani Scarrott (05:31): And I feel like I do a better job. I’m never 100% happy with how a podcast turns out. Just mostly for myself really. I’m always kicking myself that I didn’t know this or didn’t ask to that. Um, but yeah, next lesson is just having zero expectations. So I think expectations often puts a limit on what probably is possible. And if I thought that I should only reach out to people that I had a solid chance of getting, I wouldn’t have a podcast. So some of the guests I’ve had on, like I never would’ve thought it was even possible. Andy Ho, John Buchanan who coached Australia, telling 15 year old me that I’d get to interview a former coach of Australian cricket team. I probably would’ve had just like a heart attack. You know what I mean? Like I just can’t fathom ever doing that sort of stuff.
Kalani Scarrott (06:14): But I think when you have zero expectations and you willing to sort of, yeah, have a crack, I don’t know if I’m naive or stupid, but maybe both. Probably both. I’m always willing to just have a crack and see what happens cause you never really know. And it’s yeah. As long as you can provide them value to make it worthwhile for them. I think you’tr half a chance of getting people on and again, on that zero expectations episodes perform wildly different to how you might expect. So you might think that an episode was like maybe not one of your better ones or maybe the guests wouldn’t love it as much. I don’t know it’s hard, but then it’ll blow everything at the water. Or you might have an episode that you absolutely love yourself personally. And then it doesn’t really get that much of a reception.
Kalani Scarrott (06:56): So episodes that have probably performed differently to my expectations was the biggest one has been the Sea limited, deep dive episode with Punch Card Investor. So for me, I enjoyed that episode. Don’t get me wrong. I loved it, but that was my first deep dive on a business. And I don’t know, I just thought it would perform in line with expectations. Cuz I, at that stage I think I was usually getting around 250, 300 downloads in episode pretty consistently. And yeah, basically like 5x because I think I got around 1500-1600 it’s at, at the moment I had zero expectations for that. Like I just, and then yeah, blew everything out the water, it was crazy. People were sharing. It’s been linked and tons of different places. I don’t even can’t follow anymore. But yeah, that was a big one. Happy surprisingly, I just, yeah, you just never know.
Kalani Scarrott (07:44): So I’m gonna try a few more deep dives if people like it. Yeah. Just double down on them, I guess. Cuz if that’s what people like and enjoy then may as well. On the flip side, probably my favorite episode that I don’t think is in line with listen expectations was my episode with Mio Kato. Like I love that and it’s my longest episode. Only thing is, but I, I, yeah, I literally, I asked maybe six questions over an hour and a bit hour and a half. I didn’t do much. I just got to listen. It was great hearing his like sort of analysis, research, opinion. Oh I loved it. Oh, I honestly thought it was so good, but it probably performed in line. If not a little bit lower, than expectations. I don’t know. It’s just, it’s just what happens. I can’t control it.
Kalani Scarrott (08:24): No point in complaining about it, but um, yeah, no that’s one episode I really enjoy and I wish I had have performed a little bit better to maybe give justice Mio, cause I thought it was absolutely amazing. Obviously it’s like choosing children. I love all my podcast episodes equally, I guess. But um, that probably one where I think it was a little bit differently to how I thought it might perform. Another lesson on what I’ve learned so far is probably just do what you enjoy. So if, if you don’t enjoy it, why bother episodes often turn out better that way? I think if I have a genuine interest and passion, they always end up better because it’s just a naturally curious type thing. That’s why I’ve got Asianometry. I’ve published that one. That was a YouTube with a business sense background to it, I think.
Kalani Scarrott (09:06): Um, but like I love YouTube. Like so for me it was a pretty interesting one to see how someone’s successful on there. Like how they go about it. Same thing with Greg Lam and Life Where I’m From. He does more like lifestyle content on YouTube and stuff. So it’s not a finance / investing type episode that you might be used to. But for me, I was naturally curious about it and I love to hear about that. So, maybe listeners are expecting more of a investing, finance type background or content, but it’ll be interesting to see how that one performs because that’s one again, I really love, it’d be interesting to see what guests think of that. Same thing, it’ll be a video interview as well. So maybe people enjoy it more. Maybe who knows. I, I just, I don’t wanna say throwing stuff at the wall and hoping it sticks, but oftentimes it’s what it is.
Kalani Scarrott (09:50): You just sort of gotta put it out there and with their expectations and some things you get picked up, some things don’t so yeah. One big lesson and one of my favorites so far is, uh, just find some friends doing some interesting stuff or related stuff and just, um, yeah. Tag along with them. So for me, so my first ever guest episode, Michael Fritzell and then he got me who got me onto Aaron. I think Eugene, actually my second guest got me onto Aaron Peck, but then Aaron asked me to be part of a group chat. And now it’s honestly like the best part about this whole thing is, um, so it’s like me, Aaron, a couple of other guys, literally just chatting about like strategy basically almost not, oh, it’s a bit of shitposting and stuff in between. But um, I love it because it keeps you saying and you see other people in similar positions, maybe some like Michael’s probably a bit of head where I wanna be.
Kalani Scarrott (10:39): So I look up to him a bit and can ask him a lot of questions and he obviously does it full time as well. So it’s incredibly without being cliche, like inspiring or it just gives you a good guide. You know what I mean? If otherwise you’re just doing it. That’s all by yourself and you don’t really know what’s working what people like. Sometimes it’s good to get unfiltered feedback as well. So they might mention something and you can be honest and just vent sometimes, it’s a good point as well. So for anyone that does do this kind of stuff, um, I think it’s hugely invaluable and I cannot recommend enough. So yeah. Um, so yeah, I just like to plug the boys, so thank you. And probably like my second, last bit of feedback or feedback or big lesson I’ve learned is just to say yes to everything.
Kalani Scarrott (11:25): So maybe sometimes you might get a bit like, I don’t wanna be a stickler. You might be like, oh, maybe I don’t have time. Or maybe I’m not that interested in this type of episode, just say yes, just do it. And you can always, I don’t know, nuke it down the road or whatever one good example I think is my episode, Matthew Ruber, I just got a random reach out on Twitter and he was like, “Hey mate, got a guest for you. See what you think?” And on like selfishly rudely arrogantly on first glance, I was like, eh, okay, whatever I’ll do it. Just cuz of the sake of it. Ended up being one of my favorite episodes. Like it was so good. And maybe that’s what made it so funny because you go in with zero expectations, which was like an above point. You go in with zero expectations.
Kalani Scarrott (12:05): You’re not trying to pigeonhole someone or pigeon hole an episode. And what the guest might think. You just sort of go in, have a chat you’ve got it on record. Bam. It’s like, I love that. And that had good feedback too. So, um, I just think good things happen when you’re open to ideas and opportunities. So you’d be rude not to say yes at every opportunity you can. So, and me last lesson is just to go with the flow basically. So I have a very loose idea of what I want the podcast to be and what I want to do online in terms of this whole shebang. But it really just comes down to following my curiosity and doing what I enjoy. I think that’s what it boils down to you just, I don’t know, I’m not making money out of this obviously. It’s costing me money if anything. Costing me money, time, whatever. Maybe it pays off in the long run. I’m certainly hoping it does, but either way I enjoy it. So it’s not the worst thing in the world to just chat with interesting people, connect with people you wouldn’t otherwise. Um, yeah like honestly I love the thing so much getting the people makes it so worth it. Like I could go through every single episode, but getting to chat with people, Eugene, Graham Rhodes. I’m extremely thankful. I feel bad. Not mentioning names now as well. Pretty wish as well. Um, it’s just, yeah, it’s the best bit about it is getting to chat and meet with people and yeah, I, I like, again, maybe I’m naive, but I generally think of them as friends and I’d love to catch up when borders are open again. So yeah, I’m open to all feedback, advice.
Kalani Scarrott (13:32): If you ever think about starting one yourself, flick me a mess, happily help you out cuz um, yeah, I think the more people doing this the better, because I mean I started this because I didn’t have a podcast that I wanted to listen to, if that makes sense. So I always wanted to an interview like a podcast that focused on people in Asia-Pacific and what’s going on over here. So I thought, why not do myself? So the more people doing this means, I don’t know. You, you might start a podcast about the startup scene in Hong Kong or I don’t know, dairy farming in Asia. I’d probably listen to that because it’s something different and interesting. So don’t ever feel, “I don’t know, oh, is the market big enough for this? Or, or who would listen?” I don’t know. Just give it a crack. Who cares?
Kalani Scarrott (14:11): You learn something new. I think everyone else is better off it that you tried. You may not get anything out of it, but some random person from middle of nowhere might get a ton of value out of it. So I dunno, give it a crack. What’s the worst that could happen. Stats, stats, stats. I’m a stats, man. Okay. So again, I don’t have any expectations. I don’t know what’s good. I don’t know what’s bad. I’ll list the images on the webpage and all the, you can find them in the details and the show notes, but I’ve got total 9,000 downloads for all episodes. I think my biggest one again was Punch Card Investors. Sea Limited deep dive. I think that’s about 1,500. Don’t quote me. I don’t check this daily, but I think episodes now, I think the last few after punch cards episodes have probably averaged about 400.
Kalani Scarrott (14:59): So Max Koh’s is at 400 now I think. And Asianometry’s episode was at 400. I’m pretty sure last checked. Obviously this one is not going to do 400 downloads cuz it’s just me rambling for 15 minutes now. I’d be curious to see how it goes in the new year. Greg Lam’s episode, he’s got a one and a half million subscribers on YouTube. Surely I think you’d do numbers. That’s just me. And then obviously the Grab limited deep dive with Pratyush as well, a deep dive back in the swinging things. I I’m expecting it to do numbers as well, but you never, um, so that’s what I’m maybe sort of expecting from now on 400 downloads, an episode and growth on top of that. But in terms of expectations at the end of the year, I don’t know, is, is a hundred thousand downloadstotal too low of bar? Too high for bar? I don’t know is 10x in a year.
Kalani Scarrott (15:47): Cause I’ve only done this for half a year so far. So after one more whole year at the end of this calendar year is 10x feasible. Is it, am I setting the bar too low? That’s why? Same thing again, I’d rather just focus on the process and yeah, wherever it goes, it goes, I guess. For the website and the transcripts that’s at six and a half thousand total page views. Again, I dunno off the top of my head, what the daily page views and stuff are, but I’m happy with it. People are finding it. So yeah, can’t complain. I think for me, the one thing that I am maybe excited about or was cool to hear is I got a reach out on LinkedIn. I hope I can mention his name. Omar, Omar reached out to me. I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna list his full name, but Omar reached out to me on LinkedIn and he said he just found it through Apple podcasts, like the recommendations.
Kalani Scarrott (16:33): So that was nice because I always thought it was totally word of mouth 100% Twitter. So for someone to find the podcast, just through algorithm / recommendations, that’s nice. So maybe hopefully more of that. I’m always interested to find out where guests [I MEAN LISTENERS!!] Have found the episode or how they got onto the podcast because I think that’s interesting knowing just what gets people through the door for lack of a better word. So, um, yeah, no, that’s probably about it for stats. If you have any questions about stats, feel free to ask. I don’t mind sharing. Um, I’m pretty open book in the, in the blog post blog page for this I’ll share all the screenshots of the webpage, the downloads. Yeah. Anything I can find that I think might be worthwhile to you I’ll share and plug it in. So, but if you have any other questions about yeah.
Kalani Scarrott (17:19): The whole process of things, let me know. For plans for the podcast. Not really much just keep doing what I’m doing. Focus on the process. I have thought about doing a stock only podcast, but I think it’s unlikely and it’s something that I’ve thought about, but I think I’m more just thinking about doing intimate deep dives on companies at the moment. So Sea limited, maybe once a month, I might do the Sea Limited deep dive. Then the Grab deep dive, Nintendo in February. Maybe I don’t think I have the time effort, energy to support a standalone stock only podcast alongside the interview one at the moment. I don’t know, ask me the year maybe, but at the moment I’m pretty happy doing intimate deep dives. And that’s just where I wanna be. The one thing I am really keen to try is trying a couple videos. Talking to Asianometry and Greg Lam of Life Where I’m From.
Kalani Scarrott (18:11): I’m really interested in videos at the moment. So I wouldn’t mind trying just a few video essay type things on like profiles, cuz I have got this sort of side thing Allocators Asia that actually the first post coming at mid Jan and that’ll be Li Lu, but I want to do a video on that, on his life and story and similar-ish to a what Asianometry does. He does video essays. He’s a very well researched, really tight storylines, really well made. Mine would just be more focused maybe on people than our technology and that sort of stuff. So I think that’s where my interest lies I think is more so generally in the people. The only thing is I feel bad about is sometimes if I get a story wrong about someone, because it is a person at the end of the day, you know what I mean?
Kalani Scarrott (18:52): It’s very personal. So I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna make false claims or you know what I mean? I want it to be very tight true. And you know, I feel like if Li Lu somehow watched that video and got off that I mentioned something wrong. I like I’d be pretty cut. You know what I mean? So I really wanna do it proper justice. Yeah. Get it as well made as possible. So at least it’s by the book as much as possible. I don’t know. That’s just my, that’s my fear with it I guess. And in terms of what I’m hoping to achieve, like this is like, I don’t know, long-long-term, I’d love to make a living from this. I don’t know how feasible that is. I arrogantly naively again, stupidly, I feel like I probably can turn this full time maybe eventually one day.
Kalani Scarrott (19:35): And it’s more of a case of when not if I just don’t know how long technically, but I’m in no rush, again. So I’m yeah, I’m not stressing that I’m pumping money into not pumping money, but I’m not stressed that I’m losing money on this at the moment. And either way it’s fun for me. One shorter term one would be, it would be amazing to like somehow get a sponsor that I can just cover the crap that I don’t enjoy doing. So like the editing of podcast episodes, not my most favorite bit in the world. The transcripts? Definitely don’t enjoy. And then just going through the motions of prepping for the episode online, like chucking in all together, getting all the related links. If, if it would is up to me, you in a perfect world, I would just reach out to people that I admire send cold emails, studying research them and their topics.
Kalani Scarrott (20:18): So I could ask informed questions and then just do the actual interviews themselves. Everything else I would love to be able to outsource, but at the moment that’s not feasible, not possible. So that’s maybe the, probably the first step in what I’d like to achieve. But again, no rush. I’m just do doing everything myself basically. So overall, hopefully you’ve gained something little from these. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed rambling and I don’t plan on doing this. Yeah. Even, even doing this for next year’s recap. I’m a bit, oh, I feel bad and skeptical of it already, but I just think hopefully it’s been valuable for you. If you have any questions again, I seriously open book, ask me anything, how the process goes, stats wise, what actually is involved with an episode, I’m happy to share whatever. Um, if you, same thing with guests, if you ever had another guest, you think might be a good, good fit for the podcast.
Kalani Scarrott (21:16): Either put me in contact with them, send me the message to saying who they are and what just yeah. Have a crack. I’ll get back to you. Probably the best ones on Twitter @scarrottKalani. Other than that, I just, um, again, wanna say, thanks. I really appreciate the time and effort that listeners and guests and everyone has put in. I’ve got the best job in the world here. So I’m extremely grateful that people are willing to listen to this and yeah, anytime someone reaches out with feedback or criticism or ideas, I’m extremely grateful and I honestly appreciate it way more than you know, so yeah, just thank you so much and have a good one.