Two peas in a pod(cast): Two northern Colorado women launch new business for podcast lovers everywhere

Kat Ventoruzzo, left, and Rachel Freeman, launched podprinted June 1, 2021. Courtesy photo.

By Kelly Ragan

Rachel Freeman and Kat Ventoruzzo shared a love for  podcasts. They even started a  club – like a book club, but for podcasts – right before the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down. Now they share a business. Podprinted is a website that sells podcast-themed apparel (think t-shirts) with the goal of celebrating podcasts and fostering a sense of community among other podcast lovers. 

“We recognized that there were t-shirts out there for people who love books, people who love movies, but there was nothing out there for people who love podcasts,” Freeman said. 

According to a report by Forbes, about 116 million people listened to podcasts in the U.S. alone in March 2021. About 80 million in the U.S. are regular podcast listeners, according to BusinessWire. 

Some of this growth may be driven by the pandemic since so many of us have stayed home this past year, but podcasts saw major growth before that, too. 

Podcast listeners grew sharply in 2019 as well, according to a report by the New York Times, with more than half of people in the U.S. having listened to one, and nearly one out of every three people listening to at least one podcast every month. Some experts suggest the popularity jumped as Spotify, the streaming service, added podcasts to its offerings.  

Both Freeman and Ventoruzzo used to work together at the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment. They became friends after bonding over their love of learning and chatting about the latest podcast episode.  

“She got me hooked on several podcasts,” Freeman said of Ventoruzzo. “It was really fun to share.” 

Then Ventoruzzo left the health department in 2019 and Freeman left in 2020. Though they were no longer coworkers, they managed to stay in touch and brainstorm business ideas during the pandemic.  

Freeman said the pandemic influenced her decision to try something new. 

“First of all, I realized how fragile things can be – like your job, and there are benefits to having another source of income,” Freeman said. “Second, the stress of everything I went through working for the health department during the pandemic really prompted me to start thinking about what it is I really want. I wanted to do something that tapped more into my creative side.”

For Ventoruzzo, she realized she missed working with Freeman and was excited to try the business thing out. After leaving the health department to work at a start up in Fort Collins, Ventoruzzo said she realized it was possible for anyone to start a business. 

“Before, I felt like it was impossible, like you had to be this crazy intelligent, Harvard graduate or someone with an MBA,” Ventoruzzo said. “Then I saw people I knew who were normal people pitching ideas.” 

The two launched their website with six designs, though they plan to create more. 

Ultimately, podprinted is a business, and the two are aiming to grow their business and make money eventually – but for them, a big priority is growing and celebrating the community around podcasts. 

“We’re all about increasing your knowledge,” Ventoruzzo said. “Maybe a podcast you like takes you to another new thing you want to learn.”

For more

To learn more about podprinted and check out their merch, go to https://www.podprinted.com/

To listen to Rachel Freeman and Kat Ventoruzzo’s own podcast, in which they discuss the ins and outs of their business, go to https://www.podprinted.com/podcast