Five years and over 200,000 downloads.
The Insights podcast with hosts Don Mills and David Campbell is celebrating a milestone.
The weekly show, produced by Acadia Broadcasting, uncovers the success stories of businesses and entrepreneurs from across Atlantic Canada.
“I could never have imagined when we started this that we would still be doing it. It’s been five years, and to get that number of listeners to the podcast is pretty gratifying,” Mills told our newsroom.
When the podcast launched, Mills said he was looking for another outlet after he sold his market research business.
“I was looking for an outlet to continue researching what was going on in the region. So I reached out to David Campbell to get his advice. He had his own podcast at that time. He was very generous with the information and how I would go about it. And then at the end of the conversation, he said, would you be interested in doing it together? And I said, sure, why not? And so, you know, that was the start of a really great collaboration, Mills explained.
Mills and Campbell bring two different perspectives to the podcast. Campbell is an economist, and Mills is a social scientist, which helps to make it more interesting for the listener.
Just a year after the Insights podcast launched, it had also brought its listeners many great business stories, some that they had never heard before.
“There’s very little coverage of business in the region. And we were uncovering these stories of success all over the place. So I said to David, there’s something really kind of unique going on in this region that I didn’t really understand until we started doing the podcast,” Mills added.
The lengthy list of guests featured on the Insights podcast includes some of the most outstanding entrepreneurs in the region.
“John Risley, John Bragg, Scott McCain, Robert Irving, and Jim Irving. They don’t normally talk out loud, so getting some of those people on has been really fun. You learn a lot when you get these significant businesses in our region to talk about their businesses, because they really don’t talk very much publicly about what they do,” Mills explained.
The podcast with Robert Irving, who recently passed away, was one of the biggest Insights podcast uploads.
“I think a lot of people appreciate hearing from somebody that doesn’t normally talk about his businesses or the things that he does. He created a lot of employment in the Moncton area for that community. And he was an amazing philanthropist, and community person leader,” Mills said.
The podcast has also featured many smaller, lesser-known entrepreneurs.
“Let me tell you one story. I’ve always been a connector, a networker. And after a podcast, one of our guests got a call. They got a call from a company in Newfoundland in their sector, wondering whether they would be interested in buying their company. And they did. So it’s in the long-term care space. So we were able to connect two different companies together, resulting in the sale of the company. They heard the podcast and learned about the company and decided to reach out,” Mills elaborated.
After a successful five years and 200,000 downloads, we asked Mills what was next for the podcast.
“We’re hopeful of getting a YouTube channel going and having both the audio and video of our conversations, which is the next level. Hopefully, to reach a new audience and continue to build our base of supporters,” Mills explained.
Campbell and Mills also do a lot of personal appearances as part of the Insights podcast. Mills told our newsroom the podcast is really attracting a younger audience.
“We want to inspire young people to look at entrepreneurship and business as a good life choice. I’m hoping that we’re inspiring the next generation of young people to think about business as a career opportunity and especially in the entrepreneurial space, which I think is really something that needs to be developed more in this region, because it’s not as strong as it needs to be,” Mills expressed.
The Insights podcast also inspired Campbell and Mills to write a book called “Towards Prosperity, the Economic Transformation of Atlantic Canada,” and they are currently in discussions to write a second book, highlighting the many business stories they’ve heard about through the podcast and beyond.
“One of the things I felt that was missing in this region is the celebration of business success,” Mills added.
A new Insights podcast is released every Thursday.
