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Artwork for Scaling Nerds

Scaling Nerds | Startup PR, Thought Leadership and Storytelling for Startup Founders

Marina Schmidt
David Beckett
Startups
Pitching Strategies
Venture Capital
Best3minutes
Pitch Decks
Food Futurism
Communications
Startup Growth
Corporate Sales
Investment
Communication Skills
Fundraising
Stakeholder Management
Sustainable Food Systems
Micro-Fermentation
Marketing
Food Tech
Biotech
Critical Minerals

Scaling Nerds (formerly Red to Green) helps science and tech founders master the essential communication skills for VC-backed growth: from branding and storytelling to media strategy and investor decks. Ranked in the top 5% globally, with listeners in 160+ countries, Scaling Nerds will help you win minds, markets, and your next fundraise. Hosted by strategic communications advisor Marina Schmidt. ... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes87Founded6 years ago
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Artwork for Scaling Nerds

Latest Episodes

The Future of Media, AI & Founder Visibility

Guest: Steven PerlbergLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/sperlberg/⁠ · Merantix Capital: ⁠https://www.merantix-capital.com⁠Head of Communications at Merantix Capital — Berlin-based VC investing in ea... more

Most founders walk onto stage cold. Even Usain Bolt doesn't do that.

In this solo episode, Marina shares the exact warm-up routine she uses as a professional moderator — a five-minute ritual that will make you sharper, more confident, and more conne... more

Make your investor updates the highest-leverage tool to unlock intros, hires, and your next round.

In this episode, you get a full, practical breakdown of how to write investor updates that actually work. We cover how to keep them fast and simple, w... more

Your voice communicates leadership long before your words do.

In this solo episode of Scaling Nerds, Marina Schmidt explores a subtle but powerful communication skill most founders never think about: vocal placement.

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Key Facts

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People also subscribe to these shows.

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Recent Guests

Steven Perlberg
Head of Communications at Merantix Capital; former journalist
Merantix Capital
Episode: 15. How AI is changing the media landscape & PR with former media journalist Steven Perlberg from Merantix Capital
Daniel Skaven Ruben
CCO of Good Grains; runs Solvable Syndicate; mentor/advisor in agri-food startups
Good Grains; Solvable Syndicate
Episode: 13. Investor Updates: A Complete Founder Guide to Unlocking Support and Capital
David Beckett
International pitch coach who has trained over 2,900 startups and helped them secure over 490 million in investments.
Best Three Minutes
Episode: 11. Win Your Next Startup Pitch with this 3-Minute Pitch Formula - David Beckett from Best3Minutes
Ariel Barack
Senior Partner and Chief Executive of Ordway Selections
Ordway Selections
Episode: 9. Choose VCs That Won't Go Bust - Hard Truths from an LP with Ariel Barack from Ordway Selections
Sarah Rall
Director of Communications at Cherry Ventures
Cherry Ventures
Episode: 7. Skip Panels, Do This Instead: Founder Thought Leadership 101 with Sarah Rall from Cherry Ventures
Oliver Siegel
Co-founder and CEO of Magmatic Bio
Magmatic Bio
Episode: 5. Live Pitch-Fix: Finding the Right Narrative for Critical Minerals Startup Magmatic
Nina Mannheimer
Co-founder and former CPO of Klim, a regenerative agriculture startup
Klim
Episode: 4. How to Sell Something People Don't Understand (yet) with Nina Mannheimer from Klim
Steve Molino
Principal at Synthesis Capital specializing in food tech and biotech investments.
Synthesis Capital
Episode: 3. Pitching Specialised VCs: Cutting-Edge Tech Doesn’t Sell Itself, with Steve Molino From Synthesis Capital
Elisheva Marcus
Vice President of Communications at Earlybird Venture Capital.
Earlybird Venture Capital
Episode: 2. How to Announce Your Fundraise Without a Headache - A PR Crash Course With Elisheva Marcus from Earlybird VC

Host

Marina Schmidt
Host of Scaling Nerds, strategic communications advisor focused on startup branding, storytelling, and media strategy.

Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars from 132 ratings
  • A must-listen for deep tech founders

    It's a sad truth that many technologies have realized only a fraction of their potential impact simply because customers and investors didn’t understand their value.

    Creating a compelling narrative isn't easy. As a deep tech communications nerd, psyched to see Scaling Nerds tackle this challenge. (Definitely don't sleep on the live pitch fix episode.)

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    renitakalhorn
    United States5 months ago
  • Hey I may be biased here but I am pretty sure this is some of the best food tech sustainability content out there :)

    Podchaser
    5
    Marina Schmidt
    3 years ago
  • Alll podcast serries presents valuable insiders and professional information. Keep on going and innovating new foods

    Audible
    5
    Kindle Customer
    United States3 years ago
  • Amazng content in this subject.

    Alll podcast serries presents valuable insiders and professional information. Keep on going and innovating new foods

    Audible
    5
    Kindle Customer
    United States3 years ago
  • A great discovery

    I’m very much enjoying the information provided and the light hearted way in which is presented. Focused on offering a useful perspective on not just the problem, but what can be done about it. A necessary podcast to informe and create awareness around the current situation with food and the environment.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Chochoyotw
    Germany4 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Engaging guests with deep expertise and practical takeaways.
Strong focus on deep tech and sustainability with actionable advice.
High production quality and thoughtful interviews.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#125
Germany/Business/Marketing
Apple Podcasts
#144
Indonesia/Business/Marketing
Apple Podcasts
#154
Finland/Business/Marketing
Apple Podcasts
#240
Denmark/Business/Marketing

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

15. How AI is changing the media landscape & PR with former media journalist Steven Perlberg from Merantix Capital
Q: What practical advice would you give to founders for building relationships with reporters without relying solely on agencies?
Steven emphasizes direct outreach by founders to beat reporters, the importance of authenticity, keeping relationships low-pressure with no agenda, and using a founder's direct contact to establish trust and ongoing dialogue.
15. How AI is changing the media landscape & PR with former media journalist Steven Perlberg from Merantix Capital
Q: How do you see the differences between the US and European media landscapes affecting a founder's PR strategy?
Steven outlines differences in outlet size, reach, language considerations, and the need to tailor outreach to English-language versus local-language media, while noting that good storytelling and a strong narrative still matter across markets.
15. How AI is changing the media landscape & PR with former media journalist Steven Perlberg from Merantix Capital
Q: Steven, maybe let's start out with a bit of background. Like, why are we specifically talking about the media landscape?
Steven explains his transition from journalism to a communications role at Merantix Capital, highlighting his experience covering media, tech, and politics, and frames the episode around how AI, media structure, and PR strategies intersect for founders.
10. Live Pitch Fix: Wood as Strong as Steel (Series A Pitch) - Strong By Form CEO Andres Mitnik
Q: What is your main challenge?
The challenge today is to find early use cases that match our goal of transforming this technology into a massive construction material.
10. Live Pitch Fix: Wood as Strong as Steel (Series A Pitch) - Strong By Form CEO Andres Mitnik
Q: What would be your main value proposition? What are the qualities that are the most important?
The main value proposition is creating something that is strong, lightweight, sustainable, and price competitive.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
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Frequently Asked Questions About Scaling Nerds

What is Scaling Nerds about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A practical, founder-focused show that blends strategic storytelling, media strategy, and investor communications for science- and tech-backed startups. Across episodes, listeners hear from investors, founders, and communications experts about pitching, fundraising announcements, crisis management, and thought leadership, with a strong emphasis on deep-tech sectors like AI, food tech, regenerative agriculture, and sustainable materials. Notable strengths include high production quality, hands-on coaching (live pitch fixes and feedback), and a tendency to feature guests who are deeply experienced in venture funding, corporate partnerships, and scalable go-to-market narratives. The format often centers on actionable tactics for investor updat... more

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Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Scaling Nerds. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Scaling Nerds and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does Scaling Nerds get?

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What are the audience demographics for Scaling Nerds?

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How many subscribers and views does Scaling Nerds have?

To see how many followers or subscribers Scaling Nerds has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to Scaling Nerds?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Scaling Nerds:

1. The Ezra Klein Show
2. The Daily

How many episodes of Scaling Nerds are there?

Scaling Nerds launched 6 years ago and published 87 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Scaling Nerds?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for Scaling Nerds?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Scaling Nerds from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.

How do I access podcast episode transcripts for Scaling Nerds?

Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of Scaling Nerds. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.

What guests have appeared on Scaling Nerds?

Recent guests on Scaling Nerds include:

1. Steven Perlberg
2. Daniel Skaven Ruben
3. David Beckett
4. Ariel Barack
5. Sarah Rall
6. Oliver Siegel
7. Nina Mannheimer
8. Steve Molino

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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