Mark McTamney listens to a lot of podcasts, and is looking for more. But like a lot of people, he’s mostly discovered new offerings by word of mouth. With music, movies and books, there are apps and websites to turn to find reviews and get personalized recommendations.
Not so for podcasts, said McTamney, who worked for six years at Parking Panda as director of marketing. It surprised him given the growth of the medium, and the sheer volume of podcasts. And people were already sharing, albeit through more limited channels.
“I realized there’s that social element to it,” he said, but found no go-to source.
That’s what McTamney is out to offer with IsItGood. On Tuesday, he won $100,000 from the Abell Foundation at Accelerate Baltimore‘s investor pitch night. The event marked the close of the 12-week accelerator run by ETC.
Congrats to @IsItGoodApp for winning this year’s #acceleratebmore18 pitch competition for $100,000 from the @abellfoundation !!! pic.twitter.com/jC3NNX0mpe
— AccelerateBaltimore (@AccelerateBmore) June 20, 2018
Along with a place to listen to podcasts, the app features a feed allowing listeners to share podcasts and check out what their friends are listening to, as well as share to other social platforms. It also uses an algorithm to learn tastes and offer recommendations.
McTamney started the app after leaving Parking Panda last summer, following the Baltimore company’s acquisition by SpotHero. It got a boost after a Startup Weekend DC event in the fall, and McTamney entered AccelerateBaltimore earlier this year intent on further growth.
The funding will offer a big boost for development efforts for the app, which is in private beta (Find sign up info on its website). Going forward, McTamney said he plans to hire a lead dev, and the plan is to look locally. He’s eying a fourth quarter launch.
Here are some more highlights from Accelerate Baltimore’s investor pitch night:
Well Kept Beauty founder Sheena Frankin talked about the app’s mission to help people manage their skin-care routine.
At Night Athletic cofounder Julie Polanowksi brought along samples of the company’s running gear with built-in LED lights. They’re eying a November launch.
ClearMask cofounder Alyssa Dittmar described recent wins for the transparent, full-face surgical mask.
CEO Ellington West pitched Sonavi Labs, a medical device company bringing new technology to help health workers listen to the heart in non-traditional clinical environments through a smart stethoscope and diagnostic tools.
Suzan Shahrestani talked about building Minnowtech, which offers an app and attachment for fishers to measure and record data about their catch – for science.
Dedrick Siddall talked about how Fleet is helping Baltimore nonprofits automate back-office functions.
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