Young Gun profiles takes a look at the young talent across the Australian advertising, adtech, marketing and media sector. Aiming to shed light on the varying roles, people and companies across the buzzing industry.
Ryan Lamont: senior development manager at Acast
Time in current role/time at the company:
Four months.
How long have you been in the industry?
I’ve worked in the creator economy in various roles for more than eight years and have worked in the podcast space for four months. It’s great to have found a company in Acast that really shares my passion for the creator economy and it’s exciting to be playing a role in its development.
How did you get here? Was this always the plan?
I graduated film school in New Zealand and then dove head-first into the creator economy, working as a social media manager in Australia before moving into talent management, working in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. After five years managing top talent, including names like Brittany Hockley, Jim Chapman and Shaaanxo, I was looking to work with creators in a more focused way, on just one part of their career versus their whole brand. Having previously worked on podcast projects with talent I managed, and really enjoying the process, moving into the podcasting world felt like the next logical step for my career.
Who is your right-hand person/who guides you day to day?
I get to work with a brilliant team at Acast, both locally in Australia and globally. Our content director, Guy Scott-Wilson, has been an excellent guide and manager to me as I’ve waded into the new waters of the podcast industry. It’s great being able to learn from someone who has been at the cutting edge and been an active part of the podcasting industry's evolution over the last six years in Australia and New Zealand.
What’s the best thing about the industry you work in?
I love the variety of content and storytelling that’s finding success in podcasting; from the lude hilarity of My Dad Wrote a Porno to the impactful conversations of The Deep to the genuine fun and ease of Basically Besties. Each day I find myself speaking to such a broad range of podcasters as I seek out great shows to bring into the Acast Creator Network.
And the biggest challenge?
As with any creative pursuit that desires to be monetised, building an audience is the main challenge. In my role, finding creators with genuine scale in the Australian and New Zealand market can be tricky but the challenge is all part of the fun.
Whose job have you set your sights on in the future?
I don’t have a particular role in mind - I’m in an exciting exploratory part of my career, so there’s no ladder to climb or bullseye I’m aiming for. But I know it’ll be in the creator economy, utilising my experience with creators, fans, brands, podcasts and social media alongside my love of storytelling.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
In terms of industry and content inspiration, I always look to the UK and US for inspiration on exciting new ideas, formats and initiatives that could be repurposed and implemented down under. One of the benefits of Acast being a global business, at the forefront of the podcasting industry, is that we get a preview of trends and such that will come in the years ahead plus, the pop culture machine of film, TV, social and music is constantly inspiring new ideas and reference for various work projects.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
From 14 to 21 I had a YouTube channel, vlogging about life, anecdotes, holidays and more. It was my first step into the creator economy and gave me a good foundation for working with creators in the future. I gained more than 10,000 YouTube subscribers when I gave it a solid go, so that was a fun milestone to hit.
In five years’, time I'll be…
Still working in the creator economy, as it’s sure to evolve and become bigger and better, and continuing to work with exciting creators on the cutting edge. It’d be great to have a few personal creative projects under my belt by then too - maybe a podcast of my own is on the horizon.
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