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Podcasting got a seat at the grown-up’s table at South by SouthWest for the first time, smack in middle of Women’s History Month. So Insider Interviews captured content from three women also making strides in media, during Podcast Movement Evolutions. I spoke with these media powerhouses at The Podcast Academy / Sounds Profitable co-sponsored booth to talk about building: businesses, communities, the future of media itself…and building up women everywhere.
Learn from:
- the co-founder of a startup modernizing how print and out-of-home are bought and sold,
- a global communications CEO who has built her career on making messaging move people,
- and one of the new forces behind podcasting’s growing presence itself.
Mach on Modernizing “Premium” Media for a New Era
Beth Mach, Co-Founder & COO of Spacely Media, introduces the first transactional marketplace for premium media — giving print, out-of-home, and venue advertising the digital infrastructure it’s never had.
“Buying in those channels today still looks like it did 20 years ago — lots of PDFs, lots of phone calls. Spacely closes that gap.”
Their platform replaces friction with functionality, and dashboards instead of PDFs. Like Neil Vogel, in my recent episode with the People, Inc. CEO, Mach is bullish on magazines and makes the case for why brands are coming back to these channels. She also explains why credibility wins the room when you’re raising money. It shouldn’t be different as a female founder. But… 
“Every founder meets skepticism. When you are female, it adds another layer — especially when the room has historically looked a little different.” — Beth Mach
Lund on Messaging to and for Humans
Wendy Lund, Global CEO of Allison Worldwide and returning Insider Interviews guest (exactly one year later!), reflects on her path from women’s health advocacy to leading a global agency — and what she’s building now. Her path ran from a master’s in women’s history to nonprofit marketing, to running a global agency. With her move to Global CEO of Allison Worldwide and Vice Chair of health at parent company Stagwell, Wendy described her enthusiasm for Allison’s strengths, across campaigns, media/influencer, and experiential.
She reinforces the importance of listening, purpose-driven work, and addressing ongoing inequities in women’s health and mental health.
“My favorite value has always been belonging. Do your customers feel like they’re part of something? To me, that is so sticky.”
Her advice for building brand love in a fragmented media world is deceptively simple: be real, and build belonging.
She’s also clear-eyed about the disconnect between how much we talk about innovation — and how much attention women’s health actually gets:
“AI is on the tip of everybody’s tongue — but at the end of the day, it’s also steeped in emotion. And we’re 51% of the population. That means we should get 51% of the attention.” — Wendy Lund
DeMellier Sounds Like an Inspiration
Molly DeMellier, Head of Communications at Sounds Profitable, gives an insider’s scoop on the organization helping shape podcasting’s growing presence at SXSW and beyond. She points to the combined strengths of the co-founders: Bryan Barletta’s (“terrifying”) encyclopedic industry brain and Tom Webster’s research engine, along with her own expanding role shaping panel strategy, supporting retainer clients, and helping partners amplify their stories. Molly describes Sounds Profitable place in podcasting as building community and connection through events, networking, research, and partner support, emphasizing that “Podcasting is really taking off and it’s the people that power it.”
But, noting the industry’s representation gap, takes her role seriously when working on events like Podcast Movement, pondering “who do I put on stage that’s going to inspire that next person” to know they can see themselves podcasting. 
And she closes with something that sticks: her belief that women shouldn’t have to choose between a career and a family — and why she’s determined to make sure the next generation sees women in power.
“A big fear I have is that women will leave professions not by choice, but by force. And my biggest fear is what about the children who see their mom who didn’t have a choice?” — Molly DeMellier
This is Episode 50 in Season 2. I think it sounds like a milestone worth celebrating.
Key Moments & Time Codes
00:00 — How Podcast Movement Evolutions made its first-ever appearance at SXSW
00:53 — Beth Mach explains why Spacely calls it premium media — and why that reframe matters for the industry
04:50 — Beth explains how buying a print ad in 2025 still works the way it did 20 years ago — and how Spacely is finally changing that
09:40 — Why print titles that shut down years ago are quietly relaunching — and what that signals for brands
14:55 — On fundraising as a female founder: the extra layer of skepticism, and how clarity of purpose cuts through it
16:30 — Wendy Lund returns one year later as Global CEO of Allison Worldwide — what changed, and why she missed agency life
22:21 — What Wendy learned going in-house at Organon: the difference between talking at women and actually listening to them
23:16 — Women’s health today: the innovations gaining ground and the conditions still being undertreated
27:35 — How Sounds Profitable brought the podcast industry to SXSW — and why community-building is at the core of everything they do
30:57 — What Sounds Profitable partners get: industry counsel, audience research expertise, and Molly’s evangelism that helps all boats rise!
34:59 — Closing thought as a woman in business: rising childcare costs are pushing women out of the workforce not by choice, but by force.
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