By Richard Peck
Future Skills is a new podcast created by Ludvig Sunstr�m and Mikael Syding; both residents of "Stockholm" - the capital of Sweden. They are best known for their "25Minuter" podcast, a completely Swedish publication dedicated to the art of living well - through the practice of core observations and the developing of healthy habits.
Whilst "Syding & Sunstr�m" did very well with the Swedish podcast scene - amassing an audience in the 1,000's - they always felt restricted by the narrow scope of their native tongue. This meant they were constantly looking for ways to expand their reach internationally, but didn't really know how (their core audience was/is Swedish and they would expect a Swedish product).
In the Winter of 2017, the pair decided to shift their focus onto an entirely new offering - an "international" podcast. This would be conducted in English, and focused exclusively on providing as much information about "future-proof" traits as possible (especially in the light of automation/blockchain etc).
The core idea behind the show was that the modern world, especially in the West, has become decadent and decadent. Like the product of several generations of inbreeding, the Frankenstein-type future mapped out for the sons of the US, UK and Europe looks somewhat grim - a cross between feudal dystopia and narrow opportunity-base.
One of the most important things to realize is that both presenters of the podcast have a massive amount of experience with various aspects of the "business" / "professional" world. Syding was a Hedge Fund manager (very successful judging by the awards he received); Sunstrom has written a book and created one of the world's most popular "self improvement" websites - StartGainingMomentum.
Looking at the new Podcast the pair are working on intriguing.
Firstly, they (particularly Sunstr�m) have a very pronounced talent of being able to bring interesting people together. In the case of their previous Podcast (25Minuter), this meant a swathe of the "best and brightest" from Sweden coming on their show for interviews. This included everyone from celebrated author Alexander Bard to professional video gamer Pontus Mahler.
Secondly, the "type" of content they discuss is actually quite pertinent (& certainly unique). It essentially focuses on the disparity between the "mass" idea of things, and the underlying "reality" of how life works in certain ways.
In other words, it's the type of stuff that would be discussed in private members' clubs, and other "insider" venues - where learned men discuss opportunities among themselves.
The most important thing to appreciate about the podcast is that it essentially brings together people who would have never found the platform to express their ideas. Rather than trying to conjure up some fanciful (speculative) information about random topics, the pair are very focused on delivering high quality content that cannot be found elsewhere.
Further, the "name" itself is also suggestive. Rather than trying to sell themselves, they ended up creating a resource for people who want to learn about the next waves of information that would likely benefit them in the future. Whilst no-one has a crystal ball, they give people a good indicator of what is possible through their underlying projections & trends.
In all, the initial "pilot" episode of the new format proved very popular - with over 500 listeners in the first 24 hours. The content was good and the quality very crisp.
One of the only downsides was a somewhat lack of focus - there was a lot of overall discussion, but very little by way of "golden nuggets". If they're able to get around that, it should give them a strong competitive advantage moving forward - perhaps propelling them to some of the more bountiful markets of the likes of New York and London.
Article Source: Ludvig Sunstrom's New Podcast ("Future Skills")