Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to A Day in the Valley, the podcast where Silicon Valley's hottest startups come to life. Every week, hosts Zoe and Briggs take you behind the curtain of innovation to get an early glimpse of the startups that are reshaping the way the world does business, from groundbreaking AI tools to next-gen software as a service, logistics, fintech and health tech platforms. We cover the startups you need to know before everyone else does. Learn how they work, why they matter and how you can leverage their tech in your own company. Whether you're an investor, a founder or just future curious, this is your front row seat to the next wave of disruption. The future is being built today and it starts right here in the Valley.

Speaker 2: 0:45

Okay, we all know that feeling right, you need to get smart.

Speaker 3: 0:48

on something like now yeah, you want the core info, the real substance, without waiting through tons of stuff.

Speaker 2: 0:54

Exactly, and that's what we're doing today. We've done the digging for you. We're diving into something that's really shaking up content creation. It's an AI platform called Castify.

Speaker 3: 1:06

All right, think of it like a central hub or media engine almost.

Speaker 2: 1:10

A media engine? Yeah, it can take one single idea, just one, and spit it out into podcasts, videos, social posts, whatever you need.

Speaker 3: 1:19

It's pretty impressive how it can transform things. You might have some real aha moments when you see it in action.

Speaker 2: 1:24

So our mission really is to unpack how Castify actually streamlines all this and what it could mean for anyone trying to get their message out there more effectively.

Speaker 3: 1:33

Well, what's really really interesting, I think, is how it makes you rethink the whole content process, because it's not just automating task A or task B.

Speaker 2: 1:44

It's bigger than that.

Speaker 3: 1:45

Yeah, it's about building an actual system. You give it the foundation, maybe some text, maybe it's bullet points, and the AI uses that to create all these different formats. It's efficient in ways that are maybe not immediately obvious.

Speaker 2: 2:02

Okay, so let's get into the nuts and bolts then. How does this engine actually run?

Speaker 3: 2:07

Well, it starts with your core content. That could be a full script or, like I said, maybe just key talking points. Then you get choices for the audio. You can pick from these AI voices Some of them sound incredibly human now or you can upload your own voice.

Speaker 2: 2:23

Okay, so voice flexibility. What about visuals?

Speaker 3: 2:27

That's the next step. You add your images, graphics, but you can also create actual videos. It integrates with tech like DID for animating faces, making talking avatars. Oh right, I've seen those animating faces, making talking avatars oh right, I've seen those, yeah and 11 labs for really realistic synthetic voices. And this is the key the distribution you can push all that content out to your different channels, all from within Castify.

Speaker 2: 3:00

So it's built for speed and reach.

Speaker 3: 3:04

Exactly.

Speaker 2: 3:04

Speed and scale. Now you mentioned it's not just basic automation. Castify talks about smart automation. What's the difference there?

Speaker 3: 3:10

Good question. Basic automation might just be say scheduling a tweet. Smart automation is more about setting up intelligent workflows. How?

Speaker 2: 3:20

so.

Speaker 3: 3:20

It means using templates for specific kinds of content, creating processes. You can just run again and again, building in steps for approval to keep the quality high, but, importantly, you still have human oversight where it counts.

Speaker 2: 3:38

Okay, so you could set up like a template for your weekly update video with all the branding, the intro, maybe even the specific AI voice you like.

Speaker 3: 3:47

Precisely, or a workflow that automatically takes a blog post and carves it up into social clips, and maybe an audio summary.

Speaker 2: 3:56

Gotcha, so you're not starting from zero each time You're building this machine for your content. The media engine idea again it's the concept, it's about building the engine, not just the individual car, so to speak.

Speaker 3: 4:10

Let's make that concrete. Say I write a blog post, how does Castify help me get more mileage out of it?

Speaker 2: 4:17

Okay, great example. So that blog post traditionally making a podcast, a YouTube video.

Speaker 3: 4:24

So that's all separate work, right.

Speaker 2: 4:26

With Castify you can feed it that blog post and it can generate, say, an audio version, boom, instant podcast episode or voiceover. It could create a short video summarizing the key points for YouTube. It could pull out catchy phrases for Instagram captions or even a hook for a TikTok video. All from the one blog post, all stemming from that single piece of source material. It massively speeds up how you repurpose things and gets that core idea in front of way more eyeballs and ears.

Speaker 3: 5:00

All right. So the bottom line then, if you're listening and you're a marketer, maybe an educator, a trainer, a founder, basically anyone whose job involves creating content, what's the big takeaway?

Speaker 2: 5:08

Well, Castify puts it quite nicely If content is your currency, Castify is your vault.

Speaker 3: 5:15

I like that.

Speaker 2: 5:15

Yeah, think about the old way coordinating teams, booking studios, planning cycles that take weeks, maybe months.

Speaker 3: 5:23

Oh yeah, the headaches.

Speaker 2: 5:24

Castify aims to just slash through a lot of that complexity and time. It's much more direct.

Speaker 3: 5:31

And it's not just for solo creators, right? You mentioned enterprise features.

Speaker 2: 5:34

Absolutely. It's built to scale For bigger organizations. You've got governance features making sure everything stays on brand. There are collaboration tools so teams can work together on projects within the platform.

Speaker 3: 5:47

And approval workflows. Make sure nothing goes out before it's checked.

Speaker 2: 5:50

Exactly, quality control, essentially. So as your content needs get bigger and more complex, the platform is designed to handle it.

Speaker 3: 5:59

Okay, let's talk real, real scenarios. How about a small business, maybe one struggling with, say, email newsletter engagement?

Speaker 2: 6:05

Right Common problem. So they take that newsletter content, pop it into Castify. They could easily turn it into a short weekly podcast episode. Maybe more people prefer listening on their commute.

Speaker 3: 6:19

Makes sense.

Speaker 2: 6:19

Or generate quick branded video clips highlighting a key message or product for Instagram or LinkedIn. Suddenly, that same core message is reaching readers, listeners and watchers With minimal extra effort, potentially. That's the goal. Yeah, maximum reach minimum friction Okay flip side.

Speaker 3: 6:39

Large enterprise, global teams training is always a nightmare. Right Different languages time zones.

Speaker 2: 6:46

Huge challenge. Castify can help there too. Take the core training material. You can generate localized voiceovers pretty efficiently in multiple languages. You can build multimedia training modules, make them more engaging than just text. You could even create region-specific internal podcasts, maybe embedding local examples or cultural nuances.

Speaker 3: 7:11

So consistent message but tailored for relevance. That's clever.

Speaker 2: 7:15

It helps make the training stick and keeps teams feeling connected, even if they're spread out. What about something like digital advertising, programmatic marketing?

Speaker 3: 7:25

Yeah, you know another interesting angle. You know how most online ads feel, kind of generic.

Speaker 2: 7:31

Unfortunately.

Speaker 3: 7:32

yes, Castify allows for creating dynamic audio and video ads, so instead of one ad for everyone, you can tailor versions for different audience segments based on data you already have.

Speaker 2: 7:47

So the ad creative itself becomes more personalized.

Speaker 3: 7:50

Exactly, you align the ad with their likely interests. The idea is, you get hyper relevant experiences, which should lead to better engagement, better conversions.

Speaker 2: 8:01

Makes sense. So one more you mentioned partners or distributors. How does that work?

Speaker 3: 8:05

Right. So imagine a company that sells through channel partners. They want those partners to use approved on-brand marking materials.

Speaker 2: 8:15

But getting partners to actually do that can be tough.

Speaker 3: 8:18

Totally so. Castify enables setting up white-labeled portals or using an AP, basically a way for systems to talk to each other and through that, partners could automatically generate things like localized product intro videos, training snippets, even partner specific podcast episodes, all using the master brand templates controlled by the main company.

Speaker 2: 8:43

So the company empowers the partners, keeps control of the brand and scales content distribution through their network.

Speaker 3: 8:50

You got it. The platform becomes an engine for the partners, ensuring consistency across the whole ecosystem.

Speaker 2: 8:55

It really does sound like it's trying to shift the whole perspective from just making individual content pieces to building this ongoing content experience across voice and video.

Speaker 3: 9:08

Yeah, meeting the audience wherever they happen to be, in the format they prefer.

Speaker 2: 9:11

So, wrapping up, the core idea is streamlining and scaling using AI, automation, using smart repurposing. That's the heart of it.

Speaker 3: 9:21

Taking one idea and amplifying it efficiently across audio and video. It's a potentially powerful new model.

Speaker 2: 9:29

It really makes you think, doesn't it For anyone listening. How could you maybe leverage AI like this in your own work? What kind of media engine could you build?

Speaker 3: 9:40

What content do you already have that's just sitting there, that could be unlocked and read to people in new ways?

Speaker 2: 9:47

It's definitely a space to watch. The whole landscape of content creation is changing fast.

Speaker 3: 9:53

Absolutely. Tools like Castify are really pushing things forward, offering new possibilities for connection and communication.

Speaker 1: 10:10

We hope you enjoyed today's episode of A Day in the Valley. If you liked what you heard, don't forget to follow the show, leave a review and share it with someone who loves innovation as much as you do. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next time right here in the Valley.