Podcast network is solid gold
From humble webcam setups to an industry network, the Kennedy family reflects on longevity and beating the odds in business.
Solid Gold Podcasts, a family business established in 2017, has reflected on its growth over the years as five of its clients’ podcasts earn recognition at the 2026 South African Podcast Awards.
Founded by Gavin Kennedy alongside his three adult children, Shannon, Callum, and Brennan, the organisation continues to strive as a platform where people can be heard and found. The family-based production company has five clients as finalists in the Best Corporate or Internal Podcast category, while its clients hold 36 finalist places in total, alongside a nomination for Solid Gold Podcasts for Best Podcast Network.
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Through their shared knowledge and ability to adapt, the family shared more on what has contributed to the longevity in the business and broke down common misconceptions that exist in the podcasting industry. “Watching how much we have grown over the years has just been insane,” said Shannon. “I mean, we started out just being audio-focused and slowly started branching out into using video content, starting with small stuff like we’d set up a webcam. People often think you start a podcast and you can easily get famous, or that it is easy, which is wrong. It helps that we have spent a lot of time in this building. The longstanding relationships we have worked with who helped us build over the years and how we have been referred to other clients have definitely all contributed.”
The family further highlighted that while everybody has their own role within the business, their ability to come together, communicate, consistently upskill, and educate themselves balances everybody out, ensuring all tasks are met despite the usual misconceptions that family businesses never work out. “It’s so awesome watching my kids work together,” said Gavin. “I grew up in a family business with my parents, then left to do other things, so it’s really nice. These awards, it’s like a group of people who know podcasts have said our clients’ podcasts are an excellent and worthwhile way to share knowledge around a specific topic. It’s quite a thing for a client to trust us with their plans to start a podcast, guide them through making it, watch it impact their business, and see somebody say that’s a good one. It’s an affirmation for us that we have helped a client be heard somewhere.”
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The Kennedys encouraged aspiring production companies and upcoming podcasters to be eager, but remain patient, have a solid plan, be consistent no matter how hard it gets, and always be open to learning something new and upskilling as the field constantly evolves with time and technology.
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