Christy Carlson Romano’s PodCo and Adobe courses
Partners in both life and work, Christy Carlson Romano and Brendan Rooney founded their podcast production company PodCo in 2023, which has seen numerous shows flourish under its guidance. Its roster includes Full House Rewind (with Dave Coulier), Big Name B*tches (featuring That’s So Raven alum Anneliese van der Pol and Carlson Romano), and Ned’s Declassified (featuring series stars Devon Werkheiser, Lindsey Shaw, and Daniel Curtis Lee). With a team of around ten, including Carlson Romano and Rooney, PodCo does a lot with very little and no outside investment.
“We've been able to launch a company that feels as big as the iHeartRadios, the Dear Medias, like any other big podcast network, and we've scaled the charts,” Carlson Romano contends. “We're always on the podcast charts.”
Carlson Romano suggests that their success is bolstered by creative tools by Adobe, which allow them to create slick content that places them amidst the stars of their industry.
“It's just crazy to me that this little company out of Austin with a husband-and-wife team is able to make that kind of impact,” she reflected. "That's because of our viral assets that we use Adobe to create.”
The duo plans on continuing down the road to success. With Rooney as the CEO leading the charge on the company’s growth, PodCo is looking to the possibility of new formats.
“We are going to be testing this new format for Christy and Annalisa, where it's a hybrid reality show podcast, which has not really been done before,” he divulged. Rooney says that not only will it give the audience an opportunity to hear about an experience, but also see that experience happening alongside the continued growth of the friendship between the hosts.
He says this jump is intended to add an experiential element to the typical storytelling aspect of a podcast. “Anyone can get this in the room and start talking about anything that had happened to them, but it's like, well, I wanna see the thing play out that you guys are referencing,” he said.
In addition to hiring a new VP of Business Development and Sales, PodCo is also being quoted for acquisition, though Rooney says that’s not a certain future for them. And while he plays a leading business role in PodCo, his background is actually more creative. Having played in a punk band in high school, served in the Marines, and received an MFA in Screenwriting at the American Film Institute, Rooney has a unique take on the business side of things.
“[Overly considering profitability] actually kills numbers,” he insisted. “That kills profitability because, me specifically, I don't get any energy from that. I only get it from the ideation of a thing.”
That ideation relies heavily on his partnership with Carlson Romano, which he suggests is a highly generative creative bond. Carlson Romano recently returned from shooting a reality show. It was the longest period of time the couple had been apart in their 13 years together. “I realized that I am functionally useless without her, and I don't even mean it to be sweet,” Rooney said. “It’s actually scary.” It sounds like a joke but underscores the very real partnership they have built over their time together.
Even though Carlson Romano is taking steps back from her presence in the company, she holds a necessary energy in collaboration with Rooney.
“It's like [an] exponential increase in creativity, energy, and productivity when we're together,” he stressed. There’s trust and the useful critique that comes with a knowing second pair of eyes. Striking a balance to protect their off time has been necessary. “It’s probably the part of the problem of being more artist-brained: an idea comes to you and it’s very hard to quell the desire to wanna talk about it at any given moment,” he admits.
Rooney has even reluctantly made his way into the content, appearing occasionally on Iconic with CCR in conversation with his wife.
“I've always been very bullish about making content, but I've been very bearish about me being a part of that content,” he explained. "Honestly, it's because I hate getting ready and I would rather be a part of the creative force behind it.”
Carlson Romano is tapping her creativity and expertise again for her Adobe Learn program, which is made up of two courses that reflect on her experience of recent years. The first, “Crafting Authentic Narratives,” guides the audience through the process of storytelling in a way that emphasizes staying true to oneself. Having done some serious soul-searching since achieving child stardom and building her relationship to authenticity through personal revelation and steady content creation, Carlson Romano is attuned to the practices she highlights in her course, including authenticity, vulnerability, and presence. She importantly embraces failure and imperfection as natural parts of the process, and encourages not only knowing your audience, but even choosing them.
The second course is titled “Define or Pivot Your Brand.” In it, she considers how one might establish their brand values, content pillars, and the way that one’s persona may or may not be a part of the greater brand identity. In the process of her own redevelopment, slightly shifting away from nostalgia-oriented content, she reflects on what it means to transform your brand. The course has some crossover with the other, encouraging a practiced balance of authenticity and knowledge of audience needs.
Pulling from her own life, Carlson Romano shares in the process of self-reflection. With PodCo poised toward increased growth and a partnership with Adobe, Carlson Romano and Rooney are digging into their penchant for collaboration and connection.