What were the most popular Making It in Asheville podcast episodes of 2020?  While this is no means an indication of our guests’ success, we were interested in learning what y’all listened to the most this year. So we took a look at the number of listens per episode in 2020 and made a list!

Drumroll please…


#10: Hunter Berry, Founder of Taco Billy

Hunter Berry of Taco Billy

The founder of West Asheville’s beloved taco shop shares his journey from the West to East Coast, including a wild adventure of building Earthships. We recorded this episode inside Taco Billy over the course of several breakfast tacos, a few tears, and a lot of hot sauce. It’s an emotional, philosophical episode that is sure to inspire any aspiring restaurant owners.

Listen to the episode with Hunter

#9: Nicole McConville, Asheville Photographer

Nicole McConville Making It in Asheville Podcast

Nicole McConville is a storyteller–but not always one of words (although if you follow her on Instagram, then you know she has a way with words, too). She likes to think of herself as a visual storyteller, capturing an individual’s personality through her stunning portrait photography or telling the story of a brand’s ethos through thoughtful product imagery. In this episode, we learn about Nicole’s journey from publishing to playing with Polaroid photography as a hobby to playing with photography as a career.

Listen to the episode with Nicole

#8: Leah Wong Ashburn, CEO of Highland Brewing

Leah Ashburn of Highland Brewing

There’s a reason why Highland Brewing has been around for more than two decades–and we wanted to interview Leah, the CEO and daughter of Highland’s founder, to find out more. What we didn’t expect was, firstly, that Leah would say yes to our interview request, and secondly, just how poised Leah would be throughout the entire thing. Leah shares the fascinating history of Highland and how they’ve worked through the years to take their business from a basement brewery to one of the region’s most well-known craft beer leaders.

Listen to the episode with Leah

#7: Honey, Founder of Different Wrld

Honey of Different Wrld

Although a lot has changed about Honey’s business, Different Wrld, since we recorded the interview (check out this post to learn more about what’s going on today), this episode is still relevant for a number of reasons. Honey’s perseverance, determination, and vision to create and share with the world is inspiring and heartfelt. We learn about her why and how she started Different Wrld, what motivates and inspires her to create, and her goal of running a successful crowdfunding campaign.

Listen to the episode Honey

#6: Kyle Brown, Founder of Clawhammer Brewing

Making it in Asheville Podcast - Kyle Brown of Clawhammer

The founder of Clawhammer Supply, a booming home brewing and distilling equipment company based in Asheville, shares what he thinks has attributed to their success. We dive deep into business topics like organic content marketing, Google ads, and how to test the viability of your product. A great episode for anyone who is manufacturing a product from scratch!

Listen to the episode with Kyle

#5: Myles Alexander, Architect

Myles Alexander

“I’m just doing okay-ish in Asheville” is one of the first things Myles said to us when we asked him to be on the podcast. While we think Myles, an architect and the founder of Form & Function, is doing more than just okay, this episode is a testament to how sometimes the road to success can be winding one–full of yellow mortgage payment slips and trout side businesses. Warning: there will be laughter when you listen to this episode!

Listen to the episode with Myles

#4: Lisa and Dean Peteet, Founders of Atlas Branding

Atlas Branding Lisa & Dean Peteet Making It in Asheville Podcast Photo Scout Guide Asheville

You’ve likely seen the work of Atlas Branding around town (they’ve done branding for popular spots like like High Five Coffee, Ginger’s Revenge, and more), but do you know the story behind the company? In this episode, we sit down with the founders, Lisa and Dean Peteet, and learn more about their 10+ year journey of growing a design agency in Asheville and working together as a married couple.

Listen to the episode with Lisa & Dean

#3: What We Wish We Had Known Before Moving to Asheville

Sarah and Tony from Making It In Asheville walking at The Foundation

A solo episode featuring just the two of us, we share some things we wish we had known before moving to Asheville and talk a little bit about the moving process. A great episode for anyone looking to move to town!

Listen to the episode on What We Wish We Had Known Before Moving to Asheville

#2: Jeff Kaplan of Venture Asheville

Jeff Kaplan

If you want to know what exactly makes an entrepreneur successful, then Jeff Kaplan is your guy. The Director of Venture Asheville, Jeff has been working with entrepreneurs for more than a decade, is a serial entrepreneur himself, and helps Asheville start-ups and business owners get off the ground through his work with Venture Asheville. In this episode, we uncover his thoughts on successful entrepreneurship and talk a little bit about his own personal experience of running a business.

Listen to the episode with Jeff

#1: Connie Matisse, Co-Founder of East Fork Pottery

Connie Matisse, Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder of East Fork Pottery

Connie from East Fork? It’s no surprise that this was our #1 most listened to an episode in 2020! Connie shares what it was like in the early days of running a pottery business, plus how much has changed since they first started. We get an honest look into East Fork’s struggles, growing pains, and marketing strategy–one that’s based on honest storytelling and sharing what it’s like being real live humans.

Listen to the episode with Connie


That’s a wrap!

Thanks for supporting us and all of our guests through this crazy year of 2020. We’ve loved each and every one of our guest interviews. While this article was all about our most listened to episodes, we think there are some pretty rad interviews with guests that you might not have ever heard of. To check out some of our lesser-known, but still really awesome episodes, visit our podcast page, where you can sort episodes by industry and interest.