When Russell Holliman first discovered podcasting, he was already a 17-year veteran in the development of information technology infrastructure. He had plenty of experience building platforms to distribute content. He was familiar with all the issues involved in connecting information workers in the business world.

However, when it came to podcasting, there was simply no easy way to distribute content to consumers. Everything that he found was technical and meant for early adopters of technology. "The average person didn't know what RSS feeds were for," recounted Holliman.

So he founded Podcast Ready for the expressed purpose of making subscribing, listening to and sharing podcasts easy and portable. He developed a one-click subscription model to deliver podcasts to any device. It turned out that developing the software was the easy part. He soon realized that he wouldn’t be able to reach critical mass simply by waiting for users to visit his website to download the software.

To ensure mass adoption, he would have to convince manufacturers of MP3 players to pre-install the software. And if he succeeded, he would end up creating a content ecosystem not unlike what Apple Computer did for iPod media players through its iTunes store. This insight grabbed the attention of DFJ Mercury, a Texas-based seed and early stage venture capital fund, which decided to invest in Holliman’s vision in late 2005.

However, there were still obstacles. For a while, the manufacturers were hesitant about being associated with podcasting. It was an issue of perception.

"Once they realized that podcasting was not an Apple-only format, they embraced the opportunity to add compelling content that consumers wanted into the devices," recalled Holliman.

Podcast Ready has since installed its myPodder software into the entire line of COWON devices and into mobiBLU's media players which can be found at Target, Office Depot, Fry's Electronics and other retail stores. The company has also forged deals with Wolverine and Skull Candy which are expected to ship portable media devices with myPodder by the end of the year.

Now that the manufacturers have embraced podcasting, the company has attracted the attention of none other than Apple Computer. But it wasn’t the type of attention that Holliman had expected. In September, Podcast Ready received a cease and desist letter that targeted its use of the Podcast Ready and myPodder trademarks. Word quickly spread across the podcasting community. Many bloggers chimed in with sentiment that ranged from bewilderment to outright anger.

However, the ever-optimistic Holliman sees this as an opportunity to start a dialogue with the iPod maker. His attorneys spoke with the law firm that Apple Computer had retained in order to get some clarification. "Understandably, Apple Computer is trying to ensure the success of its own trademark applications," explained Holliman. "We hope that this will open the door for us to work together toward the common goal of getting more people to listen to podcasts."

All this does not change the fact that Podcast Ready already has an established user base that will become more valuable over time. The company is well-positioned to place and recommend podcasts especially since myPodder had an adoption rate of more than 75% by users who found it on the mobiBLU device. Holliman is confident that advertisers will embrace the opportunity to instantly get in front of millions of listeners and viewers on multiple devices and cell phones. He has his sights set on a goal of getting myPodder onto an installed base of 30 million devices in 2007.

Perhaps, Podcast Revenue Ready may be a more fitting name for the company.