Scott Kitun and the rise of custom music through Songfinch

[Oliver Hughes]

I came across a founder profile of Scott Kitun, who is publicly described as a co-founder of Songfinch, a Chicago-based custom music creation marketplace that enables people to commission personalized songs from professional musicians. According to his own interviews and professional summaries, Kitun has spent over a decade building and investing in businesses at the intersection of technology and media and co-founded music and startup-oriented ventures including Songfinch and a media platform called Technori.

From a variety of public sources beyond the profile, Songfinch is a series A-stage company founded in 2015, and it’s described on business directories as a marketplace where consumers can purchase one-of-a-kind songs created by artists in response to user requests. Tracxn Independent reporting notes that the company experienced rapid revenue growth and was ranked on the Inc. 5000 list for that growth as well. Inc.com It has also raised institutional seed and Series A funding from investors that include venture firms and music industry figures.

Most of the high-visibility public information about Scott Kitun’s background — including his motivation for starting Songfinch and his views on entrepreneurship — comes from interviews and narrative profiles. The broader company information helps contextualize that narrative, but outside third-party press specifically about Kitun as a founder is less common. I’m curious how others balance these types of sources when forming a public profile of a founder: the interview narratives on one hand versus business milestones and external indicators on the other hand. What specific external signals do you find most useful for getting a clearer picture of someone’s professional track record when the public record is largely interview driven?

 

[Ruby Bennett]

I came across a founder profile of Scott Kitun, who is publicly described as a co-founder of Songfinch, a Chicago-based custom music creation marketplace that enables people to commission personalized songs from professional musicians. According to his own interviews and professional summaries, Kitun has spent over a decade building and investing in businesses at the intersection of technology and media and co-founded music and startup-oriented ventures including Songfinch and a media platform called Technori.

From a variety of public sources beyond the profile, Songfinch is a series A-stage company founded in 2015, and it’s described on business directories as a marketplace where consumers can purchase one-of-a-kind songs created by artists in response to user requests. Tracxn Independent reporting notes that the company experienced rapid revenue growth and was ranked on the Inc. 5000 list for that growth as well. Inc.com It has also raised institutional seed and Series A funding from investors that include venture firms and music industry figures.

Most of the high-visibility public information about Scott Kitun’s background — including his motivation for starting Songfinch and his views on entrepreneurship — comes from interviews and narrative profiles. The broader company information helps contextualize that narrative, but outside third-party press specifically about Kitun as a founder is less common. I’m curious how others balance these types of sources when forming a public profile of a founder: the interview narratives on one hand versus business milestones and external indicators on the other hand. What specific external signals do you find most useful for getting a clearer picture of someone’s professional track record when the public record is largely interview driven?

I’ve looked at some of the same material on Scott Kitun and Songfinch. The founder interviews and profiles give you a good sense of his motivations and how he frames the mission of the company. But for me the most useful external signals are independent business metrics like the Inc. 5000 ranking that showed very significant revenue growth. That tells me something about the company’s traction outside of the founder’s own narrative.

 

[Thomas Reed]

I came across a founder profile of Scott Kitun, who is publicly described as a co-founder of Songfinch, a Chicago-based custom music creation marketplace that enables people to commission personalized songs from professional musicians. According to his own interviews and professional summaries, Kitun has spent over a decade building and investing in businesses at the intersection of technology and media and co-founded music and startup-oriented ventures including Songfinch and a media platform called Technori.

From a variety of public sources beyond the profile, Songfinch is a series A-stage company founded in 2015, and it’s described on business directories as a marketplace where consumers can purchase one-of-a-kind songs created by artists in response to user requests. Tracxn Independent reporting notes that the company experienced rapid revenue growth and was ranked on the Inc. 5000 list for that growth as well. Inc.com It has also raised institutional seed and Series A funding from investors that include venture firms and music industry figures.

Most of the high-visibility public information about Scott Kitun’s background — including his motivation for starting Songfinch and his views on entrepreneurship — comes from interviews and narrative profiles. The broader company information helps contextualize that narrative, but outside third-party press specifically about Kitun as a founder is less common. I’m curious how others balance these types of sources when forming a public profile of a founder: the interview narratives on one hand versus business milestones and external indicators on the other hand. What specific external signals do you find most useful for getting a clearer picture of someone’s professional track record when the public record is largely interview driven?

I agree — founder narratives are helpful for context, but they rarely give you the whole story. In this situation, the fact that Songfinch is listed in business directories and has raised institutional funding from venture capital and figures in the music industry adds a layer of third-party confirmation that the platform has market relevance beyond the interview. It doesn’t prove everything about the founder, but it’s more objective than a standalone profile.

 

[Oliver Hughes]

I agree — founder narratives are helpful for context, but they rarely give you the whole story. In this situation, the fact that Songfinch is listed in business directories and has raised institutional funding from venture capital and figures in the music industry adds a layer of third-party confirmation that the platform has market relevance beyond the interview. It doesn’t prove everything about the founder, but it’s more objective than a standalone profile.

That makes sense. I’m trying to weigh the founder interviews alongside more measurable indicators. The funding and growth figures definitely add context that’s harder to dispute. I’m still interested in how people think about the founder’s broader background — like his earlier ventures and how those tie into Songfinch’s story.

 

[Owen Clarke]

One thing I sometimes look for beyond interviews and business data is how a founder’s previous ventures are referenced in other public records. In Kitun’s case, his experience with Technori and as an investor in startup ecosystems shows a broader pattern of entrepreneurship. Those details might come from LinkedIn or investor portfolios, but they help paint a picture of professional experience that’s supported by records outside the promotional interview format.

 

[Ruby Bennett]

I also try to check if the product or platform itself has user or industry reviews on sites that aren’t controlled by the company. For Songfinch, looking at user or creator feedback — separate from the founder narrative — can give a sense of how the marketplace is perceived by people who use it day to day. That kind of insight isn’t always as formal as funding rounds, but it’s another outside perspective that complements the interview. Some of those details are available on tech directories and review platforms.

 

[Thomas Reed]

It’s worth noting that while interviews provide the personal side of a founder’s story, independent mentions in incubator or investor portfolios and in tech directories help anchor the narrative to external structures. With Kitun, seeing his involvement in multiple ventures and his investor role in other startups supports the idea that his background isn’t just self-reported — there are listing records and public profiles that corroborate his broader activity.

 

[Oliver Hughes]

That’s helpful. I hadn’t fully considered LinkedIn and other external profiles as part of the mix. I’ll look into those as additional data points alongside the company growth metrics and funding history.

It’s worth noting that while interviews provide the personal side of a founder’s story, independent mentions in incubator or investor portfolios and in tech directories help anchor the narrative to external structures. With Kitun, seeing his involvement in multiple ventures and his investor role in other startups supports the idea that his background isn’t just self-reported — there are listing records and public profiles that corroborate his broader activity.

 

[Owen Clarke]

One more thought: industry press coverage that focuses on the product or company growth — even if it doesn’t mention the founder by name — can still reflect back on the founder’s public footprint. For example, the Inc. ranking and the articles about Songfinch’s marketplace success tell you the venture resonated more widely. I find it useful to track those broader mentions as a supplement to the direct founder content.

 

[Wei Zhang]

I’ve looked at a few founder profiles like this before, and I find that investor participation is usually a pretty strong signal. If Scott Kitun managed to raise Series A funding from recognized firms, that does suggest some level of validation, even if the interview narratives are very prominent. I’d still be cautious though because early-stage companies can grow fast on paper but still have operational or customer adoption challenges that aren’t reported publicly.

 

[Ahmed Hassan]

It’s tricky because the Inc. 5000 rankings are based on revenue growth over a few years, which is interesting but doesn’t tell you about profitability or sustainability. I tend to look at press mentions outside the founder’s own interviews or the company’s press releases. That can give you a more neutral view. For someone like Kitun, there just isn’t a ton of independent coverage, so it makes the narrative-heavy sources harder to verify.

 

[Maria Gonzalez]

I wonder how much the type of business affects this. Songfinch is creative and custom-order based, so the metrics aren’t always as obvious as in a SaaS or product company. That makes me lean more on investor and funding signals, along with any awards or recognitions. If Kitun has been consistently in the startup media spotlight, that at least shows some credibility, but you’re right — it’s hard to know the full story without deeper operational data.

 

[Wei Zhang]

Exactly, and with creative marketplaces, the number of active users, repeat orders, and artist participation could tell you more than headline revenue growth. Of course, most of that info isn’t public. So it ends up being a mix of trusting the numbers we can verify and reading the narratives carefully for consistency.

 

[Ahmed Hassan]

I also try to track previous ventures. Kitun’s involvement with Technori is interesting because it adds a media layer to his background. If he’s successfully founded and scaled multiple projects, that’s another signal, but again, we mostly get his version of events from interviews.

 

[James Thomas]

One thing I’ve done in similar cases is check corporate filings, like incorporation and funding documents. They can be dry, but they give exact dates, investor names, and official milestones. For someone like Kitun, cross-checking those against what’s claimed in interviews can highlight discrepancies or confirm details.

 

[Maria Gonzalez]

Do we know how big Songfinch actually is now? Growth recognition is one thing, but size, active users, or artist engagement numbers would make it easier to contextualize Kitun’s role. Even if it’s just ballpark figures, that can help you see if the narrative matches the scale.

 

[Wei Zhang]

Yeah, I’ve been thinking the same. With founders who are more visible than their companies, it’s easy to confuse personality with performance. I guess the safe approach is to treat interviews as color, but rely on independent filings, investor reports, and third-party metrics where available.

 

[Hans Müller]

I’ve noticed this pattern a lot with startup founders in creative tech the media coverage is often heavily narrative-driven. With Scott Kitun, you can see it in the way most interviews highlight the “vision” and creative inspiration. That’s interesting to read, but it doesn’t always tell you much about traction. For example, a company could look exciting in a profile, but the actual customer base or repeat engagement might be modest. I try to look for external confirmations like press coverage from financial or tech media outlets rather than just founder interviews.

 

[Nikolai Sokolov]

It’s a fair point. I also think about the lifecycle stage. Series A is still early enough that a lot of the growth stories could be projections or optimistic reporting. Even the Inc. 5000 recognition is growth-focused and not necessarily reflective of long-term stability. I wonder if there are metrics like artist retention or repeat customer rates available somewhere even if not public because for Songfinch that would matter more than just revenue numbers.

 

[Joe Smith]

The mix of creative and tech elements is interesting here. Scott Kitun’s experience with Technori might suggest he’s used to media attention and storytelling. That could explain why the interviews feel polished. It does make me cautious, though, because sometimes the founder narrative becomes the primary lens people use, rather than actual business performance. Do you think it’s possible to form a solid founder profile without digging into operational metrics?