“Crime Junkie” host Ashley Flowers’ business has grown from a podcast in her home to an office with nearly three dozen employees.
INDIANAPOLIS — Ashley Flowers has come a long way since podcasting from home. She now has nearly three dozen employees working in an office building at Broad Ripple.
“I’ve gone from being alone in my spare room to 35 team members who are now helping me make the show we put out every week. It’s crazy,” Flowers said. “We have producers, writers, researchers, fact-checkers, journalists.
“But there’s also the business side, we have marketing, business development, technology, we create our own apps, so we’re developers. We have the CTO, the president. There’s a lot on the business side as well.
“I found all the unicorns. They’re doing things that other companies aren’t doing. 35 people are doing what other media companies are doing, and there are only 200 people,” Flowers said.
Flowers has been featured on the cover of Podcast Magazine and has been dubbed “The Queen of True Crime”.
Her dog, Chuck, holds a prominent place in the office. After all, Flowers’ company name is “audiochuck.” Flowers is always on the move, walking on a treadmill under her desk, creating content for a dozen shows that generate 50 million monthly downloads.
For Indiana natives, its popularity has skyrocketed.
“I started in December 2017. I love the medium of podcasting. I love the true crime genre. I’m consuming all the true crime podcasts. I can’t find the show I’m looking for. I’ve been waiting for someone to do it. Finally , I said, ‘What if I decide to do it?'” Flowers said.
RELATED: ‘Crime Addict’ Shares Her Enthusiasm on Every Podcast
“Crime Junkie” remains the gem of her podcasting world, with 10 million weekly listeners.
“I can’t imagine 10 million on the other end, it’s incredible to me. Nothing has changed for me, right? I’m still recording myself,” Flowers said.
Her weekly true crime podcast, which she hosts with Brit, looks at unsolved cases brought up by millions of loyal listeners.
“I think we resonated with our audience. Being in the Midwest, as two women the same age as a lot of our audience, they saw themselves in us,” Flowers said. “I also think our show was one of the first to get people involved in these true crime cases. Every episode, whether it’s a call to action or donating a venue, there’s something our listeners can do. I think so many really of criminal consumers want to help. They just don’t know how to help, and we allow them to.
Some of her merchandise sales have funded an important investigative effort.
“We created a nonprofit called Season of Justice to fund case testing. We’ve solved three homicides, and that funding actually helped arrest a serial rapist in Indianapolis,” Flowers said.
Flowers found another creative outlet for her storytelling. Her first novel was called The Good People Here.
“This story had been brewing in my heart for a long time, and it didn’t feel like it would be suitable for a podcast. So, I decided to try and write a novel. And, it worked,” Flowers said.
That might have been an understatement at the time.
“The book has become a New York Times bestseller. It’s been on the bestseller list for nine weeks in a row. We’re talking about maybe adapting it, TV, film. It’s been a crazy ride,” Flowers said .
RELATED: Crime Junkie: Hit podcast Ashley Flowers opens new crime-solving nonprofit
Many people asked Flowers about the ending of the novel’s protagonist, Margot Davis.
“Everyone wants to know. The way I leave it, I want people to decide. I deliberately left a little secret at the end because I wanted it to feel like real crime. Real crime doesn’t bow in neatness Closing. Often, we’re disturbed by these real cases that I’ve covered. That’s how I wanted to leave the book,” Flowers said.
Flowers do not write books.
“I want to write a second novel. I have a second story that is completely different from the character I developed in Wacaloosa (Indiana). But there are a lot of people who want to see Margot come back. I don’t know. Yes For me, doing the second is what I decide to do, I don’t know if I want to do it,” she said.
The Flowers family has also grown.
“I have a child. I’m so grateful that it happened while I was being supported,” Flowers said.
Flowers’ business may expand in the future, but the Indianapolis native remains committed to Indianapolis.
“When I was thinking about starting a podcast and doing something creative, everyone told me I had to go to New York or Los Angeles. Why? The beauty of podcasting is that it can happen anywhere. I wanted to create a space in Indiana Polis, this is for creative people, for people who want to make something that goes all over the world,” Flowers said.
But despite Flowers’ soaring popularity in the podcast world, she remains committed to one goal.
“Everything we do here is not to make the most money or to be famous, all we can do is help these families, what can we do to solve the case?” Huaer said.