Making a living by advertising, as many podcasters have discovered (like YouTube stars before them), is harder than it looks. The scramble is constant. An advertiser could pour in money one month and vanish the next. With podcasting in particular, it is difficult to measure how many people listen to the ads. More podcast apps offer ad-skipping buttons.

The Luminary app will not be totally absent of ads. It will also offer a free area, where listeners can play any of the estimated 600,000 ad-supported and nonexclusive podcasts in the market.

“Matt has figured out a smart and sustainable way to push the business forward — better discovery for listeners, allowing creators to focus on creating the highest-quality content possible and stop worrying about selling ads,” Liza Landsman, a partner at New Enterprise Associates, a venture capital firm that has invested in Luminary, said of Mr. Sacks.

Luminary has 70 employees in New York and Chicago, about 40 of whom are engineers. The company is beginning a marketing campaign on Monday that includes outdoor advertising in New York, Los Angeles and Austin, Tex.

To some degree, of course, all media start-ups think they are going to be the next Netflix. The test for Luminary will come in the execution. And there are plenty of challenges. Subscription-based businesses are hot at the moment, but analysts say that consumers will begin pushing back and asking, How many entertainment services do I really need to be paying for every month?

Luminary is also entering an increasingly crowded field.

Apple devices have long dominated the podcast market, despite what analysts describe as a largely ambivalent approach; Apple has improved its podcasting app over the years, but it has never felt like a priority. That could change now that Google has reintroduced a podcast player and music streaming services like Spotify are looking to podcasting for growth.

Last month, Spotify paid a reported $230 million for Gimlet Media, a producer of audio dramas like “Homecoming” and “Crimetown.” Spotify also offers free listening with ads and a premium version for subscribers who pay a $10 monthly fee. And Spotify offers some exclusive podcast shows from stars like Amy Schumer and the rapper Joe Budden.