My Audience: My audience is primarily composed of entrepreneurs and investors.
Ideal Guest: SaaS entrepreneurs, tech entrepreneurs, e-commerce entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists.
The goal: The goal of this podcast is to teach people how to build their own business. My listeners want to hear authentic and approachable stories. Please be ready to talk about your background, what challenges you faced, what mistakes you made, and what strategies work best.
The numbers: This is not a surface-level talk about my business podcast. My audience is highly analytical and wants the numbers. Please be ready to share some numbers including revenue, profit margin, costs, customer counts, churn, and more.
Note: If you are unwilling to share any numbers, please don’t request to be on this show.
Duration: 30 minutes (approximate)
Pro Mic: Great sound quality is key! Please invest in a professional mic. If we start the podcast and you do not have a professional mic, we will have to reschedule. Here is a great option on Amazon for around $50. FYI… stock laptop mics and Apple AirPods are not good enough.
Podcast Questions
Depending if you’re an entrepreneur or investor, please read through the questions below.
Guest 1) Entrepreneur
Category 1) You
- Before we dive into your business, what is something fun most people don’t know about you? (Have fun with this part. What are your hobbies? What do you like to do for fun?)
- What is your background? (Take a few minutes. Don’t just say I have “20 years of experience”. It’s boring and provides no context.”)
Category 2) Your Company
- What is the name of your company?
- When was it founded?
- What does your company do?
- What problem does it solve? (Simple terms explanation)
- Who is your customer?
- Did you have investors?
- How much have you raised?
- What funding round are you in?
- How does your company make money? (SaaS, fees, pro-serve, etc.)
Category 3) The Numbers
- How much do you charge?
- Do you have pricing tiers?
- How did you arrive at your pricing?
- What was your revenue a year ago?
- What is your revenue today?
- When did you reach $10K MRR?
- When did you reach $100K MRR?
- What was a definitive strategy that helped you achieve those MRR milestones?
- What was your churn a year ago?
- What is your churn today?
Category 4) Marketing & Sales
- What have you tried with marketing and sales that did not work?
- What have you tried with marketing and sales that DOES work?
Category 5) Operations
- When did you discover product-market fit?
- What was the signal for product-market fit?
- Where is one area where you wasted money?
- What is your biggest lesson learned with this business?
- What is your biggest win?
Category 6) #1 Takeaway
- What is the #1 key takeaway you want to leave with my audience?
Category 7) Rapid-Fire Round
- What is your favorite podcast?
- What is a recent book you read and would recommend?
- What is your favorite movie?
- What is the worst advice you ever received?
- What is the best advice you ever received?
- If you could go back in time to give your younger self advice, what age would you visit and what would you say?
Category 8) Promotion
- Tell us where the audience can reach you.
Guest 2) Venture Capital or Private Equity
Category 1) You
- Before we dive into your business, what is something fun most people don’t know about you? (Have fun with this part. What are your hobbies? What do you like to do for fun?)
- What is your background? (Take a few minutes. Don’t just say I have “20 years of experience”. It’s boring and provides no context.”)
Category 2) Your Company
- What is the name of your firm?
- When did you start your firm?
- What type of companies do you invest in?
- What funding round do you focus on? (Seed, Series A, Series B, etc)
Category 3) Wins and losses?
- What was one of your biggest losses?
- What was one of your biggest wins?
Category 4) Leadership
- What do you look for most in a leadership team?
- What are red flags you look for when founders are pitching you?
- What are the key actions entrepreneurs should take before they meet with an investor?
- What are good questions startup founders should ask investors?
Category 5) Operations
- If you were starting a company today, what would be your first steps?
- What are the hottest industries or business models you see over the next 5 years?
Category 6) #1 Takeaway
- What is the #1 key takeaway you want to leave with my audience?
Category 7) Rapid-Rire Round
- What is your favorite podcast?
- What is a recent book you read and would recommend?
- What is your favorite movie?
- What is the worst advice you ever received?
- What is the best advice you ever received?
- If you could go back in time to give your younger self advice, what age would you visit and what would you say?
Category 8) Promotion
- Tell us where the audience can reach you.