From Podcasting to Entrepreneurship
Lessons learned from podcasting and why embracing imperfection can fuel your entrepreneurial journey, too
A few recordings into my podcasting journey, I bought a new webcam.
A few months later, I bought another just to test it out.
I’m now on my second mic.
I’d like to say each purchase was a calculated upgrade. But the truth is, I’m still figuring out this video podcasting thing: lighting, framing, whether to lean in or sit back, how not to bump the desk and the camera while recording. Some days it feels like I’ve created a whole new job for myself, and I’m stuck in an endless onboarding loop, like Groundhog Day, but with no Andie MacDowell.
I thought that after years as a journalist, I’d have this down pat.
Back in the ’90s, I did radio at the Business Journal. Since then, I’ve hosted conferences and pitch contests. I’ve moderated dozens of panels, fireside chats and onstage interviews. I’ve led webinars and appeared on podcasts here and there. I told myself I had enough reps. That this would be easy. That I’d sound polished.
Turns out polish is overrated, and sometimes it gets in the way.
The incident with the glasses
A few years ago, before I finally gave in and got progressive lenses, I was moderating a live conference session. Two guests, a packed room, and a comfy chair. The AV team had placed a tablet beside me to scroll live audience questions.
About halfway through, I noticed my colleagues in the wings waving at me. Great questions were rolling in, but I wasn’t asking any of them.
The problem was I couldn’t read the screen. I didn’t want to squint awkwardly or hold the tablet at arm’s length like a dad trying to read a dinner menu.
So I made a joke: “My wife keeps telling me to get progressives. I guess I should have listened.”
It got a laugh. The tension eased. We moved on. Nobody cared that I wasn’t flawless. If anything, they probably liked me more for it.
Podcasting as practice
I wear progressives now, but I still sometimes feel like I’m missing something just off screen.
Podcasting is much different from my on-stage moderating work. No support crew. No visible audience. Just me, a guest, and whatever chaos that particular episode brings.
Now that I’m behind the mic for not one but two podcasts — The Venture Variety Show and The AI Cognitive Shift — I find myself learning all over again.
And honestly, that’s a good thing.
If you want to improve, you have to be willing to look and sound like a fool. Upgrading webcams and mics helps my confidence more so than it helps the actual podcast. The key is to be myself.
When I get feedback, nobody mentions the camera angles or the sound quality. They tell me I ask good questions (thank you, 30 years of journalism). They tell me I sound real. That the slightly cluttered IKEA bookshelf in my background makes it feel like I’m showing up and not performing.
It’s not something I can script.
And it’s not only true for podcasting. It’s true for anyone building something new.
What the philosophers would say
Similar to starting a business, podcasting is about embracing the unknown, learning in public and getting better through doing.
The lessons I’m learning behind the mic mirror the ones I’ve faced in every entrepreneurial venture: Progress beats perfection, and authenticity builds trust
I’m no philosopher, though I took a few classes in college. I imagine the Stoics would say something like:
Focus on what you can control. Accept what you can’t. Don’t waste your energy chasing approval.
I can control my preparation, my curiosity, my consistency.
I can’t control whether the doorbell rings mid-recording and Dottie the dog goes on a 5-minute barking spree. Or whether I accidentally knock over the tripod. (Both of those happened.)
What I’ve learned is this: it’s better to ship the imperfect thing than to sit on the perfect one forever.
Not every moment needs to be a soundbite
In venture and business circles — and among the journalists who cover them — there’s a strange pressure to say the one thing that goes viral. The tight quote. The post-worthy insight. The line that lights up LinkedIn.
But some of the best moments I’ve had on the mic come from longer pauses, unfinished thoughts, or stories that don’t wrap up with a tidy lesson. Media isn’t always about soundbites. Sometimes it’s about sound, the tone, the presence, the sense that someone might hear your stumble and feel a little less alone.
So here’s where I’m at:
🔶 I’ll keep upgrading my gear. And maybe I’ll clean up my background.
🔶 I’ll prepare like a pro, but speak like a human.
🔶 I’ll stay on the learning curve, because that’s where the growth is.
If I had waited to start my podcast until I felt polished, I’d still be waiting.
But I started.
I punched fear in the face.
I hit record.
I’m learning.
For now, that’s more than enough.
And I hope you enjoy the many more podcasts that are coming!