Sample from the Buffet

Matt takes you back to where it started: a Tokyo apartment about a decade ago, a noisy Blue Yeti mic that picked up everything, and a podcast called Connections That Matter that ran maybe a dozen episodes before he let it go fallow. By the numbers it “failed” — barely any listeners, a classic case of “podfading.” But Matt frames it as the opposite of a failure. Those dozen conversations taught him the two things that quietly became the foundation of The Bigger Stage: people learn about themselves when they’re interviewed, and far more people than you’d expect are genuinely glad to be asked onto a show, even a small one, because it’s a chance to practice being seen. From there he offers a permission slip disguised as a strategy. Ignore the noise telling you that more platforms and more posting is the answer — and ignore the opposite voice that says avoid it all. Instead, sample from the buffet. Open the TikTok account, put a couple videos on YouTube, try the Substack, and treat each one as reconnaissance: who’s here, how do people talk, how permanent do posts feel, does this match my personality and my purpose? You might use a platform for a month and walk away — that’s a win, because now you know what you’re missing instead of just fearing it, which makes you far less vulnerable to anyone whose interest is your endless attention. Then settle on the few you can actually sustain with the resources you have. He’s blunt about the trap for solopreneurs: try to do everything and you’ll do all of it poorly, and blasting identical content across every platform ignores that they’re all different animals. Try everything, keep what fits, and let the rest go. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mattstone.substack.com