Here’s what to expect during the interview and how to prepare.Â
The goal is simple: help you tell a clear, compelling story — without overthinking it.
This doc is your backstage pass to nailing the interview.Â
It helps you share your most valuable stories, strategies, and lessons with our audience.
You don’t have to use it — but it’s highly recommended if you want to deliver a smoother, more impactful interview.
Audience:
Format:Â
Pre-Interview:Â
Structure:Â
We’ll loosely follow this 5-part structure — but we’ll adapt as needed:
P.S. if you don't share revenue, just say it's a 7-figure, 8-figure or 9-figure SaaS.
We’ll explore how you went from idea to your first few paying customers.
We’ll talk about:
We’ll dig into how you grew your business to the first 7-figures in ARR.
We’ll cover how your business evolved as you grew past $1M ARR.
We’ll talk about:
We'll wrap up with the these 7 ‘quick-fire' questions:
Imagine if Luke Skywalker had mastered the Force with no struggle and defeated Darth Vader in 5 minutes. It would have been a very boring story.
Every great founder story has challenges, tension, failures, and breakthroughs. That’s what people remember — not perfect outcomes.
Behind every mistake or challenge is a powerful lesson someone else can learn from.
Every great story has lots of obstacles for the hero that create conflict, struggles, challenges, and fears. And often there comes a point where it seems like there is no path to success e.g. running out of money, having 3 failed startups etc.
And within the ‘big story' there are smaller struggles which are sometimes internal (mindset e.g. imposter's syndrome) or external (environment e.g. getting rejected by every investor you pitch to).
Everyone's got a great story and we need to tell yours in a compelling way.
Source: Shane Hanlon
After 450+ interviews, I can tell you that the most memorable episodes are the ones that make listeners want to pull over their car to take notes.
You don’t need to share breakthrough secrets — just be honest about what actually worked, what didn't and what you wish someone had told you earlier.
Be specific. Be real. General advice like “you have to focus” isn’t helpful. But “We cut our roadmap by 80% and doubled conversions by doing XYZ” is.
đź§ Tip: Use this framework to shape your answers:
Situation → Challenge & Pain → What you tried → Result → Lesson learned
Example:
🎧 Use a decent mic or headphones with a mic
đźš« Avoid using your laptop mic if possible
🔇 Find a quiet spot with minimal background noise
💡 Sit facing a window or light source — avoid sitting with light behind you
đź“· Center your face in the webcam and frame your shot