Scaling Venture Step: New Guests, Production & NYC Move

TL;DR

Venture Step is leveling up! Expect higher-profile guests, a major production glow-up after a move to NYC, and new Paul Graham-inspired essays. The goal: scale for fun, not just for numbers. #VentureStep #Podcasting #Entrepreneurship

INTRODUCTION

With Venture Step crossing over 1,000 downloads and 40,000 YouTube views, the podcast has reached a significant milestone worth celebrating. ¹ But with growth comes the inevitable question: what's next? In this special episode, host Dalton Anderson pulls back the curtain to share his vision for the future of the show, outlining a multi-faceted strategy designed to increase its value for listeners and for himself. It’s a roadmap built on gratitude for the current community and a clear ambition for what the platform can become.

Dalton details three core pillars for the podcast's evolution: scaling the quality of guests, boosting production value, and expanding the Venture Step ecosystem with written essays. He discusses his strategy for bringing on legitimate VCs and innovators while maintaining a strict "no course-sellers" policy to preserve the integrity of the conversations. 22Furthermore, he explains the technical complexities and plans for a major production upgrade, a project he's undertaking following a significant personal and professional move to New York City. 3333

This episode is more than just a business plan; it's a personal reflection on growth, authenticity, and ambition. Dalton shares how his upcoming move to New York is a catalyst not just for the podcast, but for his own development—a chance to "take the mask off" and fully step into his identity. 4He explains how the city's energy and the caliber of its people will fuel a higher level of content, making this a pivotal moment for both the host and the show. 55

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Scaling with Integrity: The focus is on bringing high-caliber VCs, founders, and innovators onto the show while strictly refusing guests whose primary goal is to sell a course. ⁶⁶
• Production Value is a Priority: A significant upgrade in camera, lighting, and overall studio setup is planned after the host's move to New York City, though it involves navigating complex technical challenges. ^7777777
• Inspired by Paul Graham: Venture Step is expanding into written content with a new blog on Ghost, featuring both articles and long-form essays on topics like what it means to be human in the age of AI. ⁸⁸⁸⁸
• Personal Growth Fuels the Show: The move to New York is a strategic decision to accelerate personal and professional development, with the belief that this growth will directly translate into a better, more insightful podcast. ⁹⁹

FULL CONVERSATION

Celebrating a Major Milestone

Dalton: Welcome to VentureStep podcast, where we discuss entrepreneurship, industry trends, and the occasional book review. Join me today to celebrate a milestone that you helped achieve. VentureStep podcast is now over a thousand downloads on all platforms and nearly 40,000 views on YouTube. ¹⁰ Incredible. Honestly, I'm still surprised that people listen to the show and find value from the things I'm talking about. ¹¹ I'm overall very appreciative. In this show, I want to celebrate those milestones, talk about what I plan for the future, and discuss the things that I think will make the show more valuable to you and to myself. ¹²

The podcast is growing and this month will be a record. ¹³It looks very likely that it's going to break the record of December. ¹⁴For those of you that don't know, podcasting is a bit seasonal where a majority of your downloads will be coming from the winter times. ¹⁵During the summer months, there are a whole bunch of festivals, the weather is great, people are traveling, and that gets in the way of podcasts. ¹⁶But for this month, it seems to be the record. ¹⁷

An Introduction for New Listeners

Dalton: Before we dive in, a friend mentioned that I need to make sure I occasionally still do the intro because it adds a lot of value. ¹⁸ I'm the host. My name is Dalton Anderson. I have been working in insurance in multiple areas, from data to actuarial work, and contributing to a startup-like situation where I've scaled it from zero to one. ¹⁹If you don't know what "zero to one" means, it means starting from scratch and turning it into an actual business that produces revenue and is profitable. ²⁰This podcast is to share my thoughts, my learnings, and get more people on the show. ²¹

A Thank You to the Community

Dalton: I really do appreciate that people tune in to the episodes and provide advice. ²²I know that I haven't been able to implement all the advice yet because I have to wait for my relocation to New York City. ²³It wouldn't make sense to buy lighting and upgrade the production value of the show until I moved because I don't know how much space I'm going to have. ²⁴

I hear you. Every time someone provides feedback, good or bad, I write it down. 25I make a mental note of it and try to work towards improving the show. 26Any feedback is appreciated, and since it's most of the time anonymous, you can really lay into me and it's not going to hurt my feelings. 27

your interaction with the show is in my mind, one of the purest parts of the internet, like contributing when there is no, there is no outcome for you. ²⁸

Like, you get nothing out of it. Literally, if you help me or not, it's not going to change your life. 29 It's just being genuine and actually wanting to help somebody. I really appreciate it. 30

The Strategy for Scaling with Guests

Dalton: The next topic I want to talk about is scaling. The podcast is getting close to a hundred episodes. Now that I have quite a few episodes, I am getting legitimate guest requests from people whose resumes and life accomplishments are incredible. ³¹VCs, private equity people that own funds, and very cool entrepreneurs who are innovators. ³²I'm excited to get those people on the show. ³³

Before I had all these episodes, people were asking to get on the show to sell a course. I'm not shilling for anybody to sell a course. 34You're not selling a course on this show. 35If your sole goal is to get on the show to sell a course, the answer is a firm no. 36

I'm interested in your perspective on life and the things that you've done and how you went about it and your challenges and how people could interpret those things and apply them to their life on what they want to achieve or the cool things that you see that's to be happening in the future. Those are the things I'm interested in. Selling a course? Not interested. ³⁷

Setting a High Bar for Podcast Guests

Dalton: I do have high standards for who I want on the show, but they're not insane. ³⁸I'll look them up online, make sure they're legit, and I want to have a chat with them on the phone before they get on the show. ^39393939I also see if they've been on other podcasts to see how they speak and interact with the host, just so I can see if we would jive. ⁴⁰I was getting a whole bunch of people that wanted to sell a course and I'm not doing that. ⁴¹ I do like when these agencies reach out to me with somebody they want to get on the show. Those seem to be really good leads. ⁴²

The stuff that I'm doing now, five years from now, that's going to make me the person that I'll become. ⁴³

I'm scaling for fun, not for money. I'm having these people on the show because I think they'd be interesting for you to listen to and interesting conversations for me to have. 44

The Challenges of Scheduling High-Profile Guests

Dalton: I think the key challenge with the guests I'm trying to get on the show is that they're busy and I'm busy. ⁴⁵It's so hard for me to get people to schedule everything. ⁴⁶People have jobs just for scheduling guests on shows. ⁴⁷I had a person that wanted to be on the show and they were available four months out. ⁴⁸I was talking to the guy in November last year, and he said, "I'll be free in summer 2025." ⁴⁹ So I need to figure out a better way to schedule guests. Everyone seems to like using Calendly. It's okay. I wish there was a better solution that would integrate all of my work and personal stuff. ^50505050

The Plan to Boost Production Value

Dalton: The next thing is about boosting production value. The advice I've received is about getting better lighting. ⁵¹If you're watching on video, you can see the light above my head can be visually annoying. ^52525252I understand that, but there's just really nothing I can do right now. ⁵³I'm living inside a room, so I don't have the space to customize how everything looks and feels, which I will do in my studio or my one-bedroom in New York. ⁵⁴My place is going to be like a podcast studio, bed, shower, kitchen, and work desk. ⁵⁵It's just gonna be me grinding in the concrete jungle. ⁵⁶

The Technical Side of Upgrading Cameras and Lighting

Dalton: I am going to buy a new camera and lights. ⁵⁷I was waiting to buy the lights because I didn't know how big my place would be. ⁵⁸ Lights and cameras for production setups are quite complicated. Depending on the size of your room, the ceiling height, and how far away you are from the subject, that changes the amount of lumens you need. ⁵⁹Then you have to figure out the camera situation, and that's super complicated. ⁶⁰

Apparently, cameras have a 30-minute automatic shutoff. There are ways around it with a capture card, where the video is processed on the card instead of the camera. 61616161But then if you have a longer video, say 45 minutes, the camera starts to overheat, drop frames, or just shut off. 62Then there's another workaround where you plug the camera into the wall, but it still has issues and can overheat. 63There are other cameras with fans built in, but those are really expensive. 64It's a lot of research, but I have been looking at some high-end Sony cameras. 65

Inspired by Paul Graham: The Launch of New Essays

Dalton: The next thing I wanted to talk about is Paul Graham's essays. I am going to start creating essays online. ⁶⁶If you're listening to this show, I'm pretty sure you know who Paul Graham is, but he's one of the founders of Y Combinator and is considered a legend in the space. ⁶⁷⁶⁷⁶⁷He has this website, PaulGraham.com, with many amazing articles. ⁶⁸These essays have inspired millions of people to start startups or pursue something they never thought they could. ⁶⁹

I want to create something similar, inspired by Paul Graham. ⁷⁰On my website, I'm going to have VentureStep articles, and I'm also going to start writing essays. ⁷¹For example, "What does it mean to be human?" ⁷²As the age of AI progresses, what it means to be human is more defined than it ever used to be. ^73737373What it means to be human is to be able to communicate, to love, to cherish, to contribute on an emotional level, and to explore and to build. ⁷⁴I want to write about that and publish it. ⁷⁵

Why New York City is the Next Step

Dalton: I'll be moving to New York City, East Village, Manhattan, in June. ⁷⁶New York is going to help me step out of the shadows. ⁷⁷For a long time, I've had to hide who I want to be and what I want to do. ⁷⁸ Moving to New York, I'm moving there for the people. The people are exceptional, the cream of the crop. ^79797979The energy of the city, the stimulation of everything going on, is going to allow me to reach the next level. ⁸⁰ I know it. I can feel it in my bones. And that's going to shine through all aspects of my life, including this show. ⁸¹

On Shedding the Mask and Embracing Authenticity

Dalton: On this podcast, I don't have to hide. I can be me. ^82828282But that's not necessarily always true in all areas of my life because I've had to hide for so long. ⁸³

Moving to New York, the mask is gonna rip off. The mask is gone. And I'm gonna be me. ⁸⁴

I'm not going to hide in the shadows and feel it's cold. ⁸⁵

I'd rather burn in the sun and shine... than feel the coldness of the shadows. That's how I'd phrase it. 86

I've gotten in trouble at work a couple of times for just shining too much, and that's kind of scarred me a bit, but I don't want to hide anymore. ⁸⁷New York is definitely going to force me to be me all the time, and it's going to be exciting. ⁸⁸The show is going to become much better than it is today. ⁸⁹That's a fact. ⁹⁰

A Look at the Podcast's Growth Analytics

Dalton: I just wanted to provide a brief look at the analytics. If you look at my all-time downloads, you can see the seasonality. In the summertime, like July, August, September, the downloads went down. ⁹¹And then when you get to the wintertime, the downloads increase. ⁹²November, December, January were record months, and May is on track to beat the record. ⁹³I just thought it was interesting to share. ⁹⁴

Venture Step's Global Reach

Dalton: Global, baby! VentureStep is in 51 countries. ⁹⁵There are 195 countries, so I think that puts me close to 30% of the world's countries where someone has listened to an episode. ⁹⁶ I really do appreciate everyone listening to the show. I'm still genuinely surprised and thankful that people listen. ^97979797It keeps me motivated to keep pursuing my goals and adding value because I don't want to let you guys down. ⁹⁸

I took a nap. I took a 45 minute nap just to make sure that when I spoke on this episode, I was coherent, sharp, ready to go for you. ⁹⁹

I just wanted to mention that I appreciate you. I hope that you keep listening in and that you've found this episode funny and appreciate me as well. 100 Wherever you are in this world, good afternoon, good morning, good evening. I hope you have a great day and I hope you listen in next week. 101

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Paul Graham (paulgraham.com) ¹⁰²
• Y Combinator ¹⁰³
• Calendly ¹⁰⁴
• Ghost (Blogging Platform) ¹⁰⁵
• GoPro ¹⁰⁶
• Omron (Lights) ¹⁰⁷

INDEX OF CONCEPTS

Dalton Anderson, VentureStep, Paul Graham, Y Combinator, New York City, East Village, Manhattan, Calendly, Ghost, GoPro, Sony, Nvidia GeForce RTX, South Korea, Japan, Guatemala, zero to one, podcast seasonality, production value, capture card, Murphy bed