From tech lawyer to Warner, Meta, and CEO of Merlin — now Chief Commercial Officer at Suno. Jeremy Sirota on never being the smartest person in the room, the book he'd never talked about, and why AI can't help you if you've got nothing to say.

FULL DESCRIPTION

"I've never been the smartest person in the room. So I've always had to pull at something else."

Jeremy Sirota has a career that refuses to sit on a straight line. Tech lawyer at Morrison & Foerster. Record exec at Warner Music. Global licensing deals at Meta. CEO of Merlin, where he took annual revenue from $900M to $1.8B. Now Chief Commercial Officer at Suno, one of the most-watched generative AI music companies on the planet.

But he didn't talk his way in — he worked his way in. The through-line was never the title. It was a way of operating: build the room where genius happens instead of trying to be the genius in it. It took his ten-year-old daughter cutting him off mid-lecture — "Dad, no more TED Talks today" — to make that click.

In this conversation, Jeremy gets into the class that nearly ended his law career, the book he'd never talked about publicly until now, why he keeps a "captain's log" of half-formed ideas, the "make this worse" game he uses to break a room open, and the one thing AI can't do for you: have something to say.

For founders, operators, and builders working the move from operator to authority to icon — this one's worth your time.

—

Guest: Jeremy Sirota, Chief Commercial Officer at Suno Host: Matt Stone

Millions of people drive, deliver, and hustle to power the American economy — and most of them are invisible to the financial system that's supposed to serve them.

Ricky Michel Presbot, co-founder and CEO of Ualett, decided to do something about it.

In this episode, Ricky shares how a failed early venture, a cab ride from JFK, and a chance encounter at a funeral led to the creation of a bilingual fintech platform now serving gig workers across the United States — with a $150 million credit facility to grow nationwide.

We go deep on the idea of the "multi-hustler economy," why niche is the X factor for any business, what Ricky learned driving Uber for three months before building his product, and why the company's central value isn't "believe in us" — it's "we believe in you."

This is a story about trust, dignity, and building something for people who've been left behind.

Topics covered:

• The cab ride from JFK that revealed a $150M opportunity
• Why the gig economy is everyone's economy
• The "multi-hustler" — a new category beyond the gig worker
• How Ualett works (and why it's not a predatory cash advance)
• The funeral pitch that started everything
• Building company values from a mentor relationship
• Why going to the field is non-negotiable before building a product
• What "we believe in you" actually means as a business model

Connect with Ricky: Ualett — https://ualett.com LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricky-michel-presbot-14964472

What do you do when the most important problem you can solve is also the least glamorous one?

Duncan Barrigan spent 8 years helping build GoCardless into a global payments unicorn — then walked away to tackle something most founders walk right past: getting businesses paid. Not sexy. Not shiny. Just a $100 trillion problem that's been solved the same way, by humans, for 6,000 years.

In this conversation, Duncan breaks down why accounts receivable is actually a communication and negotiation problem (not a payments problem), how he brought a real cowboy and horse to lasso the Wall Street Bull for Lunos' launch, and what it really means to build a company around three values: curious, courageous, and relentless.

We also get into the identity shift that hit when he left a CXO role at a billion-dollar company, moved to New York in January, and had to rediscover who he was before Lunos existed.

If you're a founder choosing between the bold idea and the safe one — this one's for you.

——

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 — Cold open: the horse that got stopped at the Manhattan border
0:23 — Introducing Duncan Barrigan & Lunos
1:48 — Lunos or Lunos? The definitive answer
3:05 — The $100 trillion problem hiding in plain sight
5:03 — The epiphany: it's not a payments problem
6:20 — Moving continent, quitting his job, and starting in January
8:29 — London vs New York startup culture
12:33 — The stifled entrepreneur: Pokémon cards & astronaut dreams
14:17 — Space cowboys & bright pink: building the Lunos brand
17:35 — The Wall Street Bull stunt (and the Guardian article)
21:57 — Curious, courageous, relentless: the three values
29:33 — Good mistakes vs bad mistakes (poker & Napoleon)
32:15 — The identity crisis before Lunos existed
33:49 — What kind of company does he want to build?
38:03 — Building self-awareness as a founder
40:53 — What's coming next: the agent-to-agent network
43:36 — Flying planes, barrel rolls & personal challenges
46:29 — Who should work with Lunos?

——

CONNECT WITH DUNCAN
Lunos: lunos.ai

CONNECT WITH MATT STONE & THE BIGGER STAGE
Website: thebiggerstage.com
YouTube: youtube.com/@thebiggerstage

——

The Bigger Stage is for founders whose reputation is stronger than their messaging. New episodes drop every other Saturday.

Pat Miller spent 20 years on the radio under a name that wasn't his.

He went on the air as "J Pat". He was forced to cheer for the Green Bay Packers
while his actual loyalty stayed with the Chicago Bears and Cubs. He
programmed a country station he didn't connect with. And the whole
time, he was getting really good at being someone else.

In 2018 he walked away. No six-month runway. No clients lined up.
Just a hunch that life was too short to build someone else's dream —
the line that later became his TEDx talk.

Two years later, on March 18, 2020, the world shut down. The next
day, Pat went live on LinkedIn and hosted a show he called Small
Business Rally Point. 90 days later, it was a community. Today,
the Small Business Owners Community (SBOC) is a membership, an
annual conference that's drawn Mel Robbins, Mike Michalowicz, and
Sahil Bloom, and a daily show called Businessing with Pat Miller.

This conversation is about what it actually takes — on the inside —
to step out of a professional identity you spent two decades
constructing. About how a strength becomes a hindrance. About
"chiseling your way out" toward who you actually are. And about
excavating the room you wish you could walk into when you realize
founding a business is the loneliest job in the world.

If you're building on your own, this one will land.

CONNECT WITH PAT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpatmiller/
SBOC: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusinessingShow

THE BIGGER STAGE
Conversations with founders excavating the story underneath what
they've already built. The shift from operator to authority to icon,
captured on camera. Hosted by Matt Stone.

Watch the video version: https://www.youtube.com/@thebiggerstage
Learn more: https://thebiggerstage.com

Leadership consultant John Durso shares a deceptively simple exercise that reveals what your values actually are — not the ones on your website.

Most leaders can't actually name their real values. They list the words on their website — honesty, integrity, loyalty — and call it a day. John Durso says those aren't values. They're table stakes.

In this episode, John walks Matt through a deceptively simple exercise that reveals what your values actually are: ask one or two people who know you well to describe you in one word, then ask them to tell a story that backs it up. What comes back is rarely what you'd predict.

John's wife described him as "unstoppable." Matt's two people landed on "charisma" and "generous." And the magic of the exercise isn't just learning what others see in you — it's that the word they choose tells you what they value most, which is critical leadership intel.

John spent over 22 years in retail banking working with hundreds of small businesses and nonprofits across the greater Philadelphia region. Today he runs Brilliant Business Strategies, helping community banks, credit unions, nonprofits, and small businesses build stronger leadership, healthier cultures, and better team performance.

In this conversation:

- Why "honesty" and "integrity" don't count as real values
- The one-word exercise — and why the story matters more than the word
- How perception becomes reality inside your company
- What Disney's Winnie the Pooh casting reveals about hiring for values
- How a new leader can use this exercise in their first 30 days

If you're a founder or CEO stepping into a bigger role — whether that's a hypergrowth season, a succession moment, or a move into thought leadership — this is foundational work. The kind serious leaders do at the start and return to when things get complicated.

CONNECT WITH JOHN DURSO
Website: brilliantbusinessstrategies.com
LinkedIn: search "John Durso Brilliant Business Strategies"

CONNECT WITH MATT STONE & THE BIGGER STAGE
The Bigger Stage helps founder-CEOs make the operator-to-icon transition.
Website: thebiggerstage.com
LinkedIn: search "Matt Stone Bigger Stage"

Subscribe wherever you listen for more conversations with leaders stepping onto bigger stages.

Kate Joynt co-invented a product nobody was searching for. Then one influencer post took her Amazon sales from 25 a day to 800 — and EZ Outlet landed in Home Depot.

Full Show Notes

Kate Joynt is the founder and CEO of EZ Outlet, an electrical outlet extender now sold at Home Depot, on Amazon, on Walmart.com, and featured twice on NBC's Today Show.

She didn't come from consumer products. She came from real estate, enterprise tech sales, and a lifelong fascination with inventions that started with a kid-invention show on Nickelodeon. When her co-founder Tony made an offhand comment one day — "wouldn't it be cool if you could just plug something into the original outlet and pull the power up here, above the couch?" — Kate's ear was already primed for it.

What followed was years of prototyping, UL certification, factory sourcing, tooling and molding investments, and a brutal early period of paying for clicks that weren't there. Because nobody was searching for "electrical outlet extender." The category didn't exist yet.

Then one influencer posted one video. Sales went from 25 a day to 800 in an hour. Home Depot followed.

But the part of this conversation I keep coming back to isn't the wins. It's Kate describing her business as a "glass bubble" — fragile, vulnerable, something she had to protect through years where investors told her to keep going but nobody wrote a check until she didn't need one. It's her honesty about the stress that doesn't show up in pitch decks. And it's the specific, hard-won wisdom she has for the next founder standing where she was five years ago.

If you're an operator with an idea you keep almost-pursuing, or a founder in the messy middle of building something real, this episode is for you.

In this conversation:

What EZ Outlet actually is, and why the problem it solves is so universal • Why it took years to get to market and what "overnight success" really looks like • The conversation that sparked the idea, and why Kate's ear was ready for it • Working with a co-founder who's your polar opposite • How she found engineers, factories, and a buying agent without a manufacturing background • The shocks of UL certification and consumer product compliance • Why pay-per-click failed and one influencer post changed everything • Getting on NBC's Today Show — twice • The copycat problem, the safety stakes, and protecting the brand • The emotional toll of being all-in on one product • Why investors only fund you once you don't need them • Three pieces of advice for the next generation of founders

About Kate Joynt Kate Joynt is the founder and CEO of EZ Outlet, a patent holder, and an ETL-certified entrepreneur. Her background spans a decade in real estate and enterprise technology sales. Find EZ Outlet at Home Depot, on Amazon, on Walmart.com, and occasionally on HSN.

EZ Outlet website: https://ezoutlet.com/

Kate Joynt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katejoynt/

About The Bigger Stage The Bigger Stage is a podcast for founder-CEOs making the leap from operator to recognized authority. Hosted by Matt Stone, founder of The Bigger Stage. Learn more at thebiggerstage.com.

If this episode landed for you, the best thing you can do is share it with one founder who needs to hear it — and leave a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It's how more people find the show.

He built the largest painting company in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Then he let go. Kevin Nolan on identity, succession, and the happiest chapter yet.

Kevin Nolan started with a paintbrush, a roommate, and a college student's ambition. Forty years later he'd built the largest residential painting company in Southeastern Pennsylvania — and done something most founders never manage.

He actually let go.

In this episode, Matt Stone sits down with Kevin for a wide-ranging conversation about what an entrepreneurial life really looks like across four decades. The 17 years Kevin spent grinding in the dark with no business plan, just payroll on Friday. The Zig Ziglar moment at 37 that changed everything. How he found his CEO and CFO hiding on his own paint crews. And what those final 18 months felt like — staying quiet in meetings he used to run.

In September 2024, Kevin retired. He says it felt like rocks coming off his shoulders.

This is a conversation about identity, legacy, and the courage it takes to step into something new.

In this episode:

• Why Kevin says he was never a painter — even when he was painting
• The Zig Ziglar line that launched his "second entrepreneurial seizure" at 37
• How John (an Eagle Scout from Sherwin-Williams) became his CEO 30 years later
• The 20-foot KPI wall — including profit — that every employee could see
• What emotional intelligence looks like inside a trades business
• The Wally story: why great leaders run toward conflict, not away
• Writing the final chapter of his career — before it happened
• September 2024: retirement and the rocks off his shoulders
• Running a marathon in all 50 states — and what that taught him about business
• Graduating 2,300th out of 2,600 at Villanova. And why he's glad he did.

Resources mentioned:

• Organizational Muscle by Kevin Nolan — https://a.co/d/0gywqBST
• Good to Great — Jim Collins
• Emotional Intelligence — Daniel Goleman
• The E-Myth Revisited — Michael Gerber
• How to Win Friends and Influence People — Dale Carnegie
• How to Stop Worrying and Start Living — Dale Carnegie

Connect with Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinjnolan1/

Connect with Matt: Website: thebiggerstage.com
Email: matt@mattstone.co

What if getting comfortable being unscripted actually requires more preparation, not less? Meridith Grundei has coached speakers at Amazon, Google, Pfizer, and Sotheby's — and her answer might change how you think about every stage you step onto.

Meridith reached the highest levels of improv — including teaching at the famed Second City in Chicago. These days she takes everything she learned in the theater and puts it in the hands of leaders and entrepreneurs who need to earn trust in rooms that matter, move people to action, and stop sounding like everyone else.

In this conversation we get into why structure is the secret to freedom, what improv actually trains you for when things go wrong on stage, and why your next talk — wherever it happens — could be the inflection point that changes everything in your business and your life.

If you're an entrepreneur on a mission to build something bigger than yourself, this one is for you.

What you'll hear in this episode:

— Why every presenter sounds the same right now
— and what to do about it
— The paradox at the heart of improv: tighter containers create more freedom
— The top mistakes speakers make (and why winging it is not the same as being unscripted)
— What Meridith's clients look like before and after working with her
— The "children's story" exercise that breaks every over-explainer
— How your speaking practice makes you a better leader in every room
— Why your talk is not just a talk
— it's a catalyst for change
— Matt's personal story: what stepping onto Meridith's stage revealed

Timestamps:

0:00 Cold open: Why every presenter sounds the same 0:46 Introduction: Meet Meridith Grundei 2:46 What Meridith does and who she serves 4:09 The top mistakes speakers make 6:26 Why improv is actually about structure — and how that sets you free 8:23 Slide deck or no slide deck? The trust question 10:51 Everything is at your disposal — you've just been limiting yourself 12:44 When the deck dies on stage: what improv actually prepares you for 14:11 Being human on stage — and what it reveals about who you are 15:41 Who works with Meridith: entrepreneurs, execs, and engineers at Amazon 17:45 Every product has a pulse: simplifying complex ideas for any audience 19:38 How long does real improvement take? 21:04 What transformation actually looks like on the other side 22:45 The full opportunity most clients don't see coming 23:56 Your talk is not just a talk — it's a catalyst for change 24:19 Be perfectly imperfect: the theater approach to high-stakes moments 26:28 The cybersecurity guy who was hilarious — and why audiences change everything 26:51 Speaking as a leadership tool: Q&A, all-hands, and managing the room 28:31 "Yes, And" — the improv rule that makes you a better leader 30:11 What Meridith is most excited about in 2026 32:05 The message for anyone still on the fence 32:46 Matt's personal story: what Unscripted revealed 34:17 Playback theater and the moment you play your own story back 36:11 Simon Sinek, a flip chart, and why the idea doesn't have to be new

Connect with Meridith Grundei: Website: meridithgrundei.com LinkedIn: [INSERT] The Practice Room: meridithgrundei.com

Connect with The Bigger Stage: Website: thebiggerstage.com LinkedIn: [INSERT]

The Bigger Stage is where founder-CEOs make the leap from operator to icon — through the power of their voice, their story, and their stage.

Connect with Meridith Grundei:
Website: meridithgrundei.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/meridith/

Connect with Matt Stone / The Bigger Stage:
Website: thebiggerstage.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/matt-stone-letsconnect/

The Bigger Stage is where founder-CEOs come to make the leap from operator to icon — through the power of their voice, their story, and their stage.