Backstage w/ Matt Stone

Two days until spring, and Matt’s back after missing more days—the sheer volume of activity is almost unmanageable, but it’s all good. After sharing trivia about the first telephone call between London and the continent (1891) and Gandhi’s six-year sentence for civil disobedience (1922), he dives into what happens when things finally align. The energy shift is incredible. New clients rolling in, s...

Four days until spring, rainy and cold, and Matt’s back after missing Thursday and Friday last week—conflicts got in the way, and sometimes it just doesn’t happen. After sharing trivia about The Scarlet Letter being published (1850) and Barnum and Bailey Circus debuting in NYC (1881), he dives into what’s been on his mind: the feeling of not doing enough . Not “I’m not enough,” but “there’s just s...

Nine days until spring, mid-70s in NYC, and Matt’s headed to Times Square to record with a client—his diamond for the day, the rest is gravy. (Yes, diamonds and gravy don’t mix, but roll with it.) After sharing trivia about the first public baseball game in Springfield, Massachusetts (1892) and Levi Strauss selling bell-bottom jeans in 1969 (were those really cool?), he dives into what’s shifted s...

Ten days until spring, 72 degrees, and Matt’s running late because the morning was a barn burner of activity and connection—something has really shifted. After dropping trivia about the first U.S. paper currency (1862) and Alexander Graham Bell’s first telephone call (”Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you”), he dives into what changed. Last week brought an epic battle in his spirit—that force...

Eleven days until spring, 70 degrees, and Matt took a longer walk along the Hudson with the sun in his eyes—naturally waking up the brain without as much coffee. He missed Friday’s episode because Friday was a mindset battle day, the kind where you’re crossing the Rubicon to a place you’ve never gone before. Uncomfortable, scary, but necessary. He emerged this weekend with newfound confidence and...

Fourteen days until spring—exactly two weeks—and heavy rain is washing away the snow piles (and the unsavory animal byproducts left behind). After sharing trivia about the Boston Massacre (1770) and the hula hoop patent (1963—seriously, a patent for a circle?), Matt dives into day two of executing his new business development plan. Yesterday he knocked out all targets and then some, and having a c...

Fifteen days until spring, and Matt’s new barometer is a melting snow pig outside a Cuban restaurant—the ears are almost gone now. After sharing FDR’s “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” quote from 1933 (apropos while reading about the lead-up to the Great Depression) and the wild fact that a nuclear power plant started operating in Antarctica in 1962, he dives into what happened yeste...

Sixteen days until spring, and Matt’s feeling pretty good after his morning walk around the neighborhood—less urgent need for coffee when you wake up the brain first. After sharing some U.S. history trivia (first foreign aid bill in 1812, Missouri Compromise in 1820), he gets into what’s on his mind: a client who agreed to work together, set a date, then went silent. Matt blocked off his morning,...

Welcome to March 2nd—somehow it feels like December was two minutes ago, but here we are with 17 days until spring. Matt’s two days into a new tradition (which is, as he jokes, a very long time): morning walks before doing anything else. Just 10-20 minutes outside, slowly sipping coffee instead of chugging it, feeling more awake from a little sunlight and movement. After years in Tokyo where 10,00...

Twenty days until spring, snow still in the forecast, and Matt’s counting down relentlessly without apology. After some trivia about the first Mardi Gras in New Orleans (1827) and 16-year-old Tiger Woods teeing off in 1992 (a reminder of how fast time moves), he shares what finally clicked this week. After a brutal anxiety-filled night during the blizzard — the kind that takes you from a 9 out of...

Three weeks until spring, the snow is struggling to hold on, and Matt’s reflecting on Michael Jackson’s Thriller hitting #1 on this day in 1983—a time when everybody listened to the same thing and had a common reference point. But today’s real topic hits closer to home: he’s been doing intermittent fasting for a week, and the scale hasn’t budged. Not even a little. Between cortisol from stress, 12...

It’s Wednesday, February 25th, snow piles are blocking half of Hoboken, and Matt’s about to deliver a global masterclass that didn’t exist a few weeks ago. After some trivia about George Washington’s first cabinet meeting (1793) and the first railroad tunnel under the Hudson River (1908), he shares what happened when he realized his old presentation materials wouldn’t work for his new venture. He...

Three weeks until spring, snow piles everywhere, and Matt’s running late because he just had a powerful meeting with a colleague he meets weekly. Midway through their conversation, the colleague told a story Matt had heard months ago—but this time, because they’ve built real depth, Matt heard it completely differently. He dove deeper instead of stopping him, and the story revealed new meaning. Tha...

New Jersey just declared its first state of emergency for a blizzard in 30 years, snow is driving sideways, and Matt’s grateful for power, food, and the plow operators working nonstop. After some Tootsie Roll trivia (debuted 1896), he gets real: he’s in that familiar phase where the new venture has started, but self-doubt hits hard—especially at 3 AM. Living with near-term financial uncertainty hi...

It’s raining again, the last ounces of snow are clinging on for dear life, and Matt missed yesterday’s episode because the day got completely out of hand. After some space-themed trivia—Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake premiered in 1877, John Glenn orbited Earth in 1962, and the USSR launched the Mir Space Station in 1986—he settles into what’s really on his mind as we knock on March’s door: the emotional...

It’s raining in the Northeast for the first time this season, and while Matt’s wife is less than thrilled, the Oregonian in him finds it oddly comforting. After dropping some trivia about the Statue of Liberty’s design patent (1879) and the first coiled postage stamps (1908), he dives into an idea that’s been brewing: the Studio Creator Experience. Picture this — business owners gathering at a NYC...

Thirty days until spring, the snow is melting like a slow hourglass, and Matt’s got sardines on his mind — a Christmas gift from a relative that’s been sitting there daring him to crack it open with some saltines. After a quick detour through the first submarine to sink a warship (1864, for the history buffs), he gets to what’s really occupying his headspace this Tuesday. Six weeks into the new ye...

It’s President’s Day, there’s a fresh dusting of snow, and Matt’s watching the great melt of 2026 continue as those disgusting piles of hard-packed ice get smaller each day. After some trivia about the Canadian Pacific Railway and Ladies Home Journal launching in the 1880s, he shares what happened on Saturday: his brain just... stopped. Not burned out, not consciously aware of needing rest—just th...

It’s Friday the 13th, and Matt’s greeting you with ski mask energy as he reflects on a very good week. After sharing some trivia about Tycho Brahe mapping the solar system in 1588 and Novocaine getting patented in 1906 (imagine dentistry before that—yikes), he dives into what’s making this week feel so different: the ratio of time spent actually talking to clients versus everything else. He’s now...

After dropping some Lincoln birthday trivia (plus a fun fact about The Scream heist), Matt tackles a pattern he’s noticed over decades of watching public discourse: everyone’s yearning for “normal,” but normal doesn’t exist. Bodies change, society changes, art changes—we live in a dynamic reality, yet we keep searching for solid ground. The danger isn’t change itself; it’s getting myopic and settl...

After kicking off with some quirky February 11th trivia—including the birth of the La-Z-Boy recliner and a 44-pound lobster worth roughly a grand—our host dives into a confession: he doesn’t fact-check everything, and that’s okay. Because as a former history major and lawyer turned entrepreneur, he’s learned the most valuable skill of all: knowing where to invest your time. Fresh off a late-night...

As winter drags on and exhaustion quietly sets in, Matt reflects on a familiar danger point in building something new: early traction without enough discipline. With a few clients secured and more opportunities emerging, he notices how easy it is to drift toward “busy” work — events, side projects, and clever ideas that feel productive but don’t actually scale. This episode is about learning to se...

On a long, frozen Friday heading into Super Bowl weekend, Matt reflects on a familiar pre-interview ritual — and the quiet realization that preparation isn’t about filling a knowledge gap. As he gets ready to sit down with author and entrepreneur David Kalinowski, he notices the shift that always matters most: letting go of the need to sound smart and leaning into genuine curiosity. This episode e...

On a bright but icy February morning, Matt reflects on the hidden discipline of growth: deciding what not to pursue. As new conversations, ideas, and potential opportunities appear, he explores the ongoing work of staying true to a business’s core purpose while remaining curious and open to learning. From meeting founders solving real marketplace problems to reflecting on the decline and rebirth o...

On a midweek February morning, Matt reflects on what separates the ventures that endure from those that quietly disappear. Looking at the long arc of companies like Facebook — and the sobering statistics on business failure — he explores a hard-earned lesson: most things in a business must remain flexible, but values cannot. From branding and positioning to services and structure, this episode mak...