The Nathan Barry Show

Growing a membership from $500,000 a year to $5 million comes down to five specific things. In this episode, I map them out on the board using Matt Trinetti’s membership as an example. Matt is the cofounder of London Writers’ Salon, where 1,000 writers gather every weekday to write together in silence. They’re on track for $750,000 this year, and Matt wants to grow from 2,000 members to 20,000. In...

As the founder of an email marketing platform, you’d think my newsletter would be dialed in. But it turns out there's a lot I could be doing better. I think that's true for most creators, who get so caught up in growth hacks that their list slowly dies out or hits a plateau they can't get past. Chenell Basilio reverse engineers how the biggest newsletters grow and took her own newsletter, Growth i...

What happens to your newsletter when the first thing to read it isn't a person, but an AI agent? For anyone who has built a business on email, that shift is coming a lot faster than most of us expect. I sat down with Dan Shipper, co-founder and CEO of Every, a company that writes about AI, builds AI software, and gets to test the models before they're released. Dan has interviewed Sam Altman and i...

Do you want to know how to get into rooms with people who are several levels above you? Jayson Gaignard is the reason about 50 of my favorite entrepreneur friends are in my life. He’s the founder of Mastermind Talks, an invite-only community for entrepreneurs, and the author of Community Made, which breaks down exactly how to build those key relationships yourself. In this episode, Jayson shares h...

The story you leave out of your content could be the reason someone connects with your work. I sat down with Philip McKernan, author of One Last Talk, who has helped Olympians and World Cup athletes and consulted with the US Army and the Pentagon. We get into why your origin story matters, how to recognise the gifts you undervalue, and why the fear that drives success can eventually become exhaust...

Most creators try to grow by posting more. More content, more platforms, more hours. But the biggest creators and thought leaders grow in a very different way, and most of it happens behind the scenes. I sat down with Domonkos "Doma" Eross, founder of Flowin, a creative agency for thought leaders, to talk about what actually drives audience growth right now. We get into his seven strategic steps t...

Personal brand has become one of the biggest buzzwords in the creator world. Creators everywhere are launching offers, building funnels, and posting consistently, yet very few are creating something people actually remember. I sat down with Chris Do, Emmy award-winning designer and founder of The Futur, to talk about what it really takes to build a personal brand that stands out. We get into why m...

The online business world is changing. People have more information than ever at their fingertips, and the business models that many creators started out selling aren't converting the way they used to. I sat down with Jasmine Star to talk about why traditional courses and memberships are becoming harder to sell, and the new hybrid offer model she now teaches her clients. We get into how to build o...

Should you sell your business, or build it to own forever? Ankur Nagpal sold Teachable for $250 million and Carry for $76 million. I bootstrapped Kit and turned down a $200 million acquisition offer from Spotify. We took very different paths as founders. I sat down with Ankur to break down why we made those choices and how they've played out. We get into the key considerations for selling a compan...

What does it take to turn a YouTube channel into a valuable, sellable business? That's what I wanted to explore with this week’s guest, Tyler Chou (aka The Creators' Attorney). Having spent 20 years as an entertainment attorney at giants like Disney and BuzzFeed, Tyler now represents some of YouTube's biggest channels, helping them navigate exits and build sustainable enterprises. In this episode,...

What does it actually take to sell a creator business? That’s what I wanted to get into with Pat Flynn and Liz Wilcox, who sat down with me to share some big news. After 18 years of building Smart Passive Income, Pat has officially sold the business - and Liz is the new owner. In this episode, Pat and Liz take us through the entire process, from why Pat decided it was time to let go, to how they v...

When James Clear last spoke on the Craft & Commerce stage, Atomic Habits hadn't even been released. Now, it's sold over 30 million copies worldwide. I was delighted to welcome James back to the same stage 8 years later to unpack what he’s learned from creating one of the bestselling books of the last decade. In this conversation, James shares his insights on how to create a timeless product, h...

Many creators dream of building an empire, but how many actually pull it off while still making time for family and personal passions? That's what I wanted to dig into with Ben Greenfield. He’s been podcasting since 2008 and has built a massive personal brand around health and wellness. But what really fascinated me is how he's leveraged that brand to launch not just one, but two other businesses...

I recently sat down with Shawn Blanc, a creator I've known for years, to talk about what it takes to keep reinventing yourself and your business over a long career. Shawn has spent the last 15 years building and evolving his business, from an ebook and sponsorships to his flagship Focus Course, masterminds, retreats, and eventually a completely new direction. In this episode we discuss what Shawn...

Are online courses really dead? I recently sat down with attorney-turned-entrepreneur Sam Vander Wielen to discuss her latest course launch that generated over half a million dollars in just four days. In this episode, Sam shares the exact strategies she uses to consistently achieve massive success with her webinars and online courses, proving that these methods are far from "dead" in today's crea...

What does it take to build a $1.5M business with only a 20,000-person email list and a YouTube channel? I sat down with Layla Pomper, the founder of ProcessDriven, who has done exactly that. Layla built her business to 150,000 YouTube subscribers teaching small business owners how to systemize their operations. What I found particularly insightful was her journey from services to courses, and back...

My conversation with David Perell, host of the "How I Write" podcast and a truly prolific creator, took my understanding to a whole new level. He's one of the few people who has consistently challenged my thinking on how we communicate ideas effectively. In this episode, I dove deep with David into critical questions like: Does writing still hold its weight in today's crowded digital landscape? Wh...

I recently sat down with my speaking coach, Mike Pacchione, for this totally unprecedented episode where we dissect, minute by minute, my full keynote speech from this year's Craft + Commerce conference. We’re not holding anything back. Mike points out my flaws, celebrates my strengths, and reveals all the chaos that happens backstage that the audience never sees. If you've ever delivered a produc...

I've always brought Mike Pacchione in to coach every speaker at my Craft + Commerce conferences, including myself, because he has an uncanny ability to help people transform their talks from good to truly great. Mike's number one goal? For the audience to forget it's even a speech. In our conversation, Mike unpacks his framework for crafting compelling stories, why you should almost never tell the...

How do you build significant wealth in a way that feels sustainable and joyful, rather than sacrificing your mental and physical health? That's what I explored in my conversation with Mallory Rowan, who achieved a million-dollar net worth by age 29, but not without first hitting a wall of burnout at 22. Her story isn't just about financial metrics; it's a testament to redefining success and buildi...

How do actually make meaningful money on Instagram? That's what I wanted to find out when I sat down with Gannon Meyer. He's figured out how to turn social media attention into actual revenue. My guest today, Gannon, went from living with his girlfriend's mom to building a thriving business in just 12 months, and he credits a huge part of that transformation to what he shares in our conversation....

Why did this founder fire himself from his own company? That's what I wanted to find out when I sat down with Steve Kamb, founder of Nerd Fitness. We've known each other for a long time, and I've watched him build an incredible audience and business. But then, to my surprise, he "fired" himself – twice! Steve shares the surprising truth about chasing growth, the pitfalls of wearing the wrong hat i...

Codifying your knowledge into intellectual property (IP) is a crucial step for scaling any business, but what my guest Mo Bunnell shared in this episode completely changed my perspective on how to do it and the incredible impact it can have. Mo, author of Give to Grow and founder of the Bundle Idea Group, has built an astonishing career training professionals at some of the world's most prestigiou...

I’ve always been fascinated by how some companies manage to create not just customers, but passionate communities who become true advocates. My guest today, Russell Brunson, has mastered this, building ClickFunnels to a staggering 100,000+ users *without any outside funding*. In our conversation, Russell broke down the exact framework he used to achieve this, a framework born from studying thousan...

Can you truly break through your own limitations and achieve what seems impossible? Today, I sit down with my friend Nir Eyal, the author of three bestselling books, including his latest, *Beyond Belief*, which just hit the New York Times bestseller list. Nir recently blew my mind when he told me he doesn't "believe in jet lag" after flying from Europe to Asia, and that was just the appetizer for...