The Bigger Stage w/ Matt Stone

Jeremy Sirota — The Lawyer Who Worked His Way Into Music (Suno, Merlin, Warner)

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

He Pitched a Fintech Startup at a Funeral. It Worked. | Ricky Michel Presbot, Co-Founder of Ualett

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 [https://ualett.com/] LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricky-michel-presbot-14964472 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricky-michel-presbot-14964472/]

He Bet His Career on a "Boring" $100 Trillion Problem — Duncan Barrigan

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.

The Bears Fan Who Hated His Job

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/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpatmiller/] SBOC: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com/ [https://smallbusinesscommunity.com/] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusinessingShow [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 [https://www.youtube.com/@thebiggerstage] Learn more: https://thebiggerstage.com [https://thebiggerstage.com]

Ask Two People This Question To Find Your Real Values — with John Durso

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.