What Hosting Taught a CEO That Guesting Never Did

Most founders treat their podcast like a stage where the host is the expert. Christopher Swing, CEO of Vantage Surgical Solutions, says the opposite: as a guest they learn about you, as a host you learn about yourself. Want your show handled so it can actually feed the business? https://propodconcierge.com 3 THINGS YOU CAN DO AFTER THIS EPISODE 1. Do your homework on every guest. It changes what they do with the episode. Chris said there's something different about the relationship after someone researches you and asks questions you haven't answered fifteen times. It made him ask, "Why am I so important to this person?" He said if someone Googles him and finds this episode, he'd be honored for them to listen, because it was really intentional. Before your next recording, find one thing about your guest that nobody else has asked them about. 2. If you're running out of guests, or you only book people you already know, try what Chris did. He wrote down 25 people who fit what he wanted from his show. Then he asked AI who else he should add if those 25 interested him. It came back with 180 to 190 names. Whatever your show is for, start with the guests who already fit it, and let AI find more people like them. 3. If doing the show yourself is wearing you down, plan the next season before you release it. Chris did season one alone. Guests canceled, the production piled up, and something fun started to feel like work, so the show stopped. For season two he's setting a time frame, getting help with production and scheduling, and recording 30 to 40 percent of the season before the first episode goes out. If you're already recording and posting the same week and it works, keep going. If it's turning into a grind, decide how many episodes you'll have done before you release one, and who handles the work after you record. In this episode of the Founder Podcast Lab, Christopher Swing, CEO of Vantage Surgical Solutions and host of the Faithful podcast, breaks down why hosting a podcast teaches a founder more than guesting on other shows. We cover using a podcast to show partners and buyers who you are before you meet, faith and business leadership, hiring for character over skills, building a podcast guest list with AI, why the host sits in the student's seat, what stalled season one of his show, his season two plan with a production team and episodes banked before launch, what a NASDAQ-listed CEO taught him about asking for a mentor, why researching your guests changes the relationship, and how a guest's audience finds your show. Start at 25:09 if you only have five minutes. Why he hosts instead of guesting, and how he built his guest list from 25 names with AI. GUEST: CHRISTOPHER SWING Christopher Swing is CEO of Vantage Surgical Solutions, an ophthalmic surgical services company in Illinois. He has led the organization since 2012, through a sale to private equity, and serves as chair-elect in YPO. He hosts Faithful, a podcast about how leaders of faith run their businesses. LinkedIn:   / christopherswing   Website: https://vantage.healthcare YouTube, Faithful:    • Faithful   FROM THE HOST This is the Founder Podcast Lab. I get founders who are using a podcast as a business tool on the show, ask the questions, and distill each guest's expertise into something you can actually use. Chasing guests, covering cancellations, editing every episode yourself, and watching a show you started for fun turn into work. Stop that now. That is not your job. You're supposed to be working on the business. The podcast is supposed to feed the business. You record, we handle the rest. Apply here to see if there's a slot open: https://propodconcierge.com 00:00 Cold open 01:47 Why people seek him out at boards and fundraisers 03:56 The meeting invite he credits to the podcast 05:09 What Faithful is for 11:21 Hiring for values: character over skills 14:46 Why he started the show 18:27 It's okay to be a Christian and a CEO 20:27 Who Faithful is for 25:09 Guests learn about you. Hosts learn about themselves. 26:02 Using AI to grow 25 names into 190 27:56 What am I missing? Hosting as a way to learn 30:25 The podcast as a laboratory 34:05 Why season one stalled: doing it all himself 36:43 The season two plan: a team and episodes banked first 40:05 What season one taught him about a private equity sale 43:31 The NASDAQ CEO who was asked to mentor only once 45:11 People want to see you succeed. Ask the hard questions. 48:11 Research changes the relationship with your guest 51:43 One invitation that turned into seven years in YPO 56:12 Final question: don't phone it in 59:06 The biggest misconception about success 1:01:06 How your guest's audience finds your show founder podcast, hosting a podcast, podcast host vs guest, podcast guest list, CEO podcast, faith and business, mentorship, Christopher Swing, Faithful podcast, Founder Podcast Lab