When Shawn Ryan launched “The Shawn Ryan Show” in December 2019, he did not have a large production team or a professional studio. The former Navy SEAL and CIA contractor had about $2,000 worth of equipment, a converted attic, and his wife running between cameras to reset their 30-minute timers.
Ryan had built a smaller YouTube following by teaching weapons and tactics, but long-form interviews were new territory. Still, his first episode, released at midnight on Christmas Day, reached the top 100 the next day, according to Ryan.
Today, the show reaches millions and has grown into a major media brand. Ryan did not get there by copying the biggest podcasters or following the standard formula. When I interviewed him, what stood out was how many accepted rules he was willing to ignore.
His advice applies to anyone building a podcast, personal brand, or audience-driven business.
Start With A Mission, Not A Trend
Ryan started the show because he was tired of hearing people discuss wars without talking to those who had experienced them. He wanted veterans to tell their full stories, including the struggles many faced when they returned home.
It was a subject he understood and cared about deeply. That became his advantage.
“Quit looking at what everybody else is doing,” Ryan told me. “Figure out what you’re really passionate about.”
He takes the same approach when selecting guests. Ryan said he has turned down big names promoting books because he does not want to be one of dozens of shows featuring the same person that month. He looks for stories others have missed and people willing to be vulnerable.
“You’re never gonna stick out if you’re just in the herd with everybody else,” he said.
Trends may generate attention. Sincere curiosity gives an audience a reason to stay.
Learn Every Part Of The Business
Ryan could not afford a full production crew. He paid two former collaborators to teach him how to operate a camera, edit video, and set up lighting. Then he taught his wife to run a camera while he interviewed guests and monitored the sound.
That early constraint turned into a long-term strength.
“Know every aspect of your business,” Ryan said.
His point was not that founders should do every job forever. It was that understanding how the business works makes it easier to hire, delegate, and recover when someone leaves.
“It takes a lot of stress off if somebody’s like, ‘I’m gonna quit,’” he said. “Okay, well, I know how to do your job, so that’s fine.”
Ryan also grew with people who were there early. His creative director began by managing an Instagram account, while his chief operating officer joined around episode five to help with the audio. Both became key members of the company.
Follow Your Instincts—Then Let The Audience Decide
Ryan’s episodes were longer and less edited than conventional media wisdom recommended. One interview ran for 12 hours. Rather than cutting conversations to fit a standard length, he let each guest’s story determine the episode.
It worked.
“I just did what my gut was telling me to do,” Ryan said. “Don’t change for other people.”
That does not mean entrepreneurs should dismiss every expert. It means remembering that most advice is based on what has already worked for someone else.
“The experts will just talk about what the group is doing,” Ryan said.
Ryan believed listeners wanted depth as the rest of the media industry moved toward shorter clips. The lesson is not that every podcast should run for hours. It is that creators should test their ideas with their audience before abandoning them.
Build Trust Before Trying To Monetize It
Ryan’s audience grew long before his advertising revenue did. He said the show was generating millions of views, yet he struggled to attract advertisers and was still making little money.
“Just stick with it, and then something will come around,” he remembered telling himself. “It took about two years, and then it was like a switch flipped.”
The delay forced him to focus on the audience instead of chasing sponsors. He chose guests based on their stories, not what they were selling.
“It’s not about the thing, man. It’s about you,” Ryan said. “When they buy into you, then they’ll buy into your product.”
Advertisers are not simply paying for downloads or views. They are paying for the relationship a host has built with an audience. Forced partnerships and constant sales pitches weaken that relationship.
Prepare Before The Breakthrough
Ryan has seen what can happen when a guest’s story connects with his audience. Businesses featured on the show have experienced sudden, overwhelming demand.
Before one guest appeared, Ryan urged the owner of a gourmet ice cream company to think beyond bringing more customers into his local shop. During the interview, the founder said he needed a distribution partner. A few weeks later, according to Ryan, Publix contacted him about carrying the brand.
Ryan said entrepreneurs should have inventory, an email list, and a way to capture demand before a major media appearance. If the product is not ready, a preorder or waitlist can preserve that interest.
“You need to have stock because you’re going to sell out,” Ryan said. “You need to have a way to capture what’s going to come to you, or you’re going to blow it.”
His simplest warning may be the most important: “Don’t waste the exposure if you’re not ready for it.”
Scale Without Sacrificing What Worked
Ryan produced only nine episodes during his first year. He later moved to one episode a week and then two. But growth did not mean producing more at any cost.
“The quality never diminished,” he said. “It only got better.”
Ryan is now considering slowing the schedule again so his team can produce more immersive episodes that follow guests outside the studio and show more of their personal and professional lives.
Scaling is not simply doing more. Sometimes it means doing fewer things at a higher level.
The Bottom Line
There is no guaranteed formula for building a successful podcast, and Ryan’s long-form format will not work for every creator. But the principles behind his growth are widely applicable: care deeply about the subject, learn how the business works, trust the audience, protect its confidence, and prepare for success before it arrives.
Ryan did not build his show by copying the biggest podcast in the market. He built it by giving people something they could not get anywhere else.
