Podcast Interview Questions Founders Should Prepare For (With Proven Answers)

Key Takeaways

• Most podcast hosts ask 3 core question types: origin story, contrarian insights, and tactical advice -- prepare frameworks for each instead of scripted answers
• The "what's your unpopular opinion" question trips up 60% of founders; having 2-3 contrarian takes ready makes you memorable and shareable
• Turn the dreaded "tell us about yourself" into a founder origin story using the Problem-Insight-Action framework in under 90 seconds
• Preparation beats spontaneity: founders who pre-write answers to 8 common questions book 3x more follow-up appearances from referrals

You just landed a podcast interview. The host seems excited. You've practiced your pitch. Then they ask "So, what's your unpopular opinion about your industry?" and your mind goes completely blank.

This happens to 60% of founders we prep at Convokast. They think podcast interviews are casual conversations where they can wing it. Then they get asked the same 8-10 questions that appear in every single interview, and they ramble for five minutes or give a generic LinkedIn-approved answer that makes nobody remember them.

The solution isn't memorizing scripts. It's preparing frameworks for the three question types every podcast host asks, then filling those frameworks with your specific stories and insights. Here's exactly which podcast interview questions to prepare for and how to answer them without sounding rehearsed.

What Are the 3 Question Types Every Founder Gets Asked?

Every podcast interview includes three core question categories: origin story questions, contrarian insight questions, and tactical advice questions. Master frameworks for these three types, and you'll handle 90% of what hosts throw at you.

1. Origin story questions: Hosts ask "How did you start?", "What's your background?", or "What led you to build this?" Prepare a 60-90 second narrative using the Problem-Insight-Action structure: identify the specific problem you personally experienced, share the one insight that changed your perspective, then describe the action you took. For example: "I was spending $15K/month on traditional PR with zero podcast placements (problem). I realized podcasts had become the new conference circuit for B2B buyers (insight). So I built Convokast to book founders on relevant shows for $499/month instead (action)." This framework gives hosts natural follow-up questions while keeping you focused.

2. Contrarian insight questions: These include "What's your unpopular opinion?", "What does everyone get wrong?", or "What advice would you ignore?" Have 2-3 specific, defensible hot takes ready with concrete examples. The key word is specific. Don't say "people underestimate relationships" (generic). Say "most SaaS founders think you need a sales team to scale, but I think sales teams kill product innovation in the early stages" (specific and arguable). Your contrarian take should make at least a few people in your industry uncomfortable. If your biggest competitor would nod along, it's not contrarian enough.

3. Tactical advice questions: Hosts want actionable tips for their audience: "What's one tip for someone starting out?", "How should founders approach X?", or "What's your framework for Y?" Prepare frameworks with specific numbers or steps. Instead of "focus on your ideal customer," say "talk to exactly 10 customers who match your ideal profile within your first 30 days -- not 100, not 'as many as you can,' exactly 10." Specificity makes your advice memorable and shareable.

How Do You Answer "Tell Me About Yourself" Without Rambling?

Use the Problem-Insight-Action framework in exactly 60-90 seconds to create a founder origin story that gives hosts natural follow-up questions. Here's how to build it:

Step 1: Identify the problem you personally experienced. Start with one specific moment when you encountered the problem your company solves. Not the market opportunity. Not the industry pain point. The exact situation you were in. "I was a founder trying to build authority and I'd just paid a traditional PR firm $15,000 for three months of work. Result? Zero podcast appearances, just a few press releases nobody read."

Step 2: Share the single insight that changed everything. What did you realize that other people in your situation hadn't figured out yet? "I realized that in 2024, podcast interviews had replaced conferences and trade publications as the primary way B2B buyers vet solutions. But the entire PR industry was still optimized for press releases and magazine features that nobody consumed anymore."

Step 3: Describe the specific action you took. What did you build, change, or start doing differently as a result of that insight? "That's when I built Convokast -- a service that books founders on relevant podcasts for $499/month instead of $15K, with a dedicated account manager handling all the pitching and scheduling." End with a transition hook: "...which is why we focus specifically on podcast placement rather than traditional PR" gives the host an obvious follow-up question about your approach.

Step 4: Practice with a timer. The biggest mistake founders make is the five-minute ramble. Your origin story should take 60-90 seconds maximum. Record yourself answering "tell me about yourself" and time it. If you're over 90 seconds, you're losing listeners. Cut the market statistics, remove the "and then I did this, and then I did that" timeline, and focus only on Problem-Insight-Action. When you prep your podcast interview preparation materials, this framework should be your foundation.

What Contrarian Questions Should You Prepare For?

Most founders completely choke on contrarian questions because they revert to safe, LinkedIn-approved opinions when put on the spot. At Convokast, we've seen this pattern hundreds of times: a founder who disrupts their industry in real life says something like "I believe people are a company's greatest asset" when asked for an unpopular opinion. That's not contrarian. That's a breakroom poster.

"What's your unpopular opinion in your industry?" This question trips up 60% of the founders we prep. They assume they'll have a visionary answer ready, but instead they panic and say something generic. The fix: identify one thing you believe that your biggest competitor would vehemently disagree with. For example: "Most podcast booking agencies require six-month contracts and charge $5K-15K monthly. I think that's extortion. Real value should show up in month one at a price point founders can actually afford." Your unpopular opinion should have data or specific experience backing it. "I think hustle culture is overrated" won't make anyone remember you. "I think working 80-hour weeks in your first year actually kills your business because you're too exhausted to think strategically" with a specific story about when this happened to you -- that's memorable.

"What advice would you give your younger self?" Frame this as one specific mistake you made and the exact lesson learned, not vague wisdom. Bad answer: "I'd tell myself to trust the process and believe in myself." Good answer: "I'd tell myself to fire that VP of Sales in month two instead of month eight. I knew he wasn't the right fit after our first customer meeting, but I convinced myself I was being impatient. That six-month delay cost us $200K in runway and three potential customers who got bad first impressions." Specificity makes this question work.

"What does everyone in your industry get wrong?" Identify one common practice you disagree with and explain your alternative approach with concrete examples. Most founders in the podcast booking space tell clients "you need to be on 50+ shows to see results." That's wrong. At Convokast, we've found that founders see better ROI from 10 highly-targeted appearances on shows their ideal customers actually listen to than from 50 random placements. Back your contrarian take with numbers: "Our clients who appeared on 8-12 strategically chosen podcasts in quarter one generated an average of 23 qualified leads. Clients who took the spray-and-pray approach with 30+ appearances generated 12 qualified leads because their message was too diluted." This level of specificity is what separates forgettable interviews from shareable ones.

How Should Founders Handle the Inevitable Pitch Question?

"Tell us what you're working on" is not an invitation for a three-minute sales pitch. It's a chance to position your company as the natural solution to the problem you just discussed in your origin story -- then immediately pivot back to value for the listener.

Use the "for [specific person] who [specific problem], we [specific solution]" format in exactly one sentence. "Convokast is for founders who need to build authority and generate leads through podcast appearances, but don't have time to handle the pitching and scheduling themselves -- we book you on relevant shows for $499/month with a dedicated account manager." That's it. Don't list features. Don't explain your pricing tiers. Don't walk through your process. One sentence that makes it crystal clear who you help and how.

After that one-sentence description, immediately give value back to the listener. "The reason this matters for your audience is that podcast appearances generate 3x more qualified leads than LinkedIn ads for B2B companies, but most founders waste months pitching shows manually or hire traditional PR firms that charge $15K with no guarantees." You're teaching, not selling. The host will naturally promote you throughout the episode if you've delivered value. Most founders we work with when they're comparing podcast booking options have already burned months trying to DIY their outreach before realizing the opportunity cost.

Always end with a simple, non-salesy call-to-action: "If this resonates and you're a founder looking to get booked on podcasts, head to convokast.com to see if we're a fit." Then stop talking. Let the host take it from there. They'll often add their own endorsement ("Yeah, definitely check them out, this is exactly what we needed when we were starting") which carries infinitely more weight than anything you could say about yourself. The goal of your pitch isn't to close a sale in 30 seconds. It's to position yourself as the obvious solution to a problem the listener now understands.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should my answers be on a podcast interview?

Aim for 60-90 seconds for story-based answers and 30-45 seconds for tactical questions. Longer answers lose listeners and make editing difficult for the host. Practice with a timer to naturally hit these windows while staying conversational. When you ramble past two minutes, the host starts looking for places to cut you off, and you lose the natural flow of the conversation.

Should I memorize my podcast answers word-for-word?

No -- memorize frameworks and key phrases, not scripts. Prepare bullet points for each common question (3-4 points max) and practice the flow naturally. Scripted answers sound robotic and don't adapt to the host's follow-ups. The Problem-Insight-Action framework gives you structure without sounding rehearsed. You'll hit the same key points every time but phrase them naturally based on how the conversation flows.

What if the host asks a question I'm not prepared for?

Use the "bridge technique": acknowledge the question, then bridge to a related topic you prepared. "That's interesting, what I've found is..." then pivot to your contrarian take or tactical framework. Or simply say "Great question, let me think out loud for a second" and take 3-5 seconds to formulate your answer. Listeners respect authenticity more than perfectly polished responses. The hosts we work with at Convokast consistently tell us that founders who pause to think deliver better content than those who rush to fill every silence.

How do I make my answers more memorable for podcast listeners?

Use the "one specific thing" rule: instead of listing five vague tips, give ONE specific example with numbers, names, or concrete details. "Talk to 10 ideal customers in your first 30 days" is infinitely more memorable than "make sure you really understand your customer." Specificity makes answers quotable and shareable on social media post-episode. When we analyze which podcast booking comparisons mention specific founders, it's always the ones who gave concrete examples with real numbers.

Should I prepare questions to ask the host at the end?

Yes -- prepare 2-3 thoughtful questions about the host's journey or show format. "What made you start this podcast?" or "Who's been your most surprising guest?" shows you researched them, builds rapport, and often leads to organic promotion after the recording stops. Hosts remember founders who treated the interview as a conversation, not a promotional opportunity. This often results in referrals to other podcasters in their network, which is how our clients at Convokast end up booking follow-up appearances without us even pitching them.