How Dan Simon refused shortcuts—earning product-market fit manually before scaling Qwoted to a two-sided marketplace with 50% ARR growth | Dan Simon, Founder & CEO, Qwoted. Dan Simon has seen the media business from the inside—and from the bottom. Before founding Qwoted, Dan was a longtime media operator, former speechwriter to some of the biggest names on Wall Street, a published author, and a three-time founder. But when it came time to build Qwoted - a two-sided marketplace connecting journalists with experts, none of that pedigree mattered. What mattered was whether he was willing to do the unglamorous work—pounding the phones, manually matching sources, and acting as his own booking agency—to earn trust on both sides of the network. In this episode of Escape Velocity, Josh and Dan unpack what it really takes to build and scale the notoriously treacherous two-sided media network before the opportunity becomes obvious and attainable by the deeper-pocketed competition. Dan shares why Qwoted started as a concierge service, how humility and paranoia shaped the company’s early strategy, and why he treats Qwoted 50% ARR growth not as proof of arrival, but as a reason to move faster. In this episode,we discuss: 1. Build the marketplace before the market shows up. How Dan put humility before pedigree, became his own concierge, pounding phones and packing boxes to earn trust and liquidity before scale. 2. Earn product–market fit. Don’t declare it. Why Qwoted refused inbound hype and earned every match, validating real demand before automation or growth narratives. 3. Win a corner before you win a category. How obsessing over one white-hot use case created speed, depth, and a defensible edge for Qwoted. 4. Treat growth like a threat, not a trophy. Why Dan sees 50% ARR growth as something to defend—rebuilding Qwoted continuously to stay ahead of complacency. 5. Outrun the competition before it exists. Why accelerating the flywheel early—while the opportunity is still misunderstood—can make a market uncatchable later. Meet Our Guest Dan Simon is the founder and CEO of Qwoted, a two-sided network that connects journalists with experts in real time. A longtime media operator and serial entrepreneur, Dan is a former speechwriter to the biggest names on Wall Street, a published author, and a three-time founder. Qwoted is a market network that connects journalists with vetted experts and sources, helping reporters move faster while helping brands and professionals earn high-quality media coverage. Qwoted sits at the intersection of media, expertise, and trust—where speed and credibility matter most. Meet Our Host Josh Linkner is a rare blend of business, art, and science. He's the New York Times bestselling author of four books, and widely regarded as one of the world's foremost innovation and leadership experts. On the business front, he’s been the founder and CEO of five tech companies, which created over 10,000 jobs and sold for a combined value of over $200 million. He’s also the co-founder and Managing Partner of Muditā Venture Partners — an early-stage venture capital firm investing in groundbreaking technologies. Over the last 30 years, he’s helped over 100 startups launch and scale, creating over $1 billion of investor returns. While proud of his business success, his roots are in the dangerous world of jazz music. He’s been playing guitar in smoky jazz clubs for 40 years and has performed nearly 2,000 concerts around the world. Meet MuditaWebsite: muditavp.comEscape Velocity: muditavp.com/escapevelocityLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/muditavpYouTube: www.youtube.com/@UChykfoLmSmfKVhLt5U9YvRg
