Hard on Business

Johannes from FastoPayments

0.0 (0)
Entrepreneurship

The business podcast for the adult and sexual wellness industry. Host Johannes sits down with the founders, creators, and operators actually building in the space. Real conversations about what it takes to start, run, and scale a business in an industry everyone uses but nobody wants to work with. Payments, growth, platforms, the wins and the shutdowns. No judgement, no fluff, just straight talk from people who've done it.

Oct 6

Stripping Away the Shame with Bethany Burgoyne

In this episode of Hard on Business, Bethany Burgoyne shares how a journalist covering intimacy and sexuality became the founder of Sassy Talent, an agency representing the creators and brands the mainstream overlooks. She talks about life as a bearded woman in front of the camera, the censorship that turns every post into a creative puzzle, and why owning your audience matters more than any follower count. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Bethany and Sassy Talent 01:06 From Journalism to Body Hair Representation 03:44 Landing the First Big Client at a Conference 05:14 One Blog, Two Goals, Ten Years Later 06:26 What Journalism Teaches You About Managing Talent 09:16 Striptease as a Way to Strip Away Shame 12:15 Your Openness Is Your Superpower 15:25 Why Media Should Stop Using Sex Lives to Shame People 16:08 The Daily Grind of Working Around Censorship 18:50 Only Working With Talent Who Have a Mission 19:44 When a Platform Deletes the Whole Business 22:08 Where's the Newsletter? Owning Your Audience 23:26 Appeals, Paid Fixers and Getting Accounts Back 25:50 Building a Marketing Mix Through Collaboration 29:00 Comedy as a Way Through the Algorithm 33:03 Why Face-to-Face Beats Cold Email 36:31 Frozen Accounts and the Banking Problem 39:21 Reframing the Language to Survive Moderation 42:05 Advice: Community Is Everything The Sassy Show, Bethany's podcast mentioned in the episode: https://www.thesassyshow.com Find Bethany on social: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bxsassy2Sassy talent - https://www.instagram.com/sassy_talent/The Sassy Show on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/_thesassyshowFollow your host Johannes: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-kanterInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/johanneskanterFastoPayments - https://fastopayments.com
Sep 18

Too Much for One Side, Not Enough for the Other with Kate Batchelor

In this episode of Hard on Business, Kate Batchelor shares how a registered nurse ended up buying a pole studio, stripping in her thirties and founding House of Gaia, discussing the whiplash of selling that studio to go online, the judgement that comes from both sides of the industry, and why visibility, not failure, is the thing that actually holds founders back. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Kate and House of Gaia 01:25 Blowing Up Her Life and Buying a Pole Studio 02:16 Selling the Studio and Moving the Business Online 04:16 Twenty Years of Curiosity, Shame and Coming to Terms With It 07:14 Does Lived Experience Make You a Better Teacher 11:16 Beginner's Mind and Why She Keeps Taking Classes 13:14 When Family and Old Friends Get Confronted 17:28 Too Sex Workery, Not Sex Workery Enough 20:28 What It Takes for a Partner to Be on Board 23:00 Venues That Ghost You and Printers Who Raise an Eyebrow 24:50 Shadow Banning: 100 DMs, 20 Percent Delivered 26:37 Where Clients Actually Come From Now 29:54 The Emotional Cycle of a Launch 34:05 Twelve Reps, Not One Failure 35:18 Visibility Is the Real Bottleneck 37:41 Advice: Find a Mentor and Start Before You Feel Ready Find Kate on social: Website - https://houseofgaia.auInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/gaia_kate/ Follow your host Johannes: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-kanterInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/johanneskanterFastoPayments - https://fastopayments.com
Aug 14

Building a Premium Adult Brand in a Post-Communist Market with Borislav Donchev

In this episode of Hard on Business, Borislav Donchev shares how he built Cleopatra into one of Bulgaria's leading premium adult brands from three physical stores in Sofia, discussing the bank rejections that nearly stopped him online, the supplier who cut him off overnight, and why he learned SEO himself because he could not afford to pay anyone else to do it. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Borislav, Cleopatra and MAX Digital 02:09 Opening an Adult Store in Bulgaria on a Joke 04:10 Rejected by Every Bank in the Country 06:59 How a Competitor Solved the Payments Problem 09:25 Two Kinds of Adult Shop and Who the Real Competition Is 11:11 The Supplier Who Cut Him Off Overnight 13:38 Seventy Hours of Cold Outreach to Find New Distributors 17:39 You Cannot Be Fully Independent, So Know the People 18:54 How to Actually Work a Trade Show 22:29 Moving Toward Wellness and Education 26:00 The Hardest Year: Currency Switch, Inflation and Stress 29:57 What Adult SEO Teaches That Normal SEO Never Will 35:20 AI Models Are Just New Search Engines 39:42 Advice for Founders Starting Out in the Industry Find Borislav on social: LinkedIn - https://bg.linkedin.com/in/borislav-donchevPersonal Website - https://donchev.bgMAX Digital - https://maxdigital.bgCleopatra - https://cleopatrabg.com Follow your host Johannes: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-kanterInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/johanneskanterFastoPayments - https://fastopayments.com
Aug 4

Shadow Banned: Building a Business the Platforms Keep Deleting with Amari Leigh

In this episode of Hard on Business, Amari Leigh shares how she accidentally built a sex-positive virtual assistant and social media agency that now supports 128+ clients across 17 countries, discussing shadow banning and platform censorship, the mistakes she made in her first year of business, and why diversifying beyond social media is survival rather than strategy. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Amari and Admin by Amari 02:20 Who Hires a Sex-Positive Agency 04:39 From Sociology Student to Accidental Agency Owner 09:02 The Hardest Parts of Running the Business 11:02 Early Mistakes: Contracts, Payment and Vetting 14:55 Shadow Banning Explained and What It Costs 19:30 Which Platforms Censor the Hardest 21:49 What Adult Industry Founders Are Really Like 23:15 Why Industry Knowledge Beats Generic Marketing 27:54 How Amari Actually Gets Clients 30:08 Growth Plans Beyond Social Media 31:35 Advice for Newcomers in the Adult Industry Amari's censorship guidebook and webinar, mentioned in the episode: https://www.adminbyamariagency.com/for-sexual-wellness-professionals/p/shadow-banning-guide-84bsp https://www.adminbyamariagency.com/for-sexual-wellness-professionals/p/webinar-on-combatting-shadowbanning-and-censorship-in-the-womens-and-sexual-health-sector Find Amari on social: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amari-leigh-629b95197Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/adminbyamari.agencyAgency Website - https://www.adminbyamariagency.comSex Coaching by Amari - https://www.sexcoachingbyamari.com Follow your host Johannes: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-kanterInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/johanneskanterFastoPayments - https://fastopayments.com
Jul 9

The Art of Storytelling in the Adult Industry with Deidre Olsen

Welcome to the very first episode of Hard on Business. In this episode, Deidre Olson shares her journey from journalism to social media expert in the sexual wellness industry, discussing the challenges of content moderation, effective strategies for online engagement, and the importance of human storytelling in a digital age. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Sexual Wellness and Storytelling 02:52 Navigating Social Media Challenges in Adult Industry 06:00 Creating Viral Content: The Power of Trends 08:56 The Importance of Physical Retail in Sexual Wellness 11:51 The Role of Journalism in Shaping Brand Storytelling 14:42 Community Building in the Adult Industry 17:53 Advice for Newcomers in the Adult Industry 21:01 Future Aspirations and Closing Thoughts Find Deidre on social: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deidreolsonInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/deidreolsonPersonal Website - https://deidreolson.com Follow your host Johannes: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-kanterInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/johanneskanterFastoPayments - https://fastopayments.com

5 Episodes

The business podcast for the adult and sexual wellness industry. Host Johannes sits down with the founders, creators, and operators actually building in the space. Real conversations about what it takes to start, run, and scale a business in an industry everyone uses but nobody wants to work with. Payments, growth, platforms, the wins and the shutdowns. No judgement, no fluff, just straight talk from people who've done it.

Creator

Johannes from FastoPayments
Years Active

2026
Episodes

5
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© 2026 Johannes from FastoPayments