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 explains why Qwoted started as a concierge service, how humility and paranoia shaped the early strategy, and why he treats 50% ARR growth not as a victory lap—but as a signal 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.
