The Operator’s Edge/Guest Application
We don’t book guests. We book operators.
This is an application, not a booking form. Most of them get a no, and the no comes fast.
The yeses go to people who run the thing — who will say a real number out loud and walk through one problem they actually fixed. Title doesn’t matter. Follower count matters less.
Hosted by Steve Schmidt Founder & CEO, Gravity Growth Sioux Falls, South Dakota
01The bar
Who we’re looking for
Four things. If three of them are a stretch, save yourself the six minutes.
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You run it
Owner, founder, GM, operator. The P&L has your name on it — you don’t advise the person whose name is on it.
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You’ll say the number
Revenue, headcount, close rate, churn, cost per job. One real figure, on the record, not a range and not a vibe.
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You fixed something
One specific problem. What broke, what you tried first, what it cost you, and what finally worked. Specifics beat frameworks.
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You’re not here for reach
If the goal is clips for the personal brand, this is the wrong room. We book the person in the room, not the profile.
02What this is
What the show actually is
No media kit. Here’s the whole thing.
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One sitting, on camera
60 to 75 minutes, long-form video plus audio. One conversation, not a segment. Full recording is yours to use however you want.
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A call first, no script
One short prep call so we know where to go. You never get a question list to rehearse, because rehearsed answers are the reason most of these shows are unlistenable.
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Buyer in front
The room is other operators — the people you’d want across the table. We’d rather have four hundred of them listening than forty thousand of anybody else.
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You get the tape and the room
Episode, clips, and a real introduction to whoever in our network you should know. That last part is the one nobody puts in a media kit.
Trailer · vertical · loads on click
The premise, in one line
You bring one real problem. We solve it on camera.
That’s the format, and there isn’t a second layer to it. The trailer is the frame, the room and the tone — the three things a media kit can’t fake and a paragraph can’t prove.
Said plainly: the show is pre-launch. We’re building the first slate now and the guest pipeline is open. If download numbers are what you’re buying, we don’t have them yet and we’re not going to invent them.
03The look
What an episode looks like
Nothing is published yet, so there’s no back catalogue to scroll. What we do have is the format: the frame, the type, the way a title card carries a claim. Three of the four headlines below are stand-ins we wrote to test the layout. The $62M on card B isn’t — that one’s Steve’s own number.
Four treatments, one system. Photography stays black and white; colour shows up once per card and never twice. The rule doesn’t move either: one claim, one operator, no stock photography, and a number on the card only when somebody said it on the record.
04Who’s asking
Who’s asking the questions
Not a media personality. An operator who sells, measures, and has been measured.
- 25 yrsIn the seat
- $62M+Attributed revenue
- 218Companies
Steve Schmidt came up in enterprise sales, not through an agency. He was the one handed “leads” that went nowhere, watching marketing celebrate metrics while quota slipped — which is why revenue attribution is the first question he asks and the last one he lets go. He reads a pipeline and a P&L the same way, and he knows the difference between activity and outcomes. He runs Gravity Growth out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and hosts these operator interviews himself.
The standard of evidence
These are not the show’s numbers. The show is pre-launch and doesn’t have any yet — these are client results from Gravity Growth, the agency Steve runs. They’re here for one reason: they are the standard of proof he holds his own work to, and it’s the same standard a guest gets held to on the record. A specific number, a specific fix, and a name attached to both.
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Midwest Hyperbarics
Dr. Dan Todd, Owner
340% more consults/14.2× ROAS/6-month waitlist/$0 paid ads
“The video does the work so I don’t have to sell myself anymore.”
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Advanced Laser Restoration
Alex Johnson, Owner & CEO
0 → #1 category rank/4.2× booked jobs/+28.4% revenue per job/$0 cold outreach
“Now we’re the answer when people ask AI who to hire. Same town. Same service. Different system.”
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Radiant Health and Hormone
Jessica Morrell, Owner
111 new patients/30+ targeted attributes/Full CRM attribution
“The quiz didn’t just give us patients — it gave us a lens into the market.”
05Questions
Before you apply
Five things worth knowing before you spend the six minutes.
Who is this show for?
The Operator’s Edge is a B2B interview show for people who actually run a business — owners, founders, GMs, operators. If you carry the P&L and can walk through one problem you fixed with a real number attached, you’re the room and you’re the guest. If you’re shopping for a B2B podcast guest spot to feed a personal brand, this is the wrong show and the answer will be no.
Do I need a big audience?
No — audience size is not part of how guests are chosen here. We have passed on people with six figures of followers and booked people with almost none. What gets weighed is whether you run the thing, whether you’ll say a number out loud, and whether the fix you walk through is specific enough to be useful to another operator listening.
What do I need to have ready?
One real number and one real story — that is the entire prep list. The number can be revenue, headcount, close rate, churn, cost per job, or anything else you’d defend in a room; the story is one problem you fixed, including what you tried first and what it cost you. No deck, no talking points, no media kit, and no question list to rehearse.
Where do you record?
Episodes are recorded in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and remotely for operators who can’t get here. In studio is the default because it makes a better conversation and a better-looking episode; remote sessions are captured in full quality on both ends. Either way it’s one sitting, 60 to 75 minutes, video and audio.
How long until I hear back?
You’ll get an answer within five business days, yes or no. Steve reads every application himself, which is why it takes a few days and why the no comes with a reason instead of silence. If it’s a yes, the next step is one short prep call.
06Apply
The application
Steve reads every one himself — you’ll get a real answer either way inside five business days.
One sitting, three short pages. Who you are, the number you’ll say, the thing you fixed.
Open the applicationNot applying today
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