About
Meet Your Hosts
Ethan Cole and Marcus Reed are the voices—and the engine—behind Headliner.fm. Different paths led them here, but a shared obsession unites them: telling honest, useful stories about people who build things from scratch. Together they turn curiosity into conversation and conversation into practical, human-centered insights for founders, freelancers, and small-business operators everywhere.
Ethan Cole is a journalist by training and a storyteller by instinct. He spent his early career covering neighborhood businesses and community changemakers, learning that the best lessons rarely come wrapped in press releases. Ethan’s interviews feel like comfortable conversations—structured enough to go deep, spacious enough to surprise you. He’s meticulous about craft: pre-interview research, clear timelines, clean audio, and quotes that carry weight. Ethan believes a good story has three beats—how it started, what almost broke it, and the decision that changed everything—and he builds each episode to reveal those turning points with empathy and clarity. His guiding question: What can a listener do differently tomorrow because of this story today? Beyond the mic, he shapes show notes, transcripts, and episode summaries so every narrative lands with concrete takeaways.
Marcus Reed is a former startup founder who learned his business education the hard way—on the customer support line, in negotiating rooms, and during those late-night pivots that separate a project from a company. Marcus brings the operator’s lens: pricing puzzles, team dynamics, cash flow curves, and the gritty decisions you won’t find in glossy case studies. He’s quick to laugh and quicker to get real, asking the questions most hosts sidestep: What did that mistake cost? What would you cut sooner? What was the moment you almost quit—and why didn’t you? Marcus translates founder-speak into plain language and connects dots between strategy and lived experience, making complex ideas useful for first-time builders and seasoned owners alike.
Together, Ethan and Marcus create a balanced rhythm. Ethan maps the path; Marcus tests the steps. Ethan extracts meaning; Marcus pressures-tests the lesson. They approach each guest with respect, zero pay-to-play bias, and a commitment to editorial independence. Their process is simple and rigorous: thoughtful prep, a focused conversation anchored on three pivotal decisions, post-recording verification of key details, and a final pass to surface the most actionable insights without sanding off the truth. The result is storytelling that feels intimate, grounded, and immediately applicable.
What sets their partnership apart is chemistry without sameness. Ethan listens for the emotional hinge—the moment a founder’s belief shifts. Marcus listens for the operational hinge—the moment the model shifts. Those dual lenses turn single stories into layered lessons: how purpose fuels stamina, how pricing shapes survival, how culture emerges from a hundred small choices. Guests often tell them, “I’ve never said that out loud,” and listeners often write, “I used this advice Monday morning.” That loop—honest talk, practical change—is the point.
Headliner.fm isn’t a victory lap show. It’s a working notebook for people who make things: coffee shop owners, mobile service crews, indie e-commerce brands, contractors, agencies, and community anchors who employ neighbors and brighten blocks. Ethan and Marcus champion them because small businesses are where dreams meet payroll, where resilience becomes policy, and where progress is measured in people served, not headlines earned.
If you’re new here, start with any story that looks nothing like your own. You’ll still recognize the decisions: when to raise prices, when to hire, when to specialize, when to hold the line. That’s the magic Ethan and Marcus chase—specific journeys that teach universal skills. And if you’ve got a story worth telling, they want to hear it. Bring the real version: the false starts, the near misses, the help you needed, and the lesson you wish someone had handed you sooner. They’ll do what they do best—listen deeply, question honestly, and shape it into something that helps the next builder go further, faster, and with a little more courage.
Submissions & Collaborations
- Pitch your story: Brief background, key milestones, 2–3 lessons you can teach.
- Suggest a guest: Tell us why their journey will help our audience.
- Partnerships: We collaborate on responsibly labeled editorial series that preserve our independence.
Email: hello@headliner.fm
Media/press: press@headliner.fm