Hacks & Hobbies

Start small. Speak big. Ship fast.  Rory Paquette strips podcasting back to the essentials — showing creators how to launch and grow an audience without expensive gear, endless edits, or burnout. In this tactical episode Rory and Junaid map a pragmatic path from first recording to real growth using phone mics, Zoom, and simple social systems. If you’ve been waiting for the “perfect” setup, this episode is permission to start. Rory explains the minimum viable podcast, why editing and pre-interviews are productivity traps, and how consistent social posting turns platforms into free amplifiers — even before you ever buy an ad. Takeaways Start with what you have: phone or laptop + Zoom (or Riverside for phone recordings) + a host like Buzzsprout or Podbean. Don’t buy expensive consoles early — USB mics and headsets are fine until you have audience data. Ship your first 10 episodes unedited to learn your voice, workflow, and audience. Skip pre-interviews — save time, reduce friction, and record the