'The Diary of a CEO' host Steven Bartlett taught his podcast protégé a critical business lesson

• “Hot Smart Rich” podcaster Maggie Sellers Reum shared the best advice she got from Steven Bartlett.
• Bartlett invested in Sellers Reum and is applying his “The Diary of a CEO” blueprint to her show.
• Sellers Reum also discussed what it was like to negotiate her deal with him.

Sellers Reum remembers the day Bartlett first reached out to her. She was out and about in New York’s SoHo when she saw a DM from him on her phone. The timing was ideal, as she’d found it challenging to monetize her podcast.

“It just said something like, ‘We’re obsessed with what you’re doing. My CEO absolutely loves you. And we’d love to chat further if you’re interested,'” Sellers Reum said. “And I remember just being like, ‘Is this actually really happening?’ And I don’t play games. I just responded right back, and I was like, ‘I would love to chat.'”

Sellers Reum said the deal took about four months, during which time Bartlett stayed in regular contact.

“He would be speaking onstage in Singapore, and it would be three in the morning, and he would just pop on the Zoom for five minutes to make sure that I knew that he was involved in this and wanted it to happen,” she said. “It was a dream come true.”

Sellers Reum said it sometimes hurts “a little bit” that it “took a male” to lend credibility to her business. On the other hand, she recognized the value of having someone view her show as more than a “fun little passion project.”

One negotiation point during the deal talks was ownership and creative control. Sellers Reum said she didn’t want her show to grow at the expense of the brand. Like the other creators at FlightStory, she retains decision-making authority over guests and brand partnerships, which is reflected in her new title, editor in chief. She remains the majority owner.

“I’m not the female Steven,” she said. “I have my own identity, and that creative decision-making was really important for me to make sure I was going to be able to keep.”