Spoiler: It’s not about stocks. It’s about story, leadership, and long-term value.
Warren Buffett has never hosted a podcast (as far as we know). But if he did, it’d probably be one of the most disciplined, focused, and value-driven shows you could find.
Why? Because the same principles he uses to pick a stock are surprisingly effective when evaluating—or creating—a great podcast.
Let’s break that down.
1. Strong Leadership (aka: the Management Team)
Buffett’s Rule: “When we own portions of outstanding businesses with outstanding managements, our favorite holding period is forever.”
When Buffett picks a company, he looks for a great CEO. A steady hand. A strategic thinker. Someone who can inspire, make decisions, and adapt to change without losing sight of the long-term vision.
In podcasting?
That’s your host. They’re the voice and, many times, the brains behind the podcast. They don’t just read from a script—they guide the narrative, elevate the guest, and make you want to keep listening.
A strong podcast host doesn’t just show up with a mic—they show up with authority, knowledge, warmth, curiosity, and clarity. They build trust. They ask the right questions. They know what the audience cares about.
John Stackhouse is the kind of podcast host Warren Buffett would bet on. As SVP of RBC Thought Leadership and former Editor-in-Chief of The Globe and Mail, he brings strategic insight, journalistic rigor, and long-term vision to every episode of Disruptors. He’s not just reading questions—he’s guiding the narrative with authority, warmth, and curiosity. He builds instant trust, asks sharp questions, and elevates his guests while making complex topics feel relevant and urgent for Canadian business leaders. Like a great CEO, John understands his audience, plays the long game, and makes every episode a high-return investment in ideas and conversations that matter.
Ask yourself: Would Warren back your host the way he backs a CEO?
2. A Durable Competitive Advantage (aka: The Moat)
Buffett’s Rule: “The most important thing [is] trying to find a business with a wide and long-lasting moat.”
In business, a moat protects you from competitors. It might be a brand, IP, loyal customers, or proprietary tech.
In podcasting?
Your moat is your unique POV and hard-to-copy format. It’s the combination of your storytelling, your access to great guests, your sound design, your audience insight. It’s what makes listeners pick your show over the other 5 million podcasts out there.
Some moats are built on brand trust (Disruptors by RBC, which earns its authority through deep expertise and national relevance), others on creative format (Cirque du Sound by Cirque du Soleil, which fuses immersive storytelling with sound design that mirrors the magic of live performance), and others still on exclusive access (The Sound Bath by LUSH, which features intimate, thought-provoking conversations with activists, artists, and changemakers rarely heard in mainstream media).
But the best podcasts? They’re protected by all three.
Ask yourself: If someone copied your idea tomorrow, would your audience still stay with you?
3. Proven Value Over Time
Buffett’s Rule: “It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.”
Buffett plays the long game. He doesn’t chase trends or hype. He looks for assets that deliver consistent value, year after year.
In podcasting?
That’s the equivalent of publishing great episodes consistently. Not chasing virality. Not launching with 10 mediocre episodes. But instead, building something worth listening to—and returning to.
Your show should have compounding value. Not just in download numbers, but in brand equity, audience trust, and long-term engagement. It’s a relationship, not a transaction.
Ask yourself: Would your podcast pass Buffett’s “buy and hold” test?
4. Clear, Understandable Purpose
Buffett’s Rule: “Never invest in a business you cannot understand.”
Buffett only invests in companies whose business model he can explain in a few sentences.
Your podcast?
It should be just as clear.
Listeners (and internal stakeholders) should be able to answer these three questions in under 30 seconds:
- Who is it for?
- What’s it about?
- Why does it matter?
The clearer the premise, the easier it is to grow.
Take Nice Genes! by Genome BC—a JAR Audio. It’s for curious young science fans. It’s about the amazing ways genomics is shaping our world. And it matters because the next generation needs to understand the science shaping their future. That kind of clarity makes the show memorable, shareable, and highly investable.
If your podcast is trying to be too many things to too many people—it’s not investable.
5. Returns That Matter
Buffett’s Rule: “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”
A great podcast isn’t cheap—but it pays off.
Brand lift. Thought leadership. Customer trust. Audience growth. Employee engagement.
The ROI of a podcast compounds over time, especially when paired with a strong content strategy (repurposing, social, newsletters, SEO, sales enablement).
In Buffett’s world, returns are measured in shareholder value. In ours? Marketing performance.
Look at This Is Small Business by Amazon. It’s not just a podcast—it’s a full-funnel engine. It builds trust with small business owners, positions Amazon as a partner in their growth, and reinforces Amazon’s brand values through consistent, high-quality storytelling. Each episode drives value long after it’s published—across social, search, and sales channels. That’s the power of smart podcasting with a clear performance lens.
Ask yourself: Is your podcast giving you more than it costs?
Final Take
Warren Buffett doesn’t pick stocks on a whim. He does the work. He waits for the right moment. And then he commits.
Your podcast deserves that same level of strategic thinking.
- Great leadership.
- A strong moat.
- Clear value.
- Simple positioning.
- Compounding returns.
The best podcasts—like the best investments—get better with time.
So don’t build a podcast like a trend.
Build it like Berkshire.
Want to learn how to make your podcast worth investing in?
Subscribe to the JAR Audio newsletter and get our free mini-course: The 5 Mistakes Marketers Make When Launching a Branded Podcast.
Roger transitioned from a 22 year career in advertising account management to co-founding JAR, a podcast podcast production agency. As CEO of JAR, he propels the company’s growth by prioritizing audience engagement and podcast marketing. Under his guidance, JAR flourishes with a global clientele, aiming to broaden its reach across North America and revolutionize brand connections through immersive storytelling.
