illi News - 100+ Episodes In, Liftoff with Keith Newman Tells Founders to Stop Publishing More

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The podcast and Substack for early-stage founders heads into the 2026 mid-year mark with a contrarian thesis: in an AI-saturated market, the answer is fewer, sharper stories, not another content sprint.

SAN FRANCISCO - illiNews -- At more than 100 episodes and over 100,000 followers across Substack, Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, and more, Liftoff with Keith Newman enters the second half of 2026 with a sharp message for founders: stop publishing more, start publishing better. Host Keith Newman, a former journalist turned Silicon Valley dealmaker, GTM advisor, and angel investor who has interviewed Mark Cuban, Ron Conway, Ann Winblad, Steve Blank, and ZoomInfo CEO Henry Schuck, says the reflex to "double down on content" is the wrong H2 play.

"It's called AI slop for a reason. More doesn't mean better. You want quality. You want to be able to tell great stories," Newman said. "Get the story right, get the target index, then we'll figure out the best way to deliver. Format is secondary."

His mid-year reset framework runs against the standard Q4 sprint. Founders should use June, Newman argues, to interrogate what is already converting, name the real objection their buyer keeps raising (price, tariffs, or ROI proof), find the white space competitors are missing, and reweight visibility budgets toward live, human-led formats like events and podcasts.

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INSIDE LIFTOFF: HOTTEST TOPIC FIRST, SNACKABLES BUILT IN

The differentiator is editorial style, not category. Newman opens on the hottest topic, layers in backstory afterward, and edits with "snackables" in mind, short, quotable moments listeners share. "We've got an intelligent audience, I want to tickle those synapses where someone says, 'that's interesting, I didn't think of that, let's try that,'" Keith confirms.

100+ episodes in, mixing marquee names like Mark Cuban, Ron Conway, ZoomInfo CEO Henry Schuck with under-the-radar operators, including a recent conversation with founder Steven Pivnik on disciplined growth and designing an exit early. The core listener is a first-time founder or entrepreneur; the wider audience is the startup ecosystem itself, angels, VCs, and services firms across HR, legal, finance, and real estate, globally.

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LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE

Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/liftoff-with-keith-newman/id1560219589

Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3cFpLXfYvcUsxvsT9MwyAD

YouTube: youtube.com/@LiftoffWithKeith

Substack: keithnewman.substack.com

Press kit and media assets available on request.

ABOUT LIFTOFF WITH KEITH NEWMAN

A twice-weekly podcast and Substack for early-stage founders and the startup ecosystem around them. Hosted by former journalist, Silicon Valley dealmaker, and GTM advisor Keith Newman, the show features candid interviews on growth, positioning, and the realities of building a company. Newman is also Managing Partner at The GTM Firm, providing growth strategies and implementation partnerships. For more, visit thegtmfirm.com.