Good Morning Sense-ibles
Common Sense has spent most of its life being carried by a small group of people doing three jobs each. That changes now. We have hired six people full-time, and next week I will introduce every one of them to you properly, with their names, their roles, and what they are here to build.
I am not going to spoil it. What I will say is that this is the first time the network has had a founding team rather than a founder with helpers, and the difference is already showing in how quickly things move. Expect changes to the shows, the publishing rhythm, the events, and the way we bring you into the work. Keep your eyes peeled next week.
The Founding Ten
The second thing I want to tell you about is something we have been building quietly for months.
We are opening the Founding Ten. We are looking for ten high-potential podcasters to invest in and support, properly, over the long term. Not a studio hire with a friendly face on it, and not a membership badge. Wrap-around support for people who are serious about making something that lasts.
Here is what it includes. Members get five hours a month in our South East London studio at a heavily discounted rate of £56 an hour, so the recording side of your show stops being the thing that eats your budget. You get an hour a month of consulting with our team, covering your analytics, an honest read on how the show is actually performing, your branding, and your growth strategy. You also get free use of the space for a live event every six months, which normally runs at £850, because at some point every podcast needs to meet its audience in a room.
It is £280 a month.
I have been on the other side of this. I know what it is to have a show, a bit of momentum, and nobody around you who can tell you which numbers matter or why the format is not landing. Most podcasters do not fail because the idea was weak. They fail because they were alone with it for too long.
That is what this is. Ten people, deliberately, so the support stays real.
Applications open shortly through a short form, and we will be sharing the full breakdown across our channels this week. If you have been sitting on a show, or you are already publishing and know it should be growing faster than it is, this is the one to move on. When the ten are gone, they are gone.
Get locked in
There is a great deal coming, and much of it arrives faster than a newsletter can properly explain.
New shows are in production and the podcast is moving weekly. We have documentaries in development, live events being scheduled, and a membership community taking shape that gives the people who care about this work a genuine seat at the table rather than a comment section.
Common Sense started because I thought the way we talk about politics and culture in this country had become useless to anyone genuinely trying to think. That has not changed. What has changed is that there is now a team behind it, a studio, a slate, and a plan that stretches beyond the next upload.
Stay subscribed, tell one person who would find this useful, and watch what we do next. It is going to be a good year.
Mike Omoniyi Founder and CEO, Common Sense