Your audience is full of people who are genuinely good at what they do and completely invisible while doing it. They've got the credentials, the client results, the twenty years of hard-won experience — and they're still watching someone half as qualified get the stage, the book deal, the inbound calls.
I show up to talk about why that keeps happening, and what actually gets somebody out of it. Real examples, honest numbers, things your audience can act on the same week.
Book Ryan →
Short Bio (for social & show notes)
Ryan Koral is a documentary filmmaker and story strategist who helps founders and experts turn their story into a brand people believe in. He's built a seven-figure video studio, a global community of creative entrepreneurs, and a podcast with over a million downloads. He's currently writing a book about the one thing AI can't replace: your story.
Extended Bio
Ryan Koral is a documentary filmmaker and story strategist based in Michigan. Over the last twenty years he's built a seven-figure story-driven video studio (Tell Studios), a global community of filmmakers and creative entrepreneurs (Studio Sherpas), and a weekly podcast with over a million downloads. He's worked with Gino Wickman, Mike Kim, Disney, and the University of Michigan, and helped clients build email audiences totaling more than a hundred thousand subscribers.
Today he works with founders and experts who are the best-kept secret in their industry. The ones who've built something real and can't figure out why nobody outside their client list has heard of them. He's convinced most of them are one hard conversation away from telling the story that changes everything for their business, and his job is helping them find it and say it in public.
He's writing a book about storytelling in the age of AI, and he shares the unfinished version of all of it (building a brand, raising a family, finding the nerve to show up) in a weekly newsletter.
Fair warning to hosts: dad jokes come standard. There is no opt-out.
Read-Aloud Intro (for hosts who want it scripted)
"My guest today is Ryan Koral. He's a documentary filmmaker who's worked with Disney, the University of Michigan, and Gino Wickman, and he's built a seven-figure studio and a podcast with over a million downloads. These days he helps founders and experts turn their story into a brand people actually believe in, and he's writing a book about the one thing AI can't replace. He's also got a strong opinion that most of you are sitting on the best story you'll ever tell and calling it boring. Ryan, welcome."
How the founders who win use one true story to build a brand people believe in. Where to find yours if you're convinced you don't have one, and how to build a business around it instead of bolting it on afterward.
The fear that keeps qualified people invisible, what it costs them, and what it actually looks like to push through it. Why being the best-kept secret in your industry is riskier now than it's ever been.
Everyone's content sounds the same now. Your story is the only asset that can't be generated, and it's usually the chapter you're most embarrassed about.
What happens when you share the messy middle instead of the highlight reel. Lessons from building multiple businesses with the garage door open, including the parts that didn't work.
Also happy to go here if it fits your show: Faith and entrepreneurship (how it shapes decisions, not how it sounds from a stage) · Capturing client stories that sell better than anything you'd write yourself · Why successful founders end up more isolated, not less
Probably yes if your audience is founders, coaches, consultants, authors, or speakers who've built something real and want more of the right people to know about it.
Probably not if you're looking for camera gear reviews, editing tutorials, or a walkthrough of my lighting setup. I love that stuff. It's just not what I'm here to talk about anymore.
The dad jokes are non-negotiable. I'll laugh at them too, which somehow makes it worse. Your audience will adjust.
Sarcasm is a love language at my house. If I'm teasing you a little by minute ten, the interview's going great.
My faith matters to me. It shapes how I treat people and what I count as success. I can go deep on it or leave it alone entirely — your show, your call.
I'm going to ask about you. I've hosted almost 500 episodes and I'm incapable of being interviewed without interviewing back. Fair warning.
A few of the podcasts and events I've been a guest on.
Podcast · Your Story is Your Brand's Heartbeat
Podcast · Storytelling in Video
Podcast · How to Produce High Quality Videos on a Budget
Podcast · How to Create a Winning Video Strategy
Podcast · How to Create and Market a Successful Online Course
Podcast · How to Level Up to $50,000 Projects
Podcast · Authentic Story Telling
Podcast · Grow Your Video Business
Event · Speaker
Event · Speaker
Event · Speaker
If you want to hear me before you book me, five hundred episodes are a decent sample size.
A weekly conversation with the founders, filmmakers, and story people who are actually good at what they do. If you want to hear me interview, hold a room, or hand somebody an idea they can use the same day, this is where I do it every week.
Listen →...and the numbers that actually matter
Tap Download on any photo. Free to use anywhere you're promoting the episode — ideally next to flattering adjectives.
Tell me about your show or your event and what you want your audience to walk away with. I'll tell you honestly whether I'm the right person for it. Someone from the team will respond within 48 business hours.
Thanks for reaching out. Someone from the team will review your request and get back to you within 48 business hours.
