Behind the Podcast: Flirting with Models | Corey Hoffstein

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: Corey Hofstein explains how he built Flirting with Models as a pragmatic, relationship-driven podcast designed to showcase the human side of quantitative investing while also supporting Newfound Research’s brand and network. He details guest selection, prep, editing, seasonal scheduling, and the tradeoffs between growth and quality, while sharing lessons from special projects like Pirates of Finance.

Main Topics: Why Corey launched the podcast (Priority: 5/5): He moved from weekly written research to audio because podcasting reaches different learning styles, creates a stronger connection with audiences, and offered a new content medium to experiment with. Podcast purpose and business value (Priority: 5/5): He describes the show as both a way to surface the human factor behind quant investing and a brand/network-building tool that creates business development opportunities and expands his 'outer brain.' Guest sourcing and curation (Priority: 5/5): Corey prioritizes differentiated guests, avoids overexposed voices, screens inbound requests carefully, and struggles to increase representation, especially getting more women in quant finance. Seasonal format and growth tradeoff (Priority: 4/5): He uses seasons to prevent burnout and preserve quality, but admits the approach hurts momentum, habit formation, and listener growth compared with year-round weekly publishing. Interview prep and editing process (Priority: 5/5): His process includes a mandatory pre-call, tailored question writing, compliance review when needed, audio-only publishing, and editing as necessary to produce the best final product. Interviewing philosophy and on-air style (Priority: 5/5): He emphasizes open-ended questions, keeping himself under 15-20% of speaking time, avoiding scripts, and making guests trust the process so conversations go deep rather than broad. Pirates of Finance as a creative side project (Priority: 4/5): Corey and Jason Buck built a highly edited, non-traditional show during COVID as a fun creative outlet, but later sunset it because it no longer aligned with business goals and introduced reputational risk.

Key Arguments: Podcasting reaches people who do not learn well from text and creates a more personal connection because listeners hear the host’s voice. The podcast is not purely altruistic; it helps brand-building, business development, and professional networking for Newfound Research. The best guests are often not the most visible ones; Corey deliberately seeks differentiated voices and avoids repetitive podcast circuits. A pre-call is essential because it reveals the guest’s passions, speaking style, and potential rabbit holes, enabling a tighter episode arc. Audio-only publishing gives guests flexibility to rework answers and produces a more natural result than video-heavy editing would. Good interviewing means open-ended questions, minimal host airtime, and trust in the host’s structure rather than over-prepared scripted responses. A seasonal cadence is personally sustainable for Corey but harms discoverability and listener habit formation, so it is a growth sacrifice. Podcast ROI is real but difficult to isolate because content works as a broad gravitational pull across many touchpoints. The show’s value comes from combining high-quality content with relationship-building; people feel they know the host even without meeting him. Pirates of Finance was successful creatively but was ultimately discontinued because it lacked a clear business purpose and carried potential downside. Data Points: Initial season length: 6 episodes - Corey says the first season of Flirting with Models was just six episodes as an experiment. Weekly research output: Years of weekly commentary - He had written a research blog/commentary weekly for years before launching the podcast. Podcast speaking-time target: Less than 20% ideally, less than 15% preferred - Corey tracks how much of the episode he speaks to ensure the guest remains the focus. Question review/feedback rate: About 25% - He says guests provide feedback on his proposed questions roughly a quarter of the time. Typical episode size: 12 to 16 questions - He usually prepares this many questions after the pre-call. Audience/download benchmark: About 7,500 downloads minimum per episode - Corey says most episodes average at least this many downloads. High-performing episode downloads: Up to about 15,000 downloads - He cites this as the upper range for strong episodes. Annual audience milestone: Over 1 million downloads by the end of the year - He expects the show to surpass this total despite seasonal publishing. Podcast growth cadence: Five or six months off per year - His seasonal format gives him substantial downtime between seasons. Podcasting platform trend: YouTube is one of the biggest podcasting platforms - He mentions video as a major discovery/distribution channel and a reason he should consider more video.

Pivotal Quotes: "I want to expose sort of the human factor behind the quantitative model." — Corey Hofstein: Explaining the mission of Flirting with Models and why he sees the podcast as more than just market commentary. "I am not here to have a conversation with my guests. I'm here to get my guests thoughts." — Corey Hofstein: Describing his interviewing style and why he keeps the format structured around the guest’s expertise. "Do not use a PR firm. They are horrible." — Corey Hofstein: Strong advice to prospective guests on how to pitch podcast appearances effectively.

Implications: For listeners and podcasters, the episode shows that strong shows are built on trust, preparation, and a clear format—not spontaneity alone. For the industry, it highlights the value of niche expertise, differentiated guests, and strategic content as both education and marketing.