How We Published 50 High-Quality Founder Interviews in 3 Months
A Mother of Success Special Edition
By Xiao He
Most people think interviewing requires perfect lighting, flawless audio, studio-quality cameras, and professional makeup. But the moment you pile all of that onto yourself — especially when you’re coordinating two people — the mental burden skyrockets. And often… you never even begin.
At Mother of Success, the guiding philosophy is simple:
One finish is better than perfect.
If we wait for perfection, the stories never get told.
Why I Started With Text
When I began, I saw three format options: text, audio, and video.
I decided to lead with text because:
1️⃣ I love reading
2️⃣ Text is one of the most efficient ways humans pass down knowledge
3️⃣ A story that works well in writing will work anywhere
My painting professor once said:
“If a painting doesn’t work in black-and-white, it won’t work in color.”
I feel the same way about storytelling:
If the narrative doesn’t hold up in text, cameras won’t save it.
It’s also just me running everything right now — no crew — and I didn’t want to burn out after wrapping up my last startup. Text allows me to keep the project fun, lightweight, and long-term sustainable.
How I Invite Guests
My outreach message is always rooted in:
“Your journey holds lessons that can help others.
What can we share so readers walk away stronger?”
The story focuses on the human behind the company:
What shaped them
How they think
What values drive them
Founders are not just building startups — they are building themselves.
A Simple Interview Structure
Every interview has only two fixed questions:
A short self-introduction
A book, film, or podcast recommendation
Everything else is open conversation.
Real thoughts, real emotions, real stories.
Guests always get to review and edit afterward, so they can speak freely without worrying about being perfectly polished on the spot.
The Backend Workflow (aka The Engine That Scales)
Here is my exact system
Scheduling — Calendly
Two options:
• In-person (San Francisco)
• Remote (Google Meet)
It auto-collects email + LinkedIn so I can prep meaningful questions.
Recording & Transcription — Google Meet + Fathom AI
Phantom supports English + Chinese, allowing people to speak in the language that feels most natural.
Automation — Zapier → Google Drive
Within minutes, a clean transcript lands in my Drive.
Editing — ChatGPT + Google Docs
I remove filler words, add section titles, polish flow.
Guests review often within 1–2 days.
Publishing — Gamma + Squarespace + Social Platforms
Gamma creates visually clean posts.
I publish to the blog, LinkedIn, and now Twitter/X.
Total production time per interview: 10–20 minutes
Efficient for me. Lightweight for them.
And still high-quality for readers.
Why I Keep Going
I don’t charge guests.
The real ROI is human:
✨ I learn so much each time
✨ My admiration for founders grows
✨ I build meaningful friendships
✨ Readers have found hires, new roles, and even investments through the posts
We are just 3 months old, and already:
50 interviews live (and more every month!)
2,000+ readers so far
Real outcomes: introductions, opportunities, community building
This has reinforced my belief that:
Great content compounds.
Help others first — the growth will come.
AI Helps — But Humans Are the Story
Even this article took only a few minutes to draft using Wispr Flow voice-to-text.
We’re in a time where AI can:
turn voice into written thought
turn text into visuals
automate everything in between
But AI is not the point.
The point is the person:
their courage, creativity, contradictions, and choices.
That’s what lasts.
That’s what Mother of Success exists to celebrate.