Best Diary of a CEO Episodes for Entrepreneurs in 2025 & 2026

Published March 2026 — 8 min read — diaryofceo.online

Steven Bartlett's The Diary of a CEO has become one of the most influential podcasts for founders, side-hustlers, and anyone building something from scratch. With hundreds of episodes now available, it can be hard to know where to start. We've curated the episodes that deliver the most actionable business wisdom — the ones entrepreneurs keep coming back to in 2025 and 2026.

Whether you're pre-revenue or scaling past seven figures, this guide from diaryofceo.online will point you to the conversations that actually move the needle.

1. Alex Hormozi: "How to Build a $100M Business"

This episode broke the internet when it dropped — and for good reason. Alex Hormozi sits down with Steven to dissect offer creation, pricing psychology, and the exact framework he used to build Gym Launch and Acquisition.com. If you only listen to one episode on this list, make it this one.

Key Takeaways

• Why most entrepreneurs undercharge and how to fix it overnight
• The "value equation" that makes offers irresistible
• How to think about business as a vehicle for wealth, not just income

2. Sara Blakely: The Spanx Founder on Failure and Resilience

Sara Blakely's conversation with Steven is a masterclass in persistence. She shares how she cold-called manufacturers, got rejected hundreds of times, and built Spanx into a billion-dollar brand with zero outside investment. For founders in the early grind, this episode is pure fuel.

Key Takeaways

• Her father's dinner-table question that reframed failure forever
• Why naivety can be an entrepreneur's greatest asset
• The mindset shift that helped her ignore every critic

3. Chris Williamson: Social Media, Attention, and Building an Audience

Chris Williamson — host of Modern Wisdom — joins Steven to break down audience building, content strategy, and the creator economy. This is essential listening for any entrepreneur who knows they need to be creating content but doesn't know where to start.

Key Takeaways

• The "1,000 true fans" concept and why it still holds in 2026
• How to create content that compounds rather than burns out
• Why distribution beats production quality every time

4. Simon Sinek: "How Great Leaders Inspire Action"

Simon Sinek's episode remains one of the most-watched on the entire channel. His conversation with Steven dives deeper than the famous TED Talk — they cover hiring, company culture, and the brutal loneliness of leadership. If you're building a team, this is non-negotiable.

"The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe." — Simon Sinek on DOAC

5. Daniel Priestley: Becoming a Key Person of Influence

Daniel Priestley's appearance is a hidden gem. He lays out a step-by-step framework for becoming the go-to authority in any niche — writing a book, launching a scorecard, building a waiting list. For entrepreneurs who feel stuck in the "doing" and want to move to "leading," this episode is a roadmap.

Key Takeaways

• The five steps to becoming a Key Person of Influence
• Why every entrepreneur should write a short book
• How to create demand before you create supply

6. Shaan Puri & The Art of Spotting Opportunities

Shaan Puri's episode is a rapid-fire exploration of opportunity recognition. He and Steven discuss trend-spotting, why boring businesses often make the most money, and how to evaluate ideas quickly. Entrepreneurs drowning in ideas will find this episode clarifying.

7. Steven Bartlett's Solo Episodes on Entrepreneurship

Don't overlook Steven's solo episodes. His candid breakdowns of his own failures — losing money on bad hires, almost going bankrupt before Social Chain took off, and the psychological toll of building in public — are some of the rawest, most useful content on the show. The solo episode on "The 33 Laws of Business and Life" is essentially a free MBA.

Honourable Mentions

• Gary Vaynerchuk — On patience, content, and playing the long game
• Codie Sanchez — Buying boring businesses and unconventional wealth
• Dr. Robert Cialdini — The psychology of persuasion applied to sales
• Trinny Woodall — Building a DTC beauty brand from scratch at 50+

How to Get the Most Out of These Episodes

Listening is only step one. Here's how entrepreneurs on diaryofceo.online recommend getting real value:

1. Take notes. Pause and write down the one thing you'll implement this week.
2. Relisten. The best episodes reveal new layers on second and third listens.
3. Share with your team. Use episodes as discussion starters in team meetings.
4. Act immediately. The gap between knowledge and results is action.

Why Diary of a CEO Stands Out for Entrepreneurs

There are thousands of business podcasts. What makes DOAC different is Steven's interviewing style — he's not trying to impress guests or promote products. He asks the uncomfortable questions. He shares his own vulnerabilities. And because he's built and scaled businesses himself, the conversations go deeper than surface-level advice.

At diaryofceo.online, we track every episode, pull out the key insights, and help you find exactly what you need based on where you are in your entrepreneurial journey. Bookmark us and come back before you start your next binge session.