Kate Joynt co-invented a product nobody was searching for. Then one influencer post took her Amazon sales from 25 a day to 800 — and EZ Outlet landed in Home Depot.

Full Show Notes

Kate Joynt is the founder and CEO of EZ Outlet, an electrical outlet extender now sold at Home Depot, on Amazon, on Walmart.com, and featured twice on NBC's Today Show.

She didn't come from consumer products. She came from real estate, enterprise tech sales, and a lifelong fascination with inventions that started with a kid-invention show on Nickelodeon. When her co-founder Tony made an offhand comment one day — "wouldn't it be cool if you could just plug something into the original outlet and pull the power up here, above the couch?" — Kate's ear was already primed for it.

What followed was years of prototyping, UL certification, factory sourcing, tooling and molding investments, and a brutal early period of paying for clicks that weren't there. Because nobody was searching for "electrical outlet extender." The category didn't exist yet.

Then one influencer posted one video. Sales went from 25 a day to 800 in an hour. Home Depot followed.

But the part of this conversation I keep coming back to isn't the wins. It's Kate describing her business as a "glass bubble" — fragile, vulnerable, something she had to protect through years where investors told her to keep going but nobody wrote a check until she didn't need one. It's her honesty about the stress that doesn't show up in pitch decks. And it's the specific, hard-won wisdom she has for the next founder standing where she was five years ago.

If you're an operator with an idea you keep almost-pursuing, or a founder in the messy middle of building something real, this episode is for you.

In this conversation:

What EZ Outlet actually is, and why the problem it solves is so universal • Why it took years to get to market and what "overnight success" really looks like • The conversation that sparked the idea, and why Kate's ear was ready for it • Working with a co-founder who's your polar opposite • How she found engineers, factories, and a buying agent without a manufacturing background • The shocks of UL certification and consumer product compliance • Why pay-per-click failed and one influencer post changed everything • Getting on NBC's Today Show — twice • The copycat problem, the safety stakes, and protecting the brand • The emotional toll of being all-in on one product • Why investors only fund you once you don't need them • Three pieces of advice for the next generation of founders

About Kate Joynt Kate Joynt is the founder and CEO of EZ Outlet, a patent holder, and an ETL-certified entrepreneur. Her background spans a decade in real estate and enterprise technology sales. Find EZ Outlet at Home Depot, on Amazon, on Walmart.com, and occasionally on HSN.

EZ Outlet website: https://ezoutlet.com/

Kate Joynt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katejoynt/

About The Bigger Stage The Bigger Stage is a podcast for founder-CEOs making the leap from operator to recognized authority. Hosted by Matt Stone, founder of The Bigger Stage. Learn more at thebiggerstage.com.

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He built the largest painting company in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Then he let go. Kevin Nolan on identity, succession, and the happiest chapter yet.

Kevin Nolan started with a paintbrush, a roommate, and a college student's ambition. Forty years later he'd built the largest residential painting company in Southeastern Pennsylvania — and done something most founders never manage.

He actually let go.

In this episode, Matt Stone sits down with Kevin for a wide-ranging conversation about what an entrepreneurial life really looks like across four decades. The 17 years Kevin spent grinding in the dark with no business plan, just payroll on Friday. The Zig Ziglar moment at 37 that changed everything. How he found his CEO and CFO hiding on his own paint crews. And what those final 18 months felt like — staying quiet in meetings he used to run.

In September 2024, Kevin retired. He says it felt like rocks coming off his shoulders.

This is a conversation about identity, legacy, and the courage it takes to step into something new.

In this episode:

• Why Kevin says he was never a painter — even when he was painting
• The Zig Ziglar line that launched his "second entrepreneurial seizure" at 37
• How John (an Eagle Scout from Sherwin-Williams) became his CEO 30 years later
• The 20-foot KPI wall — including profit — that every employee could see
• What emotional intelligence looks like inside a trades business
• The Wally story: why great leaders run toward conflict, not away
• Writing the final chapter of his career — before it happened
• September 2024: retirement and the rocks off his shoulders
• Running a marathon in all 50 states — and what that taught him about business
• Graduating 2,300th out of 2,600 at Villanova. And why he's glad he did.

Resources mentioned:

• Organizational Muscle by Kevin Nolan — https://a.co/d/0gywqBST
• Good to Great — Jim Collins
• Emotional Intelligence — Daniel Goleman
• The E-Myth Revisited — Michael Gerber
• How to Win Friends and Influence People — Dale Carnegie
• How to Stop Worrying and Start Living — Dale Carnegie

Connect with Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinjnolan1/

Connect with Matt: Website: thebiggerstage.com
Email: matt@mattstone.co

What if getting comfortable being unscripted actually requires more preparation, not less? Meridith Grundei has coached speakers at Amazon, Google, Pfizer, and Sotheby's — and her answer might change how you think about every stage you step onto.

Meridith reached the highest levels of improv — including teaching at the famed Second City in Chicago. These days she takes everything she learned in the theater and puts it in the hands of leaders and entrepreneurs who need to earn trust in rooms that matter, move people to action, and stop sounding like everyone else.

In this conversation we get into why structure is the secret to freedom, what improv actually trains you for when things go wrong on stage, and why your next talk — wherever it happens — could be the inflection point that changes everything in your business and your life.

If you're an entrepreneur on a mission to build something bigger than yourself, this one is for you.

What you'll hear in this episode:

— Why every presenter sounds the same right now
— and what to do about it
— The paradox at the heart of improv: tighter containers create more freedom
— The top mistakes speakers make (and why winging it is not the same as being unscripted)
— What Meridith's clients look like before and after working with her
— The "children's story" exercise that breaks every over-explainer
— How your speaking practice makes you a better leader in every room
— Why your talk is not just a talk
— it's a catalyst for change
— Matt's personal story: what stepping onto Meridith's stage revealed

Timestamps:

0:00 Cold open: Why every presenter sounds the same
0:46 Introduction: Meet Meridith Grundei
2:46 What Meridith does and who she serves
4:09 The top mistakes speakers make
6:26 Why improv is actually about structure — and how that sets you free
8:23 Slide deck or no slide deck? The trust question
10:51 Everything is at your disposal — you've just been limiting yourself
12:44 When the deck dies on stage: what improv actually prepares you for
14:11 Being human on stage — and what it reveals about who you are
15:41 Who works with Meridith: entrepreneurs, execs, and engineers at Amazon
17:45 Every product has a pulse: simplifying complex ideas for any audience
19:38 How long does real improvement take?
21:04 What transformation actually looks like on the other side
22:45 The full opportunity most clients don't see coming
23:56 Your talk is not just a talk — it's a catalyst for change
24:19 Be perfectly imperfect: the theater approach to high-stakes moments
26:28 The cybersecurity guy who was hilarious — and why audiences change everything
26:51 Speaking as a leadership tool: Q&A, all-hands, and managing the room
28:31 "Yes, And" — the improv rule that makes you a better leader
30:11 What Meridith is most excited about in 2026
32:05 The message for anyone still on the fence
32:46 Matt's personal story: what Unscripted revealed
34:17 Playback theater and the moment you play your own story back
36:11 Simon Sinek, a flip chart, and why the idea doesn't have to be new

—

Connect with Meridith Grundei:
Website: meridithgrundei.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/meridith/

Connect with Matt Stone / The Bigger Stage:
Website: thebiggerstage.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/matt-stone-letsconnect/

The Bigger Stage is where founder-CEOs come to make the leap from operator to icon — through the power of their voice, their story, and their stage.