In this episode of Standing in the Fire, John and Kris return after a summer break and settle into the new Fireside studio inside the Momentum Entrepreneurship Hub—an ambitious space they helped bring to life in South Bend. With Garrett remote in Colorado, the two hosts talk about why recording in-person felt like the right move for now, how the summer unfolded, and what it took to get the hub open, from construction chaos to a packed ribbon-cutting.

They share stories about landing big-name visitors—including the co-founder of Hotwire and an early investor in Facebook and Slack—along with pitch nights, food in the fridge, and the surprisingly important role of community. The conversation drifts into reflections on their first year owning Fireside: the plans they thought they’d tackle, the reality of maintenance and customer needs, and the satisfaction of making publishing reliable and metrics faster again.

From T-shirt shipments across the world to planning the next iteration of the Fireside marketing site, John and Kris talk openly about learning to set more realistic goals, building foundations before flash, and the excitement of seeing long-term vision start to take shape.

They wrap by looking ahead—Black Friday plans, product improvements, onboarding upgrades, and maybe even hosting a creator gathering in South Bend. It’s casual, honest, funny, and a great reset episode before the momentum picks up again.