/Startup Ignition Podcast

Startup Ignition Podcast

Father and son team John and Tyler Richards — veteran entrepreneurs, venture investors, mentors, and educators — discuss all things entrepreneurship and venture capital.

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Father and son team John and Tyler Richards — veteran entrepreneurs, venture investors, mentors, and educators — discuss all things entrepreneurship and venture capital.

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John & Tyler go over the Carta Q3 Pre-Seed Analysis, Early Stage Trends, VC, SaaS

Dec 18, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, Tyler and John Richards break down the latest data from Carta’s Q3 2025 State of Pre-Seed report. They analyze the current venture landscape, discussing why funding has...

Ryan Westwood: Slow Down to Speed Up, His $250M Exit to Infosys, Buying 7 Competitors, Scaling

Dec 11, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, we sit down with Ryan Westwood, a prolific entrepreneur and investor who recently scaled Simplus from zero to 600 employees and sold it to Infosys for $250 million. Ryan...

Paul Ahlstrom: The Origins of Nail It Then Scale It, Market Timing, Utah VC, AI

Dec 4, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, we sit down with Paul Ahlstrom, a serial entrepreneur, investor, and one of the key architects of the Utah venture capital ecosystem. Paul shares his incredible journey...

Johnny Hanna: Entrata’s $4B Journey, Homie’s Disruption, and Entrepreneurs Mental Health

Nov 13, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, we sit down with Johnny Hanna, a true legend in Utah Tech. Johnny shares his incredible journey from co-founding Property Solutions (now Entrata), a company now valued at...

Adam Weber: Sold Service Business to Build a SaaS Startup, Fundraising, Pest, Finding Confidence

Nov 6, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, host Tyler Richards sits down with Adam Weber, the co-founder and CEO of Driven, a SaaS performance management tool for the home services industry. Adam shares his...

Jeff Kearl: The Playbook for Iconic Brands, Stance, Skullcandy, Entrepreneurship

Oct 30, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, hosts John and Tyler Richards sit down with Jeff Kearl, a partner at Pelion Ventures and a legendary entrepreneur in the consumer products space. Jeff shares his...

David Bradford: The Master Connector, Wozniak, Jobs, Gates, Eric Schmidt, Sergey, Novell, Microsoft

Oct 16, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, we are honored to host David Bradford, a true OG of Utah tech. David takes us on a journey through his iconic career, from his early days as a Hollywood lawyer to...

Jeron Paul: From Spreadsheet Idea to $419M Exit, SaaS, Salesforce Acquisition, Founder Journey

Oct 9, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, hosts John and Tyler Richards sit down with 4x founder Jeron Paul. Jeron shares the incredible journey of his latest company, Spiff, from a simple idea to replace...

Startup War Stories That Will Save Your Company | Equity Splits, Bad Investors, Hiring

Oct 2, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, hosts John and Tyler Richards dive into the most popular part of their boot camp: the war stories. They share real-world, personal experiences to illustrate fundamental...

Ben Knell: Building a $100M+ Sales Engine, Family & Leadership, FBI, Pest Control, Business

Sep 25, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, hosts John and Tyler Richards are joined by Ben, the founder and CEO of BK Marketing. Ben shares his incredible entrepreneurial journey, from his early days in...

Jeff Burningham: From Real Estate Tycoon to VC, Startups, Becoming Wise in the Age of AI

Sep 18, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, hosts John and Tyler Richards sit down with Jeff Burningham, a seasoned entrepreneur, prolific investor, and now, author. Jeff shares insights from his incredible...

Case Lawrence: From Elon's Lawyer to Trampoline King, Sky Zone, Startup, Founder Story

Sep 4, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, hosts John and Tyler Richards sit down with Case Lawrence, the visionary founder behind Circus Trix, now known as Sky Zone. Case shares his incredible journey from being...

Kurt Workman: Owlet Baby Sock’s $100 Million Journey | Startup, SPAC, FDA, Turn Around

Aug 21, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, we are joined by Kurt Workman, the co-founder of Owlet. Kurt shares the deeply personal story that inspired the creation of the Owlet Smart Sock, a device that has now...

Don't Make These Mistakes: Founder Regrets, PMF, Fundraising, QSBS, Hiring

Aug 14, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, hosts John and Tyler Richards dedicate the entire show to answering pressing questions from their founder community. They kick things off with a fun "Startup Generational...

Dustin Robins: Following Lean Startup all the way to $30M, Don’t Skip Steps, Scalability

Aug 7, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, we sit down with Dustin Robins, the CEO of Corporate Traditions, a company that has scaled to tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue. Dustin shares his incredible...

Startup Elephants vs Unicorns: Why We Invest in Elephants, Valuations, VC, Fundraising, Strategy

Jul 31, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, hosts John and Tyler Richards dive deep into the venture ecosystem, contrasting two prominent startup philosophies: the "Unicorn" versus the "Elephant." They argue that...

Garrett Gee: The Secret $54M Snapchat Sale, Bucket List Family, Shark Tank, Raising VC

Jul 17, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, we're joined by the legendary Garrett Gee for a surprise interview! Garrett, the co-founder of Scan and father of The Bucket List Family, shares his incredible journey...

Adam Edmunds: $4B Entrata CEO on Podium's Growth, Allegiance Sale to MaritzCX, SaaS & GTM Metrics

Jul 10, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, we're joined by Adam Edmunds, the CEO of the $4B real estate tech powerhouse, Entrata. Adam shares his incredible journey from a student entrepreneur who didn't know what...

Phil Kirkeiner: $150k to $7M with an Offshore Sales Team | Startup Scaling, SaaS, Remote Teams, CEO

Jul 3, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, John and Tyler Richards are joined by Phil Kirkeiner, the CEO of Baton ( ), a rapidly growing referral platform for the home services industry. Phil, a former student of...

Scott Johnson: Bootstrapping to a $1.5B Adobe Acquisition, Workfront, Motivosity, Product-Market Fit

Jun 19, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, hosts John and Tyler Richards sit down with Scott Johnson, the visionary founder behind Workfront (acquired by Adobe for $1.5 billion) and his current venture...

Andrew Smith: From Tech to Restaurants, Problem Hunter Building a Food Empire, Scaling & Investing

Jun 12, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, hosts John and Tyler sit down with Andrew Smith, the managing partner of Savory Fund and a serial entrepreneur defined as a true "problem hunter." Andrew shares his...

"This Is a DEAL KILLER": VC's Pre-Seed Due Diligence Checklist, Cap Table, Rule 83B, Founder Equity

Jun 5, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, hosts John and Tyler Richards dive deep into the world of pre-seed due diligence. They outline the critical checklist they use as venture capitalists to evaluate...

Travis Cook: The AI Software Revolution, Building a Top Dev Shop, Blockchain, Startup Investing

May 29, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, hosts John and Tyler are joined by seasoned entrepreneur, investor, and mentor Travis Cook. They dive into Travis's journey, starting with his early days as a Java...

Craig Earnshaw: Destructive Founder Splits & Pitching Investors Confidently, Angel Investing, Exits

May 15, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, hosts Tyler and John Richards sit down with Utah startup legend, Craig Earnshaw. Craig shares his incredible entrepreneurial journey, from his early days as a programmer...

Brian Beutler: Pitching Genius Raises $100M at Alianza, VOIP-2-Cloud Pivot, CEO of the Year Insights

May 8, 2025·—

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In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, we're joined by the remarkable Brian Beutler, CEO and founder of Alianza, and Utah Business CEO of the Year 2025. Brian takes us on an incredible two-decade journey of...