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 becoming the General Counsel at Novell during its legendary battles with Microsoft. He shares the inside stories of taking Fusion-io public with a $1.2 billion valuation, recruiting Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and scaling HireVue from $1 million to over $30 million in revenue. David reveals his timeless principles of networking, the four pillars every great company needs, and his number one piece of advice for every entrepreneur: be a doer. (00:00:00) How Google's Eric Schmidt was introduced to Sergey Brin (00:02:16) Introducing David Bradford: The OG of OGs in Utah Tech (00:06:30) Utah Tech Era Trivia: Novell, WordPerfect, Iomega & more (00:15:00) The story of 1-800 Contacts' early days (00:21:42) David's journey from a small town in Montana to Hollywood lawyer (00:27:07) The legendary Microsoft vs. Novell battles (00:31:33) How one contract with Dell changed tech history (00:34:40) The Fusion-io story: From advisory board to CEO (00:38:14) How David recruited Steve Wozniak to Fusion-io's board (00:42:14) David's secret to building an incredible network: Be curious (00:48:39) The HireVue journey: From a leaky roof to a half-billion-dollar valuation (00:51:57) The 4 Pillars of a great company: People, Capital, Timing, and Innovation (00:57:53) Bringing on Larry King to the HireVue advisory board (01:01:38) What David is working on today with Fluent Worlds (01:02:45) David's #1 piece of advice: Be a dreamer that does (01:04:31) How a Steve Young signed football sealed a crucial executive hire Learn more about us: https://startupignition.com/links Apply to be a guest on the pod: https://startup-ignition-podcast.paperform.co/ Follow John & Tyler: https://x.com/trich_ https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnrichards/ Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@StartupIgnition Follow on X: https://x.com/startupignition Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startupignition/ Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@startupignition Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/6458758/admin/dashboard/ Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/startupignition/ #UtahTech #DavidBradford #SiliconSlopes #Novell #FusionIO #HireVue #Microsoft #SteveWozniak #Entrepreneurship #StartupStory #TechHistory #Networking #VentureCapital #BusinessAdvice #Leadership #StartupIgnition #BillGates #EricSchmidt #Google #Apple
