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Startup Ignition Podcast

Startup Ignition Podcast

Written by: John & Tyler Richards
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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.Startup Ignition Academy, Inc. Economics Leadership Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Brock Blake: Lendio CEO, Small Business Funding, SBA Loans, Bootstrapping vs Debt vs VC

    Brock Blake: Lendio CEO, Small Business Funding, SBA Loans, Bootstrapping vs Debt vs VC
    Jul 9 2026
    In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, John and Tyler sit down with Brock Blake, co-founder and CEO of Lendio — the small-business lending marketplace that has facilitated more than $17 billion in funding and is now originating roughly $150 million a month across 6,000–7,000 loans with 75+ lending partners. Brock traces the whole journey: getting his start in the Junto Partners bootcamp with a $50,000 bet on him as an entrepreneur, co-founding FundingUniverse with Paul Allen of Ancestry.com, and the hard realization that 99% of the business owners coming to them would never raise venture capital — the insight that became Lendio. Along the way: the cap-table mistakes he still pays for today, why co-founder equity should be earned instead of gifted, how lenders actually underwrite you (credit, cash flow, collateral), what an SBA loan really is, why you should set up credit facilities when you're flush instead of when you're desperate — and his closing advice that cuts against the whole episode: try not to raise capital at all. A founder-financing masterclass every entrepreneur should hear.(00:00:00) Cold open: the Macaroni Grill paper-tablecloth business plans(00:01:05) Welcome back to the Startup Ignition Podcast(00:02:31) Meet Brock Blake: Lendio, 75 lenders, $17B+ in funding(00:04:36) Icebreaker "Favorites & Least Favorites": Elon vs. Rockefeller(00:08:55) Least favorite founder trait: success that changes people(00:09:50) Favorite athletes, worst chores & 15 trips to Ace Hardware(00:12:11) Misha's açaí cafe: the loan stories that drive Lendio's mission(00:13:46) John's favorite angel deal: the 10X Boom Startup 2011 fund(00:15:35) Growing up youngest of six in Ogden & playing BYU soccer(00:17:15) Junto Partners: a $50K bet on the entrepreneur, not the idea(00:18:58) The Macaroni Grill story, full version(00:19:40) Co-founding FundingUniverse with Paul Allen (Ancestry.com)(00:21:56) Speed-pitching events: angel investing as speed dating(00:24:30) The pivot: 99% of businesses will never raise VC(00:27:18) Lead gen to loan origination: building for banks(00:28:45) His biggest regret: pivoting instead of selling — the cap-table mess(00:30:07) Recaps, down rounds & dilution explained(00:32:10) Cap-table masterclass: attorneys, tax advisors & QSBS(00:33:39) Co-founder equity: earned, not gifted(00:35:16) The benevolent-dictator cap table VCs want to see(00:36:51) Clean terms: why your first round sets the precedent(00:38:03) How lenders underwrite you: credit, cash flow, collateral(00:39:43) Startup debt options: credit cards, HELOCs & personal credit(00:41:22) 10 ways to fund your business without raising money(00:42:49) SBA loans explained: government insurance, not government money(00:44:36) The cheapest money in the world (and the most expensive)(00:45:44) The Lendio model: one application, 75+ lenders compete(00:48:27) The reverse yellow pages: marketplaces that serve the buyer(00:49:13) Founder financing masterclass: cash flow is king(00:50:19) NSFs, average daily balance & what kills your loan application(00:52:03) Dev Mountain & the two ways companies hit cash crunches(00:53:14) Case study: the $35M seasonal business that runs out of summer cash(00:55:01) Get the money when you don't need it(00:56:51) CB Vault: the Utah family bank betting on entrepreneurs(00:58:06) Lendio today: $150M/month, 6-7K loans, $100M+ revenue(00:58:48) Reinventing a 15-year-old company in the age of AI(00:59:54) The SaaS apocalypse: nobody pays for software, only outcomes(01:01:40) Main Street is the bread and butter: roofers, restaurants, dentists(01:03:11) The big takeaway: set up credit facilities while you're flush(01:04:40) Final advice: try NOT to raise capital — nail it, then scale it(01:05:33) Ryan Smith, Qualtrics & 12 years before outside money(01:06:15) Product-market fit: your family will never tell you your baby's ugly(01:06:46) Wrap-upLearn more about us:https://startupignition.com/linksApply 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/@StartupIgnitionFollow on X:https://x.com/startupignitionFollow on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/startupignition/Follow on TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@startupignitionFollow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/school/6458758/admin/dashboard/Follow on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/startupignition/#BrockBlake#Lendio#StartupIgnition#SmallBusinessLoans#Fintech#StartupFunding#Bootstrapping#VentureCapital#SBALoans#BusinessCredit#CashFlow#CapTable#Entrepreneurship#Startups#Fundraising#SmallBusiness#UtahTech#FounderAdvice#DebtFinancing#NailItThenScaleIt
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Brian Murphy: Fundraising $25B Across 44 Funds, $73B Merger, Private Equity, Secondaries, Buffett

    Brian Murphy: Fundraising $25B Across 44 Funds, $73B Merger, Private Equity, Secondaries, Buffett
    Jul 2 2026
    In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, John and Tyler sit down with Brian Murphy, co-founder and former managing partner of Portfolio Advisors — the private-markets firm he helped build from a single contract into a global alternatives platform that raised roughly $25 billion across 44 funds, invested more than $90 billion, and served 2,500+ limited partners before merging with FS Investments in 2023 to form a $73B+ powerhouse. Brian traces his path from Black Monday wiping out his classmates' job offers, to winning a $395M broken portfolio at 29 years old, to managing Warren Buffett's money for a decade and a half, to a 238X seed check in Figure AI. Along the way: how to buy great assets at 20 cents on the dollar, why he and his wife gave away 100% of their salary after the 2008 crisis, the trust it takes to raise a fund, why he only kept 4% carry — and how 85 of his 130 employees walked away millionaires. A masterclass in private equity, secondaries, and building a firm that outlasts you.

    (00:00:00) How do you raise $22B across 44 funds?
    (00:00:45) Welcome back to the Startup Ignition Podcast
    (00:00:58) Meet Brian Murphy: Portfolio Advisors & $90B invested
    (00:03:36) Building across private equity, credit & real estate
    (00:04:49) Why he came back to Utah
    (00:06:23) Icebreaker "Where Were You When?": Black Monday 1987
    (00:10:37) The 1990s: the first email and the internet
    (00:12:45) The 2008 crisis & giving away 100% of his salary
    (00:18:37) The 2010s: the iPhone moment
    (00:22:23) Paper routes in New Jersey to Wall Street dreams
    (00:24:00) BYU, pre-med to business & beating airsickness
    (00:27:03) Chemical Bank, Blackstone & losing the whole team
    (00:30:29) Winning a $395M broken portfolio at 29
    (00:33:00) The insurance play that won the Kansas deal
    (00:34:06) Wrong partners, then founding Portfolio Advisors
    (00:35:21) Managing Warren Buffett's money for 15 years
    (00:38:03) What a fund-of-funds actually does
    (00:40:08) From advisory to launching their own funds
    (00:43:55) Marching up the value chain: secondaries & lending
    (00:46:04) The 40-Act fund & the FS Investments merger
    (00:48:09) Where's the economy headed? Talent, timing, discipline
    (00:50:40) Right on COVID but losing $1M shorting the S&P
    (00:52:34) Secondaries 101: buying at 20 cents on the dollar
    (00:55:44) Figure AI: a 238X seed investment
    (00:57:36) The real secret sauce: trust in a down economy
    (01:00:02) Conservative by nature: the trailer-park promise
    (01:00:52) Balancing 6 million air miles with family
    (01:04:20) Advice pt.1: don't chase money until you're 40
    (01:05:54) Advice pt.2: go all-in sooner, add talent early
    (01:07:45) The legacy: 85 of 130 employees became millionaires
    (01:08:29) Wrap-up

    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/

    #BrianMurphy
    #PortfolioAdvisors
    #StartupIgnition
    #PrivateEquity
    #Secondaries
    #VentureCapital
    #FundOfFunds
    #AlternativeInvestments
    #WarrenBuffett
    #FigureAI
    #Fundraising
    #LimitedPartners
    #PrivateCredit
    #AssetManagement
    #Startups
    #Entrepreneurship
    #Moats
    #UtahTech
    #CareerAdvice
    #WealthBuilding
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    1 hr and 10 mins
  • Joseph Woodbury: The Airbnb of Storage, marketplaces, moats, raising $75M from a16z

    Joseph Woodbury: The Airbnb of Storage, marketplaces, moats, raising $75M from a16z
    Jun 17 2026
    In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, John and Tyler sit down with Joseph Woodbury, founder and CEO of Neighbor — the "Airbnb of storage" that has raised over $75 million from Andreessen Horowitz, Pelion, and Album to build a nationwide marketplace across all 50 states. Joseph breaks down why marketplaces are the hardest businesses to build and the best ones to own, how Neighbor turns empty garages, driveways, and unused commercial space into passive income, the lawsuit that nearly derailed them six months in, and why — in the age of AI — marketplaces and moats are the only thing he'd invest in. From a Google-Forms-and-Venmo MVP to a $75M company, this is a masterclass in marketplaces, moats, and monopolies for every founder.

    (00:00:00) Marketplaces, moats, and monopolies
    (00:00:36) Welcome back to the Startup Ignition Podcast
    (00:01:34) Meet Joseph Woodbury, founder & CEO of Neighbor
    (00:02:24) What Neighbor is: the Airbnb of storage
    (00:03:30) Raising $75M from Pelion, Album & Andreessen Horowitz
    (00:04:56) Icebreaker: What's in your storage?
    (00:12:45) Founder habits to keep — and the ones to kill
    (00:15:11) Why 50/50 splits and co-CEOs destroy startups
    (00:18:30) Neighbor today: 50 states and Utah's next big company
    (00:20:01) The four types of hosts that power Neighbor
    (00:26:28) The Blueprint tool: earn $100k/yr on a lot
    (00:29:56) Getting sued by Extra Space Storage 6 months in
    (00:33:00) Why marketplaces are brutally hard — and worth it
    (00:45:20) Building three companies in one: e-commerce, SaaS & payments
    (00:48:09) Market networks: when you can (and can't) monetize SaaS
    (00:49:55) Joseph's origin: Boulder City, BYU & investment banking
    (00:52:34) Bain & Company and the Yeti Coolers lesson
    (00:55:01) Preston's storage problem that started Neighbor
    (01:02:21) The Google Forms + Venmo MVP that got shut down
    (01:08:00) Reneging on Bain & the real risk of startups
    (01:10:01) The "non-economic proposition" of starting a company
    (01:13:14) Marketplaces, moats & monopolies in the age of AI
    (01:16:31) One piece of advice: work, work, work
    (01:19:07) Wrap-up

    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/

    #Neighbor
    #JosephWoodbury
    #StartupIgnition
    #Marketplaces
    #StorageMarketplace
    #SharingEconomy
    #PassiveIncome
    #SelfStorage
    #Startups
    #Entrepreneurship
    #VentureCapital
    #AndreessenHorowitz
    #Founders
    #Moats
    #Monopoly
    #ZeroToOne
    #UtahTech
    #SaaS
    #MarketNetworks
    #StartupAdvice
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    1 hr and 21 mins
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