『Startup Ignition Podcast』のカバーアート

Startup Ignition Podcast

Startup Ignition Podcast

著者： 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. マネジメント マネジメント・リーダーシップ リーダーシップ 経済学
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  • Craig Earnshaw: Destructive Founder Splits & Pitching Investors Confidently, Angel Investing, Exits

    Craig Earnshaw: Destructive Founder Splits & Pitching Investors Confidently, Angel Investing, Exits
    2025/05/15
    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 to founding, selling, rebuying, and re-selling his software company, LifeLK Corporation, including a dramatic experience during the dot-com bust with GE and ChannelPoint. He discusses his transition into angel investing, becoming a founding member of Park City Angels, and his influential role as an adjunct professor at BYU. Craig dives deep into his investment philosophy, emphasizing the importance of investing at the earliest stages, the critical role of the founding team (and why equal partnerships often fail), the necessity of true product-market fit, and the art of managing expectations. He also shares invaluable insights from his iconic investments like Property Solutions (Entrata) and Podium, and offers powerful advice for founders on raising capital and navigating the startup world.(00:00:00) Welcoming Utah Startup Legend Craig Earnshaw(00:02:30) Icebreaker: One-Word Answers on Startups & Investing(00:10:30) Craig's Origin Story: From CS Grad to Founding LifeLink Corporation(00:17:09) The GE Investment & Navigating the ChannelPoint Dot-Com Saga(00:24:20) Reclaiming His Company: Owning 100% of LifeLink(00:27:22) A Mission Call and Selling LifeLink from Brazil(00:32:44) The Decision Not to Start Another Company Post-Exit(00:35:00) Becoming an Angel Investor & Teaching at BYU(00:42:26) Craig's First Major Angel Deal: Property Solutions (Entrata)(00:46:33) Investment Strategy: Holding Long-Term (Entrata, Podium) & When to Exit(00:51:09) The Perils of Over-Raising and Inflated Early Valuations(00:54:16) Craig's Advice: Raise as Little as Possible, As Late as Possible(01:00:20) Evaluating Investments: The Critical Importance of the Team & No Equal Partners(01:03:25) The Entrepreneurial Superpower: Learning to Manage Expectations(01:07:14) A Mindset Shift: Founders are Solving Investors' Problems(01:10:08) Unpacking True Product-Market Fit and the Dangers of Churn(01:12:21) Craig's Legacy and Impact on the Utah Angel Investing SceneJoin our online academy for free:https://startupignition.com/academyApply 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/#AngelInvesting#StartupUtah#CraigEarnshaw#EntrepreneurJourney#VentureCapital#StartupFounder#BusinessGrowth#InvestmentStrategy#ProductMarketFit#BYUFounders#TechStartups#ExitStrategy#Mentorship#StartupAdvice#EarlyStageInvesting#UtahTech#SoftwareBusiness#DotComBubble#FounderStories#StartupIgnition
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    1 時間 16 分
  • Brian Beutler: Pitching Genius Raises $100M at Alianza, VOIP-2-Cloud Pivot, CEO of the Year Insights

    Brian Beutler: Pitching Genius Raises $100M at Alianza, VOIP-2-Cloud Pivot, CEO of the Year Insights
    2025/05/08
    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 building Alianza, a leading cloud communications platform. From its early days as a VOIP disruptor born out of a BYU business plan competition to navigating multiple near-death experiences – including the 2008 financial crisis, competitive pressures, and major customer bankruptcies – Brian shares invaluable lessons in resilience, strategic pivoting, and the art of the investor pitch. Discover how Alianza not only survived but thrived, culminating in a game-changing acquisition of a Microsoft business unit and scaling to 700 employees across 20 countries. This is a masterclass in entrepreneurial grit, navigating funding rounds, and the relentless pursuit of a vision.

    (00:00:00) Introducing Brian Beutler, CEO of Alianza
    (00:01:10) Brian's Legendary Investor Pitching Skills
    (00:04:07) Icebreaker: Tech This or That
    (00:09:56) Early Days: Get Phone & Catching the VOIP Wave
    (00:17:46) Identifying Market Shifts & Being "In the Game"
    (00:20:07) Alianza's Genesis: BYU Business Plan Competition
    (00:27:24) The Art of the Pitch: Preparation & Mentorship
    (00:32:46) Alianza 1.0: Raising $2M and Early Growth
    (00:35:02) The 2008 Financial Crisis Hits Hard
    (00:38:07) Near-Death #1: Funding Falls Apart & Payroll Tax Issues
    (00:44:09) The AT&T "Partnership" & Asset Sale
    (00:46:10) Alianza 2.0: Pivoting to a Cloud Platform
    (00:49:42) Recapitalizing: The "Pay to Play" Down Round
    (00:55:03) Near-Death #2 & #3: Rural Broadband Collapse
    (00:57:01) The "Conniving Plan" to Land Anchor Customers
    (01:01:19) Near-Death #4: Major Customer Acquired & Shut Down
    (01:04:08) Acquiring a Microsoft Business Unit
    (01:07:04) Taking Chips Off the Table: Founder Liquidity
    (01:10:42) Alianza's Funding Journey & Investor Outlook
    (01:13:21) Scaling to 700 Employees Across 20 Countries
    (01:15:01) Brian's Advice: Resilience in Entrepreneurship

    Join our online academy for free:
    https://startupignition.com/academy

    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/

    #StartupIgnition
    #BrianBeutler
    #Alianza
    #Entrepreneurship
    #StartupJourney
    #VOIP
    #CloudCommunications
    #VentureCapital
    #AngelInvesting
    #PitchingInvestors
    #BusinessResilience
    #OvercomingAdversity
    #StartupPivots
    #TechAcquisition
    #Microsoft
    #CEOInsights
    #UtahBusiness
    #StartupFunding
    #TechStartups
    #BusinessGrowth
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    1 時間 18 分
  • Evan Teshima: Bootstrapping ForeUP to a Massive SaaS Exit and the $400k Chess Game

    Evan Teshima: Bootstrapping ForeUP to a Massive SaaS Exit and the $400k Chess Game
    2025/05/01
    In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, we sit down with Evan Teshima, founder and former CEO of ForeUP, a massive bootstrapped success story in the golf tech SaaS space. Evan shares his incredible journey from meeting John in a BYU classroom, enduring 5-7 rapid pivots during an accelerator program, navigating a near-death convertible note crisis resolved by a $400,000 chess game and desperate calls to family, scaling to over 2,300 golf courses with only $200k in outside capital, and ultimately achieving a huge acquisition with tax-free gains. Hear war stories, lessons on founder-led sales, customer-funded growth, and the true reward of the entrepreneurial grind (including retirement on a beach in Hawaii!).

    (00:00:44) Met John in school, he was my teacher
    (00:13:59) My first idea was a toilet seat controlled by a lever
    (00:16:25) I literally stood up... mark my words, this is gonna be the best company
    (00:19:39) Literally you pivoted somewhere between five and seven major times in about three months
    (00:24:43) My stinking point of sale is a POS... This thing sucks
    (00:25:22) Literally the software looked like Oregon Trail
    (00:28:46) Judy Flint... she was our first customer
    (00:31:31) Now we'll buy it
    (00:37:08) They raised $200,000 and no more equity investment after that? Yes, period.
    (00:38:13) The hotels that we went to were the most janky hotels
    (00:42:56) If there's anything that we did right it was founder led sales
    (00:47:00) This note's coming due... valuation will drop from 1.5 to 500,000
    (00:50:19) Per that paragraph, I'm notifying you of my intent to convert right now
    (00:53:14) Got some pretty nasty phone calls when they received those checks
    (00:55:03) I had to do the hardest thing of my life. I called my mom
    (00:58:29) Do you know what I thought? I go this guy's really good at golf...There's no way he's good at chess. So what happened?
    (00:59:55) Close to 400 grand
    (01:02:45) Was that an inflection point? Was that a tipping point for ForeUP, like getting Brendan in the CTO role? It was.
    (01:07:48) You built it to 10 million dollars in revenue basically off of... for a huge exit
    (01:08:03) The first 10 million for each of us tax was tax free
    (01:15:39) I'm on the beach with an umbrella drink in my hand right now
    (01:23:43) There was a company out there... raised $40 million... Had to fire. Sell.
    (01:24:13) Enjoy the journey

    Join our online academy for free:
    https://startupignition.com/academy

    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/

    #StartupIgnition #Entrepreneurship #Bootstrapped #SaaS #GolfTech #StartupLife #FounderStory #BusinessGrowth #Acquisition #VentureCapital #AngelInvesting #WarStories #ProductMarketFit #Pivot #ConvertibleNote #FounderLedSales #CustomerFunded #BYU #TechStartup #ExitStrategy
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    1 時間 28 分

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