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Startup Ignition Podcast

Startup Ignition Podcast

Auteur(s): John & Tyler Richards
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À propos de cet audio

 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. Développement commercial et entrepreneuriat Entrepreneurship Gestion et leadership Économie
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  • Johnny Hanna: Entrata’s $4B Journey, Homie’s Disruption, and Entrepreneurs Mental Health

    Johnny Hanna: Entrata’s $4B Journey, Homie’s Disruption, and Entrepreneurs Mental Health
    Nov 13 2025
    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 $4 billion, to disrupting the real estate industry with Homie, and his latest ventures. He opens up about the challenges of innovation, facing lawsuits from industry giants like Zillow and Yardi, and the emotional toll of entrepreneurial highs and lows. Johnny also offers invaluable advice to aspiring founders on self-belief, managing people, and the importance of relationships in business.

    (00:00:00) The cease and desist from Zillow, and why investors advised to "go get sued"

    (00:02:06) Johnny Hanna's background and co-founding Property Solutions (now Entrata)

    (00:04:07) The early days of Property Solutions, from student venture to major platform

    (00:05:52) Property Solutions' initial business model: online rent collection and marketing websites

    (00:10:24) The pivotal moments and deals that turned the corner for Property Solutions

    (00:11:00) The lawsuit with industry giant Yardi and the emotional toll on founders

    (00:15:21) Why Johnny left Property Solutions after 12 years and the transition to Homie

    (00:20:34) The disruptive idea behind Homie and the fight against traditional realtors

    (00:24:36) The political power and lobbying efforts of realtor associations

    (00:28:37) The BYU study showing Homie sold homes faster and for more money

    (00:31:20) The Zillow cease and desist and the constant battles with the industry

    (00:33:57) The expansion of Homie into mortgages, title insurance, and cash offers

    (00:38:07) The impact of rising interest rates on Homie's fundraising and expansion

    (00:41:12) Homie's focus on profitability and eventual sale to new ownership

    (00:43:11) Johnny's year off and his role as CRO at Funnel

    (00:47:42) Joining a Y Combinator company (Corgi/Beagle) and the cultural challenges

    (00:49:42) Advice for startup founders: belief in yourself and managing people

    (00:51:58) The importance of relationships and caring for employees

    (00:53:20) Concluding thoughts and appreciation for Johnny Hanna's insights

    (00:55:03) Johnny's advice for startup founders

    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/

    #StartupIgnition
    #JohnnyHanna
    #Entrata
    #Homie
    #UtahTech
    #Entrepreneurship
    #StartupLife
    #Disruption
    #RealEstateTech
    #Innovation
    #FounderJourney
    #BusinessAdvice
    #TechIndustry
    #VentureCapital
    #Podcast
    #SiliconSlopes
    Voir plus Voir moins
    59 min
  • Adam Weber: Sold a Profitable Business for a SaaS Startup, Fundraising, Validation

    Adam Weber: Sold a Profitable Business for a SaaS Startup, Fundraising, Validation
    Nov 6 2025
    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 unconventional journey from feeling like an academic underachiever to becoming a serial entrepreneur. He details his first venture in custom suits, the lessons learned from various businesses including a pest control company and even a porta-potty rental service, and how the pain points of running his own service business led to the creation of Driven. Adam offers incredible insights on customer validation, his "irrational confidence," and a strategic, research-heavy approach to fundraising that has led him to successfully raise a $2.5 million seed round. This episode is packed with real-world tactics and the gritty, unfiltered story of a true operator.


    (00:05:19) Startup "This or That" Icebreaker

    (00:15:49) Adam's Early Life and Feeling Dumb in School

    (00:18:07) How Watching 'The Apprentice' Sparked His Entrepreneurial Drive

    (00:19:40) Starting His First Business: A Custom Suit Company

    (00:23:44) Moving to San Francisco and Bluffing His Way into a Corporate Job

    (00:30:27) The "Knock" Startup Idea in San Francisco

    (00:32:19) The Phone Call That Led to Starting a Pest Control Company

    (00:36:21) The Key to Success in the Pest Control Business: Hustle

    (00:40:22) Side Ventures: Porta-Potties and Dental Service Organizations

    (00:43:30) The Genesis of Driven: Solving His Own Business Pains

    (00:44:45) Selling the Pest Control Company to Go All-In on SaaS

    (00:49:50) Why He Chose a Risky Software Startup Over a Stable Service Business

    (00:53:11) Moving to Utah and Raising a Pre-Seed Round

    (00:55:31) How Driven Acquired Its First Customers and Validated the Product

    (00:58:25) Adam's Unique and Successful Fundraising Strategy

    (01:06:48) Advice for His 20-Year-Old Self

    (01:09:39) The Single Most Important Piece of Advice for Founders: Validate

    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/

    #SaaS
    #Entrepreneurship
    #StartupFounder
    #Fundraising
    #VentureCapital
    #Validation
    #PestControl
    #HomeServices
    #StartupStory
    #FounderJourney
    #Bootstrapping
    #TechStartup
    #UtahBusiness
    #SiliconSlopes
    #BusinessStrategy
    #StartupAdvice
    #LeanStartup
    #ProductMarketFit
    #CEO
    #B2BSaaS
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    1 h et 13 min
  • Jeff Kearl: The Playbook for Iconic Brands, Stance, Skullcandy, Entrepreneurship

    Jeff Kearl: The Playbook for Iconic Brands, Stance, Skullcandy, Entrepreneurship
    Oct 30 2025
    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 incredible journey, from his early days in venture capital to co-founding iconic brands like Skullcandy and Stance. He recounts memorable moments, including a breakfast meeting with Will and Jada Smith, receiving a term sheet just minutes into a pitch with Benchmark Capital, and the lessons learned from the dot-com crash. Jeff offers deep insights into building a brand, the importance of product innovation, financing inventory for a fast-growing company, and the power of consistent effort over time.

    (00:00:00) The story of pitching Stance to Will and Jada Smith's team

    (00:01:38) Introducing Jeff Kearl, Partner at Pelion Ventures

    (00:03:48) Most memorable pitch received: Rick Alden and Skullcandy

    (00:09:07) Most memorable celebrity encounter: Breakfast with the Smith family

    (00:11:22) Most memorable failure: His first company, Freeport, during the dot-com crash

    (00:14:20) Parallels between the dot-com boom and the current AI hype cycle

    (00:18:13) Jeff's early entrepreneurial ventures and background

    (00:19:16) How Jeff broke into Venture Capital right out of college

    (00:27:56) How Jeff met co-host John Richards in an elevator

    (00:31:02) Co-founding Logoworks and getting funded by Benchmark Capital

    (00:36:35) Joining Skullcandy and helping scale it to a public company

    (00:40:33) How to finance a fast-growing consumer products business

    (00:47:06) The analytical process that led to the creation of Stance socks

    (00:51:51) Building Stance with the playbook learned from Skullcandy

    (00:53:41) Is product or brand more important for success in consumer goods?

    (00:58:40) Transitioning from CEO of Stance back to venture capital with Pelion

    (01:04:15) Jeff's number one piece of advice for his younger self

    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/


    #JeffKearl
    #Stance
    #Skullcandy
    #PelionVentures
    #Entrepreneurship
    #VentureCapital
    #StartupStory
    #Branding
    #ConsumerProducts
    #CPG
    #UtahBusiness
    #SiliconSlopes
    #StartupAdvice
    #FounderStories
    #BuildingABrand
    #Startups
    #AngelInvesting
    #TechCycles
    #ProductMarketFit
    #Scaling
    Voir plus Voir moins
    1 h et 7 min
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