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Startup Ignition Podcast

Startup Ignition Podcast

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

    Jeron Paul: From Spreadsheet Idea to $419M Exit, SaaS, Salesforce Acquisition, Founder Journey
    Oct 9 2025
    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 commission spreadsheets to a stunning $419 million acquisition by Salesforce. He discusses his entire entrepreneurial path, including his early ventures in venture capital, founding the cap table management company Capture, and his core thesis for building startups around the concept of an "effective surprise." Jeron also offers his perspective on the SaaS vs. AI debate, his current strategy as an active angel investor, and invaluable advice for early-stage founders on finding product-market fit.


    (00:01:21) - Introducing Jeron Paul, his background, and the $419M Spiff acquisition by Salesforce.

    (00:04:13) - Icebreaker questions: Paying customers vs. tons of users, favorite founder "hat," and worst customer feedback.

    (00:11:54) - Jeron's early career path through management consulting and venture capital at Vspring (now Rūn).

    (00:16:10) - The origin stories of Jeron's first companies, BoardLink and Scalar, which specialized in 409A valuations.

    (00:23:05) - The logical next step: How Scalar's work with cap tables led to the creation of Capture.

    (00:27:35) - The thesis of replacing mission-critical spreadsheets and the "aha" moment that sparked Spiff.

    (00:30:37) - A debate on the future of software: Is AI killing the traditional SaaS model?

    (00:44:05) - Jeron explains his key insight for successful startups: the concept of an "effective surprise."

    (00:50:28) - The inside story of the acquisition process with Salesforce, from the first conversation to the final wire transfer.

    (00:56:29) - Jeron's current focus on angel investing and what he looks for in the next generation of startups.

    (00:59:32) - Final advice for entrepreneurs: The importance of a "beginner's mind" and focusing on the search for a business model.

    (01:04:05) - Why founders must act on facts, not assumptions, to avoid costly mistakes.

    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/

    #JeronPaul
    #Spiff
    #Salesforce
    #Startup
    #Entrepreneurship
    #Exit
    #Acquisition
    #VentureCapital
    #AngelInvesting
    #SaaS
    #UtahTech
    #StartupIgnition
    #FounderStory
    #ProductMarketFit
    #AI
    #TechPodcast
    #BusinessAdvice
    #Founder
    #StartupJourney
    #Tech
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Startup War Stories That Will Save Your Company | Equity Splits, Bad Investors, Hiring

    Startup War Stories That Will Save Your Company | Equity Splits, Bad Investors, Hiring
    Oct 2 2025
    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 startup principles. The episode kicks off with a rapid-fire icebreaker, translating common venture capital terminology into plain English. From there, they tackle the critical mistakes entrepreneurs often make, sharing cautionary tales about why 50/50 equity splits are a recipe for disaster, the dangers of partnering with misaligned investors, the fallacy of hiring a "white knight" salesperson too early, and the catastrophic cost of building a product based on an unvalidated idea.

    (00:00:00) The student with the "single worst idea" who became a multi-millionaire
    (00:03:40) Icebreaker: Translating VC terminology into plain English
    (00:11:16) Principle 1: Never split equity 50/50
    (00:14:38) War Story: How a 50/50 split led to a founder losing her own company
    (00:19:52) War Story: An investor's hidden terms killed a startup's biggest deal
    (00:23:32) Principle 2: The danger of hiring a "white knight" to save your company
    (00:25:16) War Story: The Chief Revenue Officer who generated less than 5% of sales in 18 months
    (00:29:04) War Story: Why Quibi failed after raising $1.8 billion
    (00:31:07) Principle 3: Startups must be problem-driven, not idea-driven
    (00:33:23) War Story: How validating an idea with the target market saved a student from failure
    (00:36:38) War Story: The doctor who spent $385,000 building a product nobody wanted
    (00:38:25) Why acting on assumptions is the most expensive mistake you can make
    (00:41:02) Final thoughts and how to hear more war stories


    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/

    #StartupAdvice
    #FounderStories
    #WarStories
    #Entrepreneurship
    #StartupMistakes
    #VentureCapital
    #LeanStartup
    #BusinessLessons
    #FounderJourney
    #MarketValidation
    #Equity
    #StartupFunding
    #EarlyStage
    #Bootstrapping
    #TechStartups
    #BusinessPodcast
    #StartupTips
    #JohnRichards
    #TylerRichards
    #StartupIgnition
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    43 mins
  • Ben Knell: Building a $100M+ Sales Engine, Family & Leadership, FBI, Pest Control, Business

    Ben Knell: Building a $100M+ Sales Engine, Family & Leadership, FBI, Pest Control, Business
    Sep 25 2025
    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 door-to-door alarm sales to revolutionizing the pest control industry. He details the creation of his unique business model, which focuses on building elite, outsourced sales teams for pest control companies nationwide. Ben opens up about the significant challenges he's overcome, including a business partner's FBI investigation, losing over a million dollars in bad investments, and the industry pushback he received for offering unprecedentedly high commissions. He also discusses the importance of work-life balance, the power of focusing on your strengths, and his advice for aspiring entrepreneurs: "Why not you?"

    (00:00:00) Ben's shocking call from the FBI
    (00:02:23) Introducing Ben, CEO of BK Marketing
    (00:04:35) Icebreaker: A fun "this or that" session
    (00:10:05) How Ben got his start in door-to-door sales
    (00:16:05) Launching his first pest control company with no experience
    (00:19:30) A partner's $51 million fraud investigation puts everything at risk
    (00:23:45) The pivot: Creating a new business model for sales
    (00:25:44) How a life coach helped Ben 10x his productivity
    (00:29:13) The personal cost of an 80-hour work week and finding balance
    (00:31:47) The business mechanics of paying higher commissions
    (00:36:19) How private equity transformed the pest control industry
    (00:40:21) The biggest scars: Losing $1.4 million and the lesson learned
    (00:45:04) Ben's two biggest pieces of advice for early-stage founders
    (00:46:31) Why the Utah pest control industry pushed back against his model
    (00:48:26) What to look for (and what to avoid) when recruiting salespeople
    (00:51:21) Favorite podcast and the importance of "the becoming process"
    (00:54:17) What keeps Ben motivated today
    (00:56:55) Final advice to his 20-year-old self: "Why not you?"

    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/

    #Entrepreneurship
    #Sales
    #PestControl
    #StartupStory
    #BusinessGrowth
    #DoorToDoor
    #UtahBusiness
    #FounderJourney
    #SalesTeam
    #Marketing
    #StartupAdvice
    #WorkLifeBalance
    #Scaling
    #Recruiting
    #BusinessStrategy
    #CEO
    #Innovation
    #Leadership
    #Grit
    #Resilience
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 1 min
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