Startup Ignition Podcast cover art

Startup Ignition Podcast

Startup Ignition Podcast

By: John & Tyler Richards
Listen for free

About this listen

 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
  • John & Tyler go over the Carta Q3 Pre-Seed Analysis, Early Stage Trends, VC, SaaS

    John & Tyler go over the Carta Q3 Pre-Seed Analysis, Early Stage Trends, VC, SaaS
    Dec 18 2025
    In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, Tyler and John Richards break down the latest data from Carta’s Q3 2025 State of Pre-Seed report. They analyze the current venture landscape, discussing why funding has seen a seasonal decline, the bifurcation of round sizes into "tiny" and "monster" deals, and why capital efficiency is becoming the new standard. The duo also plays a "fill in the blank" icebreaker covering pitch deck mistakes and founder superpowers, and they debate whether AI has dethroned SaaS as the king of investment sectors.


    (00:00:00) The "Unicorn Whirlpool" and the dangers of raising too much too early

    (00:01:06) Welcome to the show: A cold December in Utah

    (00:02:06) Icebreaker: The fastest way to lose a $500k pre-seed round

    (00:03:26) Icebreaker: A founder's true superpower is understanding the customer

    (00:04:07) Icebreaker: A pitch deck is not complete without a Go-to-Market strategy

    (00:07:23) Icebreaker: The one slide we would ban from pitch decks forever

    (00:10:42) Icebreaker: When do we know a founder is going to be successful?

    (00:14:48) Decoding the Data: Carta’s Q3 2025 State of Pre-Seed Report

    (00:17:14) Data Insight: Pre-seed funding declined by cash raised and deal count

    (00:19:25) Data Insight: The "Barbell Market" (Tiny rounds vs. Monster rounds)

    (00:27:04) Data Insight: How many checks does it really take to fill a round?

    (00:28:41) A warning against taking small checks from non-accredited investors

    (00:31:54) Data Insight: The absolute dominance of SAFEs over convertible notes

    (00:36:46) Data Insight: Geography still matters (The West Coast dominates)

    (00:41:28) Data Insight: SaaS is still King (and the Gartner Hype Cycle)

    (00:47:25) Why John and Tyler stick to Pre-Seed investing despite the risks

    (00:50:21) Summary: Capital is concentrated, disciplined, and tethered to traction

    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
    #PreSeed
    #VentureCapital
    #CartaData
    #Fundraising
    #SaaS
    #AngelInvesting
    #FounderAdvice
    #CapitalEfficiency
    #SafeAgreements
    #StartupFunding
    #UnicornWhirlpool
    #PitchDeck
    #BusinessStrategy
    #Entrepreneurship
    #StartupTrends
    #GoToMarket
    #InvestorTips
    #SiliconSlopes
    #UtahStartups
    Show More Show Less
    53 mins
  • Ryan Westwood: Slow Down to Speed Up, His $250M Exit to Infosys, Buying 7 Competitors, Scaling

    Ryan Westwood: Slow Down to Speed Up, His $250M Exit to Infosys, Buying 7 Competitors, Scaling
    Dec 11 2025
    In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, we sit down with Ryan Westwood, a prolific entrepreneur and investor who recently scaled Simplus from zero to 600 employees and sold it to Infosys for $250 million. Ryan shares his incredible journey from weeding gardens to earn his first pair of Air Maxes to executing a massive "roll-up" strategy in the Salesforce ecosystem. We dive deep into the mechanics of acquiring companies to increase valuation multiples, the importance of "slowing down to speed up," and how he is applying his playbook to his newest venture, Fullcast. Ryan also opens up about family philanthropy, the discipline of meditation, and the relentless mindset required to win.


    (00:00:00) Introduction to Ryan Westwood and his $250M exit

    (00:02:06) Reading Ryan’s bio: Entrepreneur, Investor, and Philanthropist

    (00:04:07) Startup Mad Libs: "Venture Capital is your enemy"

    (00:05:52) The biggest startup killer: Premature scaling

    (00:10:24) Ryan’s 4 rules for investing in a company

    (00:11:00) Angel investing and focusing on building Fullcast

    (00:15:21) Earning Nikes at age 11: The reward of hard work

    (00:20:34) Shifting from tech to revenue generation

    (00:24:36) Living on $1450/month to save capital for the first startup

    (00:28:37) The origins of Simplus and identifying the CPQ opportunity

    (00:31:20) Finding a niche in Salesforce customization

    (00:33:57) The "Roll-up" Strategy: Acquiring 7 competitors in 3 years

    (00:38:07) The current state of Private Equity and finding buyers

    (00:41:12) Using a mix of debt, equity, and cash for acquisitions

    (00:43:11) The paranoia of closing a deal during the onset of COVID

    (00:47:42) Using a Series C "Blocker" to negotiate a higher price

    (00:49:42) Why Ryan left Infosys despite a $150M EBITDA year

    (00:51:58) Drafting off the Salesforce brand and staying differentiated

    (00:53:20) "Jab, Jab, Right Hook": Giving value before asking for the sale

    (00:55:03) Networking and the power of being a good person

    (00:59:55) The Fullcast story: Buying a company to fix sales operations

    (01:01:19) Rolling equity and doubling down on the new venture

    (01:02:08) Growing Fullcast valuation to $125M in seven quarters

    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/

    #RyanWestwood
    #Simplus
    #Fullcast
    #ExitStrategy
    #Salesforce
    #Acquisitions
    #StartupFunding
    #RevenueGrowth
    #EntrepreneurMindset
    #Philanthropy
    #Meditation
    #BusinessStrategy
    #VentureCapital
    #RollUpStrategy
    #SaaS
    #AngelInvesting
    #Leadership
    #StartupIgnition
    #JohnRichards
    #TylerRichards
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 10 mins
  • Paul Ahlstrom: The Origins of Nail It Then Scale It, Market Timing, Utah VC, AI

    Paul Ahlstrom: The Origins of Nail It Then Scale It, Market Timing, Utah VC, AI
    Dec 4 2025
    In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, we sit down with Paul Ahlstrom, a serial entrepreneur, investor, and one of the key architects of the Utah venture capital ecosystem. Paul shares his incredible journey from early failures—including a software bug that wiped out his first business overnight—to founding vSpring Capital and helping transform Utah into a tech powerhouse. He also discusses his pioneering work building the VC infrastructure in Mexico, the personal struggles that led to co-authoring the foundational book Nail It Then Scale It, and his predictions for the future of the "autonomous economy" and agentic AI.

    (00:00:00) The software bug that killed a business overnight

    (00:04:36) Icebreaker: Playing "Pivot or Persevere" with startup scenarios

    (00:09:16) Why big competitors validating your market is a good thing

    (00:16:04) Paul’s early hustle: From pool cleaning to 80s dance clubs

    (00:22:04) The Folio years and the founding of Knowlix

    (00:26:40) Escaping the Dot Com crash: The "Shoeshine Boy" indicator

    (00:29:31) Founding vSpring Capital: Bringing oxygen to Utah startups

    (00:35:41) The lack of capital in the early Utah ecosystem

    (00:39:53) Expanding to Latin America and building Mexico’s VC laws

    (00:47:50) The emotional origin story of Nail It Then Scale It

    (00:50:38) Collaborating with Nathan Furr and the Lean Startup connection

    (00:53:20) How a "victim of the internet" article led to the book's methodology

    (00:59:07) The #1 cause of startup failure vs. the #1 indicator of success

    (01:00:05) Understanding "Why Now?" and market timing

    (01:03:26) The future of tech: The Agentic Economy and AI saturation

    (01:05:49) How modern tools allow rapid iteration and validation

    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/

    #PaulAhlstrom
    #VentureCapital
    #NailItThenScaleIt
    #StartupAdvice
    #UtahTech
    #vSpringCapital
    #PivotOrPersevere
    #MarketTiming
    #AgenticAI
    #Entrepreneurship
    #StartupIgnition
    #LeanStartup
    #ProductMarketFit
    #TechHistory
    #BusinessStrategy
    #StartupFunding
    #MexicoVC
    #StartupMistakes
    #FounderStories
    #FutureOfWork
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 9 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.