The Credit Bubble with Derek Brunelle

Derek Brunelle
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Business
  • Updated Semimonthly

Welcome to The Credit Bubble—a podcast about the people and institutions deploying and managing the debt capital that fuels businesses and ecosystems around the world. In each episode, we bring you conversations with the executives and practitioners shaping the lending industry—sharing insights, lessons learned, and personal stories from across the world of credit.

Episodes

  1. Jun 1

    Ruben Shafir: Underwriting Unit Economics in a Shifting Credit Market

    In this episode of the Credit Bubble, I sit down with Ruben Shafir, founder of Luna Park Capital. His path runs from Brooklyn to Wharton at 16, Lehman Brothers at 18, and ultimately to founding his own credit platform. We get into how an early sense of capital as a scarce resource wired him as a deep-value investor, and how running workouts at Lone Star in London through the 2008 crisis taught him the difference between cyclical and permanent impairment. We dig into his time building the European venture debt book at Arena, why the market spent years underwriting sponsors rather than businesses, and how rising rates finally exposed the misalignment. Ruben also walks us through the thesis behind Luna Park Capital: credit-oriented investments into capital-constrained late-stage growth companies, where the dispersion between debt and equity pricing is the opportunity.

    1h 2m

  2. Apr 19

    Charles Thor: Crafting a Career in Commercial Banking

    In this episode of The Credit Bubble, I sit down with Charles Thor to explore his path from commercial banking at Union Bank to global roles with MUFG and HSBC, and ultimately into credit leadership at Silicon Valley Bank. We discuss how early underwriting experience shapes long-term judgment, what changes when you move from the deal team into the credit seat, and how global banking experience influences risk evaluation. We also get into how credit decisions actually get made in practice—and close with Charles’s “User Guide,” a framework for aligning teams around communication, consistency, and decision-making.

    1h 17m
  3. Aznaur Midov: Credit, Content, and Company Building

    Feb 2

    Aznaur Midov: Credit, Content, and Company Building

    In this episode of The Credit Bubble, I sit down with Aznaur Midov to explore his career progression from institutional banking to independent entrepreneurship. Aznaur shares how his experience across venture banking, leveraged lending, and private credit shaped his views on underwriting, risk, and market cycles—and how that experience ultimately led him to build Debt Serious and launch Kior Lior, a business providing outsourced underwriting and portfolio management for private credit investors. We also discuss the role of content as distribution, the growing complexity of co-investing, and what it really takes to turn domain expertise into a durable business.

    36 min
  4. Marshall Hawks: Venture Debt Deals - Funding Growth with Less Dilution

    Jan 13

    Marshall Hawks: Venture Debt Deals - Funding Growth with Less Dilution

    In this episode, I sit down with Marshall Hawks, author of Venture Debt Deals: How to Fund Growth with Less Dilution and former senior leader at Silicon Valley Bank, for a wide-ranging conversation on how venture debt actually works in practice. Drawing on more than 16 years inside the venture banking ecosystem, Marshall unpacks why venture debt is ultimately a relationship business—and why the choice of lending partner often matters more than headline pricing or structure. The discussion weaves through real-world case studies from Marshall’s career, including Twitch/Justin.tv, Airbnb, and Clearco, highlighting both successful outcomes and hard-earned lessons when incentives, timing, or expectations fall out of alignment. The conversation also explores how lenders evaluate risk, the often-misunderstood role of warrants and so-called “non-dilutive” capital, and what founders and CFOs should realistically expect from the debt process—from preparation and documentation to credit committee dynamics. Marshall and Derek reflect on the culture and institutional knowledge that shaped venture lending during the SVB era, as well as how today’s more fragmented lending landscape has changed borrower decision-making. This episode is particularly relevant for founders, CFOs, board members, and lenders seeking a candid, experience-driven view of venture debt—not as a theoretical product, but as a long-term relationship that can either support growth or amplify risk depending on how it is used.

    1h 15m
  5. Ben Johnson: Adapting, Developing, and Leading in Banking

    Jan 5

    Ben Johnson: Adapting, Developing, and Leading in Banking

    Today’s episode features Ben Johnson, a longtime colleague and friend from the Silicon Valley Bank ecosystem whose career spans nearly three decades across private banking, commercial lending, venture debt, seed-stage ecosystem building, and now specialty finance at Celtic Bank. Ben walks us through his early life in Minnesota, the path that led him into banking, and how he ultimately found his way to SVB. We explore his evolution into life science and med-tech lending, his seven-year effort building SVB’s national seed-stage life science strategy, and his firsthand experience navigating the events of SVB’s 2023 collapse. Ben then shares what drew him to Celtic Bank, how industrial loan companies operate, and what makes them structurally unique in today’s financial system. It’s an insightful conversation about career pivots, leadership, and specialty finance.

    48 min
  6. Matt Schwartz: A Lawyer's Perspective on the Evolution of Venture and Growth Lending

    10/02/2025

    Matt Schwartz: A Lawyer's Perspective on the Evolution of Venture and Growth Lending

    In this episode of The Credit Bubble Podcast, I sit down with Matt Schwartz, Partner at DLA Piper, to talk about his path into law and how he became a go-to counsel for banks and private credit funds. We dig into the evolution of venture and growth-stage lending, the impact of SVB’s collapse, and the role of AI in credit. Matt also shares the story behind his “Law Dad” posts on LinkedIn and how opening up personally has resonated with thousands across the industry.

    57 min
  7. Ryan Edwards: Launching a Private Credit Fund

    09/15/2025

    Ryan Edwards: Launching a Private Credit Fund

    In this episode of The Credit Bubble, I sit down with Ryan Edwards, founder of Prospeq and partner at Lioncrest, to discuss his leap from SVB to launching a credit fund aimed at overlooked markets and founders. We explore Prospeq’s focus on businesses outside the traditional venture mold, the diligence required when institutional backers aren’t present, and why hands-on lending creates value beyond capital. Ryan also shares how his new partnership with Lioncrest brings debt and equity under one roof to deliver the right capital at the right time, and offers his perspective on AI’s evolving role in diligence and investing.

    56 min

  8. 09/02/2025

    Jake Bernstein: Managing Risk in Life Sciences Venture Lending

    In this episode of The Credit Bubble, I sit down with Jake Bernstein, Vice President at Avenue Capital, to trace his path from Comerica to Oxford and now to Avenue’s growth lending platform. Jake explains how moving from a permanent balance sheet to a GP/LP fund model reshaped his approach to risk, structure, and upside. We dive into Avenue’s underwriting in life sciences, what makes an attractive med device or biopharma opportunity, and why management experience is often the most critical factor. Jake also reflects on today’s tight equity markets, the role of private credit as “the most popular kid in school,” and how certain AI tools are changing portfolio management.

    54 min

  9. 08/15/2025

    Scott Aleali: Inside the Evolution of Private Equity Finance

    Host Derek Brunelle speaks with Scott Aleali, Head of Private Equity Finance – New York Region at Citizens Private Bank, about how fund finance has expanded from simple capital-call lines to a full suite of solutions for private equity and venture capital firms. They explore the financing life cycle, NAV lending trends, underwriting uncalled capital, and how today’s market impacts fund formation and emerging managers.

    56 min
  • 9 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Welcome to The Credit Bubble—a podcast about the people and institutions deploying and managing the debt capital that fuels businesses and ecosystems around the world. In each episode, we bring you conversations with the executives and practitioners shaping the lending industry—sharing insights, lessons learned, and personal stories from across the world of credit.

Information

  • Creator
    Derek Brunelle
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    9
  • Rating
    Explicit

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