The Kickstart Podcast

Kickstart
  • 4.9 (19)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Origin stories of legendary founders and companies in the Mountain West.

  1. The Spiff Story | Why the Best Founders are Knife Fighters with Jeron Paul

    JAN 14 · VIDEO

    The Spiff Story | Why the Best Founders are Knife Fighters with Jeron Paul

    Jeron Paul is a 4x founder and a defining entrepreneur in the Utah ecosystem. Most recently, Jeron was the Co-founder & CEO of Spiff, the leading incentive compensation platform which he successfully sold to Salesforce in one of the most strategic acquisitions in the space. Before Spiff, Jeron founded and sold Boardlink, Scalar, and CapShare. ------- 00:00 Breaking into VC by selling a 401k and working for free. 06:30 Learning what not to do from dysfunctional venture cultures. 19:40 How to double your price when a giant tries to lock you up. 26:50 Why "Founder Mode" requires being in the technical weeds. 34:10 Identifying your acquirer on Day 1. 44:30 Why a small first exit is the secret to a massive second home run. 01:03:15 Why UX is a CEO-level concern, not a department. 01:15:20 The "Infinite Scale" framework for evaluating your management team. 01:21:40 The ultimate success metric. ------- Gavin Christensen founded Kickstart in 2008, establishing the region’s first seed-stage venture fund. You can follow Gavin on LinkedIn. ------- Kickstart is the Mountain West’s most experienced and active early-stage venture capital fund. Kickstart provides pre-seed & seed funding to ambitious tech founders across Utah & Colorado with a focus on AI, B2B SaaS, and frontier tech. See Kickstart’s full investment portfolio here.

    1h 31m

  2. 11/19/2024 · VIDEO

    Perfect Pitch with Alex Shamir: Owning Your Expertise

    Every entrepreneur is trying to solve a problem with their startup. To prove you're the person for the job, how do you become an expert yourself? We're talking with an entrepreneur who has accomplished just that. Join us in today's conversation with Alex Shamir, Co-Founder at Yofi, and investor Tanner Potter of Kickstart (a VC firm for startups in Utah, Colorado, and the Mountain West) as we bring you both sides of a Perfect Pitch. In this episode, we'll talk about: How Alex's experience at Nike and Apple drove her interest in tackling data integrity and policy abuse in e-commerce The difference between understanding the problem your startup is solving and being obsessed with it Why entrepreneurs should trust their gut, iterate quickly, and make hard decisions, like firing when necessary, to drive success If investors consider the age of an entrepreneur when investing Kickstart is the Mountain West’s most experienced and active early-stage venture capital fund. Kickstart provides pre-seed & seed funding to ambitious tech founders across Utah & Colorado with a focus on AI, B2B SaaS, and frontier tech.See Kickstart’s full investment portfolio here.

    36 min

  3. 03/05/2024 · VIDEO

    The Tactical Entrepreneur's Playbook: A Conversation with Wade Anderson, President and COO of Elements

    Running a startup is like building a car while you're driving. We're talking with an entrepreneur who does it all while staying buckled in. Join us in today's conversation with Wade Anderson, President and COO of Elements, and investor Tanner Potter of Kickstart (a VC firm for startups in Utah, Colorado, and the Mountain West) as we bring you both sides of a Perfect Pitch. In this episode, we'll talk about: Starters and joiners: why you don't need to be a founder to be an entrepreneur The steps Wade took to determine whether Elements had product-market fit How investors look at product retention and usage data when evaluating a company Details on Wade's feedback strategy and how it helps him remain self-aware

    32 min

  4. 02/20/2024 · VIDEO

    Elevating Startup Sales: A Conversation with Aaron McReynolds and Ryan Harris, Co-Founders of Alysio

    Startup sales—the phrase alone is enough to stress a founder out. We're bringing in two experts who will help unlock the secret to sales success. Join us in today's conversation with Aaron McReynolds and Ryan Harris, co-founders of Alysio, and investor Kat Kennedy of Kickstart (a VC firm for startups in Utah, Colorado, and the Mountain West) as we bring you both sides of a perfect pitch. In this episode, we'll talk about: How Alysio nailed down big customers early on in their startup journey and their advice to founders struggling with customer acquisition The components that make a good sales organization Common blind spots that trip up sales teams Why Kat is so excited about Alysio's financial model and how entrepreneurs can improve their company's model

    34 min

  5. 02/06/2024 · VIDEO

    Kickstart's Founding Story: A Conversation with Gavin Christensen, Alex Soffe, and Dalton Wright, Kickstart's Founding Partners

    Can VCs be founders too? We're talking with Kickstart's founding partners to understand how Kickstart…was kickstarted. Join us in today's conversation with investors Gavin Christensen, Alex Soffe, and Dalton Wright of Kickstart (a VC firm for startups in Utah, Colorado, and the Mountain West), as we bring you both sides of a Perfect Pitch. In this episode, we'll talk about: The slow grind of Kickstart's everyday life in the early days Why no one took Utah VCs seriously and why that has changed Low points in Kickstart's history and how the team survived What is next in Kickstart's story…

    1h 21m

  6. 12/05/2023 · VIDEO

    Hot Takes: Entrepreneur Vs. Venture Capitalist

    We're breaking our regular format with a new kind of episode, with a founder who is serving some spicy opinions on how an entrepreneur can succeed. Join us in today's conversation with Taylor Margot, Founder and CEO of Keys, and investor Tanner Potter of Kickstart (a VC firm for startups in Utah, Colorado, and the Mountain West) as we bring you both sides of a Perfect Pitch. In this episode, we'll talk about the following "hot takes": Why Taylor believes founders should stop listening to advice from investors (yes, this is on a podcast from investors to entrepreneurs!) Tanner's suggestion for founders to list the top three reasons why their businesses will die on their pitch decks Whether or not founders actually research the VCs they're talking to (and if it matters!) Why VCs want to invest in entrepreneurs deeply embedded in a space rather than "trend-preneurs"

    41 min

  7. 11/21/2023 · VIDEO

    How Product is the Untold Storyteller: A Conversation with Tanner Potter, a Kickstart Investor

    We're welcoming a new voice to the show! This Kickstart investor started his career at powerhouses like Vivint and Nike. Today, he's a product-market fit expert investing in tech-obsessed founders across the Mountain West. Join us in our conversation with investors Tanner Potter and Kat Kennedy of Kickstart (a VC firm for startups in Utah, Colorado, and the Mountain West) for a special episode of Perfect Pitch. In this episode, we'll talk about: How product has impacted Tanner and Kat's careers—and how that experience manifests in their investing habits Advice to founders on creating their pitch decks and the importance of storytelling Why Kickstart didn't hire Tanner the first time he applied (awkward) How product and sales have shaped the Mountain West ecosystem

    28 min

  8. 08/29/2023 · VIDEO

    Don't Be Outgrown by Your Startup: A Conversation with Dave Grow, CEO of Lucid Software

    We talk a lot about how to grow your startup on this show. But once you've mastered the startup part, how do you ensure you don't get left behind as a leader? Join us in today's conversation with Dave Grow, CEO of Lucid Software, and investor Gavin Christensen of Kickstart (a VC firm for startups in Utah, Colorado, and the Mountain West) as we bring you both sides of a Perfect Pitch. In this episode, we'll talk about: Why Dave was compelled to apologize to the first person he managed at Lucid Software How Dave developed the habit to "give away his legos" When it's valuable to hire specialists versus generalists What mistakes Gavin has seen founders make that prohibit them from growing with their company

    39 min
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4.9
out of 5
19 Ratings

About

Origin stories of legendary founders and companies in the Mountain West.

Information

  • Creator
    Kickstart
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    44
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2020
  • Show Website
    The Kickstart Podcast