Start School Sessions

Start School Session: Stance Socks Chief Growth Officer Clarke Miyasaki

Silicon Slopes — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 14:44:29 -0600

Clarke Miyasaki has built a career around turning ordinary products into extraordinary brands.

In this Start School session, Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts sits down with Clarke, Chief Growth Officer at Stance, to talk about his journey from venture capital to Skullcandy, Stance, and beyond.

Clarke shares the lessons he learned building some of the biggest partnerships in consumer marketing, including deals with the NBA, Rihanna, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Metallica, and more. He also tells the story of how Stance went from selling socks to becoming the first brand ever to have its logo visible on an NBA uniform.

They also dive into some of Clarke's biggest lessons from decades in business, including why you should look forward instead of behind, how to build relationships that can change your career, why quickly building trust is a superpower, and what it really takes to build an aspirational brand.

00:00:00 - Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:00:37 - Clarke Miyasaki's Start at vSpring
00:01:07 - Learning Experiences at vSpring
00:01:31 - Transition from vSpring to LogoWorks
00:02:10 - Building LogoWorks and Partnership with HP
00:03:34 - Joining Skullcandy
00:03:57 - Early Days at Skullcandy
00:04:44 - Major Partnerships at Skullcandy
00:05:54 - Influencer Marketing and NBA Crew
00:07:09 - Missed Opportunity with Beats by Dre
00:08:56 - Skullcandy's IPO and Marketing Campaigns
00:10:14 - Transition to Kickstart Seed Fund
00:11:08 - Founding Kickstart and Early Challenges
00:12:00 - Joining Stance and Initial Partnerships
00:13:19 - Building Stance's Brand and Partnerships
00:14:55 - Securing NBA Partnership for Stance
00:16:58 - Becoming the Official NBA Sock
00:20:01 - Impact of NBA Partnership
00:22:00 - Stance's MLB Partnership
00:23:02 - Leaving Stance and Joining Vivint
00:24:19 - Vivint's Success Post-Acquisition
00:25:32 - Q&A: VC Backing for Consumer Products
00:26:32 - Q&A: Transitioning to Consumer Products
00:28:44 - Q&A: Creating Aspirational Brands
00:31:39 - Q&A: Self-Leadership and Overcoming Struggles
00:35:20 - Q&A: Engaging with the Spanish-Speaking Community
00:38:17 - Q&A: AI Search and Apparel Companies
00:40:29 - Q&A: Starting Over in Brand Partnerships
00:41:50 - Q&A: Evaluating Potential Partners

Whether you're building a consumer brand, looking for partnerships, or simply trying to become a better entrepreneur, this conversation is packed with lessons you can put into practice.

Start School Session: Chatbooks Co-Founder & CEO Nate Quigley

Silicon Slopes — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 15:34:48 -0600

In this Start School Session, Clint Betts sits down with Nate Quigley, co-founder and CEO of Chatbooks, to talk about entrepreneurship, product-market fit, leadership, family, and what it really takes to build a company that lasts.

Nate shares the story behind Chatbooks, from spending years in the wilderness trying to build a family memory system to the moment his wife Vanessa told him to “just print my Instagram.” He explains how that simple insight helped Chatbooks find product-market fit and grow into a company that now prints millions of photo books every year.

The conversation also explores why simplicity matters, how Chatbooks has stayed focused on its core mission, why being a physical product company has become an advantage in the age of AI, and how Nate thinks about fundraising, profitability, marketing, company culture, and sustainable growth.

Nate also shares lessons on self-leadership, working with your spouse, building a family business, and why entrepreneurship is more like a mountain climb than a sprint.

00:00:00 - Nate Quigley's Entrepreneurial Journey
00:00:16 - Moving from Connecticut to Florida
00:00:27 - Opportunity with JetBlue Subsidiary
00:01:09 - Founding Chatbooks
00:01:20 - The Birth of Folk Story
00:01:50 - Early Struggles and Failures
00:02:54 - Vanessa's Critical Intervention
00:04:07 - Moving to Utah for Better Opportunities
00:05:14 - Finding Community in Utah
00:06:11 - Technical Challenges with Instagram API
00:08:51 - Transition from Instagram to Photo Albums
00:10:54 - Simplifying the Product
00:12:34 - Staying Focused on Core Products
00:15:20 - Fundraising and Profitability
00:16:14 - Building a Moat with Physical Products
00:17:37 - Market Expansion and TAM
00:18:47 - Working with Your Spouse
00:20:22 - Work-Life Integration
00:22:30 - Consumer Education vs. Product Ease
00:24:52 - Marketing Strategies and Growth
00:27:58 - Self-Leadership and Wellness
00:30:36 - Data-Driven Decision Making
00:33:11 - Future of Chatbooks and Potential Exit
00:34:47 - Rule of 40 Explained
00:36:59 - Handling Non-Digitized Photos
00:38:41 - Managing Family Business Dynamics
00:39:51 - Typical Day and Company Culture
00:42:07 - Evolution of Silicon Slopes Community
00:44:06 - Leadership Style and Lessons

Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, startup founder, or established business leader, this conversation is packed with practical lessons on building a company, finding product-market fit, and staying in the game for the long haul.

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Start School Session: First Colony Mortgage CEO Carine Clark

Silicon Slopes — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 15:31:41 -0600

Carine Clark never planned to follow a conventional career.
She started as a librarian, joined Novell during the early days of Utah's tech industry, helped build iconic technology companies, served on the boards of some of Utah's most influential organizations, and eventually became CEO of First Colony Mortgage, where she helped grow the company from roughly $1 billion to more than $7 billion in annual loan volume in just two years.

But the defining moment of her life had nothing to do with business.
A rare cancer diagnosis forced her to rethink everything about leadership, purpose, resilience, and how she wanted to spend the time she had left.

In this Start School conversation, First Colony Mortgage CEO Carine Clark joins Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts to share the leadership lessons she's learned from decades in Utah tech, overcoming cancer, leading through change, and building organizations that outlast the people who create them.

They discuss:
• How Carine helped shape Utah's technology ecosystem from the Novell era to today
• The leadership lessons she learned from Ray Noorda, Eric Schmidt, and other legendary executives
• Why operating is about finding straight lines and removing friction
• The rare cancer diagnosis that permanently changed her perspective on life and leadership
• How First Colony Mortgage grew from roughly $1 billion to more than $7 billion in annual production
• Why great leaders choose courage over comfort
• The importance of letting employees solve hard problems instead of solving everything for them
• Building resilient teams that adapt, improvise, and overcome
• How Utah can improve housing affordability and expand homeownership
• Why your time is your most valuable asset and how to spend it wisely

00:00 Introduction
01:10 From librarian to Utah tech pioneer
08:20 Lessons from Ray Noorda, Steve Jobs, and Eric Schmidt
18:00 Why Carine became CEO of First Colony Mortgage
23:20 The cancer diagnosis that changed everything
35:30 Building a life around purpose instead of fear
40:00 Helping Ryan Caldwell's family and the power of the Silicon Slopes community
44:15 Choosing courage over comfort and solving impossible problems
49:00 Operating a $7 billion company by removing friction
52:00 Housing affordability, leadership, and serving others
54:21 Closing remarks and outro

Whether you're leading a company, building your career, or facing challenges that seem impossible to overcome, Carine shares timeless lessons on leadership, resilience, service, and living with purpose.

Start School Session: Neighbor Founder & CEO Joseph Woodbury

Silicon Slopes — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:47:19 -0600

Joseph Woodbury didn't set out to build another software company.

He set out to solve a problem his co-founder experienced firsthand after struggling to find affordable storage. That simple idea grew into Neighbor, the largest self storage marketplace in the United States, connecting people with unused space in their homes, businesses, and storage facilities.

In this Start School conversation, Neighbor Founder and CEO Joseph Woodbury joins Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts to share what it really takes to build a marketplace business, raise venture capital, navigate changing markets, and create a company with lasting network effects in the age of AI.

They discuss:
• How the idea for Neighbor came from a personal frustration
• Why marketplaces only succeed in massive industries
• Lessons from raising capital through different market cycles
• Building network effects that AI cannot easily replace
• Why distribution has become the new competitive moat
• How Neighbor uses AI to move faster without forcing it into every product
• Creating trust between strangers in a peer to peer marketplace
• The fundraising story that led to Andreessen Horowitz leading Neighbor's Series A
• Why founders should build technology only after validating customer demand
• The importance of solving problems that genuinely change people's lives

00:00 Introduction
01:10 The story behind Neighbor and the marketplace opportunity
05:20 Going all in after college and raising the seed round
10:15 Why every fundraising round is different
15:05 AI, network effects, and why distribution is the new moat
22:00 Using AI to build more with a smaller team
26:00 Building trust in a peer to peer marketplace
33:45 Scaling from homeowners to enterprise real estate partners
39:20 The Andreessen Horowitz fundraising story and lessons on perseverance
45:00 Speed of execution, founder mode, and leading in the AI era
48:10 Regulatory challenges and validating marketplace ideas
50:05 Final advice for founders: Build something that changes people's lives
50:43 End

Whether you're building a marketplace, launching your first startup, or trying to understand how AI is changing software businesses, Joseph shares practical lessons on product market fit, fundraising, execution, and building a durable company.

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Start School Session: MX Founder & CEO Ryan Caldwell

Silicon Slopes — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:00:59 -0600

Ryan Caldwell knows what it's like to build a company through uncertainty.

As the Founder and CEO of MX, Ryan set out to solve a deeply personal problem after watching his single mother struggle financially while he received financial advice he didn't actually need. That experience inspired him to build a platform that helps financial institutions empower consumers to become financially stronger.

Today, MX powers many of the world's leading financial institutions, helping millions of people better understand, manage, and improve their financial lives.

In this Start School conversation, MX Founder and CEO Ryan Caldwell joins Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts to discuss entrepreneurship, AI, leadership, resilience, and why the companies that survive the next decade will be the ones that embrace change instead of fearing it.

They discuss:
• The personal experience that inspired Ryan to start MX
• Why every founder needs a mission worth enduring pain for
• How AI is transforming financial services and software companies
• Why solving meaningful problems matters more than chasing technology
• The future of banking and helping consumers become financially stronger
• Building products that protect privacy while leveraging AI
• How founders should think about fundraising and gaining experience
• Why great companies evolve instead of being replaced
• Lessons on leadership, resilience, and finding purpose through adversity
• The life-changing experience that reshaped Ryan's perspective on business and life

00:00 Introduction
02:10 Why Ryan started MX and the mission to strengthen consumers financially
09:30 Finding a purpose worth enduring pain for
15:40 Building a company without losing your family, health, or relationships
21:15 How AI is transforming banking and financial services
28:40 Protecting consumer privacy in the age of AI
35:00 Why great SaaS companies will survive the AI revolution
41:45 Raising capital, gaining experience, and knowing when to start a company
48:20 Broken by default or built by design
50:15 Ryan's daughter's story and finding purpose through hardship
53:20 Closing remarks

Whether you're building your first startup, leading a growing company, or trying to understand how AI is changing entrepreneurship, Ryan shares practical lessons on purpose, execution, resilience, and building something that truly matters.

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Start School Session: Nursa Founder & CEO Curtis Anderson

Silicon Slopes — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 13:30:35 -0600

Curtis Anderson never planned to build a healthcare marketplace.

He started by buying a traditional nurse staffing agency and quickly realized the business itself was the problem. Too many middlemen. Too much friction. Too many shifts going unfilled. Instead of optimizing the old system, Curtis decided to replace it.

That decision became Nursa, a technology platform that directly connects healthcare facilities with qualified nurses and caregivers.

Today, Nursa serves more than 5,500 healthcare facilities nationwide through a network of more than 400,000 clinicians, helping solve one of healthcare's biggest workforce challenges.

In this Start School conversation, Nursa Founder and CEO Curtis Anderson joins Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts to discuss building marketplace businesses, leading through uncertainty, and why AI is creating one of the biggest entrepreneurial opportunities in history.

They discuss:
• Why Curtis bought a staffing agency before building Nursa
• How marketplace businesses solve problems traditional software cannot
• What founders can learn from Airbnb's early strategy
• How Nursa scaled during the COVID-19 pandemic
• The three competitive advantages every AI company needs
• Why product always beats marketing
• How founders should think about regulation in highly regulated industries
• The challenges of building and scaling two-sided marketplaces
• Why execution has never mattered more in the age of AI
• Leadership lessons from George Washington and Jesus Christ

00:00 Introduction
02:05 Why Curtis Anderson bought a nurse staffing agency
06:40 Building a marketplace instead of an agency
11:15 Launching Nursa during COVID-19
16:45 How AI is transforming marketplace businesses
22:00 Navigating regulation as a startup
27:10 Solving cash flow and scaling a healthcare marketplace
32:20 Using AI to expand into nursing education
36:30 The cold start problem and building network effects
39:20 Expanding beyond nurses and the future of Nursa
40:45 Leadership, execution, and serving your team
42:10 Closing remarks

Whether you're building a marketplace, launching your first startup, or trying to understand how AI is reshaping entrepreneurship, Curtis shares practical lessons on execution, leadership, product design, and building companies that solve meaningful problems.

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Start School Session: Bucked Up Founder Ryan Gardner

Silicon Slopes — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 14:32:20 -0600

Ryan Gardner never planned to build one of the fastest-growing supplement brands in America.

He and his twin brother started by helping other companies generate online traffic. Then they decided to stop building everyone else's business and build one of their own. What began with selling L-Arginine online eventually evolved into Bucked Up, a brand that transformed the supplement industry through transparent formulas, disruptive marketing, and relentless execution.

Today, Bucked Up products are sold in more than 150,000 retail locations across multiple countries, and the company continues expanding into new categories while reaching millions of customers worldwide.

In this Start School conversation, Bucked Up Founder Ryan Gardner joins Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts to share the lessons behind building a household brand, scaling a consumer products company, and leading through rapid growth.

They discuss:
• How Bucked Up grew from a small online business into a global brand
• Why transparent products became Bucked Up's biggest competitive advantage
• The branding decisions that helped the company stand out
• How ambassador marketing fueled explosive growth
• The role influencers play in building modern consumer brands
• Why hiring experienced leaders accelerated the business
• How Bucked Up is using AI to become dramatically more efficient
• The biggest mistakes founders make when trying to scale
• Why optimism became one of the company's greatest strengths
• What Ryan would tell every entrepreneur just getting started

Whether you're building an ecommerce brand, launching a consumer product, or growing your first company, Ryan shares practical lessons on marketing, leadership, innovation, and creating a brand that customers genuinely love.

00:00 Introduction
02:10 From farm boys to entrepreneurs
06:30 Building the first online supplement business
11:15 How Bucked Up was born
16:20 Branding, marketing, and why transparency won
21:10 Scaling manufacturing and bringing on strategic partners
26:30 Influencer marketing and building a powerful ambassador program
31:00 AI, hiring great people, and scaling the organization
35:30 Product innovation and staying ahead of competitors
38:30 Advice for founders and leading through optimism
41:15 Closing remarks

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Start School Session: Kiln Co-Founder & CEO Arian Lewis

Silicon Slopes — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 16:59:42 -0600

Arian Lewis was told in ninth grade that he probably shouldn't plan on going to college.

He had ADHD, dyslexia, and struggled academically. Instead of letting that define him, he learned something that would shape the rest of his career. If he couldn't outsmart everyone, he could outwork them.
That mindset took him from a scholarship at BYU to an MBA at Oxford, building one of the world's largest fintech accelerators for Barclays, and eventually co-founding Kiln, one of the fastest-growing premium flex office brands in the country.

In this Start School conversation, Kiln Co-founder Arian Lewis joins Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts to discuss entrepreneurship, scaling a hospitality business, building community, and why AI is reshaping the future of work.

They discuss:
• Why Utah has become one of the best places in America to build a startup
• The lessons Arian learned building global fintech accelerators at Barclays
• How Kiln differentiated itself from WeWork
• Why unit economics matter more than company valuation
• What companies are really looking for in the post-COVID workplace
• How AI will change hiring, careers, and entrepreneurship
• Why adaptability and resilience are becoming the most valuable workplace skills
• The biggest challenges of scaling a company across multiple cities
• How founders can build cultures that encourage ownership and feedback
• What Utah needs to become a world-class technology ecosystem

Whether you're building your first startup, scaling an existing business, or trying to understand where work is headed in the AI era, Arian shares practical insights on leadership, community, and building companies that last.

00:00 Introduction
02:00 Arian's journey from struggling student to entrepreneur
06:00 Building a global fintech accelerator at Barclays
11:15 Why Utah is built for entrepreneurship
15:00 Leaving Barclays to start Kiln
20:00 How Kiln differentiated itself from WeWork
25:00 The future of office space after COVID
30:00 AI, resilience, and the future of work
34:15 Scaling company culture and leading teams
37:00 What Utah needs to become a world-class tech ecosystem
39:00 Closing remarks

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Start School Session: Quiklearn Chairman of the Board David Bradford

Silicon Slopes — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 16:24:26 -0600

David Bradford has helped build some of Utah's most iconic technology companies.

He joined Novell when it had just a few hundred employees and helped scale it into one of the most important software companies in the world. Along the way, he worked alongside industry legends like Ray Noorda and Eric Schmidt, recruited Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to Fusion-io, and spent decades leading companies through every major technology wave from networking and the internet to cloud computing and AI.

Today, David serves as Chairman of the Board of QuikLearn, where he is using AI to make history's greatest teachers accessible to anyone with a smartphone.

In this Start School conversation, Chairman of the Board of QuikLearn David Bradford joins Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts to share lessons from nearly five decades of building technology companies, leading great teams, and navigating constant innovation.

They discuss:
• How Novell became one of the world's most important software companies
• Leadership lessons from Ray Noorda and Eric Schmidt
• Why great companies are built by great people, not just great technology
• How David recruited Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak
• Why relationships create life's biggest opportunities
• Finding customer pain points before building products
• How AI is transforming education and entrepreneurship
• Why every entrepreneur should become a prompt engineer
• Building trust, raising capital, and creating lasting competitive advantages
• Why Utah continues to be one of the world's greatest places to build technology companies

Whether you're launching your first startup, leading a growing company, or trying to understand where AI is taking the next generation of innovation, David shares timeless lessons from one of Utah's most accomplished technology leaders.

00:00 Introduction
02:10 David Bradford's journey from law to technology
07:15 Building Novell into a global software leader
13:00 Leadership lessons from Ray Noorda and Eric Schmidt
18:40 Leaving Novell and joining Fusion-io
24:10 Recruiting Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak
29:00 Why relationships create life's biggest opportunities
33:20 AI, QuikLearn, and the future of education
38:10 Finding customer pain points and building great companies
42:30 Utah's entrepreneurial advantage and the future of innovation
45:20 Self-leadership and advice for the next generation of founders
47:00 Closing remarks

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Start School Session: Health Catalyst Strategic Advisor Dan Burton

Silicon Slopes — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 15:39:02 -0600

Dan Burton never planned to become a CEO.

He thought he was going to medical school until one economics class changed everything. After spending a decade building businesses inside large technology companies, Dan joined a five-person healthcare startup called Health Catalyst. Fifteen years later, the company had grown into a publicly traded healthcare technology leader serving more than 1,100 healthcare organizations.

Today, Dan serves as Strategic Advisor at Health Catalyst, helping the company navigate one of the biggest technological shifts the software industry has ever experienced.

In this Start School conversation, Strategic Advisor at Health Catalyst Dan Burton joins Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts to discuss scaling a company from five employees to an IPO, leading through constant technological disruption, and what every founder needs to know about building in the age of AI.

They discuss:
• How Health Catalyst grew from five employees to a public company
• What Sequoia Capital looks for in early-stage startups
• Why every SaaS company must rethink its business in the AI era
• How to build a competitive advantage when technology changes overnight
• Why founders should always be a little paranoid
• The biggest opportunities AI creates for entrepreneurs
• How AI is changing healthcare, software development, and startups
• Why relationships became one of Health Catalyst's greatest competitive advantages
• The future of SaaS and what comes after traditional software companies
• Why character and self-leadership still matter more than ever

Whether you're building a startup, leading a technology company, or trying to understand how AI is reshaping business, Dan shares practical lessons from scaling a company through multiple waves of innovation while staying grounded in timeless leadership principles.

00:00 Introduction
02:20 Dan Burton's journey to Health Catalyst
08:15 How Sequoia Capital invested in Health Catalyst
14:30 Scaling from five employees to a public company
20:10 Reinventing a SaaS company in the age of AI
27:00 Every SaaS company is under siege
33:40 AI, healthcare, and the future of software
39:20 Building competitive moats in a changing market
44:15 Advice for founders building with AI today
48:10 The importance of self-leadership and timeless principles
51:00 Closing remarks

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Start School Session: Culinary Crafts Founder Mary Crafts

Silicon Slopes — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 14:38:17 -0600

Mary Crafts started her business with just $150.

She was a former social worker, a mother of two young children, and living on welfare when she realized she needed a way to support her family. So she did what entrepreneurs do. She looked for a need and decided to solve it.

Armed with a little red wagon full of homemade bread and cookies, she went door to door looking for customers. That small beginning eventually became Culinary Crafts, one of the most celebrated catering companies in the country. Over the next four decades, Mary would serve presidents, world leaders, Oprah Winfrey, Sir Elton John, Fortune 500 CEOs, and thousands of events before selling the company to her sons.

In this Start School conversation, Culinary Crafts Founder Mary Crafts joins Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts to share the principles that guided her through forty years of entrepreneurship, leadership, personal transformation, and building a lasting legacy.

They discuss:
• How Mary built Culinary Crafts starting with just $150
• Why the best entrepreneurs simply find a need and solve it
• The power of showing up before anyone knows your name
• How integrity became her greatest competitive advantage
• Why leaders must lead with both their brain and their heart
• The three goals every entrepreneur should have
• How to overcome fear and imposter syndrome
• Building systems without losing a culture of excellence
• Selling a family business while preserving trust
• Why learning, serving, and giving always come before growth

Whether you're starting your first business, growing a company, or simply trying to become a better leader, Mary's timeless wisdom offers practical lessons on resilience, service, leadership, and living a life of purpose.

00:00 Introduction
03:10 From social worker to entrepreneur
09:20 Starting Culinary Crafts with $150 and a little red wagon
15:15 Landing the first big catering contracts
21:00 Building a company through service and showing up
27:45 Why great companies are built from the top down
34:20 Running a family business and selling it to her sons
41:00 The three goals every entrepreneur needs
49:30 Leading with your brain and your heart
54:45 Overcoming fear and imposter syndrome
1:00:10 Advice for young entrepreneurs and audience Q&A
1:04:00 Closing remarks

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Start School Session: Lendio CEO Brock Blake

Silicon Slopes — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 13:45:09 -0600

Brock Blake has started over more times than most entrepreneurs ever will.

He launched his first company after winning $50,000 in a BYU entrepreneurship competition. That business grew to $10 million in revenue before he made one of the biggest mistakes of his career by choosing not to sell it. Instead, he used what he learned to launch Lendio, a company that has now helped more than 600,000 small businesses secure over $16 billion in funding.
Then COVID hit.

Overnight, lending stopped. Lendio's business disappeared. Instead of shutting down, Brock and his team reinvented the company to help hundreds of thousands of small businesses access PPP loans. When that opportunity ended, they had to reinvent the business all over again.

In this Start School conversation, Lendio CEO Brock Blake joins Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts to share the lessons he's learned from nearly two decades of building, failing, pivoting, fundraising, and leading through uncertainty.

They discuss:
• How Brock turned one failed business into Lendio
• The biggest mistakes he made raising venture capital
• Why founders should bootstrap for as long as possible
• How Lendio survived COVID by completely reinventing itself
• The "fetal position moments" every entrepreneur eventually faces
• Why AI is changing the value of every business
• How established companies can compete in the AI era
• Building great teams through every stage of company growth
• The importance of mentors, support systems, and resilience
• Practical advice for first-time founders getting started today

Whether you're launching your first startup, scaling an existing business, or navigating one of entrepreneurship's inevitable difficult seasons, Brock shares practical lessons from building a company through multiple reinventions and coming out stronger each time.

00:00 Introduction
02:15 How Brock Blake got his entrepreneurial start
07:40 Why Funding Universe failed and how Lendio was born
13:00 Growing Lendio and surviving COVID
19:20 Reinventing the company after PPP ended
24:10 How AI is transforming Lendio and fintech
31:20 Why your network becomes your biggest competitive advantage
35:10 Lessons from fundraising and managing your cap table
41:00 Building great teams through every stage of growth
46:15 The "fetal position moments" of entrepreneurship
50:00 Advice for first-time founders
53:00 Closing remarks

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Start School Session: Leland CEO John Koelliker

Silicon Slopes — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:32:14 -0600

John Koelliker didn't start Leland because he wanted to build another AI company.

He started it because he believed one person could change another person's life.

After building marketplaces at Uber, LinkedIn, and other startups, John realized the power of mentorship, coaching, and human expertise. He set out to build a platform that could scale those relationships and help people land jobs, get into school, and achieve career goals. Today, Leland has raised more than $20 million and become one of Utah's fastest-growing consumer technology startups.

In this Start School conversation, Leland Founder & CEO John Koelliker joins Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts to discuss building a venture-backed company, navigating the AI revolution, raising capital, hiring world-class talent, and why founders should stay obsessed with customer problems instead of their own solutions.

They discuss:
• Why AI is changing every job, not just technology roles
• How founders should think about building systems instead of doing everything themselves
• Why the best startups stay obsessed with the customer's problem
• The lessons John learned raising more than $20 million in venture capital
• How to know whether venture capital is right for your business
• Why authentic relationships matter more than building a massive network
• The biggest hiring mistake founders make
• How to identify your strengths instead of obsessing over your weaknesses
• Balancing entrepreneurship with family and life outside of work
• Why building something people truly want matters more than raising money

Whether you're launching your first startup, raising capital, or trying to understand how AI is reshaping entrepreneurship, this conversation is full of practical advice for founders building companies in a rapidly changing world.

00:00 Introduction
01:45 What is Leland and why John started it
05:50 AI anxiety and the future of work
10:30 Why AI is changing how we work forever
15:40 Raising $20 million in venture capital
21:15 Utah's startup ecosystem and consumer startups
25:05 Authenticity, AI, and building products people want
29:10 B2B vs. B2C and product-led growth
33:00 Venture capital mistakes founders make
38:10 Finding customer problems instead of falling in love with your solution
42:30 Building authentic relationships and your network
45:45 Balancing family, entrepreneurship, and success
48:30 Hiring world-class talent and leading yourself
50:44 Closing remarks

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Start School Session: Breeze Airways Founder & CEO David Neeleman

Silicon Slopes — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 14:42:40 -0600

David Neeleman has founded five airlines.

Morris Air. WestJet. JetBlue. Azul. Breeze Airways.

Along the way, he sold a company to Southwest Airlines, built one of the most successful airlines in Brazil's history, changed commercial aviation with innovations like ticketless travel, and returned to the United States to launch Breeze Airways, one of the fastest-growing airlines in the country.

In this Start School conversation, Breeze Airways Founder & CEO David Neeleman joins Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts to share the lessons he's learned from building companies, leading through setbacks, and staying innovative across four decades of entrepreneurship.

The conversation covers everything from recognizing your strengths as a founder and building a culture people want to be part of, to leveraging AI across an entire organization, leading through uncertainty, and why obsession is one of the defining characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.

They discuss:
• Why successful entrepreneurs are obsessed with their companies
• The leadership lessons David learned after founding multiple airlines
• How culture becomes a company's greatest competitive advantage
• Why storytelling is one of a CEO's most important responsibilities
• What Breeze Airways is doing differently from every other airline
• How AI is transforming operations, marketing, maintenance, and customer experience
• The future of AI in business and why every company needs to embrace it
• Why leaders should focus on what they can control during uncertain times
• The importance of surrounding yourself with great people
• How to balance entrepreneurship with family and life outside of work

Whether you're building your first startup or leading a company through growth, David's decades of experience offer practical lessons on leadership, resilience, innovation, and creating organizations that stand the test of time.

00:00 Introduction
02:05 David Neeleman's entrepreneurial journey
08:35 Selling Morris Air to Southwest Airlines
13:10 Founding WestJet, JetBlue, Azul, and Breeze Airways
17:15 Why building an airline is so difficult
22:10 Leadership lessons from five airlines
31:05 How Breeze Airways is using AI
40:45 Audience Q&A begins
41:10 Why airlines don't hedge fuel prices
44:20 Advice he'd give his younger self
47:00 Leading through uncertainty and global events
50:30 The future of Breeze Airways
53:45 Keeping teams focused during rapid change
56:30 Lessons from Spirit Airlines and JetBlue
1:05:20 What AI has changed the most
1:07:30 Entrepreneurship, family, and time management
1:11:10 Closing remarks

Subscribe for more conversations with the founders, CEOs, and innovators shaping the future of business.

Start School Session: Vasion CEO Ryan Wedig

Silicon Slopes — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:34:00 -0600

Ryan Wedig didn't set out to build one of Utah's largest enterprise software companies.

He started as a business process consultant without a college degree. A chance introduction led him to work with a small software company solving a niche printing problem. Years later, after building his career at Cisco and earning his MBA, a phone call brought him back to Utah to become a partner in what would eventually become Vasion.

Today, Vasion serves thousands of organizations around the world and has grown into one of the state's biggest software success stories.
In this Start School conversation, Ryan sits down with Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts to share the lessons that shaped his journey as a founder and CEO. From structuring equity with co-founders to scaling through leadership transitions and preparing for the AI era, this conversation is full of practical advice for entrepreneurs building companies that last.

They cover:
• Why every startup should structure equity before writing a single line of code
• The founder mistake that destroys great companies before they ever scale
• Why technical founders need to know when to let someone else lead
• How Vasion grew without constantly raising outside capital
• The three things every company must do to survive the AI era
• Why businesses have to operate at the speed of AI
• The coming rise of the first billion-dollar solopreneur
• Why AI should augment people instead of replacing critical thinking
• The importance of AI governance before it's too late
• How to build software with long-term vision instead of chasing hype

Ryan's perspective comes from building software through multiple technology waves, leading enterprise teams, and helping transform a niche product into a global platform. His advice is grounded, practical, and especially relevant for founders trying to navigate one of the biggest technological shifts in decades.

00:00 Introduction
01:35 How Vasion (formerly PrinterLogic) got started
08:18 Leaving Cisco to become a founder
12:30 Why every founder needs an equity agreement
17:08 Leadership transitions and becoming CEO
23:00 The early days of scaling Vasion
26:20 Audience Q&A begins
26:45 The three things every company must do in the AI era
36:15 The first billion-dollar solopreneur
39:10 Building moats in an AI world
47:15 Should enterprises rebuild SaaS products with AI?
57:20 How to use AI without becoming dependent on it
1:03:10 AI silos, governance, and enterprise strategy
1:11:30 Final thoughts

Start School is Silicon Slopes' free entrepreneurship program built for founders at every stage.

Start School Session: Instructure CEO Steve Daly

Silicon Slopes — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:32:15 -0600

Steve Daly changed his major six times in college.

He started as a pre-med, hit organic chemistry, and decided that wasn't going to work. He went into psychology. Then mechanical engineering. Then got an MBA because he thought he wanted to start an engineering firm. Then decided he no longer wanted to be an engineer. Then spent seven interviews getting rejected before Intel finally hired him.

Then Intel fired him.

His wife said she had been praying for a change.

That firing became a startup. That startup got funded by Gavin Christensen. That startup got sold to a company in Alabama. That company bought Landesk. They asked Steve to come back to Utah and run it. He ran it for 13 years. He retired in 2020. That lasted six months. Then he took the job running Instructure, the company behind Canvas, the learning management system used by two-thirds of all U.S. higher education students and a third of all U.S. school districts.

They were losing money when he arrived. They are now doing 800 million in ARR at over 40 percent EBITDA margins. A billion is the next target.

In this Start School conversation, Steve sits down with Clint Betts for one of the most honest and practically useful conversations we have had about leadership, fear, identity, and what it actually takes to build something that lasts across multiple stages of a company.

They cover:

Why the emotions of a leader get amplified across the entire organization, and how to down-regulate yourself on both sides

What getting fired from Intel taught Steve about self-worth and where not to find it

The three things that keep people from starting something new, and why human connection is the only thing that overcomes all three

Why you have to be married to solving the problem and not to solving it a certain way

How Canvas went from two BYU students who hated Blackboard to owning more share in North American higher ed than the next three competitors combined

The fatal flaw of almost every founder Steve has seen across 20-plus acquisitions

Why giving more credit and authority to your team changed his culture, his business performance, and his own mental health

How to think about raising capital now that you do not always need it to get started

What return to office actually looks like at a 2,000-person company and why Steve has strong opinions on both sides

The hayride moment he cannot forget, and what he missed with his kids because he was too wrapped up in worry to be present

Why therapy and faith were both part of how he got through the hardest stretch of his career

Steve Daly is one of the most thoughtful and self-aware leaders we have had on this stage. He does not pretend the journey was clean. He talks about depression. He talks about therapy. He talks about the board meeting where his CEO told him he sucked. He talks about the morning he woke up convinced his startup was a dumpster fire and how that fear infected everyone around him.

And then he talks about what he did about it.

Start School is Silicon Slopes' free entrepreneurship program built for founders at every stage.

Andrew Smith: Venture Capital Is Race Fuel. If Your Car Isn't Ready, You're Going to Hit the Wall.

Silicon Slopes — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:28:44 -0600

Andrew Smith started his first company in 1998 because his roommate figured out how to put a Jaguar commercial on the internet. He called Jaguar 400 times until someone picked up. They said how much. He said $125,000. They said cool. He had no idea what an impression was.

That was the beginning of a career that would take him from streaming media to wealth management software to construction tech to 87 Little Caesars to Neater's Bakery to Swig to a private equity fund that has owned and operated over 600 restaurants and generated more than $3.5 billion in sales.

He also started in the dish pit. His wife made him.

In this Start School conversation, Andrew sits down with Clint Betts for one of the most wide-ranging and practically useful conversations we have ever had about building companies, scaling brands, raising capital, and what money actually feels like when you finally get it.

He bought a Ferrari at 26 years old. He was done with it in a week. He has never forgotten that lesson.

They cover:

- The wild west of Utah tech in 1998 and what it was like to almost beat Mark Cuban to YouTube
- Why the dot-com bubble popped 45 days before his IPO and what he did next
- How his wife opened a restaurant in October 2008 and crushed it while his tech company was burning down
- Why food and beverage fails less than every other industry in years one through five and nobody knows it
- The dish pit lesson and why you should always start at the bottom in a new industry
- How Savory Fund went from 16 Swig locations to 155 and counting with 700 more coming
- Why venture capital is race fuel and what happens when your car is not ready for it
- How to know when a restaurant brand is worth investing in and what disciplined scale actually looks like
- Why copying your competitor is not a strategy and focusing on your own guest is the only thing that works
- What Utah does better than anywhere else and where the next decade of opportunity actually lives
- Why SaaS is under pressure and where Andrew would build if he were 26 years old today
- How to use AI as a force multiplier without letting it replace your judgment
What money actually feels like when you get it and why it is always a false summit

Andrew Smith has been in this community for nearly 30 years. He has built tech companies, restaurant empires, and a private equity fund that is closing its third fund right now. He still shows up to give back because he believes that is how it works.

He is right.

Start School is Silicon Slopes' free entrepreneurship program built for founders at every stage. New episodes every week.

Gail Miller: The Greatest Living Utahn on What Actually Matters

Silicon Slopes — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:27:23 -0600

Gail Miller was a stay-at-home mom for 44 years.

She raised five children while her husband Larry worked 90-hour weeks building what would become one of the most consequential business empires in the history of Utah. She was on paper the co-owner and president of the company from the beginning. But she never worked in it. She lost her voice somewhere along the way. She saw a psychologist for her child and the psychologist told her she was the one who needed help.

Then Larry died.

And Gail Miller stepped in and ran everything.

She took a company that included car dealerships, the Utah Jazz, movie theaters, and real estate holdings and shepherded it through one of the most complex succession and transition processes any family business has ever navigated. She sold the Jazz for $1.6 billion after buying it for $22 million. She built a foundation that gives away money across five areas of focus and has taught her 45 grandchildren and great-grandchildren how to give. She has chaired Intermountain Health. She has served on Salt Lake Community College's board. She wrote a book called Courage to Be You. She is building toward bringing Major League Baseball to Utah.

She did all of it by staying grounded in four values. Integrity. Hard work. Stewardship. Service.

In this Start School conversation, Gail sits down with Clint Betts for one of the most honest and wide-ranging conversations we have ever had about money, marriage, ethics, courage, and what it actually means to build something that lasts.

They cover:

- Why money is the lubricant of free enterprise and how to make sure it never changes who you are
- How Larry and Gail stayed frugal through every pay increase and reinvested the difference for 25 years
- What it was like to be married to a workaholic entrepreneur and what Larry said he wished he had done differently
- Why ethics is the foundation of everything and how to codify your values before you need them
- The imposter syndrome Gail faced stepping into leadership after 44 years as a stay-at-home mom
- How a 360 review and a coach named Marshall Goldsmith changed everything
- The story of buying the Utah Jazz for $8 million and selling it for $1.6 billion
- Why she sold the Jazz and how the family made that decision together
- The hard leadership lessons of succession, building a board of directors, and finding a new CEO
- What it takes to find your voice after years of living in someone else's shadow
- How to give more than you take and why the cycle is impossible to break once you start

Gail Miller is, in Clint's words, the greatest living Utahn. After spending time with her, it is hard to argue otherwise.

Start School is Silicon Slopes' free entrepreneurship program built for founders at every stage. New episodes every week.

Brandon Fugal: I Program Myself to Feel Unemployed Every Single Morning

Silicon Slopes — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:26:27 -0600

Brandon Fugal grew up in Pleasant Grove, Utah, reading the Wall Street Journal and Business Week as a teenager. He started in commercial real estate one week out of high school at 18, making $500 his first year, working janitorial jobs at night to put gas in his car, and getting escorted out of office buildings for soliciting. He had his scholarship to BYU revoked because of a D- in algebra in ninth grade.

Today, he is the chairman of Colliers International, the largest commercial real estate enterprise in Utah. He owns the Dole Plantation on Oahu. He has started and sold software companies, launched an aerospace company, and invested in more than 20 startups. He owns Skinwalker Ranch, the most scientifically studied paranormal hotspot on the planet, which became a hit History Channel series watched by millions.

He built all of it by programming himself every single morning to feel perpetually unemployed.

In this Start School conversation, Brandon sits down with Clint Betts for one of the most wide-ranging and honest conversations we have ever had about entrepreneurship. Brandon does not hold back on any of it.

They cover:

- How an 18-year-old with no money and no connections built a proprietary database in DOS that became the foundation of a real estate empire
- Why follow-up is the single difference between top performers and everyone else
- The Cabela's cufflinks story and what it taught him about reading a room
- Why he programs himself to feel unemployed every single day, regardless of how much money he has
- How to raise capital by capturing investors' hearts before their pocketbooks
- Why skilled trades are going to dominate the next decade
- What a long-term mindset actually means in a world obsessed with quick exits
- Why relationships are his greatest achievement, not projects or deals or money
- What he would tell his younger self if he had a time machine and why he would not get in
- The day at Skinwalker Ranch that turned a hardened skeptic into an experiencer

And yes. He tells the full story of Skinwalker Ranch. The doctor from Area 51. The phones losing all battery at once. The six-foot-four security guard rendered catatonic for ten minutes. The 40- to 50-foot silver disc suspended above the mesa, which changed position in a blink and then vanished.

He was a skeptic. He is not anymore.

Start School is Silicon Slopes' free entrepreneurship program built for founders at every stage.

Brian Beutler: Why Great Ideas Mean Nothing Without Small Daily Progress

Silicon Slopes — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:25:11 -0600

Brian Beutler was a history major at BYU with a business minor, just in case teaching did not work out.

In 1998, while serving a mission in Chile, he noticed that calling home cost him $3 a minute. His parents were paying less than three cents a minute to call him. Same call. Same two people. One hundred times more expensive going one direction than the other. That gap became the idea for Alianza.

He won $64,000 in a business plan competition, printed his phone number in the BYU campus newspaper, cobbled together two million dollars from Utah angels and founders, and started building. Twenty-two years later, Alianza powers phone calls and text messages for network operators in 81 countries. Nineteen of the top 20 global service providers are customers. AT&T. British Telecom. The national network of the Maldives. He has never taken a traditional venture round. He has never needed to.

In this Start School conversation, Brian sits down with Clint Betts to talk about what it actually takes to build something over a very long time, and why the founders who win are almost never the ones who started with the best idea.

They cover:

- Why great ideas compounded by small daily progress over long periods of time deliver great results
- The difference between wartime leadership and peacetime leadership and how to survive both
- Why we do not rise to our ambitions but fall to the level of our habits
- How to get customers, employees, and investors to emotionally buy into a vision
- The heart, mind, hands model for driving change inside resistant industries
- Why storytelling is the single most important skill a founder can develop
- How AI is changing human conversation and why Brian thinks it is the most exciting thing he has ever worked on
- What the Warren Buffett top five email taught him about focus and avoiding distraction

Brian also volunteers with Utah County Search and Rescue. He journals. He has five of his first eight employees still with the company. He is still building like a startup.

This is one of the most grounded and practical conversations we have had at Start School. No hype. No shortcuts. Just 22 years of showing up.

Start School is Silicon Slopes' free entrepreneurship program built for founders at every stage.

0:00 — Clint Welcomes Brian to Start School
1:15 — Brian's Background: History Major, Business Minor, and the Entrepreneurial Lecture Series at BYU
4:30 — The Cow Pie Clock Story and How It Changed His Thinking About Business
7:45 — Winning the BYU Business Plan Competition and the Birth of Alianza
11:00 — Brian's Favorite History Class and the Greatest Snow on Earth
13:30 — Utah County Search and Rescue: Why a Tech CEO Volunteers to Save Lives on Mountains
17:45 — How Big Is Alianza? 81 Countries, 700 Employees, and 19 of the Top 20 Global Carriers
21:30 — Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and Meeting Customers From Tahiti to the Maldives
24:00 — How Alianza Was Funded: From a $64,000 Check to Two Million Dollars in Seed Capital
28:15 — The Daily Universe Article, the Phone Number, and the Wells Fargo Teller With Wide Eyes
31:30 — Patient Investors and Building a Company Without a Traditional Venture Round
34:00 — Q&A Begins
34:15 — How Do You Migrate a Business From One Product to Another Over 22 Years?
38:30 — The Heart Mind Hands Model for Driving Change Inside Resistant Industries
42:00 — If You Could Leave One Thing With This Room, What Would It Be?
44:15 — What Got Brian Into VoIP and Who Was Alianza's First Customer
48:30 — The $3 Per Minute Phone Call in Chile That Sparked the Whole Idea
52:00 — Edge Computing, AI, and Where Brian Sees the Biggest Opportunity in Connectivity
54:30 — Key Hires and the Five Original Employees Still With the Company 22 Years Later
56:45 — How to Get Customers' Hearts Into a Technical Product Nobody Understands
1:00:15 — Near Death Experiences and What Wartime Leadership Actually Looks Like
1:04:30 — How AI Is Changing Everything Internally at Alianza
1:08:00 — The Dematerialization of Human Conversation and What AI Does to It Next
1:13:15 — Introspection, Marc Andreessen, and Looking Out the Windshield Instead of the Rearview Mirror
1:17:45 — The Harder I Work, the Luckier I Get
1:20:00 — How to Keep Pushing Forward When the World Says No
1:24:30 — We Do Not Rise to Our Ambitions. We Fall to the Level of Our Habits.
1:27:45 — The Warren Buffett Top Five Email and How Brian Structures Every Week
1:31:00 — How Do You Get People to Follow You? The Art of Storytelling
1:36:30 — Scott Petty and David Frazier on What Makes Brian a Leader Worth Following
1:40:00 — Find Something Hard to Solve and Take Comfort That It Sucks
1:42:30 — How Brian Leads Himself: Journaling, Grace, and Can't Never Did Anything
1:47:00 — Stay in the Game: Closing Thoughts and Wrap Up

Sandi Hendry: The School Teacher Who Built a Blanket Empire After Two Universities Told Her to Quit

Silicon Slopes — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:24:02 -0600

Sandi Hendry did not set out to build a company. She set out to comfort her daughter.

In 2009, her middle daughter was sick in the hospital. Sandi asked what she could do. Her daughter said she wanted a soft, cozy blanket. But make it cute. That was the beginning of Minky Couture.

Sixteen and a half years later, Sandi operates six retail stores across Utah, employs hundreds of people, ships blankets around the world, donates 100,000 mini blankets to NICUs across the country every year, and has just signed on as the official blanket of the Dallas Cowboys. She did it without investors, without a business background, and without knowing how to sew.

Two business school professors told her to quit. She opened more stores.

In this Start School conversation, Sandi sits down with Clint Betts to talk about what it actually takes to build something from nothing, and why the things that matter most have very little to do with business plans.

They cover:

- How a single hospital visit became a worldwide brand
- Why giving back is the real secret to customer loyalty
-The jump from 1,200 square feet to 17,000 and what that decision taught her
- How she built a company almost entirely led by women
- Why she refused to update her logo and what that decision says about brand identity
- The 3-6-9 rule for scaling slowly without losing your footing
- What the Heart of Minky program is and why it exists
- Why brick and mortar is not dead if you make it an experience

Sandi is one of the most generous and grounded entrepreneurs in Utah. Her story is not about disruption, venture capital, or hockey-stick growth. It is about seeing a need, executing on an idea, and taking care of every person along the way.

Start School is Silicon Slopes' free entrepreneurship program built for founders at every stage.

0:00 — Clint Welcomes Sandi to Start School
1:15 — Sandi's Background: 30 Years of Teaching and the Entrepreneur Spirit
4:30 — Her Father's Newspaper and Where the Business Bug Came From
7:15 — The Origin Story: A Daughter in the Hospital and a Request for a Cozy Blanket
12:30 — From 50 Handmade Blankets to a Real Business
16:15 — Build-A-Bear Was the Model: How Sandi Thought About the Product
19:45 — Home Parties, Office Stores, and the Parking Lot Moment That Changed Everything
23:15 — How Minky Couture Got Its Name and Why the Logo Has Never Changed
27:30 — Walking Into Minky Headquarters: A Culture Built by Women
31:00 — Hiring Stay-at-Home Seamstresses and Building a Flexible Workforce
36:30 — Scaling From One Employee to 450 at Christmas
41:00 — The $13,500 Fabric Order That Almost Stopped Everything
44:15 — Q&A Begins
44:30 — The Secret Sauce Behind Minky's Customer Loyalty
48:00 — Billboard Strategy and Marketing to Families From Infant to Elderly
51:15 — The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and How That Came About
54:00 — How Sandi Opened the First Big Doors for Minky
57:30 — Scaling From a Handful of Trusted Women to Hundreds of Employees
1:02:00 — The Jump From 1,200 Square Feet to 17,000 and What That Taught Her
1:07:15 — Two Business Schools Told Her to Quit. She Opened More Stores.
1:10:30 — Direct to Consumer vs. Wholesale: Why Sandi Cut Out the Middleman
1:14:00 — The Heart of Minky: 100,000 NICU Blankets and Giving Back
1:19:15 — Clint's Personal NICU Story and Why This Program Matters
1:22:00 — Generosity as a Business Strategy: Is Giving Back the Secret to Success?
1:27:30 — The Dallas Cowboys Partnership Announcement
1:31:00 — Closing Thoughts: Execute the Thought Everyone Else Just Had

Derek White: Stop Falling in Love With Your Idea (And Start Getting Paid)

Silicon Slopes — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:23:04 -0600

Derek White has seen the future four times. He helped build the first internet bank. He ran FinTech at Barclays across the UK, Dubai, and Spain. He led Galileo as CEO. Now he's in stealth mode, building what he believes is his most important company yet — one built entirely on AI.

In this Start School conversation, Derek sits down with Clint Betts to discuss what he's learned over four decades of translating new technologies into real businesses and what founders need to know right now.

They cover:

- Why businesses will soon have more AI agents than human employees

-The 3-6-9 rule for shipping fast inside any size company

- How to move a 140,000-person organization from interest to action

-The difference between falling in love with your idea and finding product-market fit

- Why the biggest FinTech opportunities in the next decade are in stable coins, human interaction monetization, and infrastructure

-How to think about AI governance, gateways, and guardrails
What it means to lead yourself before you can lead others

Derek is a seventh-generation Utahn who spent 17 years living and building overseas before coming home to Utah. His perspective on what makes this state special — and why it matters for the next generation of founders — is worth the watch alone.

Start School is Silicon Slopes' free entrepreneurship program built for founders at every stage.

0:00 — Welcome and Introduction to Derek White
1:45 — Derek's Background: From College Roommate Business to East Coast Finance
4:20 — Building the First Internet Bank and the Birth of Online Financial Services
7:10 — Selling to Barclays and 17 Years Overseas: UK, Dubai, Spain
11:30 — What Is the Future of Dubai?
14:00 — Building a Stealth AI Company: The Fourth Cycle
17:15 — How Derek Is Using AI Right Now: Agentic vs. Generative
21:00 — Q&A Begins
21:15 — How Do You Control AI Agent Governance? The Three G's
26:40 — Can Money Be Used for Good? Multiple Capitals and the ABCs of Leadership
33:10 — What Actually Moves a 140,000-Person Company From Interest to Action
39:00 — The 3-6-9 Rule for Shipping Fast
43:20 — The Number One Startup Pitfall to Avoid
45:30 — How to Think About Going Public and SEC Requirements
48:00 — Why Derek Loves Stealth Mode and the Sacrifices It Requires
52:15 — How Do We Keep AI From Feeling Soulless?
55:30 — What Makes Utah Special: A Global Perspective
1:01:00 — The Future of FinTech: Stable Coins, Human Interaction, and Infrastructure
1:08:20 — OpenClaw, Security Risks, and the Agentic Cost Problem
1:13:45 — Anthropic vs. OpenAI: How Should Leaders Think About AI Ethics?
1:18:30 — Personal Leadership: Know Yourself Before You Lead Others
1:24:00 — Closing and Wrap-Up

Personal Leadership and Integrity: Lessons from Will West

Silicon Slopes — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:21:53 -0600

Will West is a Silicon Slopes legend. He's built multiple successful companies, most notably Control 4, a pioneer in home automation. In this session, Will got honest about what it actually takes to build something worth building.

00:00:00 - Introduction and Background
00:00:54 - Starting a Company in the Age of AI
00:01:25 - Why Be an Entrepreneur?
00:02:08 - Retirement and Starting Again
00:02:31 - Becoming an Expert
00:03:13 - AI in Home Automation
00:05:06 - Raising Money in Today's Environment
00:07:31 - Measuring Expertise
00:08:07 - Formal Education vs. Self-Education
00:10:43 - Early Stage Decision Making
00:11:02 - Commitment and Momentum
00:14:09 - Biggest Mistake
00:19:32 - Platform Building Priorities
00:22:16 - Partnership Dynamics
00:24:15 - Exit Strategy
00:33:23 - Outcomes-Based Contracting in Education
00:36:27 - Importance of Partnerships
00:38:14 - Ideal Board Member Profile
00:42:25 - Building from Vision to Scale
00:46:17 - Handling Competition
00:48:55 - Winning Against Big Competitors
00:52:29 - Personal Leadership
00:56:05 - Closing Remarks

Start School Session: John Pestana

Silicon Slopes — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 15:23:27 -0600

John Pestana, co-founder of Omniture and co-founder and CEO of ObservePoint, joins Start School for a candid, wide-ranging conversation about building billion-dollar companies, surviving the AI shift, structuring founders correctly, and why most people fail simply because they never start.

From buying 40 million dollars of servers per year in the early days of SaaS to today’s AI-powered one-person startups, John breaks down what has changed and what has not.

This is not a biography. It is a tactical masterclass in entrepreneurship, integrity, grit, and long-term thinking.

Topics include:

• Why SaaS is not dead
• The real opportunity in AI
• How to structure founder equity
• When to start a company
• Product market fit explained simply
• Government regulation and entrepreneurship
• Raising money for business vs nonprofit
• Investor integrity
• How to lead yourself
• Why “just start” matters more than almost anything

If you are building, thinking about building, or stuck waiting for the right time, this episode is for you.

00:00:00 - Introduction and Welcome
00:00:26 - Guest Introduction: John Pistana
00:01:08 - Founding Omniture and Silicon Slopes
00:02:08 - Starting a Software Company in the 90s vs. Today
00:03:28 - Impact of AWS on Startups
00:04:22 - Raising Venture Capital in the SaaS World
00:04:49 - Embracing AI in Business
00:05:11 - Opportunities for Entrepreneurs with AI
00:07:56 - Audience Q&A Introduction
00:08:24 - Acknowledging Key People
00:08:42 - Building Scalable Products with Limited Experience
00:10:08 - Importance of Partnerships in Business
00:13:05 - The Future of SaaS Companies
00:15:32 - Transitioning from a Full-Time Job to Entrepreneurship
00:18:44 - Sales and Marketing for New Entrepreneurs
00:23:16 - The Future and Impact of AI
00:25:52 - Corporate Structure and Equity Distribution
00:28:34 - Challenges for Returning Citizens
00:34:16 - Helping People Through Business
00:38:06 - Timing and Market Fit for New Ventures
00:44:26 - Finding the Right Business Partner
00:46:38 - Importance of Starting and Taking Action
00:47:32 - Recruitment Process for Partners and Investors