Startups With Stu

The gaming industry surpasses music, movies, and sports combined in market size, yet Luke Richey envisions something bigger than profits alone. As founder of America's oldest augmented reality company Gravity Jack, he's crafting a revolutionary gaming experience backed by legendary Atari founder Nolan Bushnell and protected by a powerful patent portfolio. After building games that generated $35M+...

What's the smartest way to turn $10,000 in savings into a business that gives you true time and financial freedom? In this episode of Startups with Stu, Ethan Clark reveals his journey from real estate investing to co-founding Idaho Falls Junk Removal, while plotting an ambitious exit strategy that could multiply his company's value. Host Stuart Draper breaks down the counterintuitive truth about...

What happens when you combine the urgent need for expert voices with publishers' insatiable demand for authentic content? Brett Farmiloe, founder of Featured.com, shares how he transformed this market gap into a thriving platform that now powers content for industry giants like Fast Company, Forbes, and HubSpot. In this episode, Brett reveals the strategic pivot that led him from running a 500-cli...

"You're not a marketing genius. You don't even have a job. You do yoga all the time." These were the words Curtis Matsko's girlfriend hurled at him when he boldly declared he was going to quit his job and start a hundred-million-dollar company selling leather journals. Her response? "That's the stupidest idea ever." Fast forward to today, and Curtis Matsko didn't just prove her wrong - he built a...

In this week's episode of Startups with Stu, discover what happens when you combine the hype of custom sneakers with B2B marketing. Matt Williams reveals how his company DSCMFRT is transforming corporate gifting and social media engagement by turning Nike and Adidas sneakers into viral marketing assets. From crafting money-themed Air Jordans to creating region-specific designs for real estate firm...

What happens when you trade a cushy Target supply chain job for a risky startup role with no salary for five months? For Brandon Winter, former CRO of Stukent and founder of Fundraise Genius, it led to helping build Stukent from zero to serving over a million students across 80 countries. Going behind the scenes of Stukent's meteoric rise, Brandon reveals how Stukent grew from a makeshift warehous...

Every morning, Stukent's first CTO Mike "Turbo" Farmer would burst into the warehouse-turned-office shouting "TURBO!" – bringing energy and fun to a startup racing against impossible deadlines. As the sole technical leader, Mike powered through Christmas coding sessions to rebuild Stukent's entire platform, ultimately helping create software that would impact students at over 300 universities. Thr...

We showed up to conferences and we had humans all over our booth. So many humans that our neighbours were complaining" - this is how Trevor Erikson describes Stukent's early disruptive entry into the academic publishing space, where he served as the company's first hire and CMO. From pioneering personalized marketing campaigns (including tracking down professors' favorite candy ba...

"I was living in my parents' basement making $15 an hour when suddenly Merrill Lynch paperwork showed up saying I was worth $3 million" - this is how Dan Handy describes his first major exit, but it was just the beginning of his remarkable journey in technology entrepreneurship. From pioneering the freemium model in web hosting to scaling Bluehost to $65 million in revenue without ra...

"The only thing harder than starting a hemp food business in 1998 was doing it as a guy with a ponytail," jokes Mike Fata, who turned his personal health transformation into a revolutionary business that would forever change the hemp food industry. Starting Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods with just $50,000 in first-year sales, Mike persevered through a decade of unprofitability, regulatory b...

"I had a university degree in one hand and a two-month-old baby in the other" - this is how Keri-Ellen Walcer turned simple nursery rhymes into a business touching thousands of families. What started with knee bounces in her living room grew into a network of 50 licensees blending music, movement, and early childhood development. After selling her first company and becoming an entreprene...

From ranch hand to digital marketing mogul, Michael Johnson's entrepreneurial journey is a masterclass in building a service-based business. In this episode of Startups with Stu, the CEO of Get Found First shares how early lessons from 4-H sales and a pivotal private jet meeting shaped his path to success. Gain insider perspective on the strategic acquisition that transformed competitors into...

From bootstrapping a SaaS company to a successful exit, Jared Nygren's entrepreneurial journey is a blueprint for startup success. Now leading Apruv, a customer retention platform transforming the pest control industry, Jared shares his playbook for building and scaling tech companies without massive funding. Learn his innovative approach to building an overseas development team, navigating co...

What does it take to build multiple successful income streams as an entrepreneur while maintaining a full-time career? Meet Dr. Jen Riley, a marketing professor at Vanderbilt who’s rewriting the rules of entrepreneurship through her unique path of consulting, teaching, and authorship. In this candid conversation with Stu Draper, she demolishes the Instagram-perfect myth of startup life while...

Discover the entrepreneurial journey of Nick Greer. In this captivating episode, Nick reveals how he went from being rejected three times by BYU's business school to selling his first company after eight and a half years, proving his doubters wrong. Get an intimate look at his philosophy of "protecting the base". Nick also shares vulnerable insights about his early struggles and how...

In this week’s episode, Chris Deaver, author of "Brave Together," unveils the secret sauce behind some of the world's most innovative companies. Chris shares his experiences from Apple, where he helped transform some of Apple’s team culture. Discover how breaking free from traditional hierarchies and fostering true collaboration can lead to groundbreaking results. Chris r...

What does it take to bootstrap a startup for five years and then raise millions in funding? Shane Murphy, founder of Boostly, reveals his extraordinary journey from living frugally to revolutionizing restaurant marketing. Discover the unexpected benefits of joining Y Combinator and learn how to maintain control through multiple funding rounds. Join Shane and Stu as they dive deep into pivoting pro...

This week, I sat down with Gonzalo Tudela, founder of Examind, to discuss his journey to tackling academic integrity in higher education. Gonzalo offers insights into the realities of entrepreneurship in education technologies. Discover how he pivoted his approach when faced with resistance, learning valuable lessons about product positioning and understanding customer needs. Don't miss this e...

This week we hear from Bryan Coy, President of MedCart AR, as he revolutionizes hospital crash cart training. Learn how this innovative augmented reality simulation and app is putting life-saving tools in nurses' pockets, potentially impacting thousands of code blue situations daily. Bryan shares his path to entrepreneurship, from corporate product management to cold-calling hospitals, and rev...

  In this week's episode, meet Will Martin, the 22-year-old Spanish entrepreneur disrupting the B2B SaaS space with his company, Founder Video. Will shares his journey from learning English to closing his first client and reveals the power of content creation in driving sales. Discover how Will's unique approach to client retention and his passion for building relationships has fueled...

Step into the world of edtech entrepreneurship with Justin Hewett, the visionary founder and CEO of Flashlight Learning. Discover how he navigated the challenges of balancing a thriving business with a growing family of six children, and learn the secrets behind Flashlight Learning's remarkable impact on English language learners. Justin shares insights on bootstrapping, maintaining company ow...

Ryon Hays is an incredible entrepreneur. Despite facing devastating setbacks, including losing everything multiple times, enduring physical injuries, and encountering personal betrayals, Ryon has chosen not to give up and keep trying every time. In this episode, he opens up about the lessons he's learned from his failures and the importance of understanding one's true motivations for pursu...

This week on Startups With Stu, I sat down with Sharon Soliday, an entrepreneur making a difference in the offerings of speech pathologists. Sharon reveals how she grew her company to over 100 employees across six states, sharing insights on maintaining quality service at scale. Learn about her innovative approach to company values, the art of working yourself out of a job, and the intricacies of...

Dive into the world of startup innovation with Christian Durfee, founder of InvestLink Social, as he shares his startup experiences. Discover how InvestLink Social is revolutionizing the fundraising landscape by connecting founders and investors through a unique social networking platform. Get an insider's perspective on the thriving Utah startup ecosystem and learn why it might be the next Si...

In this episode of Startups with Stu, we dive deep into the topic of entrepreneurship with Marc LeFevre, founder of Kalibrate AI. Marc shares his experiences with transforming an idea into a revenue-generating business, offering insights on finding the right co-founders and navigating the challenges of bootstrapping. Host Stu Draper, a seasoned entrepreneur, in turn, offers advice on scaling, sale...