Startup Success: Lessons from a $20M+ Founder Turned VC | Tyler Richards | Episode 49
Tue Feb 03 2026
The Science of Startup Success: Why 95% of Funded Startups Fail (And How to Be in the 5%)
Think raising money will solve your startup problems? Think again. In this episode, Tyler Richards—serial exited entrepreneur, General Partner at Startup Ignition Ventures, and founder who scaled DevMountain to $10M in revenue and a successful exit—reveals why most venture-backed startups crash and burn, and exactly how to validate your business idea before wasting time and money.
What You’ll Learn:
✅ The Quibi disaster: How a $2 billion startup failed in just 7 months (and the lesson every founder needs to know)
✅ The Lean Startup methodology: Tyler’s step-by-step scientific approach to building businesses that actually work
✅ The Business Model Canvas framework: How to move from guesses to facts in all 9 critical areas of your business
✅ Real case study: How one company made 7 pivots and sold for $100M after raising just $250K
✅ The riskiest assumption exercise: Identify what could kill your startup (before it does)
About Tyler Richards:
Tyler Richards is General Partner at Startup Ignition Ventures, a pre-seed venture fund that actively mentors the startups it invests in. Tyler founded and scaled DevMountain to $10M in revenue before a successful exit in 2016. He now runs the Startup Ignition Bootcamp, which has helped over 1,200 companies validate and scale their ideas using lean startup methodology.
Working alongside his father John Richards (who took InfoSpace public), Tyler leads investments in validated tech and software business models across Utah and the Mountain West. Named to Utah’s 2025 “40 Under 40” list.
Connect with Tyler Richards:
∙
Startup Ignition: https://www.startupignition.com
∙
Startup Ignition Ventures: https://www.startupignition.vc
Subscribe to Startups with Stu for weekly conversations with founders, investors, and entrepreneurs who are building real businesses the right way—no fluff, just actionable startup advice from people who’ve done it.
Keywords: startup advice, lean startup, business validation, venture capital, entrepreneurship podcast, how to start a business, product market fit, business model canvas, startup funding, bootstrap startup, entrepreneur tips, Tyler Richards, Startup Ignition, Utah startups
More
The Science of Startup Success: Why 95% of Funded Startups Fail (And How to Be in the 5%) Think raising money will solve your startup problems? Think again. In this episode, Tyler Richards—serial exited entrepreneur, General Partner at Startup Ignition Ventures, and founder who scaled DevMountain to $10M in revenue and a successful exit—reveals why most venture-backed startups crash and burn, and exactly how to validate your business idea before wasting time and money. What You’ll Learn: ✅ The Quibi disaster: How a $2 billion startup failed in just 7 months (and the lesson every founder needs to know) ✅ The Lean Startup methodology: Tyler’s step-by-step scientific approach to building businesses that actually work ✅ The Business Model Canvas framework: How to move from guesses to facts in all 9 critical areas of your business ✅ Real case study: How one company made 7 pivots and sold for $100M after raising just $250K ✅ The riskiest assumption exercise: Identify what could kill your startup (before it does) About Tyler Richards: Tyler Richards is General Partner at Startup Ignition Ventures, a pre-seed venture fund that actively mentors the startups it invests in. Tyler founded and scaled DevMountain to $10M in revenue before a successful exit in 2016. He now runs the Startup Ignition Bootcamp, which has helped over 1,200 companies validate and scale their ideas using lean startup methodology. Working alongside his father John Richards (who took InfoSpace public), Tyler leads investments in validated tech and software business models across Utah and the Mountain West. Named to Utah’s 2025 “40 Under 40” list. Connect with Tyler Richards: ∙ Startup Ignition: https://www.startupignition.com ∙ Startup Ignition Ventures: https://www.startupignition.vc Subscribe to Startups with Stu for weekly conversations with founders, investors, and entrepreneurs who are building real businesses the right way—no fluff, just actionable startup advice from people who’ve done it. Keywords: startup advice, lean startup, business validation, venture capital, entrepreneurship podcast, how to start a business, product market fit, business model canvas, startup funding, bootstrap startup, entrepreneur tips, Tyler Richards, Startup Ignition, Utah startups