Startup Ignition Podcast · 2026-07-09 · 1h 8m
In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, John and Tyler sit down with Brock Blake, co-founder and CEO of Lendio - the small-business lending marketplace that has facilitated more than $17 billion in funding and is now originating roughly $150 million a month across 6,000 - 7,000 loans with 75+ lending partners. Brock traces the whole journey: getting his start in the Junto Partners bootcamp with a $50,000 bet on him as an entrepreneur, co-founding FundingUniverse with Paul Allen of Ancestry.com, and the hard realization that 99% of the business owners coming to them would never raise venture capital - the insight that became Lendio. Along the way: the cap-table mistakes he still pays for today, why co-founder equity should be earned instead of gifted, how lenders actually underwrite you (credit, cash flow, collateral), what an SBA loan really is, why you should set up credit facilities when you're flush instead of when you're desperate - and his closing advice that cuts against the whole episode: try not to raise capital at all. A founder-financing masterclass every entrepreneur should hear.
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