Start School Sessions

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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

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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.