#12 - Going From Zero-to-One to 650 Deals Funded - BJ Lackland, Co-founder IBI Spikes Fund & Equal Capital, & former CEO of Lighter Capital

RBFN Podcast

BJ Lackland brings 25 years of expertise in startup funding, with roles spanning CEO of Lighter Capital, Co-Founder of the Israeli RBF fund IBI Spikes Fund, and as a VC. A pioneer in RBF, BJ has funded over 350 companies since diving into the space in 2012. During his Lighter Capital tenure, he transformed the company from zero revenue to funding over 650 deals. Following his time at Lighter Capital, BJ provided advisory services to RBF providers and initiated two new funds. The first, IBI Spikes Fund, was Israel's inaugural RBF fund, focusing on deals ranging from $1 to $6 million. In September, BJ launched Equal Capital in the US, partnering with the Spikes Fund to offer RBF and term loans to American companies. In this conversation, BJ shares lessons he’s learned building RBF platforms, talks about why it’s a good time to be providing alternative capital in tech, and shares tips for great team building, and how at the end of the day, it’s all about people.

Key Takeaways

[2:53] How BJ made his way to Equal Capital from being a high school teacher in Taiwan.

[8:20] Equal Capital’s target company.

[12:04] Building the team at Lighter Capital and helping people grow

[13:30] Bringing RBF to Israel.

[17:35] Raising capital for the new funds.

[30:29] The fundamental problem we need to address.

[34:41] Why it’s a good time to be in the tech lending space.

[37:12] Taking alternative structures into main street businesses.

[41:18] At the end of the day, it's all about people.

[45:34] Competition and collaboration are good things.

Resources:
RBF Network
Keith’s Twitter

Keith’s Linkedin
Novel Capital

Ulu Ventures

MatterScale

Guest:

BJ: Equal Capital | [e-mail] | LinkedIn | Twitter | IBI Spikes Fund