The Credit Bubble with Derek Brunelle

Welcome to The Credit Bubble—a podcast about the people and institutions deploying and managing the debt capital that fuels businesses and ecosystems around the world. In each episode, we bring you conversations with the executives and practitioners shaping the lending industry—sharing insights, lessons learned, and personal stories from across the world of credit.

13 episodes

1mo ago latest

monthly cadence

English language

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Episodes 13

Peter Goldstein: Preparing Founders for a Better Exit
1mo ago · 49:24
In this episode of The Credit Bubble, I sit down with Peter Goldstein, CEO of a Nasdaq-listed acquisition corporation and a four-decade entrepreneur with five exits behind him. Peter traces his arc from starting a perishable food business at 24 — and selling it at 30 with no banker, no transactional lawyer, and millions left on the table — to running his own boutique investment bank and now leading a public company. We get into why he tells founders that not everyone will IPO, but every company will eventually exit, and why building a transferable business that can run without you is the real
Ben Johnson: Adapting, Developing, and Leading in Banking
7mo ago · 48:16
Today’s episode features Ben Johnson, a longtime colleague and friend from the Silicon Valley Bank ecosystem whose career spans nearly three decades across private banking, commercial lending, venture debt, seed-stage ecosystem building, and now specialty finance at Celtic Bank. Ben walks us through his early life in Minnesota, the path that led him into banking, and how he ultimately found his way to SVB. We explore his evolution into life science and med-tech lending, his seven-year effort building SVB’s national seed-stage life science strategy, and his firsthand experience navigating the e
Marshall Hawks: Venture Debt Deals - Funding Growth with Less Dilution
7mo ago · 1:14:47
In this episode, I sit down with Marshall Hawks, author of Venture Debt Deals: How to Fund Growth with Less Dilution and former senior leader at Silicon Valley Bank, for a wide-ranging conversation on how venture debt actually works in practice. Drawing on more than 16 years inside the venture banking ecosystem, Marshall unpacks why venture debt is ultimately a relationship business—and why the choice of lending partner often matters more than headline pricing or structure. The discussion weaves through real-world case studies from Marshall’s career, including Twitch/Justin.tv, Airbnb, and Cle
Ryan Edwards: Launching a Private Credit Fund
11mo ago · 55:34
In this episode of The Credit Bubble, I sit down with Ryan Edwards, founder of Prospeq and partner at Lioncrest, to discuss his leap from SVB to launching a credit fund aimed at overlooked markets and founders. We explore Prospeq’s focus on businesses outside the traditional venture mold, the diligence required when institutional backers aren’t present, and why hands-on lending creates value beyond capital. Ryan also shares how his new partnership with Lioncrest brings debt and equity under one roof to deliver the right capital at the right time, and offers his perspective on AI’s evolving rol
Krista Morgan: Restructuring Venture-Backed Software Companies
2mo ago · 51:38
In this episode of The Credit Bubble, I sit down with Krista Morgan, co-founder of Edited Capital, a lower-middle-market private equity firm that acquires controlling interests in venture-backed software companies. Krista's career runs from digital marketing in London, to building an invoice-financing fintech platform in Colorado that cycled roughly a billion dollars of receivables, to now buying B2B SaaS and tech-enabled services companies that took venture capital but aren't on a venture path. We discuss why she views venture as a contract problem more than a funding problem, what makes toda
Charles Thor: Crafting a Career in Commercial Banking
4mo ago · 1:17:17
In this episode of The Credit Bubble, I sit down with Charles Thor to explore his path from commercial banking at Union Bank to global roles with MUFG and HSBC, and ultimately into credit leadership at Silicon Valley Bank. We discuss how early underwriting experience shapes long-term judgment, what changes when you move from the deal team into the credit seat, and how global banking experience influences risk evaluation. We also get into how credit decisions actually get made in practice—and close with Charles’s “User Guide,” a framework for aligning teams around communication, consistency, an
Jake Bernstein: Managing Risk in Life Sciences Venture Lending
12mo ago · 53:37
In this episode of The Credit Bubble, I sit down with Jake Bernstein, Vice President at Avenue Capital, to trace his path from Comerica to Oxford and now to Avenue’s growth lending platform. Jake explains how moving from a permanent balance sheet to a GP/LP fund model reshaped his approach to risk, structure, and upside. We dive into Avenue’s underwriting in life sciences, what makes an attractive med device or biopharma opportunity, and why management experience is often the most critical factor. Jake also reflects on today’s tight equity markets, the role of private credit as “the most popul
Scott Aleali: Inside the Evolution of Private Equity Finance
1y ago · 55:47
Host Derek Brunelle speaks with Scott Aleali, Head of Private Equity Finance – New York Region at Citizens Private Bank, about how fund finance has expanded from simple capital-call lines to a full suite of solutions for private equity and venture capital firms. They explore the financing life cycle, NAV lending trends, underwriting uncalled capital, and how today’s market impacts fund formation and emerging managers.
Aznaur Midov: Credit, Content, and Company Building
6mo ago · 36:24
In this episode of The Credit Bubble, I sit down with Aznaur Midov to explore his career progression from institutional banking to independent entrepreneurship. Aznaur shares how his experience across venture banking, leveraged lending, and private credit shaped his views on underwriting, risk, and market cycles—and how that experience ultimately led him to build Debt Serious and launch Kior Lior, a business providing outsourced underwriting and portfolio management for private credit investors. We also discuss the role of content as distribution, the growing complexity of co-investing, and wh
Kevin Grossman: Lending to the Next Inflection Point
1mo ago · 46:52
In this episode of the Credit Bubble, I sit down with Kevin Grossman, Partner at Decathlon Capital Partners. Kevin's banking career began at Silicon Valley Bank in 1999, on the asset-based lending and factoring desk, and it wasn't long before he was leading a tech deal team out of Boulder. From there he moved to Hercules during its go-go days, spent a stretch in leveraged lending at White Oak, and eventually found his way to Decathlon. We dig into Decathlon's core idea, which is non-dilutive term capital built to help a company reach its next value inflection point. Instead of raising equity t
Ruben Shafir: Underwriting Unit Economics in a Shifting Credit Market
3mo ago · 1:01:48
In this episode of the Credit Bubble, I sit down with Ruben Shafir, founder of Luna Park Capital. His path runs from Brooklyn to Wharton at 16, Lehman Brothers at 18, and ultimately to founding his own credit platform. We get into how an early sense of capital as a scarce resource wired him as a deep-value investor, and how running workouts at Lone Star in London through the 2008 crisis taught him the difference between cyclical and permanent impairment. We dig into his time building the European venture debt book at Arena, why the market spent years underwriting sponsors rather than businesse
Matt Schwartz: A Lawyer's Perspective on the Evolution of Venture and Growth Lending
11mo ago · 56:59
In this episode of The Credit Bubble Podcast, I sit down with Matt Schwartz, Partner at DLA Piper, to talk about his path into law and how he became a go-to counsel for banks and private credit funds. We dig into the evolution of venture and growth-stage lending, the impact of SVB’s collapse, and the role of AI in credit. Matt also shares the story behind his “Law Dad” posts on LinkedIn and how opening up personally has resonated with thousands across the industry.
Jared Shulman: From Operators to Architects in SMB Finance
1mo ago · 48:40
In this episode of The Credit Bubble, I sit down with Jared Shulman, founder of Daylit (formerly Lendica), to talk about his path from the hedge fund world into building an AI-native lending and collections business for small and middle-market companies. Jared shares how he taught himself to code early in his career, how Daylit started by lending against accounts receivable using the real-time transaction data between buyers and sellers, and why the company underwrites the operator, not just the financials. We discuss Daylit's move into AI-driven collections: why 45% of B2B invoices are paid l

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The Credit Bubble with Derek Brunelle

Episodes 13

Peter Goldstein: Preparing Founders for a Better Exit

Ben Johnson: Adapting, Developing, and Leading in Banking

Marshall Hawks: Venture Debt Deals - Funding Growth with Less Dilution

Ryan Edwards: Launching a Private Credit Fund

Krista Morgan: Restructuring Venture-Backed Software Companies

Charles Thor: Crafting a Career in Commercial Banking

Jake Bernstein: Managing Risk in Life Sciences Venture Lending

Scott Aleali: Inside the Evolution of Private Equity Finance

Aznaur Midov: Credit, Content, and Company Building

Kevin Grossman: Lending to the Next Inflection Point

Ruben Shafir: Underwriting Unit Economics in a Shifting Credit Market

Matt Schwartz: A Lawyer's Perspective on the Evolution of Venture and Growth Lending

Jared Shulman: From Operators to Architects in SMB Finance

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Episodes 13

Peter Goldstein: Preparing Founders for a Better Exit

Ben Johnson: Adapting, Developing, and Leading in Banking

Marshall Hawks: Venture Debt Deals - Funding Growth with Less Dilution

Ryan Edwards: Launching a Private Credit Fund

Krista Morgan: Restructuring Venture-Backed Software Companies

Charles Thor: Crafting a Career in Commercial Banking

Jake Bernstein: Managing Risk in Life Sciences Venture Lending

Scott Aleali: Inside the Evolution of Private Equity Finance

Aznaur Midov: Credit, Content, and Company Building

Kevin Grossman: Lending to the Next Inflection Point

Ruben Shafir: Underwriting Unit Economics in a Shifting Credit Market

Matt Schwartz: A Lawyer's Perspective on the Evolution of Venture and Growth Lending

Jared Shulman: From Operators to Architects in SMB Finance

Podcast 森辺一樹のグローバル・マーケティング〜すべてはアジアで売るために〜