Jay Reno is the founder and CEO of PointHound, a free platform helping hundreds of thousands of people earn and redeem credit card points for maximum value—often unlocking free business class flights. But Jay’s journey started long before PointHound. He previously founded Feather, a furniture subscription startup that redefined how millennials furnish their homes. Under Jay’s leadership, Feather scaled to $15M in annual recurring revenue, raised over $70M in funding, and was ultimately acquired in 2022.In this conversation, Jay and David dive deep into the full founder arc—from early failures to scaling a venture-backed operation—and everything he's applying to his new startup. They discuss:How Jay lost his life savings on his first company—and what he learnedThe origin story behind Feather and the cold email that changed his lifeHow Feather scaled from a duct-taped operation to $15M in ARRThe operational challenges of running a semi-vertical logistics businessWhy the pandemic forced a complete shift in strategyWhat it’s like raising capital when everything looks perfect—but still isn’t easyHow to build loyalty and change consumer behavior with timeWhy most people are wasting their credit card points—and what to do insteadHow PointHound helps anyone fly business class for freeThe cards Jay wishes he used while running FeatherWhat Jay learned going through YC… twiceMuch moreBrought to you by:Fondo — Your all-in-one accounting platform for startups. Bookkeeping, taxes, and R&D credits, on autopilot. https://tryfondo.comPointHound — Redeem credit card points for free flights. No guesswork, just travel. https://pointhound.comFind the transcript at: Startup Growth PodcastWhere to Find Jay RenoX: @jayjrenoLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jayjrenoWebsite: https://pointhound.comWhere to Find David PhillipsX: @davjLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davjphillipsIn This Episode, We Cover(00:00) Introduction and welcome(01:22) Jay’s first founder punch with his grocery delivery startup(03:06) Early lessons from failure and jumping into Feather(04:43) Starting Feather and how the West Elm deal happened(06:55) Applying to YC from a pizza shop Wi-Fi(08:59) Feather’s scrappy early operations—manual delivery and DIY logistics(13:14) Raising a $3.5M seed and hitting 7% week-over-week growth(19:46) Operating out of a chaotic Dumbo retail space(22:34) Discovering a B2B growth channel and building a team(26:48) The surprising difficulty of raising a Series A(30:22) Closing a $30M warehouse line to unlock scale(33:20) How COVID froze growth and forced strategy shifts(36:02) Selling Feather to Vesta in 2022(37:03) Jay’s time in VC and why he returned to building(38:53) The pain of points mistakes and the birth of PointHound(40:20) The best (and worst) credit cards for startups(41:51) Making points redemption 10x easier and smarter(43:40) Getting PointHound’s first users through Reddit and Bookface(45:32) Final thoughts and where to find JayReferencedFeather: https://feather.comY Combinator (YC): https://www.ycombinator.com645 Ventures: https://645ventures.comBrex Card: https://www.brex.com/cardAmex Business Gold: https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/credit-cards/business-gold-cardCapital One Spark Miles: https://www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-milesBookface (YC network): https://bookface.ycombinator.comReddit r/Churning: https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/

Ver todos los episodios