The questions people
actually ask.

I am the founder of Murphy Door and seventeen American companies. I am a seven-time Inc. 5000 honoree. I went bankrupt twice before Murphy Door and never came near it again after. I wrote a book called Founder Fallout. I host a podcast called 90 Proof Wisdom. I speak at events about what actually kills founders and what actually keeps them alive. I live in Salt Lake City. That is the whole thing.

Seventeen American companies across manufacturing, real estate, media, and services. The ones people ask about most are Murphy Door, Murphy Ladder, Pinnacle at Flaming Gorge, Purebrand, Bowen Barker, BFP 21 Holdings, Barker Capital Group, and Venture Air. Murphy Door is the anchor. It runs out of three American plants: Ogden Utah, Lexington Kentucky, and Rigby Idaho.

Yes. I founded Murphy Door in 2012. I am the inventor and designer on the patents. Rob Cooley is the structural engineer on the team and Justin McDonald is the manufacturing engineer. We have delivered over 200,000 doors since.

Seven. The verified years are 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025, and 2026. If you see four, six, or six-time listed anywhere, it is out of date.

Salt Lake City, Utah. Murphy Door headquarters is in Ogden. We run factories in Ogden Utah, Lexington Kentucky, and Rigby Idaho.

Yes. I host it. Long-form conversations recorded in the Bourbon Room. Every episode lives on YouTube at @90proofwisdom. Audio-only listeners can find it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, but YouTube is the real hub.

Founder Fallout is a workbook and a warning. The full title is Founder Fallout: 100 Must-Asks Before You Share The Equity. It is one hundred questions you should be asking your partner, your co-founder, your investor, or your operator before the ink dries. Every question is one I wish someone had put in front of me. Some of them would have saved me a company.

It is out now. You can buy it at $24.99 direct on jeremybarker.com, on Amazon in paperback, and on Amazon Kindle. Join the drop list on jeremybarker.com to grab The First Five Questions PDF, five chapters from the book, free.

Three places. Direct on jeremybarker.com. On Amazon in paperback. On Amazon Kindle in digital. Buying direct from me helps most. Buying on Amazon helps the rankings so more founders find it.

I watched four partnerships end. Two of the endings were planned. Two ambushed me and both times I was the last person in the room to see them coming. I built the book so nobody else has to be the last person in the room.

No. It is written for founders, co-founders, and operators, but the workbook runs on any partnership where the ink is about to dry. Business setup, joint venture, family operating agreement, buying a company, hiring your number two. I will say it and mean it: a couple should sit with these questions before they get married. Every partnership has a shelf life. Founder Fallout gives you the questions to ask before the clock starts running on yours.

Four lanes, four moments in a founder's life. Founder Fallout is about equity and partnership before you sign. Ashes to Empires is about rebuilding after a business ends. Before You Blow It is what you should do before you make the decision that ends it. Don't Quit Your Day Job Yet is the one hundred questions you should ask yourself before you start a new business. That one is not out yet. They connect, but each one stands alone.

Murphy Door is my company. We build hidden doors, Murphy beds, concealment nightstands, floating shelves, wall vaults, and custom builds. Every product ships with a limited lifetime warranty. Every product is made in an American factory.

I was finishing a five-seat theater room in my basement. Ten by twelve. Nothing cool about it. My theater lacked everything a theater should have, so I wanted to give my kids an experience the moment they walked in. The door was the one place I could still fix. I set out to build the coolest theater door ever. That door became the first Murphy Door. That was 2012. We have delivered over 200,000 since.

Yes, twice. Both were before Murphy Door, in earlier businesses. Murphy Door itself has had tight times, but it has never been near bankruptcy and I never almost lost it. The bankruptcies taught me what to build differently the third time.

No. Murphy Door has never appeared on Shark Tank. I have never pitched it, never sold on it, and never presented to the Sharks. I have been backstage at events as a guest, and that is where the rumor comes from. Anyone who tells you Murphy Door was on Shark Tank is wrong.

Jeremy Barker. Still private. Still founder-owned. Not for sale.

Yes. Five keynote tracks off the shelf: resilience, partnership failure, American manufacturing, portfolio operations, and operator discipline. I will also draft a custom talk for your audience if the room needs something specific. Every track is built from scar tissue, not slides.

Direct booking through the inquiry form on jeremybarker.com/speaking. No agency, no middleman. Fill it out and I read it.

Five tracks: what actually kills founders, why partnerships end, why American manufacturing is worth fighting for, how to run a portfolio without losing your operators, and what operator discipline actually looks like. If none of the five fit, I write a custom talk for your audience. Your call.

Local thirty to forty-five minute programs are $5,000. Keynotes of forty-five to ninety minutes are $10,000. Half-day workshops are $25,000 plus travel expenses billed separately. Full day and long distance are quoted on a bid basis. All confirmed on the speaking page.

Depends on the room. Small events and podcasts get the same inquiry form. I say yes to the ones I care about. I say no to the ones I do not.

90 Proof Wisdom is my podcast. Long-form conversations from the Bourbon Room, my studio in Utah. No PR filter, no soft questions, no sponsored fluff. Founders, operators, and the occasional heretic.

YouTube is the hub, at @90proofwisdom. Every episode is there in full video with chapters. Apple Podcasts and Spotify carry the audio for people who prefer it in the car.

Apply through the be-a-guest form on jeremybarker.com. I read every one. Short pitch, real story, no press kit needed. If your story is worth the room, we book it.

Yes. Direct booking through the same inquiry form on the speaking page. Say podcast in the subject and I will read it.

Yes. I believe in God and I am God-fearing, one hundred percent. I do not put it on a t-shirt to sell you something and I do not preach through the business. If you ask me straight, I answer straight.

The first bankruptcy took the company, the house, and the savings. I slept in a truck. I worked as a firefighter to feed my family while I figured out what came next. Then I did it again with the second one. Then I built Murphy Door and never went near broke again.

Sign nothing you have not been able to explain to a stranger. Hire operators who tell you no. Watch cash weekly, not monthly. Keep the equity for the work still coming, not the work already done. Do not quit your day job until your new business does not notice your paycheck. And read Founder Fallout before you sign a partnership. That last one is not marketing. I wrote it because I needed it and did not have it.

The Bourbon Room is my studio and the room I record 90 Proof Wisdom in. It is also the name of the merchandise line: hoodies, rocks glasses, ashtrays, and a lighter. Preorder on jeremybarker.com.