From Garage Startup to Octus: How LevPro Modernized Front-Office Workflows (Ryan Barrows and John Porges, Co-Founders of LevPro)

Ryan Barrows and John Porges built LevPro out of firsthand experience with the inefficiencies that largely still shape leveraged credit workflows. Ryan brought a background in technology, trading, and systems-building across Morgan Stanley and Benefit Street Partners, while John spent 12 years as a loan, high yield and distressed trader at Kingsland Capital, Doubleline Capital and Blackstone and brings deep market relationships and customer insights to LevPro’s go-to market strategy.

In this episode, Ryan and John share the story behind founding LevPro, from taking the plunge in March 2020 and building through the early days of COVID to landing their first customers, hiring a lean remote team, and creating software designed around the way credit professionals actually work. The conversation also covers the recent agreement for Octus to acquire LevPro, why the partnership made sense, and how data, workflow automation, and AI could reshape the next phase of leveraged credit.

Listen to the full episode here:

About Ryan and John:

Ryan Barrows and John Porges are the Co-Founders of LevPro, a modern operating system built for leveraged credit asset managers. LevPro was founded to help credit teams streamline front-office workflows across research, trading, portfolio management, and daily execution. Prior to founding LevPro, Ryan worked across technology and trading roles, including at Morgan Stanley and Benefit Street Partners, where he built systems and traded leveraged credit products. John began his career in the loan market at Kingsland Capital and brought deep market relationships and customer insight to LevPro’s go-to-market strategy.