This Week in Startups
Episodes
E1077: “Alchemy” Author Rory Sutherland on the Darwinian approach to business, analyzing outliers, why eccentric CEOs have a psychological advantage with customers & more!
19 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
1:00 Jason intros "Alchemy" author Rory Sutherland 3:45 Architecture is the cheapest way to buy art 6:01 How Rory is dealing with quarantine, why he...
E1076: The Power of Accelerators E9 Sunny Madra, Head of Ford X on innovating mobility for a post-COVID world, going from idea to product at a large corporation & more
18 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:52 Jason intros Ford X's Sunny Madra 4:39 How Sunny got his start in Accelerators working on Tinder with Hatch Labs at IAC 11:47 What is Ford X's ...
E1075: Cendana Capital’s Michael Kim on investing in Seed funds as a serial LP, Robinhood as an acquisition target, greatest Seed funds of all time & more
16 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:38 Jason talks about the now fully-virtual LAUNCH Accelerator and intros Cendana Capital's Michael Kim 2:47 What is a fund of funds & why do they e...
E1074 News: How VC can do better for underrepresented founders, Zoom shuts down Chinese pro-democracy accounts, Wall Street Bets, Reddit appoints YC CEO Michael Seibel to BoD & more with Lolita Taub & Tom Uebel
12 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:01 Jason intros Tom Uebel & Lolita Taub 5:17 George Floyd/Black Lives Matter protests impacting Venture Capital, Angela Benton's tweets about her b...
E1073: The Power of Accelerators E8 Mike Jones, CEO of Science shares insights on what makes a great Direct-to-Consumer Founder, investing early in Dollar Shave Club, economics of a venture-studio & more!
10 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:32 Jason speaks on current events and intros Science CEO Mike Jones, how they met after selling their companies to AOL 6:02 What is Science and how...
E1072 Ask Jason: Growing as a leader, managing more experienced employees as a young CEO, Consumer SaaS pricing tips, bull markets post-COVID & more
09 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:01 Jason teases today's questions 2:09 Luai: Is Uber still a hyper-growth company? 5:25 Weston: Advice on getting in front of/selling to startups/...
Announcement: Learn how to become a professional angel investor at Angel.University Online
09 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Angel.University Online is a 3-hour course for individuals interested in becoming professional angel investors. Hosted by Jason Calacanis & Mike Savin...
E1071 Ask Jason: Black Lives Matter, Post-COVID tech hubs, Founder/VC disputes, bringing manufacturing back to the US, pre-selling SaaS products & more
05 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Jason on CNBC: https://youtu.be/V6oqvDnuAgI 0:01 Jason intros today's questions 1:51 Aaron: Thoughts on Black Lives Matter? 9:06 Joe: How can sta...
E1070: The Power of Accelerators E7 Ravi Belani, Managing Director of Alchemist Accelerator on why the best entrepreneurs love the process, risk-taking, sourcing & investing in Justin.tv at DFJ & more
03 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:20 Jason intros Alchemist's Ravi Belani 3:41 Why is Alchemist named after Paulo Coelho book? What is the biggest benefit of Accelerators? 5:47 Rav...
E1069: Alexis Ohanian on Reddit’s crypto origins, turning VC into a team sport at Initialized, improving as an investor, fatherhood & more
03 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
1:02 Jason welcomes Alexis Ohanian to the show and asks about the Reddit sale & re-joining for the turnaround 3:39 Why was Reddit "the last website s...
E1068 AMA: NEA’s Ben Narasin takes questions from founders: most important content in a pitch deck, COVID’s impact on dealmaking, traits he looks for in founders & more!
30 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
NEA's Ben Narasin takes questions from founders: most important content in a pitch deck, COVID's impact on dealmaking, traits he looks for in founders...
E1067: Garry Tan, Managing Partner & Co-Founder of Initialized Capital, on dealing with downstream investors as a Seed-stage firm, software companies acting as governments, possibility of building IPO-level companies while fully-distributed & much more!
29 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
1:03 Jason intros Garry Tan and checks in on how his quarantine has been going 4:39 How does Garry look at Initialized's portfolio companies? What ar...
E1066: The Power of Accelerators E6 David Brown, CEO & Co-Founder of TechStars on leading the virtual accelerator trend, benefits of going global, sustained vs. temporary changes from COVID & more!
27 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:43 Jason intros TechStars CEO David Brown 4:47 TechStars leading the virtual accelerator trend 10:21 Will TechStars go with a hybrid model going f...
E1065 AMA: Slice CEO Ilir Sela answers questions from founders: tips on selling into scattered markets (like Mom & Pop shops), COVID’s impact on the restaurant industry, scaling Slice’s $43M Series C & more!
21 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Slice CEO Ilir Sela answers questions from founders: tips on selling into scattered markets (like Mom & Pop shops), COVID's impact on the restaurant i...
E1064: News Roundtable! Sam Parr & Zach Coelius on Barstool Sports vs. Call Her Daddy, SoftBank’s $17B loss, TikTok poaches former Disney exec as CEO, Facebook launches Shops & more!
21 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:51 Jason intros Zach Coelius & Sam Parr 2:28 Barstool Sports vs. Call Her Daddy 6:49 Penn National Gaming stock soaring, Dave Portnoy winning this...
All-In E3: Modern Cold War between US & China, economic recovery, potential mass migration out of San Francisco, pandemic politicization & more with David Sacks & David Friedberg
21 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Angel investor Jason Calacanis (Uber, Calm, Robinhood) interviews the world’s greatest founders, operators, investors and innovators. Get an insider...
E1063: The Power of Accelerators E5 Joshua Baer, CEO & Founder of Capital Factory shares lessons from investing in 400+ startups, best practices for transitioning accelerators to remote, insights on SXSW cancellation & more
20 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:35 Jason intros Capital Factory CEO & Founder Josh Baer 1:47 What is Capital Factory in its current iteration? How are they transitioning to remote...
E1062: News Roundtable! Acquired.FM Co-Hosts Ben Gilbert & David Rosenthal on Clubhouse’s pre-launch $100M valuation, Joe Rogan to Spotify, Uber layoffs, food delivery wars, Facebook buys GIPHY & more!
20 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:31 Jason intros today's news roundtable guests Ben Gilbert & David Rosenthal 6:54 Clubhouse raises Series A from a16z at a $100M valuation pre-laun...
E1061 AMA: Hustle Fund's Elizabeth Yin answers 50 questions from founders!
18 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Hustle Fund Co-Founder & General Partner Elizabeth Yin answers 50 questions from founders!
E1060 AMA: Range CEO & Co-Founder Dan Pupius answers questions from founders: meeting & collaborating with Evan Williams, divvying up time while building a remote team, product development advice, benefits of co-founders & more
14 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Range CEO & Co-Founder Dan Pupius answers questions from founders: meeting & collaborating with Evan Williams, divvying up time while building a remot...
E1059: The Power of Accelerators E4 Sean O’Sullivan, Managing General Partner of SOSV on running capital intensive accelerators in hardware, life sciences & food science, unique follow-on strategy, cell-based meat going mainstream, China-based vs. US-based accelerators
13 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:42 Jason intros SOSV's Sean O'Sullivan 4:19 How is operating in China during COVID? 5:22 Origin of SOSV, thoughts on in-person accelerators over r...
E1058: Slice CEO & Founder Ilir Sela helps local pizzerias compete with chains by digitizing orders & small fees, shares insights on raising $40M+ Series C during pandemic, “reverse franchise model”, viral GrubHub invoice, helping front-line workers & local pizzerias with Pizza vs. Pandemic
12 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:36 Jason shares thoughts on his portfolio activity, getting back to work, leadership & more 4:20 Jason intros Slice Founder Ilir Sela 7:14 How has...
E1057: Founders Fund General Partner Keith Rabois on stock market bounce back, domain expertise being overrated, US/China issues, 2020 election, recipe for startups success, chaos making way for a new generation of entrepreneurs & much more!
12 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:56 Jason intros Keith Rabois and checks in on his quarantine, Zoom's heightened exhaustion factor & more 5:46 What will the lasting impact of COVID...
E1056 AMA: StartX & Nexus Events Founder Cameron Teitelman answers questions from founders: how universities with no entrepreneurial culture can mimic Stanford, building flexible & sustainable culture during COVID, scaling Nexus Events rapidly & more!
12 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
StartX & Nexus Events Founder Cameron Teitelman answers questions from founders: how universities with no entrepreneurial culture can mimic Stanford, ...
E1055: Hustle Fund Co-Founder & General Partner Elizabeth Yin on her unique portfolio strategy, attracting first-time LPs, optimism for post-COVID fundraising, dealing with pro rata as a smaller fund & more!
08 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:50 Jason opens the show with some thoughts on livelihood, getting back to work as a lose-lose situation and approaching the situation with kindness ...
AMA 2: All Turtles CEO Phil Libin answers questions from founders: should early-stage founders prioritize data or instincts, building global products, ML risks, thoughts on remote work
08 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
All Turtles CEO Phil Libin answers questions from founders: should early-stage founders prioritize data or instincts, building global products, ML ris...
UPCOMING: Register for Angel.University Online at Angel.University/Events
07 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Hosted by Jason Calacanis & Michael Savino, Angel.University is a workshop for individuals interested in becoming professional angel investors. The...
E1054: The Power of Accelerators E3 Siobhan Dullea, CEO of MassChallenge on running a non-profit accelerator, accepting hundreds of companies per year, what makes a great application, why East Coast investors are more conservative & more!
06 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:42 Jason intros MassChallenge CEO Siobhan Dullea 3:09 What is MassChallenge & how is it different from a typical accelerator? 5:48 How many startu...
E1053: Ask Jason! Catching an investor’s eye with a cold email, what founders/investors often overlook during pitches, COVID’s impact on Jason’s deal flow, domain name hacks & more!
05 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:01 Jason intros today's questions! 2:18 Kate asks what founders & investors often overlook while pitching/being pitched, and what they should focus...
TEASER: Inside Transportation E3: Sandy Munro Talks Electric Vehicles, Tesla Model Y + More
02 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/transportationpodcast Featuring Sandy Munro (CEO of Munro & Associates), Jason Calacanis (Angel investor, LAUNCH, Insi...
E1052: Range CEO & Co-Founder Dan Pupius shares best practices on building culture as a remote team, insights from working on Google+, importance of asynchronous communication on distributed teams, Holacracy & more!
02 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:56 Jason intros the show & talks about the impact the TWiST Slack has had on him 4:47 Jason intros Dan Pupius of Range 6:13 What is Range and why ...
AMA 1: freeCodeCamp’s Quincy Larson answers founder and developer questions
30 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
freeCodeCamp Founder Quincy Larson answers questions from his exclusive AMA only on This Week in Startups' Slack! If you’d like to participate i...
E1051: The Power of Accelerators E2 Cameron Teitelman, Founder & Chairman of StartX on optimizing Stanford’s entrepreneurial landscape, thesis on peer-support groups’ correlation to founder success, why growth-stage founders join StartX & more!
29 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
1:00 Jason intros Power of Accelerators Episode 2! 3:07 Jason intros StartX Founder Cameron Teitelman: What is StartX, how do they invest, when and h...
E1050: PlayVS CEO & Founder Delane Parnell shares his incredible journey from the projects to raising almost $100M to build the esports platform of the future, breaking through as an outsider in tech, using leverage & partnerships to create a moat, his top 5 entrepreneurs & more!
28 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:42 Jason intros PlayVS CEO & Founder Delane Parnell 2:59 What is PlayVS, how do they make money & how fast are they growing? 5:37 Attracting inves...
SNEAK PREVIEW! Inside Transportation E2: EV Companies Take PPP Loans, Virgin Australia collapses, Levandowski v. Uber
27 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
2:42 — Electric vehicle startups receive PPP loansAs thousands of small business owners struggle to pay rent and keep their employees on staff, two ...
E1049: freeCodeCamp Founder Quincy Larson shares insights on democratizing developer skills, which programs to learn to land a coding job, if anyone can learn to code, maximizing earning potential & more!
24 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:50 Jason thanks the front-line workers & intros freeCodeCamp's Quincy Larson 7:45 Why & how did Quincy start freeCodeCamp? What is freeCodeCamp? 1...
E1048: The Power of Accelerators E1 Steve Barsh, Managing Partner of Dreamit Ventures on top portfolio companies, focusing on specific verticals, tips for nailing accelerator interviews, follow-on philosophy & more
22 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
1:00 Jason thanks all frontline workers and intros Dreamit Ventures’ Steve Barsh 3:33 How did Dreamit start, what is the goal and how is their prog...
E1047: Ask Jason Slack Special! Sourcing talent during a crisis, building strong culture & motivating remote teams, investing in distributed startups, importance of market timing & more!
22 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:01 Jason intros today's #AskJason and talks about the This Week in Startups Slack! 4:04 Ethan asks where and how Jason gets his news for general in...
E1046: News Roundtable! TechCrunch’s Alex Wilhelm & Slow Ventures’ Sam Lessin on COVID’s potential privacy risk, private/public investor outlooks, remote work challenges & at-risk early-stage investors
17 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:37 Jason intro Alex Wilhelm & Sam Lessin & checks in on how their quarantines are going 5:59 Are they all working more during quarantine then they ...
E1045: 15Five CEO & Co-Founder David Hassell shares insights on remote work: transitioning from in-person to remote, tips for keeping employees engaged, defining trust & more!
15 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:51 Jason intro 15Five's David Hassell & checks in on how his company is doing 4:23 What does a great leader need to do in a crisis? 8:26 How to sh...
SNEAK PREVIEW: E2 All-In with Chamath Palihapitiya & Jason Calacanis: Rebooting the economy, understanding corporate debt, steps to avoid a depression & more with David Sacks
11 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:01 Jason & Chamath catch us up on their quarantines 1:20 Chamath intros David Sacks 4:40 David explains what their poker group chat has been like ...
E1044: Ask Jason! Starting a company in an economic crisis, bringing on & compensating startup advisors, scaling diligence as an angel investor, Jason’s thoughts on solving the unemployment surge & more!
10 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:01 Jason previews today's Ask Jason & drops some hints about the Super Secret TWiST Slack room 2:29 Aaron asks how investors view no-code startups ...
E41: “Angel” Podcast: Shawn Carolan, Managing Partner at Menlo Ventures shares insights on his early investments in Uber, Roku, Siri & JUMP Bikes, adjusting his approach in response to hundreds of new venture funds with billions in dry powder & more!
10 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:01 Jason thanks the sponsors, guests, listeners & the team for Angel Season 4! 4:38 Jason intros Menlo Ventures' Shawn Carolan 7:26 Thoughts on th...
E1043: News Roundtable! Bloomberg Beta’s Roy Bahat & Coelius Capital’s Zach Coelius on how tech is helping during the crisis, how startups should approach SMB loans, when VC funding will bounce back, Notion’s $50M raise, Zoom’s security issues, Luckin coffee & more!
07 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:54 Jason intros Roy Bahat & Zach Coelius, and they discuss their current quarantine situations 6:04 What is the timeline looking like for going bac...
E1042: Balaji Srinivasan (@balajis) shares insights on Recode incident, need for decentralized citizen journalism, techlash through the years, potential COVID-19 endgames: bull, bear & base case scenarios
03 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:55 Jason intros Balaji Srinivasan and tees up his incident with Recode's piece: “No handshakes, please”: The tech industry is terrified of the c...
E40: “Angel” Podcast: Jeff Richards, Managing Partner at GGV Capital shares lessons for founders & investors from 2008 recession & Dot-com bust, criteria for taking on venture debt, valuing companies in a down market & more
01 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:51 Jason gives some thoughts on quarantine & intros GGV's Jeff Richards 5:11 What will this crisis look like on the other side? Benefits of having ...
E1041: The Lean Startup’s Eric Ries gives tactical advice for founders during an economic downturn: obligations of leadership, extending runway, handling layoffs with grace, finding new revenue opportunities, capitalizing on silver-linings & more!
01 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:52 Jason intros Eric Ries and they discuss how things have been since shelter-in-place started 8:33 What good will come out of this? Will UBI propo...
E1040: Figma CEO & Co-Founder Dylan Field shares insights on crucial moments in Figma’s creation, overcoming SaaS burnout, active vs. passive user-pricing, getting Greylock & Sequoia to invest after they initially passed & more!
27 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
1:00 Jason intros Figma’s Dylan Field & Dylan explains why WebGL was crucial to Figma’s creation 7:09 Why ChromeOS is flourishing in schools 11:...
E39: “Angel” Podcast: Sarah Guo, General Partner at Greylock Partners shares insights on Greylock’s “Zero to One” investment thesis, sharpening her decision-making skills, ranking team, market & product as investment criteria & the changing landscape of VC
25 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:52 Jason intros Greylock's Sarah Guo 3:37 How did Sarah wind up at Greylock? 5:45 Sarah explains Greylock's "Zero to One" thesis & typical term co...
E1039: Independent Journalist Vincent Woo reflects on his piece, “Lambda School’s Misleading Promises”, shares insights on what drew him to the story, where Lambda School went wrong, how they can be better & more
24 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:45 Jason intros Vincent Woo, who wrote "Lambda School's Misleading Promises" for New York Magazine 2:21 What drew Vincent to this story? What wrong...
E1038: News Roundtable! Index Ventures’ Sarah Cannon & TechCrunch’s Alex Wilhelm on COVID-19’s impact so far: lessons learned, Sarah’s stimulus plan, endgame scenarios & more
21 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
1:04 Jason intros Alex Wilhelm & Sarah Cannon 5:00 COVID-19: Where are we now? 10:12 Have would Obama have handled this situation? What are the prop...
E1 All-In with Chamath Palihapitiya & Jason Calacanis: US Response to COVID-19 & Impact on Startups, Venture Capital & Public Markets with David Friedberg
19 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:01 Jason & Chamath intro David and check in on each other's quarantines 2:26 Has the US overreacted or underreacted so far? David & Chamath give th...
E38: “Angel” Podcast: David Cowan, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners shares insights on owning up to his anti-portfolio, understanding sunk cost, top traits for becoming a VC & best Founders & CEOs he’s ever worked with
18 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:53 Jason intros Bessemer's David Cowan 1:54 David explains how he got his start in Venture capital in 1992 4:22 What does Bessemer look for in a p...
E1037: LAUNCH Accelerator Class 16 Founders of BasicBlock (payment solution for truckers), DaoCloud (lead-gen for health & wellness practitioners) & Lately (AI-powered social media writing software) reflect on their journeys through the program
17 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:38 Jason explains the LAUNCH Accelerator 5:39 BasicBlock CEO Taylor Monks details his journey through the LAUNCH Accelerator 14:58 BasicBlock CEO ...
EMERGENCY POD: E0 All-In with Chamath Palihapitiya & Jason Calacanis: COVID-19 Political, Economic & Social Ramifications featuring The Production Board’s David Friedberg (frmly Founder/CEO, The Climate Corporation)
15 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:01 Jason intros Chamath and Episode 0 of All-In and they discuss their current self-quarantine 0:55 Jason intros David Friedberg 1:35 Chamath give...
E1036: #AskJason Special! When to join a startup to maximize equity & job security, types of companies that will thrive in an economic downturn, legendary founder & investor traits, tips for starting a podcast & more!
13 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:01 Jason intros today's topics 2:15 George calls in and asks Jason about social media interference in the 2020 election 11:13 Joey calls in and as...
E37: “Angel” Podcast: Nicole Quinn, Partner at Lightspeed shares benefits of celebrity founders like Lady Gaga & Gwyneth Paltrow, insights on investing in consumer & power of “Force of Nature” product people
11 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:53 Jason intros Nicole Quinn 1:59 Nicole & Jason describe their separate Calm investments, will it be the first mental health IPO? 8:00 Calm's I.C...
E1035: SoftBank Managing Partner Jeff Housenbold on deploying the $100B Vision Fund, getting recruited by Masayoshi Son, counseling founders to manage massive capital, creating moats, reasons for shift toward profits, lessons from WeWork & more
10 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:40 Jason intros Jeff Housenbold 2:16 What did Jeff do before joining the Vision Fund? How did he help scale eBay & Shutterfly? 4:15 How did he win...
E1034: Formlabs CEO & Co-Founder Max Lobovsky shares insights on hitting $100M in revenue as a 3D printing platform, most lucrative use cases, growing organically, best 3D printing examples in science fiction
06 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:54 Jason intros Max Lobovsky 3:21 What is Max's business with Formlabs? What are people printing? Is it hitting scale with consumers yet? 10:52 Wh...
E36: “Angel” Podcast: Ajay Agarwal, Partner at Bain Capital shares insights on culture evolving from sales-driven to product-driven, why enterprise software is the ideal business, best investments & anti-portfolio
04 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:51 Jason intros Bain Capital's Ajay Agarwal 3:17 Are we experiencing late-stage capitalism? Is capitalism broken? 8:22 Why is upward mobility stal...
E1033: News Roundtable! Lambda School CEO Austen Allred & General Catalyst Partner Katherine Boyle on Lambda School controversy, Techlash & late-stage journalism, Robinhood down as Dow jumps & more!
03 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:54 Want to see what it's like to be an Angel Investor in Jason's Syndicate? DM @thesyndicate415 to read Jason's last 3 deal memos 1:37 Jason intros...
E1032: News Roundtable! Robinhood Snacks’ Duo Jack Kramer & Nick Martell on Coronavirus’ impact on public markets, Iger out at Disney – Buy or Sell?, link-baiting Tesla crash, defining Cult Stocks & more!
27 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:42 Jason intros Jack Kramer & Nick Martell of Robinhood Snacks 1:06 Starting Market Snacks as a side hustle after rooming together in college 13:2...
E35: “Angel” Podcast: Sarah Tavel, Partner at Benchmark shares insights on getting recruited by Peter Fenton, disrupting VC gender norms from the inside, transitioning from operator to investor & more
26 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:50 Jason intros Benchmark's Sarah Tavel 1:20 Aside from Slack, what other companies grew like consumer-facing but charge like enterprise? 3:19 How...
E1031: Zumper CEO & Co-Founder Anthemos Georgiades makes renting an apartment as easy as booking a hotel, shares insights on monetizing marketplaces, diversifying revenue streams to limit downside, Airbnb’s effect on the rental market & more!
25 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:44 Jason shares some thoughts on hard work 1:52 Jason intros Anthemos Georgiades and they discuss how Zumper was launched at TechCrunch 4:02 How d...
E1030: News Roundtable! Zapier CEO Wade Foster & Early-Stage Investor Monique Woodard on Tech Journalists vs. Founders/VCs, Twitter’s fake news detection, Kickstarter union, Blue Apron plummeting, Lambda School controversy & more!
22 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:36 Jason intros Monique & Wade 8:29 Tech Journalists vs. Founders/VCs 14:48 Is link-baiting press a systemic, societal issue? 19:21 Future of Fou...
E34: “Angel” Podcast: George Zachary, General Partner at CRV shares insights on cancer scare shifting his focus to investing in health-tech, passing on Google at MDV, CRISPR & “designer babies”, coronavirus threat, origins of Sand Hill Road & more!
19 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:50 Jason intros CRV's George Zachary 2:20 Passing on Google at MDV and coming to peace with the anti-portfolio 5:51 Differences between leadership...
E1029: Basecamp Co-Founder & Author David Heinemeier Hansson (@DHH) debates Jason on reining in capitalism, benefits of state-run education & healthcare, big-tech disappointments, work-from-home paradigm shift, wealth tax & more!
18 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:56 Jason intros David Heinemeier Hansson (@DHH) and asks about the work-from-home paradigm shift 5:28 Measuring programming success via budgets ins...
E1028: Laura Huang, author of “Edge: Turning Adversity into Advantage” shares insights on overcoming disadvantages to create an edge, being bitter vs. getting better, structural bias in tech & more
14 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:41 Jason intros "Edge" Author Laura Huang 3:00 How do Harvard MBA students compare with Stanford MBA students? 7:17 Why did Laura write "Edge" at ...
E33: “Angel” Podcast: Dan Rose, Chairman at Coatue Management is leading a $700M early-stage fund, shares insights on working with Bezos & Zuckerberg during pivotal years at Amazon & Facebook, 100+ angel investments, standout founder traits & more
12 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:50 Jason intros Coatue Management's Dan Rose 1:52 Dan takes Jason through getting his internship at Amazon in 1999 and meeting Jeff Bezos 6:55 Wha...
E1027: Orreco CEO & Founder Dr. Brian Moore built a platform that optimizes performance of elite athletes, shares cutting-edge benefits of blood sampling, biomarkers, inflammation reduction, glucose monitoring & more!
11 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:46 Jason intros Dr. Brian Moore 3:39 What does Orreco do and how do they help elite athletes? 4:46 Do they sample blood? 6:33 What teams do they ...
E1026: Cocoon Co-Founders Sachin Monga & Alex Cornell are building an intimate app to connect close circles, share insights on key standout features, raising money as a messaging app, breeding trust via strong domain names, ideal customers & more
07 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:57 Jason intros Alex & Sachin 4:46 When and why did they start Cocoon? 6:40 Why did Facebook keep changing their developer tools platform? 9:22 W...
E32: “Angel” podcast: Season 4 Premiere! Sarah Cannon, Partner at Index Ventures, shares insights on investing in the future of work, underrated emerging startup markets, going from the Obama Administration to Venture Capital, increasing upward mobility in America, fixing the gig economy & more!
05 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:01 Jason intros Season 4 of Angel & Index Ventures' Sarah Cannon 3:22 How did working for the Obama administration lead Sarah into Venture Capital?...
E1025: #StartupTuneup @ Founder.University Part 2!: 6 founders pitch to Jason & Dave Samuel of Freestyle Capital on AI driving assistance, sleep-aid wearables, marijuana, B2B food analytics & more!
04 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
1:07 Megan pitches Moment AI (facial recognition software that helps drivers) 3:19 Juan pitches DreamOn (wearable and app that help you fall asleep a...
E1024: #StartupTuneup @ Founder.University: 6 founders pitch to Jason & Dave Samuel of Freestyle Capital on merging communication networks, athlete performance tracking, DTC women’s clothing, smart tabletop gaming systems & more!
04 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
1:31 Bryan pitches Project OWL (smart communications platform) 3:46 Erin pitches Nude Barre (DTC eco-friendly hosiery) 6:02 Mike pitches STACT (Athl...
E1023: News Roundtable! Machine Zone CEO Kristen Dumont & The Register’s Iain Thomson on Bezos phone hack, Tesla valuation skyrocketing, DJ Elon, Coronavirus, Barstool Sports funding, unions, proposed Uber/DoorDash merger & more!
01 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:48 Jason intros Iain Thomson & Kristen Dumont 1:58 Iain on the grim state of his WeWork office 4:34 Bezos phone hack, Saudi interference 15:12 DJ...
E1022: One Drop CEO & Founder Jeff Dachis helps people with diabetes manage & improve their blood-sugar levels, shares insights on making data actionable, recent strategic partnership with Bayer, issues with US healthcare & potential life-expansion
28 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:47 Jason intros One Drop CEO Jeff Dachis 2:37 What was Jeff's original vision with One Drop? How has it evolved over time? 5:39 How did One Drop g...
E1021: Bubble Co-CEO & Co-Founder Emmanuel Straschnov built a no-code platform to empower the next generation of programmers, shares insights on bootstrapping to over 300k users, developing skills while scaling & more
24 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:53 Jason intros Bubble CEO Emmanuel Straschnov 4:25 Defining "no-code" and how Bubble differs from other no-code tools? 9:04 How much more efficie...
E1020: CEO/Investor Coach & Author Matt Mochary shares insights on developing his coaching method, understanding & overcoming primal fear, addressing imposter syndrome & more
21 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:01 Calling all writers! Apply to be the first TWiST Archivist at twistarchivist.com 2:42 Jason intros CEO Coach & Author Matt Mochary 4:49 How and...
E1019: Mahmee CEO & Co-Founder Melissa Hanna is helping new moms navigate thru postpartum care, shares insights on getting Serena Williams & Mark Cuban to invest, improving the experience for mothers of color & adding structure to a fragmented industry
17 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:58 Jason intros Melissa Hanna 1:40 What is Mahmee? What challenges are they solving for? 4:54 How does Mahmee acquire customers? Who pays for the ...
E1018: #AskJason! Avoiding first-time founder mistakes, causes of big-tech layoffs, participating in a Series A as an Angel, running a US-based startup as an international student, importance of having a strong lead investor & more!
14 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
1:39 Peter calls in and asks Jason the optimal check size if first engaging with a company in their Series A and general best practices while Angel in...
E1017: Open Office Hours LIVE! Jason helps founders with their biggest challenges: scaling as a solo founder, reducing churn, raising capital in a heavily regulated field, pivoting from one-time payments to SaaS & more @ WSGR
10 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:46 Mehak from OnDelta (ISA School for Growth Hacking/Marketing) asks Jason best practices on scaling her business as a solo founder 10:18 Ketan fro...
E1016: Substack CEO & Co-Founder Chris Best empowers writers via his email newsletter platform, shares insights on driving change in the attention economy, raising $15M from a16z, providing value to retain talent & more
07 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
1:00 Jason intros Chris Best 3:24 What happened to Kik? (Chris' first startup) What did he learn from it? 5:03 What is it about email newsletters th...
E1015: Open Office Hours LIVE! Jason helps founders with their biggest challenges: gaining interest from investors, scaling while bootstrapping in a niche market, automating operations tasks, acquiring national customers & focusing on customers in the cannabis compliance space @ WSGR
03 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
0:47 Jason intros Open Office Hours 2:15 Trevor from Moovin (on-demand software to rent professional furniture) asks Jason to share some hacks on how...
E1014: Open Office Hours LIVE! Jason helps founders with their biggest challenges: targeting a specific segment of customers, overcoming past failures in a market, developing new nuclear energy, competing against a major incumbent & more!
31 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
0:49 Jason intros Open Office Hours Live at Neyborly 1:09 Sebastian from Tailpath asks Jason how to generate consumer habits to drive demand 18:37 ...
E1013: Decade Wrap-Up Roundtable! Garry Tan, Initialized Capital & Zach Coelius, Coelius Capital on the biggest hits & misses of the past decade: Trump, Theranos, Streaming, Mindfulness, Crypto, Tesla, WeWork, Amazon Prime, Vaping & more!
27 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
LINKS to brackets: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1zqc-2vDRl7e86USf4okiX8DRcXPzX1HW || https://www.canva.com/design/DADuVKZjuc4/9Qt3B4m4DU-Z_...
E1012: Open Office Hours LIVE! Jason helps founders with their biggest challenges: goal-setting, starting a sales flywheel, converting bounced customers, capitalizing on investor feedback & more!
24 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
0:52 Kenny from Bacarai asks Jason how to start a flywheel with paid pilots as a pre-revenue company in the group airfare space 13:30 Elyse from Bloo...
E1011: Check Point CEO & Co-founder Gil Shwed shares insights on being the “Godfather of Cybersecurity”, growing Check Point into Israel’s most impactful tech company, pricing & developing products for an emerging market, best practices on protecting data from hackers & the next generation of cybers
20 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
0:48 Jason intros Gil and asks about his lengthy background in cybersecurity 3:02 What experiences inspired Check Point? 8:31 Gil explains how he ra...
E1010: TWiST Live! Thumbtack CEO & Co-founder Marco Zappacosta shares insights on pivoting to optimize for consumer experience, starting a company during the great recession vs. 2019, fundraising tips & the future of Thumbtack
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
0:52 Jason intros TWiST Live guest and one of his first investments Marco Zappacosta & Marco describes how they met in 2010 2:28 What did Thumbtack l...
E1009: #StartupTuneup! Startmate Founders pitch Jason: AR presentation platform, experiential marketing, wearables that help menstrual cramps, education thru e-sports & more!
13 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
0:58 Jason welcomes the Startmate companies to the TWiST Studio 1:36 Zac from JigSpace pitches an AR platform for educational presentations 11:56 Te...
E1008: VSCO CEO & Co-founder Joel Flory is building a photo-sharing platform free of ads, likes & comments to empower creators, shares insights on appealing to Gen Z, expanding their global reach & the magic of subscriptions
10 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
1:08 Jason intros Joel Flory 2:12 What is VSCO? How is it different than Instagram, Facebook & other photo-sharing apps? 4:33 How does VSCO grow at ...
E1007: DoNotPay CEO & Founder Josh Browder built an AI lawyer to fight corporations & governments, demos product features & how it helps consumers, shares insights on following in footsteps of his father Bill Browder, & future of consumer empowerment
06 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
0:51 Jason intros Josh Browder & DoNotPay 2:48 Starting DoNotPay in college 6:12 How much $ has DoNotPay saved citizens since launching in 2016? 7:...
E1006: Farmer’s Fridge CEO & Founder Luke Saunders is creating a connected network of vending machines offering fresh & healthy meals, shares insights on creating a restaurant-like experience, solving food-supply chain issues, capitalizing on grassroots marketing & real-world virality & using sales
03 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
0:44 Jason intros Luke and describes how he found out about Farmer's Fridge 5:01 How did Luke overcome barriers of making a vending machine feel like...
E1005: Scale AI CEO & Co-founder Alexandr Wang creates training data for all AI applications to improve machine learning, shares insights on the future of autonomous vehicles, China’s AI advantages over US, importance of humans focusing on higher-value work & next major trends in AI
29 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
1:04 Jason intros Alexandr 2:19 Alexandr shares his personal startup history 5:17 How & why did Scale start? 8:26 What is the best example of Scale...
E1004: Yousician CEO & Co-founder Chris Thür created an interactive platform to master musical instruments, shares insights on acquiring 1M+ users, increasing retention through gamification, using profitability as leverage while attracting investors as an international startup
26 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
1:06 Jason intros the Pegasus concept & Yousician's Chris Thür 3:52 Chris explains Yousician 5:22 How did Yousician start and what did Guitar Hero ...
E1003: The Athletic CEO & Co-founder Alex Mather is building a paid online sports media publication, shares insights on attracting investors in a seemingly dying industry, managing 500+ remote writers, creating interesting angles through unique coverage & more
22 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
1:05 Jason intros Alex Mather 2:08 Why did Alex launch a paid subscription publication in a seemingly dying industry? 4:32 How & where did The Athle...
E1002: Wealthfront CEO & Co-founder Andy Rachleff on hitting escape velocity at Wealthfront, pioneering “self-driving money” for consumers, shares insights on product-building in 1980’s vs. today, best investor attributes, & the future of NextGen banking
19 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
1:08 Jason intros Andy Rachleff 2:20 Where is Wealthfront at currently? 4:44 How are traditional money managers allowed to get away with so much? 1...
E1001: Eight Sleep CEO & Co-founder Matteo Franceschetti pioneered “sleep-fitness” with smart heating & cooling technology; shares insights on product iteration, delighting customers, innovating in D2C, raising $40M from LAUNCH, Founders Fund, Craft & more
15 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
1:03 Jason's thoughts on the exploding DTC movement 4:10 How Jason discovered Eight Sleep 7:15 Jason intros Matteo Franceschetti 8:18 Matteo descri...
E1000: 1000th Episode Retrospective! Jason & TWiST lifers Lon Harris, Brian Alvey, & Tyler Crowley re-live favorite moments & guests, highlighting innovations in podcasting & tech over the last decade, hitting global trends & what’s in store for the next 1000
12 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
1:10 Jason intros episode 1000 + Brian Alvey & Lon Harris 3:58 "Money is the Root of All Evil" theme song 5:22 What were the first few episodes of T...
E999: ROOM CEO & Co-founder Brian Chen is building phone booths for the modern office, shares insights on maximizing open floor plans, partnering with Calm to reduce stress at work, maintaining capital efficiency as a hardware startup
08 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
0:53 Jason intros Brian Chen 1:15 Brian demos ROOM’s collaboration with Calm 2:42 How did ROOM get their room.com domain name? 3:49 Upside & down...
E998: The Next Unicorns: Benchling CEO & Co-founder Sajith Wickramasekara is increasing efficiency for scientists with a cloud-based platform, gives insights on recent life-science innovations, ethics of gene therapy & defining the line between quackery & brilliance – E10 of 10-ep miniseries
06 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
0:53 Jason intros Sajith Wickramasekara 1:40 What does Benchling do? 2:24 How did Sajith get into life science? 6:55 Benchling's value proposition ...