This Week in Startups

Latest Episodes:

OpenSea raises $300M, VW & Toyota commit $170B to EVs, China's strangled tech sector, New media | E1353 Jan 06, 2022

Show notes

In this all news show, Jason and Molly cover Toyota & Volkswagen committing a combined $170B to take on Tesla's EV dominance (2:30), NFT platform OpenSea raising a $300M Series C at a $13.3B valuation (20:08), China's tight grip on tech causing job loss and accelerating company closure (44:50), and how Ben Smith from the NYT is teaming up with Bloomberg Media's CEO to launch a new media company (56:52).

(00:00) Molly tees up the show (02:30) Toyota and Volkswagen pledge $170B to compete with Tesla (09:16) RealGoodFoods - Go to https://realgoodfoods.com and use code TWIST for $15 off! (10:49) Power of Tesla's supercharging network, why Apple should have bought Tesla (18:55) Marlow - Get 15% off your individual or team memberships at https://getmarlow.com/twist. (20:08) OpenSea just raised $300M at a $13.3B valuation (36:03) Linode - Apply to their Rise program for founder-led, early-stage startups and get 3 years of discounts at https://linode.com/twist. (37:18) Jason teases his first NFT purchase (44:50) China's tech crackdown is causing issues (56:52) Former CEO of Bloomberg Media is starting a new stealth media company

FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

Elizabeth Holmes is guilty, Amazon wins over socialists, Biden sanctions China | E1352 Jan 05, 2022

Show notes

Jason and Molly cover Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty verdict (1:47), how even socialists have admitted that Amazon is the best place many people have ever worked (40:08). To wrap they dig into Biden's new sanctions against China the implications from decoupling our economies (56:16).

(00:00) Jason intros the show (01:47) Elizabeth Holmes Theranos fraud trial verdict (09:36) Vanta - Get get $1,000 off automating your SOC 2 at vanta.com/twist (10:53) How VCs vet charlatan founders (17:33) Female CEOs in tech (21:12) Masterworks - Skip the waitlist to invest in art using promo code TWIST at Masterworks.io/twist (22:25) Are Female founders held to a higher standard by the media? (31:17) Ourcrowd - Check out the deal of the week at ourcrowd.com/twist (32:34) Funny Holmes impressions (40:08) Socialist podcast "This Machine Kills" admits Amazon has been the best place many people have worked (56:16) President Biden's sanctions on China and the impact on tech

FOLLOW Jason: linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: twitter.com/mollywood

How JOKR lost $159 per order, rising startup valuations, OpenSea freezes stolen NFTs, Web 2 CEOs troll Web 3 | E1351 Jan 04, 2022

Show notes

Jason and Molly cover how QuickCommerce startup JOKR lost $159 per order in the US in August (1:54), the state of startup valuations (25:57), Jason's case of COVID & the state of testing (32:00), OpenSea freezing over $2M worth of stolen NFTs (52:28) and they wrap with quick recap of the latest chapter of Web 3 Twitter beef featuring AirBnB CEO Brian Chesky and Box Founder Aaron Levie (58:24).

The 2021 TWISTY Awards: best guest, most awkward moment, best chemistry & more! | E1350 Dec 27, 2021

Show notes

Jason hosts "The 2021 TWISTY Awards" where we give out 10 awards for top podcast moments from this year including: the most surprisingly awesome guest (02:17), best chemistry (04:48), best live moment (23:43), most awkward moment (28:51), funniest moment (36:51), best guest (45:19) and more! At the end he has a short "after-party" discussion with producers (50:58). Thank you for listening, this is our last planned episode of 2021.

Web3 wars & Rivian Q3 earnings with our new co-host Molly Wood! | E1349 Dec 22, 2021

Show notes

Jason is joined by This Week in Startups' new co-host Molly Wood for a news show. First they cover why Molly joined the TWiST team (1:24), then they dig into the Web3 wars erupting on Twitter (24:00) and break down Rivian's Q3 earnings (51:45). Producer's note: this is our only podcast this week

Praying For Exits: the satirist of venture capital | E1348 Dec 17, 2021

Show notes

Praying for Exits, the top meme account in Venture Capital joins to discuss being a pseudonymous commentator (01:13), why VCs spend too much time brand building (12:37), entitlement in tech (23:47), assessing founders and companies qualitatively and quantitatively (35:46), crazy VC stories (52:10) plus so much more!

Melania Trump's NFT, Reddit to go public + Twitter's Tony Haile: news & product evolution | E1347 Dec 17, 2021

Show notes

First Jason covers Melania Trump launching an NFT series (02:27) and Reddit just filing to go public(13:10). Then, Twitter's Tony Haile joins (24:14) to talk about selling his startup Scroll to Twitter, helping lead Twitter's product team (37:07), Twitter's roadmap and more.

mRNA cancer treatment, Google's vax policy, Better.com CEO "taking time off" + Founder roundtable: PaidBack, Wearwell, SupporTrends | E1346 Dec 16, 2021

Show notes

First Jason covers the Mayo clinic's promising new signs for mRNA cancer treatment (02:02), Google's firm vaccine policy (07:41) and the Better.com CEO stepping away after last week's meltdown (16:39). Then, Jason brings on three founders he has invested in and chats with them about their company: SupporTrends co-founder Oliver Rowen on customer insights (25:23), Wearwell co-founder and CEO Erin Houston on sustainable fashion (37:11), and PaidBack co-founder Amber Masters on budgeting and paying off debt (50:15).

What Elizabeth Holmes's prosecution missed, Nike buys NFT studio, Tether, the power of equity, ISS tourism | E1345 Dec 15, 2021

Show notes

All news show! First Jason gives an Elizabeth Holmes trial update and reveals the key point the prosecution missed (2:12). Then he covers, Nike acquires an NFT company (14:17), $USDT becoming an official currency of a shadow government in Myanmar (31:55), how "The Hangover" director Todd Phillips made $150M on the trilogy (36:58) and the Japanese billionaire who delivered UberEats to the international space station (44:55).

Is Peloton undervalued? + Rad Power Bikes CEO Mike Radenbaugh + Succession recap, All-in | E1344 Dec 14, 2021

Show notes

First, Jason breaks down the math of why Peloton might be undervalued (3:23). Then, the founder and CEO Rad Power Bikes Mike Radenbaugh joins to discuss building a massive ebike company (15:36), the most innovative features, ebike regulation and cites. Then, *spoiler alert* Jason gives his top takeaways from the Succession season three finale recap (01:05:58) and Producer Nick pitches a storyline to work Jason into season four. At the end of the show Jason and Nick discuss the strategy and behind the scenes of producing All-in (01:32:20).

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