Podcast appearances and mentions of Brian Chesky

This Week In Startups is made possible by: Sentry https://sentry.io/twist Agree https://agree.com Northwest Registered Agent https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist   Today's show: French ex-martial artist Bilal Kharouni is building his longevity startup from Okinawa, one of the world's "blue zones." (These are regions with the most people living long, healthy lives.) In this TWiST taping from Founder University in Tokyo, Jason investigates why a $200K raise in Japan can out-build a $2M raise in San Francisco, and why the best moat for biological AI isn't the model; it's the data no one else has. Plus a tactical and practical discussion of product market fit, why Ekei killed a growing side business to maintain focus, Japan's fast-track for regenerative medicine, and hitting the upper limits for consumer longevity gadgets. Plus a live Q&A with Founder U attendees. Guest Bilal Kharouni on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bilal-kharouni/ Ekei Labs: https://www.ekeilabs.com/ Relevant Links Okinawa Institute of Science and Tech (OIST): ****https://www.oist.jp/ Life Biosciences: https://www.lifebiosciences.com/ NewLimit: https://www.newlimit.com/ Centivax: https://www.centivax.com/ Medical Daily: "First Human Trial to Reverse Aging Gets FDA Clearance": https://www.medicaldaily.com/first-human-trial-reverse-aging-just-got-fda-clearance-what-epigenetic-reprogramming-actually-476076 Tim Friede snake venom article from Science: https://www.science.org/content/article/he-injected-himself-venom-decades-can-his-antibodies-help-snakebite-victims Micro1: https://www.micro1.ai/ Whoop: https://www.whoop.com/ Station F Paris startup campus: https://stationf.co/ Japan Times: "PM Takaichi sleeps only 2-4 hours a night": https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/14/japan/politics/takaichi-sleep-overwork/ FDLI: "Japan's Regenerative Medicine Regulatory Pathways": https://www.fdli.org/2019/02/global-focus-japans-regenerative-medicine-regulatory-pathways-encouraging-innovation-and-patient-access/ FDA: "Right to Try": https://www.fda.gov/patients/learn-about-expanded-access-and-other-treatment-options/right-try STAT News: "Are Blue Zones Real?": https://www.statnews.com/2026/05/04/are-blue-zones-real-new-scrutiny-longevity-hot-spots/ Timestamps: 0:00 Founder University is back in Japan! 4:05 What Ekei Labs does 5:13 Why Japan is a longevity hub 8:52 The AI biological moat 10:05 Sentry - Your team should be focused on shipping features — not chasing down bugs. New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST 15:58 Right to try and the ethics of experimental therapies 22:30 Agree.com - Stop chasing invoices and automate your entire contract-to-cash stack. Go to https://agree.com and tell them Jason sent you to get 50% off for life! 24:49 Japan's fast-track regenerative medicine law 26:03 Raising in Japan vs. the US 31:32 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist 40:44 Why Ekei killed a profitable service to focus 47:11 Have Blue Zones been debunked? 48:56 How socialization may extend lifespan 51:07 Founder Q&A: Booked vs. forecast revenue 55:42 Amazon's "bar raiser" framework 1:03:31 Social robots and loneliness 1:04:29 Jason on health and hustle culture   Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp   Follow Lon: X: https://x.com/lons   Follow Alex: X: https://x.com/alex LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm   Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis   Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/   Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland   Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis   Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by: Vanta https://www.vanta.com/twist Superhuman https://superhuman.com YSecurity https://YSecurity.io/TWIST Today's show: *Cybersecurity has long focused on cleaning up a system AFTER a breach but Ent founder Brandon Dixon says that's backwards. He just raised a $100M seed round to put an AI agent on everyone's company laptops that catches the risky clicks, leaked files, or rogue agents BEFORE they wreck havoc. PLUS Clawra creator David Im return swith his new project, Sume's Avatar, a multi-model orchestration layer that generates 60-second UGC videos from a single prompt… and gets it right on the first try, rather than falling back on trial and error. Guests: Brandon Dixon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonsdixon/ Ent: ****https://ent.ai/ David Im on X: https://x.com/davidim Sume: https://www.sume.com/ Relevant Links: WSJ: "Cyber Security Startup Ent Raises $100 Million in Seed Funding": https://www.wsj.com/pro/cybersecurity/cyber-startup-ent-raises-100-million-in-seed-funding-a3e9b6c6 Microsoft Security Copilot: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/business/ai-machine-learning/microsoft-security-copilot Engadget: "Meta 'pausing' employee tracking program…": https://www.engadget.com/2199458/meta-is-pausing-employee-tracking-program-after-it-let-the-whole-company-see-sensitive-data/ Seedance 2.0: https://seedance2.ai/ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro: Why AI + cybersecurity is the hot combo right now 2:29 How INT stops breaches before they happen 4:56 AI is giving non-technical employees dangerous new powers 10:26 Vanta - Compliance and security shouldn't be a deal-breaker for startups to win new business. Vanta makes it easy for companies to get a SOC 2 report fast. Get $1,000 off for a limited time at https://www.vanta.com/twist 13:54 Why on-device AI beats cloud-based security 20:08 Superhuman - Get AI that works where you work. Unlock your Superhuman potential at https://superhuman.com 25:18 INT's business model and go-to-market 30:26 YSecurity - The on-demand security team for startups. Need enterprise-grade security without hiring a $400k CISO? YSecurity gives you 40+ expert engineers, matched to exactly what you need, by the hour, with your first six hours completely free. Go to https://YSecurity.io/TWIST 34:18 David M. of Sumi Labs: one-shotting AI video 36:10 Live demo: Sumi's video orchestration API 40:05 Consistent faces, 60-second videos, and who's buying Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp   Follow Lon: X: https://x.com/lons   Follow Alex: X: https://x.com/alex LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm   Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis   Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/   Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland   Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis   Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

Elizabeth Stone is the Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO) at Netflix, where she oversees Engineering, Product, and Design. Since her first appearance on the podcast two years ago—which remained my second-most-popular episode for more than a year—she has expanded her role to lead product, in addition to engineering. Before Netflix, Elizabeth was VP of Science at Lyft, Chief Operating Officer at Nuna, an economist at Analysis Group, and a trader at Merrill Lynch.In our in-depth conversation, we discuss:1. Why “systems thinking” is now the most important skill she looks for2. How to manage the flood of AI-generated output without losing quality or signal3. How Netflix thinks about AI fluency as a universal expectation rather than a level-specific skill4. What “excellence as an operating system” means—Brought to you by:WorkOS—Make your app enterprise-ready, with SSO, SCIM, RBAC, and more: https://workos.com/lennyMercury—Radically different banking, now with Command: https://mercury.com/command?utm_source=lennys&utm_medium=sponsored_newsletter&utm_campaign=26q3_brand_campaign—Episode transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/netflix-cpto-on-ai-and-the-future—Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0—Where to find Elizabeth Stone:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-stone-608a754—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction(02:25) AI and role confusion: the storming phase before the forming phase(07:36) How roles have changed in the past two and a half years(11:55) Will functions survive? The case for craft specialism(13:26) What Netflix is hiring more of—and less of(17:22) Why systems thinking is the rising skill across every function(20:20) Is the design process dead?(22:08) Skills trending down(28:33) AI fluency and Netflix's career ladder overlay(31:00) AI use cases beyond coding(35:12) Netflix's AI history(38:36) Excellence as an operating system(41:11) The pillars of the excellence OS(46:41) The keeper's test—and why it's mostly a positive conversation(50:21) Attracting top talent in the age of frontier AI labs(52:54) Junior talent, craft mastery, and the mentorship question(56:25) Where engineering goes in 5 to 10 years(59:45) The future of entertainment: beyond film and TV(1:02:18) AI in Hollywood: Netflix's creator-enablement position(1:06:15) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• How Netflix builds a culture of excellence | Elizabeth Stone (CTO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-netflix-builds-a-culture-of-excellence• Brian Chesky's new playbook: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach• The design process is dead. Here's what's replacing it. | Jenny Wen (head of design at Claude): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-design-process-is-dead• Claude Code: https://www.anthropic.com/product/claude-code• Claude Cowork: https://www.anthropic.com/product/claude-cowork• Netflix's “Keeper Test” and Why You Need It | Lorne Rubis: https://www.highlights.lornerubis.com/2015/08/the-netflix-keeper-test-and-the-courage-to-take-it• Innovation for Filmmaking, By Filmmakers: Why InterPositive Is Joining Netflix: https://about.netflix.com/en/news/why-interpositive-is-joining-netflix• InterPositive: https://weareinterpositive.com• Netflix Prize: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netflix_Prize• Quarterback on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81482895• The Bill Simmons Podcast on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/82186214• Spencer Pratt on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spencerpratt• Salman Rushdie's Substack: https://salmanrushdie.substack.com• Remarkably Bright Creatures on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81911351• Eight Sleep: https://www.eightsleep.com• Tour de France: https://www.letour.fr/en—Recommended books:• Thinking in Systems: https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Systems-Donella-H-Meadows/dp/1603580557• Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster: https://www.amazon.com/Into-Thin-Air-Personal-Disaster/dp/0385494785• Liar's Poker: https://www.amazon.com/Liars-Poker-Norton-Paperback-Michael/dp/039333869X—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

The dawn of surgery bots + buy a home for $250 (w/ Andromeda & Mogul) | E2313 This Week In Startups is made possible by: Northwest Registered Agent https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist CLA https://claconnect.com/withyou MongoDB https://MongoDB.com/ai Today's show: *Andromeda Surgical is building the autonomy layer that could one day allow robots to perform surgery. Rather than building their own intricate, complex hardware, Andromeda uses off-the-shelf arms from a German manufacturer, and focuses on the software that will allow doctors to operate it from an iPad. Plus Mogul co-founder and CEO Alex Blackwood shows Jason how his platform lets anyone buy fractional shares of rental homes for as little as $250, earning monthly dividends, appreciation, and tax benefits without the headache of being someone's landlord. It's a founder double feature on a brand new TWiST. Guests: Nick Damiano on X: https://x.com/nickdamian0 Andromeda Surgical: https://www.andromedasurgical.com/ Alex Blackwood on X: https://x.com/blackwoodtweets Mogul: https://www.mogul.club/ Relevant Links: KUKA: https://www.kuka.com/ Intuitive Surgical (and Da Vinci 5): https://www.intuitive.com/en-us Neuralink: https://neuralink.com/ Padsplit: https://www.padsplit.com/ AngelList: https://www.angellist.com/ The Syndicate: https://thesyndicate.com/ Timestamps: 0:00 The iPad controlled surgery bot 5:46 Building "Google Maps for the body" 10:10 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist 14:28 What is a "sous surgeon" 20:46 CLA - Innovation takes balance. CLA's CPAs, consultants, and wealth advisors can help you get from startup to where you want to end up. Get started now at https://www.claconnect.com/withyou 24:30 The Neuralink connection 29:40 Understanding Mogul's business model 31:01 MongoDB - AI-assisted and agentic coding is helping you build faster than ever. Start building at https://MongoDB.com/ai 33:32 So who manages the homes? 36:50 Dividends vs. Appreciation 44:57 How Mogul picks markets Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp   Follow Lon: X: https://x.com/lons   Follow Alex: X: https://x.com/alex LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm   Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis   Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/   Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland   Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis   Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

Matt and Nic are back with the deals and news of the week. In this episode:  Nic licks his World Cup wounds Do Bitcoin Treasury strategies make sense? Trying to make sense of Saylor's "bitcoin rating" Trump's teleprompter operator has been trading on what Trump is going to say in his speeches Why do people keep insider trading on prediction markets? Clarity Act odds are trickling down Strategy shores up their balance sheet Is the Bitcoin cycle finally turning? Stripe bids for Paypal The AI DeFi apocalypse didn't happen Kathy Hochul's AI datacenter moratorium Why is Anthropic running ads suggesting that they could cause extinction The DTC is using Canton for it's tokenized settlement pilot Brian Chesky's AI slop thread debacle Jesse Pollak leaves Base CBDCs are officially banned federally

"If no one knows who you are, nothing good can come from that." – Joe ZappaDaniel and James sit down with Joe Zappa, founder of Sharp Pen Media, a communications agency built entirely for ad tech. At just 31, Joe has become one of the most visible people in the ad tech world across X, LinkedIn, two podcasts, and a newsletter. His core thesis? Most B2B companies and CEOs are completely invisible, and that invisibility is far more dangerous than saying the wrong thing. Joe built his entire business by putting himself out there, and in this episode he lays out exactly how anyone can do the same.Joe gives a 30 day strategy to make a big impact, explains why comms teams are often the biggest blockers, how Terence Kawaja says invisible founders are killing their own exit multiples, and why Brian Chesky's AI-generated X thread is a cautionary tale for executives who outsource their voice. Joe lays it all out in this episode and the bar is so low that just showing up consistently puts you ahead of 90% of B2B.Thank you to our sponsors for making this possible:AdQuick – Making OOH advertising as easy to plan, buy, and measure as digital. adquick.comThrad.ai — Building the advertising infrastructure for AI. thrad.aibeehiiv — The all-in-one platform for newsletters, websites, and every tool you need to grow and earn. beehiiv.comThe Farm — Fraction commercial legal with an in-house approach to outside counsel. thefarmllp.comSTAY CONNECTEDJames on Twitter & LinkedIn – /jamesborowDaniel on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok – /danieldrugerSubscribe & leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

This Week In Startups is made possible by: Quo https://quo.com/TWiST PayPal Open https://paypalopen.com Northwest Registered Agent https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist Today's show: *Jason spent $11 building out PodMeme, an AI tool that tracks down the best segments from top podcasts about a specific topic, then stitches them together into a single stream. His post laying out how he did it, featuring a simple screenshot of the product, got all the way to 1.1M views in just a few days. It's a simple fact: builders love to see what other people are building, and growing your new project "in public," sharing your journey on social media, is a great way to develop buzz around your product before it even exists. Today's guest Thibault "Tibo" Louis-Lucas walks us through how he grew products like Tweet Hunter and Taplio on his social media account, using social media buzz and a focus on tools for creators to very quickly expand to over $1M ARR. PLUS why Apple would only sue OpenAI if they knew they had them dead to rights… why Uber and Waymo are fighting over DC robotaxis… Jason's response to the public backlash against surveillance startup Flock Safety… and the guys remember iconic New Zealand actor Sam Neill. Guest: Tibo Louis-Lucas on X: https://x.com/tibo_maker Revid.ai: https://www.revid.ai/ Tweet Hunter: https://tweethunter.io/ Taplio: https://taplio.com/ Relevant Links: Lemlist: https://www.lemlist.com/ GRIN influencer marketing: https://grin.co/ TechCrunch: "Apple Sues OpenAI": https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/10/apple-sues-openai-over-alleged-trade-secret-theft/ We Must Act Now statement: https://www.wemustactnow.ai/ TechCrunch: "Uber's Robotaxi Lobbying Effort": https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/13/ubers-robotaxi-lobbying-effort-has-put-it-on-a-collision-course-with-waymo/ DC Autonomous Vehicle Deployment Authorization Amendment of 2026: https://www.billtrack50.com/billdetail/2003462 DoorDash: Meet Dot: https://about.doordash.com/en-us/dot Flock Safety: https://www.flocksafety.com/ DeFlock: https://deflock.org/ Gigazine: Flock accuses Deflock of being a "terrorist org": https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20260209-flock-ceo-deflock/#gsc.tab=0 Unifi AI Security Systems: https://ui.com/physical-security Jason's PodMeme post: https://x.com/Jason/status/2076231055443440105 Jason responds to Justine Bateman: https://x.com/Jason/status/2076326740050206959 NYT Sam Neill obituary: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/13/movies/sam-neill-dead.html "Possession" trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLXW-oVbTxE FanEdit: https://fanedit.org/forums/news-publisher/ "Manhunter" trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLqHlg2fAnE HBO "The Man Will Burn" trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRhUYPtp6Ao Timestamps: 0:00 There's no air conditioning in Paris 7:27 Tibo Maker's "ship 1 product a week" challenge 9:24 The power of building products in public 10:59 Quo (formerly OpenPhone) - Quo gives you a clean, modern way to handle every customer call, text, and thread all in one place. Try it free at https://quo.com/TWiST 12:04 Excitement for JCal's "PodMeme" set-up 15:40 Compounding an audience and enlisting influencers 19:13 Your follower count is not important any more 20:59 PayPal - Built for payments, growth, and agentic. Paypal Open, built for all business. Visit https://paypalopen.com to get started 22:28 How Tibo got banned on LinkedIn twice 28:48 Apple sues OpenAI 30:59 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist 38:44 How OpenAI should have handled the New York Times 45:10 DC's new robotaxi bill 52:06 Managing the AV and delivery-bot transition 53:23 Economists warn of AI job displacement 1:07:00 How Jason would fix Flock's messaging 1:17:26 Remembering Sam Neill 1:23:05 Lon's Dream AI edit 1:26:35 HBO's Burning Man docuseries   Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp   Follow Lon: X: https://x.com/lons   Follow Alex: X: https://x.com/alex LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm   Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis   Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/   Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland   Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis   Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com  

This Week In Startups is made possible by: NetSuite https://NetSuite.ai/TWIST Squarespace https://squarespace.com/twist YSecurity https://YSecurity.io/TWIST Today's show: *America posted 400,000 farm jobs last year, and fewer than 1% got a single domestic applicant. Danny Bernstein of Reservoir believes it's time to start automating this backbreaking labor, like picking stone fruit in 110°F temperatures. So he built the world's first on-farm robotics incubator on 40 acres of California farmland. Here's why he argues that automating farms isn't just a new opportunity, it's a national security issue. PLUS Jason responded to Gal Shir's viral "AI beat me at design" tweet, got into a kerfuffle with Figma CEO Dylan Field, and wound up making a brand new J-Trade. AND we're talking about the Dept. of Education's new "do no harm" policy, the Brown University AI cheating chart that's blowing up social media, and Lon has fresh streaming recommendations in an all-new Off Duty. Guest: Danny Bernstein on X: https://x.com/bernsteind Reservoir Farms: https://reservoir.co/ Reservoir VC: https://reservoir.vc/ Relevant Links: Bonsai Robotics: https://bonsairobotics.ai/ Root AI acquired by AppHarvest: https://www.therobotreport.com/root-ai-acquired-by-appharvest-for-60m/ John Deere: https://www.deere.com/en-us/ Western Growers Association: https://www.wga.com/ Tanimura & Antle: https://www.taproduce.com/ Naturipe Berry Growers: https://www.naturipefarms.com/ Driscoll's: https://www.driscolls.com/ Taylor Farms: https://www.taylorfarms.com/ The Wonderful Company: https://www.wonderful.com/ Capital Factory: https://www.capitalfactory.com/ Gal Shir "quitting design" post: https://x.com/galshirart/status/2074854464729629060 Dylan Field response to Gal Shir: https://x.com/zoink/status/2075290218660298807 JCal response to Field and "J-Trade": https://x.com/Jason/status/2075481565115654305 Figma: https://www.figma.com/ Dept. of Education: "Do No Harm" policy announcement: https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-issues-final-rule-hold-all-colleges-and-universities-accountable-low-earning-programs NPR coverage on Dept. of Education earnings test: https://www.npr.org/2026/06/30/nx-s1-5835631/turner-camhi-do-no-harm-college-loans Paul Graham "cheating chart" post: https://x.com/paulg/status/2075031014628311236 Off Duty Recommendations: "Lioness" on Paramount+: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNRQ0PR4a8U "Mayor of Kingstown" on Paramount+: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkQzvwxOp0s "Human Vapor" on Netflix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xe6dRKVAb8 "Sugar" on Apple TV+: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twvPGxuEOEA "Wind River" (now on Netflix): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZgN0dpFoaE "Not Fade Away" by Peter Barton & Laurence Shames: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Fade-Away-Short-Lived/dp/1579546889 Timestamps: 0:00 Jason's ongoing World Tour 1:43 Danny Bernstein joins live from Reservoir Farms 3:38 What is "specialty crop agriculture" 5:15 Why strawberries are the "white whale" of AgTech 6:55 The labor crisis in farming 9:20 Why AgTech never scaled 9:51 NetSuite - For the first time, you can try NetSuite Next for free. If your revenues are at least in the seven figures, go to https://NetSuite.ai/TWIST 10:51 Inside Reservoir's business model 17:44 Agriculture as national security 20:09 Squarespace - Turn your idea into a beautiful website! Go to https://www.squarespace.com/twist for a free trial. When you're ready to launch, use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. 22:15 Did AI beat a designer at design? 30:56 YSecurity - The on-demand security team for startups. Need enterprise-grade security without hiring a $400k CISO? YSecurity gives you 40+ expert engineers, matched to exactly what you need, by the hour, with your first six hours completely free. Go to https://YSecurity.io/TWIST 37:23 The "do no harm" college earnings test 43:27 Brown University students cheated on their midterms 52:22 Lon's streaming recommendations 59:46 Jason's new snake grabber   Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp   Follow Lon: X: https://x.com/lons   Follow Alex: X: https://x.com/alex LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm   Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis   Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/   Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland   Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis   Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by: Digital Ocean - do.co/twist Agree.com - agree.com Every.io - every.io.   Today's show: How many startups matter in tech? Fewer than you think. That's why venture capitalists are tripping over themselves to get onto their cap tables, no matter the cost. Why? Footwork's Nikhil Basu Trivedi argues that the Valley has never been more "power-law-pilled" than it is today. Basu Trivedi joined Cendana Capital's Michael Kim and TWiST's Alex Wilhelm to go deep on secondary markets, the state of startup M&A, why the SaaSpocalypse may be temporary, and what could trigger a retrenchment of the AI trade. It's Wednesday, so it's time for our venture capital roundtable to go deep on how VCs are investing today, and where on the horizon they have their eyes fixed! Guest links: Nikhil Basu Trivedi https://x.com/nbt Footwork https://www.footwork.vc/ Michael Kim https://x.com/MKRocks Cendana Capital https://www.cendanacapital.com/ Show links: The USVC-Anduril blowup https://x.com/ankurnagpal/status/2072701195714531398 Kline Hill Cendana Partners https://www.secondariesinvestor.com/kline-hill-and-cendana-raise-400m-for-second-vc-secondaries-fund/ GPTZero's exit https://gptzero.me/news/preserving-whats-human/ Salesforce buys Fin https://www.salesforce.com/news/press-releases/2026/06/15/salesforce-signs-definitive-agreement-to-acquire-fin/ Vercel buys Better Auth https://vercel.com/blog/vercel-acquires-better-auth Figma buys Bud https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/07/figma-acquires-team-behind-a-vibe-coding-app/ Protoge https://withprotege.ai/ Windborne https://windbornesystems.com/ Etched https://www.etched.com/ Lovable's reported raise https://sifted.eu/articles/lovable-300m-13-2bn-valuation Josh Browder https://x.com/Joshuabrowder   Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction: Nikhil Basu Trivedi (Footwork) & Michael Kim (Cendana Capital) 1:59 The Anduril vs. USVC secondary market blowup 4:08 Why Silicon Valley is 'power-law-pilled' 8:23 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off! 9:37 Information asymmetry in the secondary markets 9:45 Every.io — For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https://every.io 15:02 Is SPV fraud smoke or fire? 16:32 Superhuman acquires GPTZero 19:54 Agree.com - Stop chasing invoices and automate your entire contract-to-cash stack. Go to https://agree.com and tell them Jason sent you to get 50% off for life! 21:10 The M&A wave 27:19 The SaaSpocalypse debate 29:59 DigitalOcean - Head to https://do.co/twist to start building on DigitalOcean's AI-Native Cloud today — and cut your AI workload costs by up to 50%. 30:44 Data's moment in the energy → compute → data loop 35:01 Where will AI value accrue? 40:04 What could cause an AI correction? 42:17 Why some companies are "too big to miss" 46:23 China's possible open-weight model ban 53:28 Young founders: Etched, Thiel Fellows, Z Fellows, Neo 55:33 Portfolio spotlight: WindBorne's weather balloons and data moat 58:47 Michael's favorite fund manager: Josh Browder Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp   Follow Lon: X: https://x.com/lons   Follow Alex: X: https://x.com/alex LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm   Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis   Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/   Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland   Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis   Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by: Northwest Registered Agent https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist Vanta https://www.vanta.com/twist Sentry https://sentry.io/twist Today's show: *There are $100 trillion in global assets sitting on top of what Hanover Park co-founder/CEO Chris Hladczuk calls "human duct tape": armies of accountants in offices patching together work from various legacy tools (QuickBooks, Excel) that are holding funds' own data hostage. Can all of this be replaced with AI? Find out how their startup went from overseeing $1B to $20B in assets in just 15 months. PLUS, we flash back to March 2020, when Jason and Figma co-founder/CEO Dylan Field broke down the design tool's initial go-to-market strategy, made some WILDLY inaccurate COVID predictions, and considered anxiety about "SaaS burnout" years before the category went full apocalyptic. Guests: Chris Hladczuk on X: https://x.com/chrishlad Hanover Park: https://www.hanoverpark.com/ Dylan Field: https://x.com/zoink Figma: https://www.figma.com/ Relevant Links: Turner Novak on X: https://x.com/TurnerNovak Banana Capital: https://www.bananacapital.vc/ Emergence Capital: https://www.emcap.com/ Lux Capital: https://www.luxcapital.com/ Susa Ventures: https://susaventures.com/ Bill.com: https://www.bill.com/ METR: https://metr.org/ Granola AI note taker: https://www.granola.ai/ Vanta: https://www.vanta.com/ Foo Camp on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/foocamp TechCrunch Mahalo coverage: https://techcrunch.com/2014/01/27/inside-mobile-news-launch/ Timestamps: 0:00 Hanover Park & the fund admin problem 3:32 Why funds outsource instead of building 5:44 Why fund accounting is so complex 10:38 The "one-click migration" goal 10:48 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist 13:51 Context vs. intelligence gaps 16:11 No PMs, No Designers 20:46 Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist 23:18 This is a $100T opportunity 25:36 Flashback w/ Dylan Field of Figma 29:15 Sentry - Your team should be focused on shipping features — not chasing down bugs. New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST 31:22 Pre-AI enterprise security worries 36:30 SaaS overload and SaaS burnout 37:30 The evolution of Figma pricing 42:38 The rise and fall of Mahalo dot com 51:38 The work-from-home revolution begins Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp Follow Lon: X: https://x.com/lons Follow Alex: X: https://x.com/alex LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis Thank you to our partners: (0:00) PARTNER - AD BLURB (0:00) PARTNER - AD BLURB (0:00) PARTNER - AD BLURB Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/ Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by: CLA - www.claconnect.com/withyou Northwest Registered Agent - www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist Agree.com - www.agree.com Today's show: Forget the triple-triple-double-double-double; the new bar for startups hoping to raise venture capital has reached the stratosphere, though our venture panel is worried that startups are focusing too much on today's problems that may not become companies tomorrow. During a lively VC roundtable, Cowboy's Aileen Lee, Floodgate's Mike Maples, and Lerer Hippeau's Ben Lerer joined Alex to dig into exiting pre-AI startups, rising valuations, token spend, why they are keeping their funds small, and whether the government just tripped OpenAI and Anthropic! Guest Links: Aileen Lee https://x.com/aileenlee Cowboy VC https://cowboy.vc Mike Maples https://x.com/m2jr Floodgate https://www.floodgate.com Bene Lerer https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjlerer Lere Hippeau https://www.lererhippeau.com Timestamps: 0:00 Aileen Lee, Mike Maples, and Ben Lerer join the show 5:13 Venture liquidity returns: what SpaceX/Stripe distributions mean for LPs 9:13 Bending Spoons prices IPO at $29/share, roughly $18.4B valuation 10:31 Agree.com - Stop chasing invoices and automate your entire contract-to-cash stack. Go to https://agree.com and tell them Jason sent you to get 50% off for life! 12:09 "Companies get bought, not sold" — Ben on taking first offers seriously 17:41 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off! 19:34 Mutiny's burn-the-boats AI pivot with Jaleh Rezaei 20:19 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist 22:15 Mike's KeepSafe story: the "rule of 70" and profit-first companies 25:12 The new growth bar: 5x, 4x replaces triple-triple-double-double 28:55 Fund size is your strategy: why Floodgate and Lerer Hippeau stay small 30:11 CLA - Innovation takes balance. CLA's CPAs, consultants, and wealth advisors can help you get from startup to where you want to end up. Get started now at https://www.claconnect.com/withyou 37:39 The $100M Series A: Starcloud, General Intuition, Scale Cognition, Scout AI 40:35 King-making rounds and why mega-seeds destroy optionality 54:11 Open-weight models: the GLM-5.2 moment and going model-agnostic 55:30 Why fine-tuning open models is a treadmill, with Cursor/Kimi as an example 1:03:28 Grading the Trump administration on Mythos and Fable 1:06:33 Rising anti-AI sentiment, the wealth gap, and lessons from social media 1:11:43 Raising kids in the post-intelligence era 1:12:35 Where to find the panel and what each firm is investing in Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp Follow Lon: X: https://x.com/lons Follow Alex: X: https://x.com/alex LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/ Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Plaudhttps://Plaud.ai/twistShopifyhttps://shopify.com/twistLinkedIn Jobshttps://LinkedIn.com/twistNorthwest Registered Agenthttps://northwestregisteredagent.com/twistToday's show:*It's another All Star Summer, as we welcome back some of our favorite guests from throughout “This Week in Startups” history.Chamath Palihapitiya's development platform 8090 just raised $135 million, and he's using it to go after a $4 trillion market: the software maintenance, migration, and middleware spending that's currently “pure waste” for enterprises.Find out why the All-In Podcast bestie says every company should use AI to build custom software the way that Google, Facebook, and Meta already do, then go inside Software Factory, the “system on a chip” organizational model, and why Chamath believes AI will allow every human on Earth to start their own company.Guest:Chamath on X: https://x.com/chamath8090: https://www.8090.ai/Learn With Me on Substack: https://chamath.substack.com/p/learn-with-meDrink With Me: https://www.drinkwithme.com/age-verify.htmlAll-In Podcast: https://allin.com/Social Capital: https://www.socialcapital.com/Relevant Links:8090 Series A announcement: https://x.com/chamath/status/2071571183665881515Salesforce Ventures: https://salesforceventures.com/Craft Ventures: https://www.craftventures.com/The Production Board: https://www.tpb.co/WNDR: https://www.wndr.vc/LAUNCH: https://www.launch.coCoatue Management: https://www.coatue.com/Jack Dorsey: “From Hierarchy to Intelligence”: https://block.xyz/inside/from-hierarchy-to-intelligenceThomas Keller's The French Laundry: https://thomaskeller.com/tfl/Timestamps:0:00 It's TWiST All-Star Summer!0:44 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!3:21 Chamath's origin story7:54 Tom Sawyer entrepreneurship11:29 Shopify - Turn those What If's into sales with the ecommerce platform powering millions of businesses. Sign up for your $1-per-month trial today at https://shopify.com/twist16:25 The $5 trillion software market21:06 LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at https://LinkedIn.com/twist25:00 Building "a co-founder for every human"31:51 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist35:00 How product development lost its way45:00 Regulated industries are the beachhead50:00 Raising the $135M Series A55:00 8090's "System on a Chip" model1:04:44 What to tell your kids about AISubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Plaud - https://Plaud.ai/twistSentry - https://sentry.io/twistNorthwest Registered Agent-https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twistDigitalOcean - https://do.co/twistToday's show:F1 teams spend up to a third of their budgets on aerodynamics, often utilizing wind tunnels to simulate what happens on the track.But Lyall Davenport of SKN Systems created a sensor-embedded tape that sticks directly to race cars as they drive around the real world, generating 420M data points per hour. And it comes in at roughly 95% less cost than running a full simulator.Hear about how Lyall's background in racing helped him develop the concept, plans to expand from motorsports to drones and defense, and his experiences going through Jason's various programs.PLUS OpenAI's new models are so good, you can't use them. Why Apple's Vision Pro chief defected to OpenAI (and why their laptops and devices are getting more expensive). A look at the world's most annoying data center in Sterling, Virginia. And Jason remembers iconic and influential tech journalist Om Malik.Guest:Lyall Davenport: https://x.com/LyalldavenportSKN Systems: https://www.skn.systems/Timestamps:0:00 How SKN uses tape to generate aerodynamic data4:04 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!6:17 How SKN uses tape to generate aerodynamic data9:55 Sentry - Your team should be focused on shipping features — not chasing down bugs. New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST17:20 F1 teams are worth HOW MUCH?19:42 Northwest Registered Agent: Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist20:35 Future markets beyond motorsports30:03 DigitalOcean - Want to see what building on a true AI-native platform looks like? Head to https://do.co/twist to start building on DigitalOcean's AI-Native Cloud today — and cut your AI workload costs by up to 50%.32:45 GPT-5.6 is banned for now43:46 Vision Pro chief makes for the exit51:24 Apple raises their prices56:05 The data center you're allowed to hate1:06:04 Zuck's new prediction market app1:08:42 RIP Om Malik (1966-2026)1:19:50 Streaming and camera recommendations1:28:06 All about eFoilingSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

In our most recent episode of The Brian D. O'Leary Show, we get to the core of how we build and scale businesses. I sat down with my friend Hunter Hastings, a prolific author, economist, venture capitalist, and passionate entrepreneur. We dissected his new book, Venture Mode: Escape the Administration Trap by Finding and Unleashing Entrepreneurial Leaders (co-authored with Mark Packard, published by Amplify Publishing, May 5, 2025), to explore the dangerous traps of corporate growth and how to revive the entrepreneurial spirit. Episode Chapters & Highlights The Administration Trap: Defining the machinery of corporate control, the pressures of financial markets, and how administrative bloat kills productivity. Founder Mode & Brian Chesky: How the Airbnb founder cut through suffocating management layers to get back "in the details" with his customers. The Origins of the MBA: Tracing the roots of administrative sclerosis back to mid-20th-century logical positivism and Frederick Taylor's scientific management. Entrepreneurial Economics: A fresh look at Austrian economics, focusing on customer sovereignty, entrepreneurship, and experimental action over top-down strategy. The Atom of Value: Why the single interaction between a customer and a service provider is the true foundation of scale (with a nod to Netflix's Reed Hastings). AI and One-Person Corporations (OPCs): How AI is allowing entrepreneurs to bypass the administration trap entirely, creating a new era of solo scalability. The Masters of Business Enterprise: Replacing the outdated university MBA with principle-based learning and experiential corporate apprenticeships. The Enablement Economy & Optimism Through Unease: Why being unhappy with the current situation (short-term pessimism) is the fundamental driver of innovation and a better future. Here are the key takeaways from our conversation. The Administration Trap As businesses scale and achieve success, they often fall into what Hunter calls “administration mode.” Instead of prioritizing the innovation that initially drove their growth, companies become obsessed with the machinery of corporate control. This obsession manifests as: An intense focus on controlling future uncertainty. Pressure to deliver smooth quarterly earnings and meet financial market expectations. The addition of suffocating management layers, installed processes, and rigid annual planning cycles. The cost of this control is staggering. Hunter notes that we may have lost 50% of the US economy's potential for productivity growth due to this administrative crisis. It stifles innovation and removes humanity from business, tracing its roots back to mid-20th-century logical positivism, where the “scientific method” and pure measurement began to overshadow human creativity. Breaking Free: Shifting to Venture Mode To escape this trap, Hunter advocates for “venture mode.” A prime example of this philosophy in action is Brian Chesky, founder of Airbnb. As his company grew, Chesky realized that administrative layers were blinding him to the actual customer experience. His solution was to cut through the bureaucracy to get back “in the details,” speaking directly with hosts and consumers to figure out what was working in the market. You don't have to be a founder to apply this. Anyone in an organization can champion this mindset by removing barriers and prioritizing free-thinking experimentation over rigid systems. Entrepreneurial Economics: The “Atom of Value” Much of our conversation centered around Austrian economics, which Hunter masterfully reframes for the modern business leader. We broke down three practical principles: Customer Sovereignty: The customer is the boss. The business cycle doesn't start with production; it starts with sensing the customer's need. Entrepreneurship: This is the act of taking that sensed need, turning it into a novel idea, and bringing it back to the market. Action Over Strategy: True entrepreneurship relies on experimental action rather than relying on a top-down, predictive strategy. This approach zeroes in on what Hunter calls the “atom of value,” the single critical interaction between one customer and one service provider. By perfecting that single interaction, you can scale the entire system. Replacing the MBA and Embracing AI We also tackled the archaic nature of the traditional MBA, something that often breeds the very administrative mindset we need to avoid. Hunter envisions a “Masters of Business Enterprise,” splitting education into two distinct paths: learning scalable principles of value creation outside of traditional universities, and engaging in experiential, active learning within actual corporations. Looking to the future, we discussed the role of Artificial Intelligence in completely bypassing the administration trap. We are seeing the rise of AI-enabled, “One-Person Corporations” (OPCs). By leveraging AI for administrative tasks and tapping into broader industrial ecosystems, individuals can scale incredibly fast without ever installing bloated management structures. Optimism Through Unease I often call myself a short-term pessimist and a long-term optimist. Hunter pointed out that this perfectly aligns with the Austrian economic principle of “unease.” According to Ludwig von Mises, being unhappy with the current situation is the fundamental driver of innovation. It is our unease with administrative bloat that will propel us toward a highly adaptable, highly entrepreneurial future. To dive deeper into this shift toward venture mode thinking, listen to the full episode. Resources & Links: Get a free chapter and pick up a copy of the book at venturemode.biz. Order a copy of Venture Mode directly on Amazon. Read Hunter's ongoing insights on Venture Mode and the “enablement” economy at The Value Creators on Substack. Step Out of the Machine The ground-floor discount for our premium subscription has closed, but true sovereignty doesn't sit around waiting on a sale. You can spend the rest of your life as an optimized data point, letting the elite corporate class dictate your values and your income. Or, you can step out of the managed system, embrace the grit, and secure absolute independence for your future. But you cannot do this alone. The digital landscape is littered with lone wolves who thought they could outsmart a system designed to crush them. That is why I built a fortified, paid community for serious minds to discuss culture, business, and strategy in real time. Stop subsidizing the scavengers who hold your values in contempt. Choose your path: The Annual Subscription ($100/year): Unlocks unrestricted access to our private, paid community forum (The Junto), our strategic monthly briefs, and the full historical archive. The Founding Member Tier ($497/year): Strictly capped at 20 serious operators. Unlocks all standard subscription benefits, plus four private, 1-on-1 strategy sessions to unblock your business bottlenecks and exclusive expert deep dives. Let's get to work on halting the decline. Subscribe today at https://briandoleary.substack.com/subscribe

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Deel - deel.com/twistNorthwest Registered Agent - northwestregisteredagent.com/twistLinkedIn - linkedIn.com/twistToday's show:Jason sits down with Brynn Putnam, CEO and founder of Board, to learn more about her company's tabletop gaming console. The pair talks about how to raise capital for yet-to-launch hardware projects, the screen-time debate, and how Board is approaching building or buying IP for its family-friendly games. Next, Alex got Heremus's AJ Piplica on the horn to chat hypersonic, autonomous jets. The startup's technology bridges the gap between rockets and airplanes, and may represent the future of warfare, yes, but also fast freight!Guest Links:Brynn Putnam https://x.com/BrynnPutnamBoard https://board.fun/Board Series A announcement https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/02/board-the-new-game-startup-from-mirror-founder-brynn-putnam-raises-20m-has-already-sold-thousands/Mirror https://www.lululemonstudio.com/AJ Piplica https://x.com/AJ_PiplicaHeremus https://www.hermeus.com/Heremus Series C announcement https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hermeus-reaches-1-billion-valuation-with-350-million-raise-to-build-todays-fastest-aircraft-for-the-american-warfighter-302735273.htmlTimestamps:0:00 Board's Brynn Putnam joins the show2:54 Board's proprietary AI software stack6:43 Why Board manufactures in Mexico (not China)9:21 LinkedIn: Thanks to our partners at LinkedIn! Post your job for free at https://linkedIn.com/twist then promote it to get access to LinkedIn Jobs' new AI assistant.9:42 How to raise a Seed round for hardware without a finished product15:26 Brynn's daughter and the mermaid example17:09 Can Board limit screen time fears?18:47 Northwest Registered Agent: Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist22:54 Selling the first 10,000 units28:38 Deel - Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, get visas handled fast, and get back to building. Visit https://deel.com/twist to learn more.29:42 Why Board is steering away from simple ports toward native IP experiences35:32 Hermeus's AJ Piplica joins the show35:32 What is Dark Horse?43:48 Commercial applications: Cargo, organs, flowers, and trans-Atlantic in 90 minutes47:47 Commercial applications: Cargo, organs, flowers, and trans-Atlantic in 90 minutes57:00 Dark Horse range and the "reusable first stage" analogy58:42 Dark Horse range and the "reusable first stage" analogy1:02:42 $350M Series C led by Khosla; total funding now exceeds $500M1:03:39 The SpaceX model: get customers to fund your R&D1:07:47 Closing: the American Dynamism pitchSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Agree - https://agree.comQuo - https://quo.com/TWiSTSuperhuman - https://superhuman.comToday's show:In this double-header, Jason and Lon chat with Louis Phillips, founder of the gamified running app INTVL, which turns a quick job around the block into a worldwide turf war competition. Find out how he grew the app to over 1 million downloads without any paid ads, just making videos from his home office.PLUS Alex sits down with Alice Zhang, CEO of Verge Labs, which pivoted from making drugs to building the AI infrastructure that helps pharma companies develop their own treatments. Find out how they accumulated one of the world's largest proprietary brain datasets and why brain tissue is the “LiDAR of neuroscience.”Guests:INTVL: https://www.intvl.com.au/INTVL on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/intvl.appLouis Phillips on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/louisphillips12Verge Labs: https://vergelabs.com/Alice Zhang on X: https://x.com/AliceXinliZhangRelevant LinksMeta's Ad Library: https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/Strava: https://www.strava.com/Pokémon Go: https://pokemongo.com/Fitbod: https://fitbod.me/Tonebase: https://www.tonebase.co/Calm: https://www.calm.com/Hamilton Island official site: https://www.hamiltonisland.com.au/“Mr. Inbetween” trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EooRG3QhQOYArticle: “Verge Genomics Rebrands as Verge Labs”: https://trial.medpath.com/news/verge-genomics-rebrands-as-verge-labs-following-als-drug-trial-failure-pivots-to-ai-driven-target-discoveryEli Lilly: https://www.lilly.com/Chai Discovery: https://www.chaidiscovery.com/Noetik: https://www.noetik.ai/Tempus: https://www.tempus.com/Timestamps:0:00 Louis on building in Melbourne, Australia7:44 Why INTVL ignores how fast you run9:59 Agree - Stop chasing invoices at https://agree.com and tell them Jason sent you to get 50% off for life!15:52 Using gamification for good19:10 Powering INTVL's impressive growth19:55 Quo (formerly OpenPhone) - Quo gives you a clean, modern way to handle every customer call, text, and thread all in one place. Try it free at https://quo.com/TWiST26:16 The future of TWiST Australia27:14 Will AI ever cure cancer?27:54 Inside Verge's rebrand30:31 Superhuman - Get AI that works where you work. Unlock your Superhuman potential at https://superhuman.com32:01 Brain tissue as "ground truth"36:01 Why brain tissue is so valuable as data43:52 Verge's Eli Lilly partnership51:34 "You're going to tell me when I'm going to die"56:11 How AI could impact drug prices58:19 Clinical trial FAILS and how to move onSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Deel - deel.com/twistLinkedIn - linkedIn.com/twistNorthwest Registered Agent - northwestregisteredagent.com/twistPlaud - https://Plaud.ai/twistToday's show:Anthropic stabbed Cursor in the back. Then SpaceX swooped in with $60 billion. Today, TWiST connects the dots on the biggest deal in AI since the Microsoft-OpenAI partnership, and why it's a warning sign for every startup building on top of a frontier model. Jason is joined by Bling Capital's Ben Ling, Banana Capital's Turner Novak, and co-host Alex to go deep on the future of coding models, the current golden age of venture liquidity, OpenAI's financials, and the ‘Four Ds' of venture investing. The show closes with a tribute to Josh Baer, the founder of Capital Factory.Guest Links:Ben Ling https://x.com/bling0?lang=enBling Capital https://www.blingcap.com/Turner Novak https://x.com/TurnerNovakBanana Capital https://www.bananacapital.vc/Show Links:Hanover Park https://www.hanoverpark.com/SpaceX buys Cursor https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/16/spacex-spcx-cursor-acquisition-ipo.htmlCursor Composer 2.5 https://cursor.com/blog/composer-2-5OpenAI financials source https://www.wheresyoured.at/exclusive-openai-financials/AMD's new deskside data center https://www.amd.com/en/products/processors/desktops/ryzen/ryzen-ai-halo.htmlPerplexity Model Council https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/introducing-model-councilTimestamps:0:00 Guest introductions1:15 Guest introductions2:43 SpaceX acquires Cursor for $60B6:13 The golden era of M&A9:13 Northwest Registered Agent: Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist12:04 Cursor's negative gross margins & the compute problem13:22 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!15:04 Rolling your own model: When does it make sense?19:35 LinkedIn: Thanks to our partners at LinkedIn! Post your job for free at https://linkedIn.com/twist then promote it to get access to LinkedIn Jobs' new AI assistant.22:53 The "headless product" thesis28:31 Deel: Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, get visas handled fast, and get back to building. Visit https://deel.com/twist to learn more.34:22 OpenAI financials leaked: $13B revenue, $38.5B net loss40:13 Where does AI value accumulate?45:34 Portfolio Spotlight: Hanover Park48:37 Seed stage graduation rates have fallen from 50% to 25%54:59 The four Ds of venture: Deal flow, Decisions, Doubling down, Distributions1:06:36 How to find 'undiscovered gems'1:30:59 Snap Specs AR glasses: $2,195, and a bit chunky1:39:29 Tribute to Joshua Baer, Capital Factory's founderSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Every.io - visit every.ioSentry.io - sentry.io/twistVanta - vanta.com/twistToday's show:The next SpaceX won't be building rockets; it'll build the first hotel on the Moon. Today on TWiST, GRU Space founder Skyler Chan brings a brick made from lunar soil into the studio and lays out a plan to manufacture on the Moon as early as next year. We get into the science, the business model, and the regulatory land-grab ahead!Then, the US government forces Anthropic to pull Fable 5 and Mythos 5. Jason and Lon unpack what it means when a single AI model can vanish overnight, and the US government's emergency order.Stick around for the winner (or winners?!) of the $5,000 AI podcast-companion bounty!Timestamps:0:00 Knicks playoff run, San Antonio & Texas BBQ (Black's vs. Terry Black's)8:23 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!9:52 Guest intro: Skyler Chan, GRU Space — and the lunar-soil brick10:29 Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https://every.io12:14 Why the next SpaceX builds habitats, not rockets15:18 NASA's $20B moon-base signal & the TRL contracting path16:13 Business model: from construction contractor to owning lunar land18:06 Building the hotel robotically + $1M refundable deposits20:00 Sentry - Your team should be focused on shipping features — not chasing down bugs. New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST31:09 Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist39:28 News: US government blocks Anthropic's Fable 5 & Mythos 541:34 The politics: Hegseth, Sacks, Jassy & the "conspiracy" angle1:09:39 Why no single model dependency is safe (multi-model harnesses)1:18:47 Bounty results: MySidecast wins $3,0001:19:07 Honorable mentions: Couchverse (Lemon Slice) & Convalenz1:29:44 Next bounty: the Annotated app

On Monday's Good Morning Hospitality, A Skift Podcast, Brandreth Canaley, Michael Goldin, and Jamie Lane break down where STR demand is actually coming from right now and who controls the guest relationship as platforms make their next big bets. The conversation opens with the FIFA World Cup 2026™ - Canada, Mexico and the United States booking story every operator in a host market needs to hear. Hotels priced up and set minimums and the surge has not arrived the way anyone expected. Short-term rental bookings tell a different story, with host market reservations more than doubling since April. From there, the team digs into Vrbo's launch of sponsored listings and what a paid visibility layer means for independent hosts, and closes with Brian Chesky's bet that creators are Airbnb's next big Experiences opportunity and what that means for the operators already building businesses on the platform. This episode is presented by ⁠⁠⁠Cloudbeds⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠Bilt⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠cloudbeds.com/gmh⁠⁠⁠ to learn more. And for hotels with restaurants and restaurant owners, Bilt Hospitality is finally here. Go to ⁠⁠⁠joinbilt.com/gmh⁠⁠⁠ to learn more. And if you're leaving direct bookings on the table, StayFi turns your wifi into a guest relationship engine. Visit ⁠⁠https://stayfi.com/goodmorninghospitality/⁠⁠ to learn more.

Mark Pincus founded Zynga—the company behind Words With Friends, FarmVille, and Zynga Poker—and has arguably created more hit consumer products than anyone in history. At Zynga, eight of 10 major game launches became massive hits, reaching over a billion players. Over the past five years, Mark has been synthesizing everything he's learned about building successful consumer products and turning it into a book, Life at the Speed of Play, which comes out on June 23. This is the first interview he's done about the book.In our in-depth conversation, we discuss:1. His “Proven, Better, New” framework: copy what's proven, make it better so that 10 out of 10 people say “f*ck yes, I'll use this”—then add something new2. Why being less ambitious is the path to the most ambitious ideas3. His rule of thumb that your instincts are right 95% of the time, but your ideas are wrong 75% of the time4. “Kill hope before hope kills you”5. How to raise kids in the age of AI—Brought to you by:WorkOS—Make your app enterprise-ready, with SSO, SCIM, RBAC, and moreVanta—Automate compliance, manage risk, and accelerate trust with AI—Episode transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-common-pattern-behind-successful—Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0—Where to find Mark Pincus:• X: https://x.com/markpinc• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markpincus• Website: https://www.lifeatthespeedofplay.com—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Mark Pincus(02:46) The Proven Better New framework overview(07:29) Earning the right to innovate(08:30) What “better” really means(12:03) Quick summary of the framework(12:40) Examples of the framework in action(13:30) How to use proven correctly on your platform(15:13) The moral arbitrage of copying(23:55) Be less ambitious(28:25) The Bolt.new story and staying humble(33:15) Kill hope before hope kills you(37:00) Using AI as a failure machine(40:08) Why Zynga's games succeeded (it wasn't virality)(48:36) The future of consumer social apps(57:05) How to know if your product is a B+(1:01:25) Distribution in the age of AI(1:15:39) Make everyone a CEO(1:18:18) Stay close to the metal(1:21:35) Why Mark says micromanagement is beautiful(1:23:35) The expert witness(1:25:05) The number one job of a CEO is to be right(1:26:35) What Mark is teaching his five kids(1:35:14) Mark's “why”(1:37:08) Mark's new book: Life at The Speed of Play—Referenced:• Tribe.net: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribe.net• Zynga: https://www.zynga.com• Sid Meier: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Meier• Electronic Arts: https://www.ea.com• CityVille: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CityVille• Words With Friends: https://wordswithfriends.com/• Scrabble: https://playscrabble.com• Reddit: https://www.reddit.com• TED Radio Hour, MIT Media Lab founder, 1984 TED talk.: https://www.ted.com/talks/nicholas_negroponte_5_predictions_from_1984• Peter Thiel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterthiel• FarmVille: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FarmVille• Craig Newmark: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Newmark• How to consistently go viral: Nikita Bier's playbook for winning at consumer apps (co-founder of TBH, Gas, advisor, investor): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-consistently-go-viral-nikita-bier• Angry Birds: https://www.angrybirds.com/• OMGPop: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OMGPop• Draw Something: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draw_Something• Slack founder: Mental models for building products people love ft. Stewart Butterfield: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/slack-founder-stewart-butterfield• Brian Chesky's new playbook: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach• Garry Tan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrytan• Brian Armstrong on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barmstrong• Jason Citron on X: https://x.com/jasoncitron• Stanislav Vishnevskiy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/svishnevskiy• Jeff Bezos on X: https://x.com/JeffBezos• Andy Jassy on X: https://x.com/ajassy• Niantic: https://nianticlabs.com• Pokémon Go: https://pokemongo.com• Bing Gordon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/binggordon—Recommended book:• Life at the Speed of Play: Launch Products People Love!: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Speed-Play-Launch-Products/dp/0063352575/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Plaud https://Plaud.ai/twistPilot https://pilot.com/twistAgree https://agree.comIM8 Health https://IM8health.com/twistAfter watching Elon build out his rocket (and AI) company over the past 20 years, Jason celebrates the SpaceX IPO on a new TWiST. He explains why some investments are evaluated based on earnings and current numbers, while other stocks are bets on expensive visions for the future, and why SpaceX why likely pay off across multiple time horizons.PLUS Polsia solo founder Ben Cera is back with guidance for founders on creating a “Purple Cow”: a unique experience that makes their brand memorable.Guest:Ben Cera on X: https://x.com/BenceraPolsia: https://polsia.com/Polsia on X: https://x.com/polsiaBen on TWiST E2256 (Feb 2026): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCce8e02IswRelevant Links:SpaceX: https://www.spacex.com/SPCX on Yahoo Finance: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SPCX/Starlink: https://www.starlink.com/Planet Labs: https://www.planet.com/Palantir: https://www.palantir.com/Valor Equity Partners: https://www.valorep.com/Seth Godin's “Purple Cow” on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Purple-Cow-New-Transform-Remarkable/dp/1591843170Uber Ice Cream stunt article: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ubers-brilliant-marketing-stunt-hail-195946535.htmlHillsborough Flintstones House article: https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/The-Flintstone-House-is-now-for-rent-on-Airbnb-10420107.php“19 Hours Inside the Airbnb X-Mansion” article: https://www.theringer.com/2024/05/29/pop-culture/x-mansion-airbnb-x-men-icons-experienceWas The Pepsi Challenge based on LIES? https://www.historyoasis.com/post/the-pepsi-challengeCloudKitchens: https://cloudkitchens.com/Cluely: https://cluely.com/Timestamps:0:00 SpaceX IPO details2:12 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!7:21 The voting vs. weighing investment framework9:41 Pilot: Focus on your product, let Pilot handle your bookkeeping. Pilot provides the most reliable accounting, CFO, and tax services for startups and small businesses. Head to https://pilot.com/twist and get $1,200 off your first year.19:53 Agree - Stop chasing invoices at https://agree.com and tell them Jason sent you to get 50% off for life!22:25 The media's SpaceX criticisms and "hot takes"23:54 Ben Cera of Polsia is back26:53 Why Jason says no to a free tier29:10 IM8 Health: Start feeling like your best self every day. Go to https://IM8health.com/twist and use the code TWiST to get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order.34:27 The wisdom of Seth Godin's "Purple Cow"50:37 The "Pepsi Challenge" model1:05:45 Lon got a dog, Jason got routers1:10:37 The YouTuber to movie theater pipeline1:15:20 Jason's new favorite travel bagSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:NetSuite - Netsuite.com/TWiSTDeel - Deel.com/TWiSTSquarespace - Squarespace.com/TWiSTTwo days before SpaceX launches the largest IPO in history at a flat $135/share, our VC roundtable drops a scorcher: The top 1% of seed deals might actually be underpriced. Plus: the "Sequoia scam" dual-tranche controversy, tokens-for-equity deals, and whether Claude Fable 5 is a true step function.Tomasz Tunguz (Theory Ventures), Michael Downing (Castalia Capital), and Paige Doherty (Behind Genius Ventures) join Alex to go deep on Seed investing, startup economics, AI spend, and the impact of smarter AI on the founder journey.Guest Links:Tomasz Tunguz: https://x.com/ttunguzTheory Ventures: https://theoryvc.com/Michael Downing: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldowning/Castalia Capital: https://castalia.capital/Paige Doherty: https://x.com/paigefinnnBehind Genius Ventures: https://www.behindgeniusventures.comShow Links:Anthropic's IPO announcement: https://www.anthropic.com/news/confidential-draft-s1-secOpenAI's IPO announcement: https://openai.com/index/openai-submits-confidential-s-1/Bending Spoons F-1 filing: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2004711/000110465926071170/tm2613674-7_f1.htmSpaceX IPO filing: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1181412/000162828026040364/spaceexplorationtechnologib.htmBrendan Foody's post on Sequoia: https://x.com/BrendanFoody/status/2063470286515683759Claude Fable 5: https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-fable-5-mythos-5OpenRouter data on Chinese models: https://openrouter.ai/rankings?view=daySaronic: https://www.saronic.com/MotherDuck: https://motherduck.com/Nox Metals: https://noxmetals.co/Timestamps:0:00 Tomasz Tunguz, Michael Downing & Paige Doherty join2:07 The SpaceX IPO and the IPO window4:22 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!6:30 The new bar: 10x growth (not 3x) to raise a great Series A8:46 Net-new AI budgets9:46 Squarespace: Turn your idea into a beautiful website! Go to https://www.squarespace.com/twist for a free trial. When you're ready to launch, use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.11:09 How some founders are outgrowing venture capital11:44 The power pendulum swings back to founders12:46 SpaceX vs. OpenAI vs. Anthropic: Which IPO is most enticing?19:53 Deel - Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, get visas handled fast, and get back to building. Visit https://deel.com/twist to learn more.26:07 Tokens-for-equity, GPU-hours-for-equity & the financialization of compute28:35 Founders airing VC dirty laundry (napping VCs included)29:56 Netsuite - The business landscape is very chaotic right now. That's why you need NetSuite, by Oracle. Get the free business guide Demystifying AI at https://Netsuite.com/TWiST36:38 Claude Fable 5 first impressions: pricing, benchmarks & orchestration45:42 Where value accrues: application layer vs. models vs. private data1:00:06 Nationalization of AI labs: Bernie Sanders, Sam Altman & Trump agree?!1:01:25 Portfolio spotlights: Saronic, MotherDuck, and Nox MetalsSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisGreat TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis

The AI Tutor That Makes Kids Actually Think | E2298This Week In Startups is made possible by:Northwest Registered Agent https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twistLinkedIn Jobs https://LinkedIn.com/twistShopify https://shopify.com/twistPlaud https://Plaud.ai/twistToday's show:*Schools teach kids to memorize formulas. AI helps them skip thinking entirely. Brilliant founder Sue Khim joins TWiST to tell us how her new AI tutor, Koji, uses the Socratic Method to help students solve complex problems on their own. Find out why she says “People aren't anti-AI. They're anti-being replaced and anti-slop.”PLUS Jason's take on the VC horror stories going around X… and his own anecdote about the tenacity and passion of legendary investor John Doerr.Guest:Sue Khim on X: https://x.com/suekhimBrilliant: https://brilliant.org/Viral Koji launch video: https://x.com/suekhim/status/2060378988606878147Relevant Links:Viral Greg Isenberg post about VCs: https://x.com/gregisenberg/status/2061794787825479818Travis Kalanick's story: https://x.com/travisk/status/2062224472426365045Matthew Prince's stories: https://x.com/eastdakota/status/2062860530360959273John Doerr on X: https://x.com/johndoerrRoelof Botha on X: https://x.com/roelofbothaMichael Moritz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelmoritz/Mohr Davidow Ventures: https://mdv.com/Jason's book “Angel: How to Invest in Technology Startups”: https://www.amazon.com/Angel-Invest-Technology-Startups-Timeless-Investor/dp/0062560700Timestamps:0:00 Sue Khim's Alltuition origin story1:41 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!4:10 Brilliant: from launch to product market pull10:46 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist15:08 Pricing against tutors, not apps19:25 LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at https://LinkedIn.com/twist21:22 Koji demo24:11 Keeping Brilliant local while expanding30:22 Shopify - Turn those What Ifs into sales with the e-commerce platform powering millions of businesses. Sign up for your $1-per-month trial today at https://shopify.com/twist40:10 Every founder has a VC horror story44:33 John Doerr went the extra mile to hear JCal's pitch52:55 The LAUNCH investment strategySubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

On Monday's Good Morning Hospitality, A Skift Podcast, Brandreth Canaley, Michael Goldin, and Jamie Lane break down what AI is actually doing to travel economics and operations right now. The conversation opens with a story that stops you in your tracks: one traveler used Claude to run 881,076 searches on Etihad Airways to find one flight. The infrastructure cost of that search exceeded the commission. From there, the team digs into Brian Chesky's move to build an AI lab outside of Airbnb and what it signals about the platform's AI strategy, before closing with a look at what real AI adoption looks like at scale through Evolve's playbook of deflecting 60% of guest inquiries without human intervention. This episode is presented by ⁠Cloudbeds⁠ & ⁠Bilt⁠. Visit ⁠cloudbeds.com/gmh⁠ to learn more. And for hotels with restaurants and restaurant owners, Bilt Hospitality is finally here. Go to ⁠joinbilt.com/gmh⁠ to learn more. And if you're leaving direct bookings on the table, StayFi turns your wifi into a guest relationship engine. Visit https://stayfi.com/goodmorninghospitality/ to learn more.

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Grasshopper Bank https://grasshopper.bank/twistVanta https://www.vanta.com/twistRender https://render.com/twistPlaud https://Plaud.ai/twistToday's show:Anthropic wrote a blog post calling for a global AI slowdown. Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders wants the government to seize 50% of every major AI company's stock. Find out why JCal is reconsidering universal basic (or even high!) income policies, and why he thinks the 2028 presidential election will likely come down to AI policies.PLUS a live ComfyUI demo from founder Yoland Yan. Find out why the free-to-use open-source node-based platform has become a crucial part of millions of designers' and VFX experts' workflows, and how their tool has been used to create everything from “The Wizard of Oz” at the Vegas Sphere to those viral Coca-Cola holiday ads.GuestYoland Yan: http://x.com/yoland_yanComfyUI: https://comfy.org/AI Models and ToolsIdeogram 4.0: https://ideogram.ai/models/4.0/Stable Diffusion: https://stability.ai/LTX Video: https://github.com/Lightricks/LTX-VideoLoRa: https://huggingface.co/docs/diffusers/training/loraGoogle Veo: https://deepmind.google/models/veo/Relevant Links:Anthropic: “When AI Builds Itself”: https://www.anthropic.com/institute/recursive-self-improvementBernie Sanders: “The Public Should Own Half of the Big AI Companies”: https://www.sanders.senate.gov/op-eds/the-public-should-own-half-of-the-big-a-i-companies/Bloomberg: “Sam Altman-Backed Group Completes Largest US Study on Basic Income”: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-22/ubi-study-backed-by-openai-s-sam-altman-bolsters-support-for-basic-incomeTimestamps:0:00 Guest 1: Yoland Yan, ComfyUI — live demo intro2:06 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!4:34 Guest 1: Yoland Yan, ComfyUI — live demo intro9:47 Grasshopper Bank - Time is money. Don't waste either. Go to https://grasshopper.bank/twist and get an exclusive $500 cash bonus just for opening an account.20:05 Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist22:24 What is Outpainting?30:01 Render - Find out why 5 million developers are already using the all-in-one cloud platform, Render. Go to https://render.com/twist and apply for the Render Startup Program to get $500-$100,000 in free credits, depending on your stage and backers.32:13 Jason's insider sales team advice38:42 LA mayoral race: Bass vs. Pratt42:25 Anthropic wants AI to slow down?48:45 Will Sen. Sanders' argument resonate with the public?59:39 Why 2028 will be the AI jobs election1:05:32 Brian Chesky's new AI lab1:15:21 Jason's "Mandalorian and Grogu" review1:18:53 YouTubers take over the box office1:24:16 Dean Potter vs. Alex HonnoldSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

In this episode, we examine the S&P 500's refusal to allow SpaceX's fast-track entry, which also impacts OpenAI and Anthropic's IPO prospects. We also discuss Google's $920 million monthly deal with SpaceX for AI compute power and escalating enterprise spending on AI token budgets.Chapters00:00 Introduction00:16 S&P 500 Denies SpaceX Fast-Track00:27 Google's Compute Deal with SpaceX00:33 Enterprises Exceed AI Budgets00:53 Brian Chesky's AI Lab01:46 Investors in Competing AI Firms Show LinksGet the top 80+ AI Models for $8.99 at AI Box: ⁠⁠https://aibox.aiHow I Grow and Scale My Business with AI: https://www.skool.com/aihustleGet the AI Chat Daily Newsletter: https://www.aichatdaily.com/newsletter

Nog een week en dan wordt SpaceX gelanceerd op Wall Street. De eerste tegenvaller moeten Elon Musk en consorten nu al incasseren: het ruimtevaartbedrijf wordt niet versnel opgenomen in de S&P-index. De beursuitbater maakt geen uitzondering (ook niet voor Anthropic en OpenAI trouwens) en wil winst zien. Dat is een probleem voor het geldverslindende bedrijf. Ondanks die tegenslag is er ook goed nieuws te melden. Persbureau Reuters zegt dat de vraag naar aandelen immens is. Begeleidende banken worden platgelegd met de vraag of ze aandelen hebben. De vraag is onverzadigbaar, aldus analisten. Deze aflevering duiken we in die bizarre wereld van Space X. Hebben we het ook over Heineken. Dat moet met een eeuwenoude traditie breken. Althans, dat willen aandeelhouders van het bedrijf. Nu eens geen insider meer, maar een buitenstaander die de nieuwe topman of topvrouw wordt. Ayden komt ook voorbij. Dat aandeel ging ineens heel hard naar beneden. Beleggers schrikken van een rapport dat over de betalingsverwerker rondgaat. De handel werd zelfs even stilgelegd. Ook Jensen Huang komt voorbij. Die moet gegrild worden door de Amerikaanse Senaat, wil senator Elizabeth Warren. Ze wil de baas van Nvidia alles vragen over de exportrestricties in China (en de trip die hij met president Trump naar dat land heeft afgelegd. Zoeken we ook uit of je nog wel wat hebt aan Nederlandse beursbedrijven. Nu bedrijven als AkzoNobel een overname blokkeren, kan je dan als belegger nog wel dromen van een overnamepremie? Te gast: Corné van Zeijl van Cardano BNR Beurs is een journalistiek onafhankelijke productie, mede mogelijk gemaakt door Saxo. Over de makers: Jelle Maasbach is presentator van BNR Beurs en freelance financieel journalist. Zijn favoriete aandeel om over te praten is Disney, maar daar lijkt hij de enige in te zijn. Sinds de eerste uitzending van BNR Beurs is 'ie er bij. Maxim van Mil is presentator van BNR Beurs en journalist bij BNR, waar hij zich focust op de financiële markten en ontwikkelingen in de tech-wereld. Je krijgt hem het meest enthousiast als hij kan praten over ASML, of oer-Hollandse bedrijven zoals Ahold of ABN Amro. Jorik Simonides is presentator van BNR Beurs, economieredacteur en verslaggever bij BNR. Hij wordt er vooral blij van als het een keer níet over AI gaat. Je hoort hem ook in de BNR-podcast Moerdijk: dorp van de rekening. Milou Brand is presentator van BNR Beurs, freelance podcastmaker en columnist bij het Financieele Dagblad. Jochem Visser is presentator van BNR Beurs, maakt Beursnerd XL en is redacteur bij de podcast Onder Curatoren. Vraag hem naar obscure zaken op financiële markten en hij vertelt je waarom het eigenlijk nóg leuker is dan je al dacht. Over de podcast: Met BNR Beurs ga je altijd voorbereid de nieuwe beursdag in. We praten je in een kleine 25 minuten bij over alle laatste ontwikkelingen op de handelsvloer. We blijven niet alleen bij de AEX of Wall Street, maar vertellen je ook waar nog meer kansen liggen. En we houden het niet bij de cijfers, maar zoeken ook iedere dag voor je naar duiding van scherpe gasten en experts. Of je nu een ervaren belegger bent of net begint met je eerste stappen op de beurs, de podcast biedt waardevolle inzichten voor je beleggingsstrategie. Door de focus op zowel de korte termijn als de lange termijn, helpt BNR Beurs luisteraars om de ruis van de markt te scheiden van de essentie. Van Musk tot Microsoft en van Ahold tot ASML. Wij vertellen je wat beleggers bezighoudt, wie de markten in beweging zet en wat dat betekent voor jouw beleggingsportefeuille. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we examine the S&P 500's refusal to allow SpaceX's fast-track entry, which also impacts OpenAI and Anthropic's IPO prospects. We also discuss Google's $920 million monthly deal with SpaceX for AI compute power and escalating enterprise spending on AI token budgets.Chapters00:00 Introduction00:16 S&P 500 Denies SpaceX Fast-Track00:27 Google's Compute Deal with SpaceX00:33 Enterprises Exceed AI Budgets00:53 Brian Chesky's AI Lab01:46 Investors in Competing AI Firms Show LinksGet the top 80+ AI Models for $8.99 at AI Box: ⁠⁠https://aibox.aiHow I Grow and Scale My Business with AI: https://www.skool.com/aihustleGet the AI Chat Daily Newsletter: https://www.aichatdaily.com/newsletter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, we examine the S&P 500's refusal to allow SpaceX's fast-track entry, which also impacts OpenAI and Anthropic's IPO prospects. We also discuss Google's $920 million monthly deal with SpaceX for AI compute power and escalating enterprise spending on AI token budgets.Chapters00:00 Introduction00:16 S&P 500 Denies SpaceX Fast-Track00:27 Google's Compute Deal with SpaceX00:33 Enterprises Exceed AI Budgets00:53 Brian Chesky's AI Lab01:46 Investors in Competing AI Firms Show LinksGet the top 80+ AI Models for $8.99 at AI Box: ⁠⁠https://aibox.aiHow I Grow and Scale My Business with AI: https://www.skool.com/aihustleGet the AI Chat Daily Newsletter: https://www.aichatdaily.com/newsletter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Northwest Registered Agent - NorthwestRegistereAagent.com/TWISTEvery - Every.ioSentry - Sentry.io/TWISTToday's show:Want to get to space? Several launch companies can help you. SpaceX, Rocket Lab, the Russians, the list goes on. But what about once you make it upstairs, then what? Impulse Space CEO and CTO Tom Mueller is building the next stage of our orbital economy. With its Mira and Helios spacecraft, we'll soon be able to take mass from lower orbits to higher orbits, or even to the Moon, with ease.Meanwhile, venture capitalists are enamored with the idea of humanoid robots — robots share our shape, our work environment, and even our tools. But startups like Dusty Robotics are taking a different tack; instead of building human-shaped robots, Dusty has built a small, wheeled 'bot that can mark out building sites quickly and accurately. And it's doing more revenue than all humanoid robotics companies combined, I reckon. Dusty's CEO, Dr. Tessa Lau, joins Alex to go deep on purpose-built robots in today's build-crazy market.Timestamps:0:00 Blue Origin, and why fixing things in orbit is hard2:19 What Mira is and what it does4:35 Why was the commercial demand for Mira softer than expected5:20 Space Force demand and the GEO-capable Mira7:08 Helios: a "rocket on top of a rocket."10:10 Sentry - Your team should be focused on shipping features — not chasing down bugs. New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST11:35 How Helios beats Falcon Heavy on price ($25M)13:35 Reusability, in-orbit refueling, and propellant depots15:38 Landers, the Moon base, and "Mega Helios."18:52 NSSL and the politics of flying government payloads20:16 Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https://every.io20:51 Why the Moon matters: megastructures and data centers in space25:09 The space talent market and the SpaceX "mafia."30:16 Northwest Registered Agent: Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twistSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisThank you to our partners:Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

Did you like the episode? Send me a text and let me know!!How to Scale From 0 to 100 Customers: The Startup Distribution GuideThe Zero-to-One Blueprint: How Startups Find Their First 100 UsersEpisode DescriptionIn this episode of Business Conversations with Pi and PIET 2.0, Scoob, Pi, and PIET tackle the ultimate "Zero-to-One" startup hurdle: Where and how do I find my very first 10 to 100 customers when I have zero brand awareness, no marketing budget, and an imperfect prototype?Pulling from the battle-tested playbooks of Y Combinator, Close CRM, and top digital growth experts, this masterclass breaks down why doing things that "spectacularly fail to scale" is the only reliable way to build a foundation for massive growth. If you are an early-stage founder trying to map out a clear customer acquisition strategy, this blueprint is built for you.⏱️ Episode Timestamps[00:00:00] — Introduction to Episode 2.0Scoob introduces AI co-hosts Pi and PIET 2.0 to tackle real-world entrepreneurial growth and user acquisition bottlenecks.[00:00:50] — The Counterintuitive 100 Fanatics RuleAn analysis of Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky's core philosophy: Why it is infinitely better to have 100 people who absolutely love your product than a million who just sort of like it.[00:02:40] — The Archetype of the "Innovator"How to filter your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) based on raw pain intensity. Why early adopters buy half-finished, buggy software to solve an acute workflow disruption.[00:04:15] — Case Studies in Pain-Point ValidationExamining the early go-to-market strategies of Notion (targeting tech-savvy power users) and Brooklinen (targeting young urban professionals priced out of luxury department stores).[00:05:30] — The Trap of Generic Cash FlowWhy casting too wide of a net on Day 1 breaks your product roadmap feedback loop and creates a "Frankenstein monster" product that serves no one well.[00:07:15] — The Apollo 13 Scaling ParadoxSteli Efti's crucial warning against premature scaling. Why building a marketing funnel for 10,000 users before you have 10 is an entrepreneurial trap.[00:08:30] — Brute Force Acquisition TacticsHow Close CRM co-founder Steli Efti secured his first 7 B2B clients with zero lines of code written by manually targeting newly funded seed startups on Crunchbase.[00:10:00] — The 50-Profile LinkedIn Direct Outreach FormulaThe mathematical breakdown of hyper-personalized, founder-to-professional cold messaging. How to systematically manufacture a warm network with a 10–20% response rate.[00:12:15] — Moving From 10 to 100: The Hub-and-Spoke Distribution ModelHow to stop hunting individual footprints in the desert and start borrowing existing digital ecosystems.[00:13:00] — Historical Guerilla Growth HacksHow Netflix embedded inside fringe DVD bulletin boards, Etsy traveled to physical arts and crafts fairs, and Morning Brew manually collected emails via physical clipboards in college lecture halls.[00:14:40] — Navigating Digital Watering Holes SafelyThe rules of community reciprocity: How to launch on platforms like Reddit, Discord, or Hacker News without looking like a spammer.[00:15:45] — Building the Repeatable Growth EngineAn in-depth look at Lenny Rachitsky's journey. Why long-term hockey-stick growth only happens after a linear trend line of relentless, high-quality content consistency.[00:18:30] — Paradigm Shift: Customers as Unsalaried Co-FoundersPi and PIET reframe the entire acquisition process as a collaborative product development exercise.

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Deel https://deel.com/twistQuo https://quo.com/TWiSTLinkedIn Jobs https://LinkedIn.com/twistToday's show:Cortical Labs is the world's first company selling biological computers. Their CL1 fuses lab-grown human neurons (derived from stem cells, not actual folks) with silicon hardware to create Synthetic Biological Intelligence (SBI).Founder Dr. Hon Weng Chong walks us through how the system works and why neurons are more efficient than GPUs at reinforcement learning. (Also… is this computer alive?)PLUS Pyka co-founder and CEO Michael Norcia explains the various uses for his autonomous aircraft, from crop-spraying drones in Brazil to a a hybrid-electric defense UAV for the military.Guests:Cortical Labs: ****https://corticallabs.com/Dr. Hon Weng Chong on X: https://x.com/dr1337Pyka: https://www.flypyka.com/Pyka on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flypyka/?hl=enFurther Reading:2022 Pong paper in Neuron: https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(22)00806-62017 Paper: “Attention is All You Need”; https://arxiv.org/abs/1706.03762The “Barista Test” for Artificial Intelligence: Chris Rourk: https://medium.com/predict/the-turing-test-is-so-last-century-the-barista-test-for-artificial-general-intelligence-faf91034fa8cNotable Links:Playing “DOOM” on CL1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRV8fSw6HaEDayOne Data Center: https://dayonedc.com/NeurIPS 2026 Conference: https://neurips.cc/Neuralink: https://neuralink.com/CliniCloud Digital Stethoscope and Thermometer: https://www.design-industry.com.au/clinicloudAir Force Research Laboratory (AFWERX): https://afwerx.com/Joby Aviation: https://www.jobyaviation.com/Prime Movers Lab: https://www.primemoverslab.com/Timestamps:0:00 What is "biological computing"?2:49 Cortical's new $30 million raise4:15 The world's first biological data center9:48 Deel - Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, get visas handled fast, and get back to building. Visit https://deel.com/twist to learn more.10:51 Biological computers have a learning advantage19:43 Quo (formerly OpenPhone) - Quo gives you a clean, modern way to handle every customer call, text, and thread all in one place. Try it free at https://quo.com/TWiST29:15 LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at https://LinkedIn.com/twist38:46 From paper airplanes to Group 4 UAVs52:20 Introducing the DropShip defense drone58:28 How regulations block US drones1:00:40 Why Pyka builds everything in-houseSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

Nico Laqua is the Co-Founder and CEO of Corgi Insurance, an AI-native insurance carrier built for startups. Corgi is the most intense workplace culture in America. The team works 7 days per week. The founder sleeps in the office. ⅔ of the first 30 team members have a Corgi tattoo. This week, Corgi raised $106M, valuing the company at a whopping $2.6BN.  AGENDA:  06:35 Why going to university was a massive waste of time  09:42 Why we work seven days a week  11:58 Why we do work trials and how that is a test of people's stamina  18:41 Why we created a cafe in the biggest annoyance with San Francisco  22:00 Why I am so bullish on London  23:49 Why I haven't sold a single secondary  24:19 Why people who found companies in New York prioritise dating over their company  30:46 Biggest lessons on cash comp and equity  31:13 Team members can be split into three separate groups  34:59 Biggest lesson from Brian Chesky on price  35:44 What is the right amount of time to be fundraising for?  36:47 Good companies get deals done and what makes the best venture investors?  40:34 Why AI makes sales and marketing more valuable  43:12 Why I don't like boards and I don't think they're effective  46:19 What I would like to see more of from venture funds  48:05 Who was Corgi's first believer?    

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Grasshopper Bank https://grasshopper.bank/twistLinkedIn Jobs https://LinkedIn.com/twistNorthwest Registered Agent https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twistToday's show:Jason breaks down the real math behind raising a seed round. Here's the funnel: contact 150 firms, get 50 first meetings, convert 2o into second meetings, and close 2 term sheets.PLUS Jason responds to viewer questions about why hardware is no longer a dirty word for investors, how to differentiate your startup from frontier-model companies like OpenAI, even when they're in your niche. Plus a pitch for “Founder Community College,” and anecdotes from Lon's European odyssey.Thanks for the Questions:Richard Corral: CEO of Quanto: https://quanto.co/ØnProtons on X: https://x.com/0nProtonsSergeDawg on X: https://x.com/sergedawgMahika GolaniPeridot: https://www.tryperidot.com/Shawn Sully on X: https://x.com/arooglePrograms and Accelerators Mentioned:Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/Techstars: https://www.techstars.com/Antler: https://www.antler.co/PearX: https://pear.vc/pearx/Sequoia ARC: https://www.sequoiacap.com/arc/Kauffman Fellows: https://www.kauffmanfellows.org/Companies and Startups Referenced:Whoop: https://www.whoop.com/Knightscope: https://knightscope.com/Eight Sleep: https://www.eightsleep.com/Cafe X: https://www.cafexapp.com/Media Referenced:New Yorker Sam Altman profile: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may-control-our-future-can-he-be-trustedOff-Duty RecommendationsTerra Kaffe Demi compact automatic espresso machine: https://www.terrakaffe.com/products/tk-demiOsteria Pastella (Florence, Italy): https://www.osteriapastella.it/Timestamps:0:00 Inside the TWiST private group chat3:25 How to react when an investor says your "too early."6:50 The ultimate seed round funnel8:48 Jason's new Associate in Training program10:09 Grasshopper Bank - Time is money. Don't waste either. Go to https://grasshopper.bank/twist and get an exclusive $500 cash bonus just for opening an account.18:28 How have the metrics for early-stage companies changed?20:20 LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at https://LinkedIn.com/twist22:34 TWiST Bounties update23:43 Competing against frontier labs30:03 What signals real investor-founder alignment?30:14 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist36:07 A crash course in Bay Area startup culture40:15 Automatons-as-a-Service (AaaS)42:29 Who in Silicon Valley does Jason really not like?49:59 Museum Etiquette with Lon HarrisSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Render - render.com/twistDeel - deel.com/twistNorthwest Registered Agent - northwestregisteredagent.com/twistToday's show:The "Ryanair of drone delivery" just raised $50 million and plans to bring its technology from Europe to the United States. Manna founder Bobby Healy explains to TWiST how his Dublin-based company completed 300,000 deliveries while some rivals are still publishing blog posts, and why low-cost airline economics will decide who wins the autonomous skies.Sticking to the drone theme, TWiST welcomed Theseus co-founder Ian Laffey, who called in from Kyiv to tell us about his company's drone guidance system. It runs off a simple camera and Google Maps. The technology could rewrite the modern, GPS-jammed battlefield, and bring more firepower to smaller nations fending off larger foes.Guest Links:Manna https://www.manna.aeroBobby Healy https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhealy/Manna funding announcement https://www.manna.aero/blog/series-bTheseus https://www.theseus.us/Ian Laffey https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilaffey2/Most recent Theseus funding announcement https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/17/defense-tech-theseus-landed-y-combinator-the-us-special-forces-and-4-3m-from-a-tweet/The tweet that kickstarted Theseus: https://x.com/ilaffey2/status/1759353732075294766Timestamps:0:00 Bobby Healy of Manna joins TWiST1:41 How a Manna base works: drones migrate around the city like Waymos7:18 Battle-hardened in Irish weather: 97% uptime in wind and rain8:52 Margin-positive economics & the path to $0.20 per delivery9:25 Northwest Registered Agent: Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist12:32 $50M Series B vs competitors raising $600–800M19:51 Deel - Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, get visas handled fast, and get back to building. Visit https://deel.com/twist to learn more.22:53 The peer-to-peer drone future and hyper-local commerce25:46 Growing from 170 to 570 people and moving manufacturing to Oklahoma28:43 Ian Laffey of Theseus joins TWIST29:57 Render: Find out why 5 million developers are already using the all-in-one cloud platform, Render. Go to https://render.com/twist and apply for the Render Startup Program to get $500-$100,000 in free credits, depending on your stage and backers.30:58 Inside Ukraine's drone industry: front-line iteration and free-market speed33:55 How GPS gets jammed across the spectrum35:10 Theseus's approach: cameras + satellite maps + ML37:04 The product: Raspberry Pi, SD card, camera — pretending to be GPS49:02 Ukraine: 6–8M drones a year. The US: 300K over two years.51:17 Are US drone primes actually reconstituting the supply chain?58:22 Y Combinator as a defense tech accelerator59:40 "Pick an issue and start working as hard as you can towards it"Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Every.io https://every.ioShopify https://shopify.com/twistRender https://render.com/twistPlaud https://Plaud.ai/twistToday's show:Startups like Divergent Technologies are producing components and aircraft for the military through new systems that are better, faster, and cheaper than conventional methods. CEO and co-founder Lukas Czinger stops by TWiST to share the company's vertically integrated, AI-driven manufacturing platform and how he transitioned from hypercar parts to working directly with the Pentagon on autonomous aircraft.Plus, 50 million Americans are on antidepressants, and it's not necessarily the right treatment for all of them. Outro Health co-founders Brandon Goode and Dr. Mark Horowitz share their hyperbolic tapering method, which helps patients get off drugs like Zoloft and Prozac without suffering through traumatic and potentially dangerous side effects.GuestsLukas Czinger: https://x.com/lukasczingerDivergent Technologies: https://www.divergent3d.comCzinger Vehicles: https://www.czinger.com/Brandon Goode: https://www.linkedin.com/in/goodebrandon/Dr. Mark Horowitz: https://x.com/markhoroOutro Health: https://outro.comTimestamps:0:00 Divergent shifted from hypercar development to 3D printing all kinds of components1:33 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!4:10 How 3D printing has exponentially improved8:18 Making military components faster, better, and cheaper9:58 Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https://every.io11:00 How Divergent caught the Pentagon's attention19:51 Shopify - Turn those What Ifs into sales with the ecommerce platform powering millions of businesses. Sign up for your $1-per-month trial today at https://shopify.com/twist25:29 Why Outro Health helps patients taper off SSRIs30:06 Render - Find out why 5 million developers are already using the all-in-one cloud platform, Render. Go to https://render.com/twist and apply for the Render Startup Program to get $500-$100,000 in free credits, depending on your stage and backers.36:37 Is depression caused by a "chemical imbalance"?46:37 Understanding the hyperbolic tapering method58:32 How Outro makes money1:10:01 Leaked Meta layoff audio1:13:41 Cloudflare CEO drops "measurer" roles1:18:16 CrowdHealth - CrowdHealth lets you ditch the bureaucracy with a peer-to-peer funding platform for your healthcare. Get started for $99 per month for your first three months by using the code TWIST at https://JoinCrowdHealth.com/twist.1:19:17 Why Trump canceled his AI executive order1:28:08 Polymarket sharps on Russia vs. Ukraine, SpaceX ticker symbol1:33:34 Luel vs. Kled update: Is this nepotism at work?1:37:02 Chris Nolan doesn't have a smartphone1:43:04 Jason's favorite new espresso machineSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Grasshopper Bank - https://grasshopper.bank/twistLinkedIn - https://linkedIn.com/twistNorthwest Registered Agent - https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twistPlaud - https://Plaud.ai/twist Why raise $200 million if you are already profitable? That's the question Jason and Alex put to Mercury's founder and CEO, Immad Akhund, after the entrepreneur raised another massive round for his upstart, technology-friendly bank. TWiST then welcomed Kled founder Avi Patel to discuss the startup he considers a clear ripoff of his own company. Jason gavels in verdicts on all parties involved, including Y Combinator and venture capital firm General Catalyst. The show closes with a news lightning round, including OpenAI's decision to offer $2 million in token credits to hundreds of startups.Guest Links:Mercury https://mercury.comMercury funding announcement https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260520511817/en/Mercury-Raises-$200-Million-Series-D-at-$5.2B-ValuationImmad Akhund on X https://x.com/immadKled https://www.kled.ai/Avi Patel on X https://x.com/avipat_/Avi's complaint https://x.com/avipat_/status/2055384102409253056General Catalyst https://www.generalcatalyst.com/Y Combinator https://www.ycombinator.com/Delve https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/23/another-customer-of-troubled-startup-delve-suffered-a-big-security-incident/Discussion links:Anthropic's attack on secondary trading https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/12/anthropic-warns-investors-against-secondary-platforms-offering-access-to-its-shares/Vanta https://www.vanta.com/twistTimestamps:0:00 Welcome to This Week in Startups!2:14 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!3:27 Immad Akhund (Mercury) joins to discuss $200M raise6:33 Mercury's origin story and path to $650M run rate9:53 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist14:23 Stablecoins: where they work, why Mercury won't launch its own20:13 LinkedIn - Thanks to our partners at LinkedIn! Post your job for free at https://linkedIn.com/twist then promote it to get access to LinkedIn Jobs' new AI assistant.22:38 AI agents, and the future of money movement27:30 Why Mercury raised less this round30:11 Grasshopper Bank - Time is money. Don't waste either. Go to https://grasshopper.bank/twist and get an exclusive $500 cash bonus just for opening an account.42:48 Avi Patel (Kled) joins to discuss copycat startups57:06 Jason's verdict on YC's hacker culture & "appearance of impropriety"1:17:39 Sam Altman's $2M-in-tokens-for-equity offer to YC founders1:24:32 NYC hotel housekeepers cross $100K in time under new union contract1:30:14 Minimum wage, immigration & the case for raising it slowlySubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Vanta - Vanta.com/TWISTSentry - Sentry.io/TWISTDeel - Deel.com/TWISTToday's show:AI is the villain of the 2026 commencement cycle, with business luminaries — including Eric Schmidt — booed for discussing or praising the technology. As students graduate into a job market forcibly reshaped by AI, increasingly negative public polling on the potential impacts of artificial intelligence on society is clearly not missing the mark.Jason and Alex then discussed The Information's reporting that Anthropic and OpenAI earn nearly 90% of all startup AI revenue, a Stanford student's viral essay regarding their time at the university in a post-ChatGPT world, Flock Safety's impressive (and worrying) web of cameras, and the upcoming Mark II AI bookmark. The episode closes with questions from our live audience!TWIST Links:Bounty website https://www.thisweekinstartups.com/bountySidebar bounty challenge https://www.notion.so/launch1/5K-Bounty-Create-Sidebar-App-for-Podcasts-34150ff313d280adbd8ed6204676513cAnnotated.com bounty challenge https://annotated.lovable.app/Timestamps:0:00 TWiST All-Stars summer lineup announcement2:43 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!5:08 Eric Schmidt booed at University of Arizona commencement8:57 Why Gen Z feels "double-crossed" by AI leaders10:10 Deel - Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, get visas handled fast, and get back to building. Visit https://deel.com/twist to learn more.15:22 Is this AI's Vietnam moment? The anti-war parallel18:04 Theo Baker's NYT essay on Stanford's AI cheating culture19:24 Sentry - New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST22:30 Why Jason says everyone should start a company28:59 Anthropic + OpenAI capture 89% of AI startup revenue30:17 Vanta: Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist31:57 Are token sales a duopoly? Negative gross margins debate35:17 Risk of building app-layer startups on top of foundation models38:22 Inside Tracker bounty update: AI sidebar + Annotated.com41:18 Mark II: the $159 AI bookmark Alex wants49:31 Flock Safety solves Austin shooting via Manor PD53:39 DeFlock map and the geography of surveillance in Texas1:03:42 Noti Gang: AI for filing patents1:05:45 Noti Gang: Running AI models locally on Mac StudiosSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:IM8 Health: IM8health.com/TWISTSquarespace: Squarespace.com/TWISTRender - Render.com/TWISTSelf-driving just stopped being a science problem and became an engineering challenge instead. That's the through-line of today's double-header with the CEOs of two of the most important AV companies in the world — Wayve's Alex Kendall and Waabi's Raquel Urtasun. Between them: ~$2B raised in the last six months, Uber as a partner, Nissan and Volvo as OEMs, and a shared bet that end-to-end AI plus world models beats Waymo's city-by-city map-and-pray approach.If you want to understand the state of the self-driving industry beyond recent Waymo announcements, this is the episode for you.Guest Links:Wayve: wayve.ai/Waabi: http://waabi.ai/Alex Kendall https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexgkendall/Raquel Uratsun: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raquel-urtasun-298400139/Company Links:Wayve's GAIA-2 world model: https://wayve.ai/thinking/gaia-2/Wayve's 500 city roadshow: https://wayve.ai/thinking/ai-500-roadshow-500-cities/Wavye's most recent funding round: https://wayve.ai/press/series-d/Waybe + Uber: https://wayve.ai/press/wayve-nissan-uber-robotaxi-collaboration/Waabi closed-loop simulator: https://waabi.ai/insights/waabi-worldWaabi + Volvo: https://waabi.ai/insights/waabi-and-volvo-autonomous-solutions-partner-to-jointly-develop-and-deploy-autonomous-transportation-solutionsWaabi + Uber: https://www.uberfreight.com/en-US/blog/uber-freight-and-waabi-introduce-industry-first-autonomous-truck-deployment-solutionTimestamps:0:00 Alex Kendall (Wayve) joins the show1:19 The contrarian bet on end-to-end AI and world models in 20173:05 What is a world model? GAIA-2 and GAIA-3 explained7:34 Sensor agnosticism: camera, radar, LiDAR and minimum bar for safety9:56 $1.5B raised — have we cracked self-driving?10:09 Render: Find out why 5 million developers are already using the all-in-one cloud platform, Render. Go to https://render.com/twist and apply for the Render Startup Program to get $500-$100,000 in free credits, depending on your stage and backers.20:38 Squarespace: Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST25:03 How consumers will actually pay: bundle, subscription, or free trial30:15 IM8 Health: Start feeling like your best self every day. Go to https://IM8health.com/twist and use the code TWiST to get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order.35:59 Raquel Urtasun (Waabi) joins the show36:25 World models as controllable simulators for physical AI43:34 One AI brain across trucks, robotaxis, and beyond47:35 What changed in AI to make 2026 the deployment year52:28 Why Waabi raised $1B when they're capital-efficient58:52 Where Waabi is today: Volvo VNL Autonomous, Dallas-Houston, Uber Freight1:00:50 Per-mile pricing and the Driver-as-a-Service model1:07:20 Has Uber tried to buy Waabi? "Not for sale"Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Pilot -⁠ https://Pilot.com/TWIST⁠Grasshopper Bank -⁠ https://Grasshopper.bank/TWIST⁠Quo -⁠ https://Quo.com/TWiST⁠Plaud - ⁠https://Plaud.ai/twist⁠Anthropic just declared every unauthorized secondary sale of its stock "void" — naming Hiive, Forge, Sydecar, Upmarket, and others in a public hit list. Jason and Alex sit down with Jenny Fielding (Everywhere Ventures), Dave McClure (Practical VC), and Sam Lessin (Slow Ventures) to unpack what the AI lab's move to limit secondary trades means for SPV operators, brokers, and the founders trying to keep control of their cap tables. Plus: a real story of a founder who returned a $15M Series A six months after closing because Claude was going to eat his startup, SaaS moats, and just what does it mean to be rich?Timestamps:0:00 Guest introductions0:48 Anthropic voids unauthorized SPV trades8:41 Accredited investor reform & the SEC sophisticated investor test8:58 Quo (formerly OpenPhone) - Quo gives you a clean, modern way to handle every customer call, text, and thread all in one place. Try it free at https://quo.com/TWiST11:43 Naval's USVC closed-end fund as a workaround16:41 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!17:48 Pro-rata rights battles: when Series A investors push seed investors out19:36 Grasshopper Bank: Time is money. Don't waste either. Go to https://grasshopper.bank/twist and get an exclusive $500 cash bonus just for opening an account.29:13 Pilot: Focus on your product, let Pilot handle your bookkeeping. Pilot provides the most reliable accounting, CFO, and tax services for startups and small businesses. Head to https://pilot.com/twist and get $1,200 off your first year.30:23 Storing wealth in stories vs. cash flows34:19 Cerebras and Fervo Energy IPOs — meaningful liquidity?37:54 Will SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI IPOs redistribute capital or compound it?45:58 The $15M Series A founder who returned the money because of Claude50:01 Should founders pivot or return capital when the world changes?56:43 OpenAI's $6.6B tender and Shruti Gandhi's viral SF cost-of-living tweet1:00:25 Intercom rebrands to Fin: the AI-first late-stage pivotSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter:⁠ https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com⁠Check out the TWIST500:⁠ https://www.twist500.com⁠Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple:⁠ https://rb.gy/v19fcp⁠Follow Lon:X:⁠ https://x.com/lons⁠Follow Alex:X:⁠ https://x.com/alex⁠LinkedIn:⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm⁠Follow Jason:X:⁠ https://twitter.com/Jason⁠LinkedIn:⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis⁠Check out all our partner offers:⁠ https://partners.launch.co/⁠Great TWIST interviews:⁠ Will Guidara,⁠⁠ Eoghan McCabe⁠,⁠ Steve Huffman⁠,⁠ Brian Chesky⁠,⁠ Bob Moesta,⁠⁠ Aaron Levie⁠,⁠ Sophia Amoruso⁠,⁠ Reid Hoffman⁠,⁠ Frank Slootman⁠,⁠ Billy McFarland⁠Check out Jason's suite of newsletters:⁠ https://substack.com/@calacanis⁠Follow TWiST:Twitter:⁠ https://twitter.com/TWiStartups⁠YouTube:⁠ https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin⁠Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups⁠TikTok:⁠ https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups⁠Substack:⁠ https://twistartups.substack.com⁠

Today's show:Cerebras just jacked its IPO range to $150–$160 a share, OpenAI bought a consulting firm to seed its $4 billion private-equity joint venture, and a startup in Oakland is electrolyzing magnesium out of seawater for one-third the going price. Alex Wilhelm and Jason Calacanis go deep with AI21 co-CEO Ori Goshen on why model orchestration, not bigger LLMs, will decide who wins enterprise AI.The crew also covered the decline of OpenClaw, TikTok's new £3.99 ad-free tier, more entries in the live-show sidebar bounty, and had time for a little Off Duty before signing off.Guest Links:Ori Goshen on LinkedInAI21Alex Grant on LinkedInMagrathea MetalsTimestamps:0:00 Ori Goshen, CEO of AI21 joins the show1:20 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!5:14 Why enterprises care about token cost optimization6:01 Jamba as open-weight; Maestro as proprietary orchestration10:08 LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at https://LinkedIn.com/twist12:56 AI21 customer roster: FNAC, US tech giants, Israeli companies19:01 Alex Grant, CEO of Magrathea Metals joins to discuss pulling magnesium from seawater20:03 Live video of the Oakland pilot electrolyzer20:10 Deel - Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, get visas handled fast, and get back to building. Visit https://deel.com/twist to learn more.22:01 Magnesium as a "gateway metal" for aluminum, defense, aerospace23:20 TETRA joint venture & the Evergreen Project in Arkansas23:38 Series A close, JV economics: $3,000/ton vs. $7,000/ton market29:10 Sidebar bounty update: Glass Sidebar (Oliver Choy) demo30:47 Netsuite - Get the free business guide Demystifying AI at https://netsuite.com/twist31:47 Sidebar bounty update: Sidecast (Patrick Hughes) demo36:09 Reducing scope to "real-time fact checker only" for final round37:24 Ro.co: Ro's insurance checker will let you know if your coverage includes GLP-1s for FREE. Go to https://Ro.co/Twist for your free insurance check.39:07 Cerebras IPO: $115–$125 → $150–$160 per share44:19 Will OpenAI's compute commitments to Cerebras actually get funded?49:19 Fervo Energy IPO — venture-backed geothermal company going public49:40 OpenAI Deployment Company + Tomoro acquisition explained53:51 Anthropic's parallel $1.5B PE joint venture with Blackstone & Goldman56:05 Why Jason thinks these PE spinouts are convoluted financial engineering56:40 OpenClaw's decline + competition from Cowork, Perplexity, Grok1:04:22 TikTok's £3.99 ad-free subscription launches in the UK1:09:09 Knicks sweep 76ers — Jason's playoff predictions1:11:24 Off-duty: "There Is No Antimemetics Division" by qntm1:13:25 Off-duty: Fall of Civilizations podcast by Paul Cooper1:16:37 States' rights, federalism, housing supply & closing thoughtsSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:IM8 Health - https://IM8health.com/TWISTEvery - Every.ioSentry - https://Sentry.io/TWISTBanks don't want to hand over their data to AI labs. So David Moscatelli built a $250,000 box that runs AI on-prem. He already has 1,600 pre-orders. On today's episode of TWiST, Jason and Alex sit down with the Go Abacus founder and Yanez's Jose Caldera to unpack how regulated industries are getting AI without the cloud, why Bittensor subnet 54 is incentivizing miners to attack identity systems, and why Cloudflare just laid off 20% of its workforce in the same week it raised guidance. The show closes with Jason explaining what it means to build an AI-first startup, and how workers can derisk their future employment!Guest Links:Go AbacusGo1 direct linkDavid Moscatelli on LinkedInYanezBittensor Subnet 54 on TAOstatsJose Caldera on LinkedInLAUNCH Links:Founder UniversityFounder University Japan application portalNews Links:Cloudflare lays off 20% of its staffCoinbase cuts 14% of its staffBlock post on how it is rebuilding its companyBlock's earnings, including its raised guidanceAnthropic's massive upcoming funding roundWHOOP's new on-demand cliniciansStripe Atlas's growthTimestamps:0:00 Introduction: Jason in Brooklyn, Knicks playoffs2:30 Go Abacus joins: AI infrastructure for regulated industries3:25 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!4:00 The Go1: 2,000-user on-prem AI appliance7:04 Pricing the Go1: How far does $250,000 go?7:24 1,600 orders and the hardware delivery challenge10:14 Sentry - New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST20:23 Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https://every.io27:22 Chicago tech scene and in-office culture30:09 IM8 Health: Start feeling like your best self every day. Go to https://IM8health.com/twist and use the code TWiST to get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order.35:11 Yanez joins: How to prove personhood and uniqueness38:32 How biometric capture and bio-keys work40:05 Agent delegation: proving humans authorized AI agents44:19 Bittensor Subnet 54 and incentivizing adversarial miners47:11 Founder University Japan Cohort 2 applications open49:15 Tech layoffs: Cloudflare cuts 20%, Coinbase cuts 14%, Block raises guidance1:02:14 Anthropic's $50B round at $900B pre-money1:04:22 WHOOP adds on-demand clinicians1:06:42 Federalism, state-level regulation, and AI policySubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Grasshopper Bank - https://grasshopper.bank/twistPaperOS - https://paperos.com/twistLinkedIn Jobs - https://linkedIn.com/twistPlaud - https://Plaud.ai/twistThe top 5 U.S. venture firms captured 73% of all LP commits in Q1, and three veteran VCs say the math may have officially broken. Aleph's Michael Eisenberg argues we may be witnessing the end of a 60-year run for venture capital as a craft business. Maniv's Mike Granoff and Oxcart's Larry Covert push back, arguing it's merely splitting into two asset classes: "Consensus VC" and traditional VC. Either way, the implications for founders, LPs, and the next decade of innovation are enormous.TWiST is back on the beat with a venture round table discussing investment concentration, the IPO drought, "bullshit ARR" in the AI era, AI gross margins, the U.S.-China chip war, the Iran conflict's impact on defense tech, the death of NATO and the rise of allied supply chains, why Tel Aviv's stock exchange could become the next NASDAQ, and a lightning round on each VC's favorite portfolio company. Let's go!Timestamps:0:00 Intro + sponsor reads (Grasshopper Bank, PaperOS, LinkedIn Jobs)0:58 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!2:13 Introductions: Eisenberg (Aleph), Granoff (Maniv), Covert (Oxcart)3:57 The impact of rising venture capital concentration6:43 "We may be witnessing the end of venture capital"9:17 Consensus VC vs. Traditional VC10:01 LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at https://LinkedIn.com/twist11:48 Why mid-size firms beat the behemoths on founder access19:35 Coining "Consensus Colossal Collaborative Capital" (CCCC)20:03 AngelList's USVC retail VC fund — does it help mid-size funds?20:18 PaperOS - Whether you're raising a round, launching a fund, or managing a venture portfolio, PaperOS can unlock simplicity and scale across your empire of capital, contracts, and companies. Claim your $10,000 credit at https://paperos.com/twist23:27 Are there more breakout startups today than 5 years ago?28:36 The "bullshit ARR" problem and AI gross margins30:03 Grasshopper Bank - Time is money. Don't waste either. Go to https://grasshopper.bank/twist and get an exclusive $500 cash bonus just for opening an account.32:08 Cursor's negative gross margins and the hyperscaler funding flywheel33:06 Are we all electron constrained?35:35 Are we headed for surge pricing on compute?40:22 Will anything replace NVIDIA? NextSilicon, Hailo & Israel's chip stack43:33 Distillation, small models, and Apple's edge advantage46:38 Public trust in AI: should government mandate Waymo & FSD?1:02:58 Defense tech: Saronic, Anduril & the coming defense M&A wave1:06:35 The Iran war timeline & supply chain impact1:18:52 Lightning round: Jiga, Divergent, Volaback, Firehawk, HarbingerSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

My guest today is Brian Chesky, the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb. Our conversation traces the path from his early training as an industrial designer at RISD through the pandemic moment that forced him into founder mode.  He explains why he thinks AI founder mode will demand even more attention to the details and why founders are rarely good early CEOs. He walks through his eleven-star exercise, which is a way of imagining the most absurd version of a customer experience to achieve product market fit.  We also talk about what changed for him when he stopped chasing adulation and started making things for the love of making them.  For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.  ----- Become a Colossus member to get our quarterly print magazine and private audio experience, including exclusive profiles and early access to select episodes. Subscribe at ⁠colossus.com/subscribe⁠. ----- ⁠Ramp's⁠ mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠ramp.com/invest⁠⁠ to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. ----- Trusted by thousands of businesses, ⁠Vanta⁠ continuously monitors your security posture and streamlines audits so you can win enterprise deals and build customer trust without the traditional overhead. Invest Like the Best listeners get a special offer of $1,000 off Vanta when you go to ⁠vanta.com/invest⁠.  ----- WorkOS⁠ is the infrastructure B2B and AI-native companies use to sell to enterprise. It covers everything enterprise security requires: SSO, SCIM, RBAC, Audit Logs, AI governance, and more. Trusted by 2,000+ fast-growing companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Cursor, and Vercel. ----- Rogo is the AI platform for finance. They're building agents for Wall Street that are trained to understand how bankers and investors actually do work: from diligence and modeling, to turning analysis into deliverables. To learn more, visit rogo.ai/invest. ----- ⁠Ridgeline⁠ has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Visit⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ridgelineapps.com⁠. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). Timestamps: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like The Best (00:02:29) Episode Intro: Brian Chesky (00:03:07) Studying Industrial Design at RISD (00:08:30) Why Founders Don't Make Good CEOs (00:09:02) Founder Mode (00:12:51) AI Founder Mode (00:14:41) The End of Pure People Managers (00:18:42) Consumer AI (00:21:45) Project Hawaii (00:25:49) Make the Problem as Small as Possible (00:29:46) Becoming a Good CEO (00:32:11) What Brian Learned From Hiroki Asai (00:36:32) The Eleven-Star Experience (00:38:48) AI and Creativity (00:41:44) Making Things for the Love of It (00:43:36) The Adulation Trap (00:46:38) The Ham Sandwich Paradox (00:52:38) Why Founder-Led Businesses Endure (00:55:14) The Person as the Atomic Unit of Airbnb (00:59:40) Disrupting Yourself With AI (01:02:11) Lessons from Bodybuilding (01:07:55) Hiring as the Most Important Job (01:09:16) Are Founders Born or Made? (01:11:04) The Motivation of an Artist (01:11:47) The Kindest Thing

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Render - render.com/twistVanta - vanta.com/twistNorthwest Registered Agent - northwestregisteredagent.com/twistHave you wanted to invest in venture capital alongside your 401k contributions, but struggled to find a way to place a bet? Search no more, for the AngelList team has created USVC, a new fund that will accept investments of as little as $500 from folks who lack accreditation. USVC's Ankur Napgal swung by the show to chat about investment strategies, access, fees, and just how illiquid the venture-like vehicle will prove to be.Jason and Alex were then joined by Jon Durbin, core contributor at Chutes, and Yash Goenka, co-founder and CEO of Humwork. Chutes is the most valuable Bittensor subnet, focused on aggregating GPUs to offer trustless AI compute. Humwork wants to help bring a human into your agentic workflow to unstick your agent when it runs into a hitch. The show closes with a news lightning round — enjoy!Timestamps:0:00 Intro + Plaud AI sponsor read (Jason demos the NotePin S)2:06 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!3:50 Episode overview: USVC, Chutes, Humwork7:41 USVC structure: $500 min, no accreditation, quarterly redemptions10:28 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist11:39 Fee structure breakdown: 1% mgmt fee, ~2.5% net expense ratio15:41 USVC portfolio: xAI, Anthropic, OpenAI, Crusoe, Vercel16:17 Strategy: 1/3 emerging managers, 1/3 growth, 1/3 secondaries19:00 $1B cap and path to expanding the fund20:33 Vanta - Compliance and security shouldn't be a deal-breaker for startups to win new business. Vanta makes it easy for companies to get a SOC 2 reports fast. Get $1,000 off for a limited time at https://www.vanta.com/twist28:00 What is sovereign compute? Permissionless GPU networks explained30:10 Render - Find out why 5 million developers are already using the all-in-one cloud platform, Render. Go to https://render.com/twist and apply for the Render Startup Program to get $500-$100,000 in free credits, depending on your stage and backers.44:53 Usage history: 160B tokens/day peak, free-to-paid transition46:41 GPU pricing: from $0.77/hr to $3.50/hr as shortage bites49:13 DeepSeek censorship demo: Taiwan test on DeepSeek chat57:27 Permissionless supply curves: Uber/Airbnb analogy for induced demand59:20 Yash Goenka, co-founder of Humwork (YC S26)1:00:49 Lightning Round: Ryan Cohen wants to buy eBay — Jason's hot take1:12:36 Lightning Round: Cerebras IPO update ($27–36B valuation range)1:14:05 Lightning Round: Spirit Airlines / JetBlue / M&A regulation debate1:19:10 OFF-DUTY: Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord1:32:57 Alex's OFF-DUTY: Captain of IndustrySubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Pilot - https://pilot.com/twistShopify - https://shopify.com/twistGrasshopper Bank - https://grasshopper.bank/twistToday's show:An AI agent named Valerie is running a real vending machine in San Francisco — setting prices, ordering inventory, managing a bank account, and posting to Instagram. And it's not just a stunt. We're getting an early look at the future of one-agent companies. There's still work to do to help agents ease into the economy, potentially opening up new startup opportunities.Jason Calacanis and Alex Wilhelm cover a stacked docket: Christian van der Henst demos the Valerie AI vending machine powered by OpenClaw; Robert Myers, CEO of Manifold Labs, breaks down Targon, a confidential GPU compute marketplace running on Bittensor Subnet 4; Jason calls Bitcoin "played out;" Alex is impressed by Anthropic's stunning $900 billion upcoming valuation; and the guys discuss Big Tech's accelerating CapEx spend, Chinese AI models in Congress crosshairs, and the NBA Playoffs.Timestamps:0:00 Intro & sponsor reads (Pilot, Shopify, Grasshopper Bank)1:06 Christian van der Henst: Valerie the AI vending machine demo4:28 Legal structure: Giving an AI agent business ownership via trust7:23 Where agents can and can't operate today10:10 Grasshopper Bank: Time is money. Don't waste either. Go to https://grasshopper.bank/twist and get an exclusive $500 cash bonus just for opening an account.11:48 AI café in Stockholm running on agents18:21 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!19:05 Robert Myers, Manifold Labs: Targon & Bittensor Subnet 4 interview20:21 What is Bittensor? An "incubator with 128 subnets"21:08 Shopify: Turn those What If's into sales with the ecommerce platform powering millions of businesses. Sign up for your $1-per-month trial today at https://shopify.com/twist25:21 Pricing, utilization caps, and why GPUs are sold out26:38 Who's using Targon? Customers, use cases, and the mom-and-pop data center argument30:06 Pilot: Focus on your product, let Pilot handle your bookkeeping. Pilot provides the most reliable accounting, CFO, and tax services for startups and small businesses. Head to https://pilot.com/twist and get $1,200 off your first year.35:07 Jason explains the annotated.com vision — 15 years in the making39:11 Polymarket: Will Anthropic flip Bitcoin by Dec 31?40:29 Jason's Bitcoin bear case: "It's played out. No incremental buyers."46:05 MicroStrategy / Strategy updates52:37 AI compute demand vs. the fiber overbuild analogy55:55 Congress pressuring startups over Chinese AI models (DeepSeek, Moonshot)57:11 A16z on the geopolitical risk of Chinese AI models1:00:08 Reflection AI — America's open source AI champion (or lack thereof)1:01:26 Off Duty: Knicks blow out Atlanta Hawks 140–89, Jason goes road-trippingSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

The TWiST AI Basics series is made possible by Google Cloud!Check out Google Cloud's new report, “Future of AI: Perspectives on generative media for startups,” Featuring thoughts from today's guest, Joaquín Cuenca AbelaVisit: goo.gle/futureofgenmedia to check it out!Today's show:In today's edition of TWiST AI Basics, J-Cal is joined by Joaquin Cuenca Abela, co-founder and CEO of Magnific (formerly known as Freepik). We're discussing how generative AI is transforming the creative landscape for startups.In watching today's show you'll have-consider your expectations of what AI video can actually do for you and your business. What used to take a high end production team months and tens of thousands of dollars now takes 24 hours and one person with patience to learn the right tools. This conversation explores how founders can use these tools to scale their creative output better, cheaper, and faster.Timestamps:0:00 Google Cloud - Check out Google Cloud's new report, "Future of AI: Perspectives on generative media for startups," Featuring thoughts from today's guest, Joaquín Cuenca Abela at https://goo.gle/futureofgenmedia1:10 Welcome to AI Basics, presented by Google Cloud!2:11 Meet Joaquín Cuenca Abela, CEO of Magnific (formerly Freepik)3:12 Building a post-apocalyptic SF ad for TWiST in 24 hours4:25 Storyboarding characters, blending images, and text-prompting scenes6:39 The finished product: post-apocalyptic Jason!7:56 How much cheaper is this than traditional advertising?9:34 The tech stack: Magnific's upscaler and 3rd party frontier models11:02 Which Hollywood productions are actually using AI?13:14 Hollywood's 180 from "F these tools" to enthusiastic adoption14:38 One director's 600-person AI-enabled production15:23 Why Magnific built in Málaga, Spain and how they recruit AI talent16:40 Can AI ever match human creative vision?18:43 The future: 100 versions of the same ad, hyper-localized by city21:35 Where to find Magnific + Google Cloud's Future of AI reportConnect with Joaquín and Magnific!Magnific (formerly Freepik) — Joaquín's AI creative platform, 150M+ MAU, $230M ARR → https://magnific.comJoaquín Cuenca Abela on X → https://x.com/cuencaJoaquín Cuenca Abela on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/joaquin-cuenca-abela-905717a/Magnific on X → https://x.com/magnificPanoramio — Joaquín's prior startup, acquired by Google in 2007 → https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PanoramioFortune feature on Magnific's $230M ARR rebrand (April 2026) → https://fortune.com/2026/04/28/freepik-magnific-joaquin-cuenca-abela-230-million-arr-video-generation-ai-pivot/Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisThank you to our partner!Google Cloud - Check out Google Cloud's new report, “Future of AI: Perspectives on generative media for startups,” Featuring thoughts from today's guest, Joaquín Cuenca Abela at goo.gle/futureofgenmediaCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:IM8 Health - IM8health.com/twistSentry - Sentry.io/twistDeel - Deel.com/twistPlaud - https://Plaud.ai/twistWhat's the technology story of the year? No, it's not Anthropic's Mythos model, nor any other AI model. Upcoming IPOs? Wrong again. Jason thinks it's China's government's decision to block Meta's acquisition of Manus. The multi-billion-dollar deal was heralded as evidence that AI companies founded in China could sidestep onerous government meddling by moving their operations to Singapore. That loophole now appears closed.Jason and Lon then dug into the newly-reforged OpenAI-Microsoft partnership. The two companies have had a mutually beneficial, if fractious, operating relationship to date; that they had to rework their agreement is not a shock.Then, your hosts watched and digested a video from China purportedly showing a self-driving car hitting a child at speed. What would happen in the United States if such a tragedy struck? And is that fait accompli?Closing the show, Jason and Lon reacted to the latest Russell Brand implosion, discussed Lon's new favorite show ‘Criminal Record,' and shared recommended foot pedals (for AI dictation) and headphones for the road warriors tuning in.Key Links: OpenAI and MicrosoftOpenAI's announcement of its new Microsoft dealMicrosoft's announcement of its new OpenAI dealOpenAI announces its deal with AWSNews that Microsoft was considering legal action against OpenAIMicrosoft-OpenAI negotiations late 2025 edition, and terms announced in early 2026Amazon announces that OpenAI models are coming to AWSTimestamps:0:00 Show starts1:24 OpenAI and Microsoft have a new deal3:22 Why would Microsoft cede exclusive access to OpenAI models?5:36 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!8:09 Why Jason thinks Microsoft and Apple should work together on AI9:45 China will block the Meta-Manus deal12:12 Deel - Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, get visas handled fast, and get back to building. Visit https://deel.com/twist to learn more.12:23 Golden Shares and what they provide14:57 How do you unravel a multi-billion-dollar deal?22:08 Sentry - New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST24:42 The Huawei ADC crash29:49 What happens when something similar happens in the United States?31:55 IM8 Health: Start feeling like your best self every day. Go to https://IM8health.com/twist and use the code TWiST to get a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order.36:15 Russell Brand's public humiliation41:22 Don't trust palm reading!43:59 Lon's Off Duty streaming pick: Criminal Record46:25 Jason's Pick: Which foot pedal for AI dictation is right for you?48:43 Jason's Pick: In the market for new headphones?Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Northwest Registered Agent - https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist LinkedIn Jobs - https://LinkedIn.com/twistToday's show:It's a News and Off-Duty weekend roundup!AngelList's USVC fund is open to anyone with $500, but it's getting pushback on social media. Do the critics have a point?A Special Forces soldier made $409K betting on the military's capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Is the world just a big casino now?And a NYT podcast defends shoplifting and explores “social murder.” Find out why Jason says they crossed the line.Plus: Why you should teach your kids about investment and more, Off-Duty streaming and book recommendations.Related LinksUSVC: https://usvc.com/AngelList: https://www.angellist.com/Naval Ravikant on X: https://x.com/naval“Don't Listen to the Peanut Gallery; USVC is a Watershed Moment” by Hari Raghavan: https://x.com/haridigresses/status/2047503944839016681@Covered_Call USVC tweet: https://x.com/covered_call/status/2047020060900733306Forge Global: https://forgeglobal.com/Calm: https://www.calm.com/Full DOJ indictment of Gannon Ken Van Dyke: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-soldier-charged-using-classified-information-profit-prediction-market-betsNYT “The Opinions” podcast: “The Rich Don't Play by the Rules. So Why Should I?” https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000010849055/the-rich-dont-play-by-the-rules-so-why-should-i.htmlHasn Piker on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/hasanabiNew Yorker: Jia Tolentino: https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/jia-tolentinoNYT: Nadja Spiegelman: https://www.nytimes.com/by/nadja-spiegelmanJia Tolentino on X: https://x.com/jiatolentinoGarry Kasparov on X: https://x.com/kasparov63Prof G Media: https://www.profgmedia.com/Kids Investment Club: https://www.kidsinvestmentclub.com/Time stamps:0:00 Intro1:18 Naval's $500 VC Fund Explained5:54 Should You Trust Critics With 2K Followers?7:21 Learn By Betting — Jason's Philosophy10:10 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist12:30 The Maduro Polymarket Scandal13:28 Should the Military Bet on Missions?19:55 LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at https://LinkedIn.com/twist29:32 NYT Defends Theft & "Social Murder"30:28 There Is No Moral Equivalence33:41 The Nepo Baby Behind the Article35:42 Prof G's "Resist & Unsubscribe" Movement37:54 Walk The Walk — Hasan, Bernie & Performative Outrage44:49 Teaching Kids About Money48:21 The Rich Get Richer & The Poor Stay PoorOff Duty Recommendations“The Complete Maus” by Art Spiegelman: https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Maus-Art-Spiegelman/dp/0679406417“Thinking in Bets” by Annie Duke: https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Bets-Making-Smarter-Decisions/dp/0735216355“Queen of Chess” trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pmJgtLKBXgGreenlight app: https://greenlight.com/Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisvCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Northwest Registered Agent - https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist Render - https://render.com/twist Agree - https://agree.com Ro - https://Ro.co/Twist Plaud - https://Plaud.ai/twistToday's show:The US military is running low on missiles, but now, Firehawk Aerospace is using 3D-printed solid rocket propellant to cut production costs in half and 5x U.S. output.Plus: PhD researcher Maruchi Kim just built camera-equipped earbuds that perform on par with Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and could be the next wearable AI platform hiding in plain sight.GuestsWill Edwards: https://x.com/williewocketsFirehawk Aerospace: https://firehawkdefense.com/Maruchi Kim: https://x.com/maruchikimVueBuds project: https://vuebuds.cs.washington.edu/Related LinksThis Week in AI: https://www.thisweekinai.ai/“Ghost Murmur: The Heartbeat-Tracking Tech That Has Experts Questioning the Laws of Physics”: https://www.military.com/feature/2026/04/18/ghost-murmur-heartbeat-tracking-tech-has-experts-questioning-laws-of-physics.htmlNeurometric: https://www.neurometric.ai/Meta Ray-Bans: https://www.meta.com/ai-glasses/Hanwha Defense USA: https://www.hanwhadefenseusa.com/Raytheon: https://www.rtx.com/Pilatus PC-24 corporate jet: https://www.pilatus-aircraft.com/en/pc-24PlaneSense: https://www.planesense.com/Slopes app: https://slopesapp.com/Speechify: https://speechify.com/Electronic Frontier Foundation: https://www.eff.org/Timestamps:0:00 Are all these layoffs really AI's fault?8:51 Why laid off people should start their own companies9:27 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist13:18 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!15:25 Will Edwards of Firehawk joins the show15:46 What are Solid Rocket Motors (SRMs)?20:06 Render: Find out why 5 million developers are already using the all-in-one cloud platform, Render. Go to https://render.com/twist and apply for the Render Startup Program to get $500-$100,000 in free credits, depending on your stage and backers.23:10 Who are Firehawk's customers?24:25 Reimagining and reinventing the US military28:35 How do missiles fit into the military's operations?29:34 Agree - Stop chasing invoices at https://agree.com and tell them Jason sent you to get 50% off for life!31:01 What's next on the roadmap for Firehawk?31:49 How to make propellant (with easy to find ingredients)33:13 A cheaper way to fly private38:03 Ro.co: Ro's insurance checker will let you know if your coverage includes GLP-1s for FREE. Go to https://Ro.co/Twist for your free insurance check.40:48 Maruchi Kim of Vuebuds joins the show!44:35 Why are VueBuds better than meta glasses?46:23 The biggest VueBud use cases48:09 Jason wants to use VueBuds on the slopes55:38 Jason's advice for angel investors: never underestimate anyone!Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisCheck out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis