Startup Jazz

George & Michelle
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Investing
  • Updated Weekly

Join George and Michelle every week as they explore the latest startup funding news with a unique blend of seasoned wisdom and sharp analysis.

  1. May 13

    Startup Jazz #29: **AI's $17

    Episode 29 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, founder insights, covering 5 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. From Credit Cards To An AI Concierge: How Amex Ventures Backs Startups Building Autonomous Commerce (Crunchbase News) 2. 5 Tax Strategies Smart Founders Use to Protect Their Profits (Entreprenuer) 3. AI Is Rewriting What Investors Should Look For In Early Startup Teams (Crunchbase News) 4. European AI Funding Is Growing. Will That Boost The Region’s Startup Scene? (Crunchbase News) 5. Exclusive: Fazeshift Scores $17M As Investors Bet On AI-Powered Finance Ops, Starting With Accounts Receivable (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

    31 min

  2. Apr 26

    Startup Jazz #28: The $2.5M Fl

    Episode 28 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, founder insights, covering 8 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. She Raised $2.5 Million From Friends and Family — And Saw Zero Sales. Then She Leaned Into a ‘Hunch.’ Now Her Company Sells $300 Million a Year. (Entreprenuer) 2. A Better Way To Fail: How This Platform Aims To Turn Startup Shutdowns Into Something Salvageable (Crunchbase News) 3. Ecommerce Founders Who Ignore This Type of AI Will Lose Their Best Customers — Here’s Why (Entreprenuer) 4. Boyu, Matrix, Shunwei Lead (36KR) 5. Most Founders Think Debt Is Risky and Equity Is Safe. Here’s Why That Belief Is Costing Them. (Entreprenuer) 6. Exclusive: Schematic Raises $6.5M To Help Companies Update Their Pricing Faster And Easier In The AI Era (Crunchbase News) 7. Sector Snapshot: Autonomous Vehicle Funding More Than Triples In 2026 To Hit Record Amount (Crunchbase News) 8. Cybersecurity Funding Holds Up At Robust Levels (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

    1h 11m

  3. Apr 18

    Startup Jazz #27: How Quiet Founders & Nonverbal Secrets Generated

    Episode 27 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, valuations, covering 8 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. Why the Quietest Person in the Room Might Build the Best Startup (Entreprenuer) 2. Is Your Body Language Sabotaging You? This Nonverbal Communication Expert’s Method Has Helped Her Clients Generate $2 Billion in Sales. (Entreprenuer) 3. Fintech Startups Globally Raise More Money In Far Fewer Deals In Q1 2026 (Crunchbase News) 4. I Sold My Startup A Year After Founding It. Here’s Why That Was The Fastest Way To Build Real-World Healthcare AI (Crunchbase News) 5. China Leads Asia’s Startup Funding To Its Highest Level In More Than 3 Years (Crunchbase News) 6. Exclusive: Repeat Founders Raise $20M For Spektr, A Fintech Compliance Startup, In NEA-Led Series A (Crunchbase News) 7. Exclusive: GetWhys Raises $5.2M To Help Companies Like Intel And Verizon Better Understand Their Customers (Crunchbase News) 8. The CEO of a $19.9 Billion Startup Says Businesses Are In Danger of Being Replaced By Vibe Coding — But This One App Is ‘Quite Safe’ (Entreprenuer) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

    1h 23m

  4. Apr 10

    Startup Jazz #26: Q1's $252.6B AI Tsunami — Plus Electric Ferries, Freight Rail & Unsexy Billion-Dollar Bets

    Episode 26 of Startup Jazz. The AI hype cycle roars on — Q1 2026 saw a record-smashing $252.6B flow into private markets (triple the prior quarter, with a single OpenAI round accounting for $110B). But George and Michelle spend most of today's set on the "unsexy" industries being quietly reharmonized: Candela's $32M for hydrofoil electric ferries in Stockholm, Voltify's $30M seed to decarbonize $11B of diesel freight rail, Frontlands' AI-powered credit card for an underbanked Texas market, Juno's $12M to drag high-end accounting into the AI era, Miravoice's $6.3M to reinvent phone surveys with voice AI, Anvil Robotics' $5.5M bet on affordable kid-sized dextrous robots, plus Kojo founder Maria Davidson's outsider path from zero construction experience to scaling construction procurement. Plus: why the exit market is a "garden hose" against a funding tidal wave, and what the paradigm shift to private markets means for founders. Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

    1h 9m

  5. Mar 27

    Startup Jazz #25: The $120B Workout Empire — Plus Kleiner Perkins' $3.5B AI Bet

    Episode 25 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, valuations, covering 10 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. Guideline's Path to Product-Market Fit — The Early Decisions That Powered Its Acquisition by Gusto (1st Round) 2. This Workout Was Created for Male Prisoners During World War I. Now It’s Everywhere — and Worth $120 Billion. (Entreprenuer) 3. Exclusive: YC Doubles Down On Trayd, A Construction Tech Startup That Just Raised $10M In 3 Weeks (Crunchbase News) 4. StoReel Secures $ (36KR) 5. The 4-Conversation Playbook I Use to Retain Top Talent During AI Disruption (Entreprenuer) 6. Why You Haven’t Raised Startup Funding (Yet) (Crunchbase News) 7. The Tax Credit Opportunities Startups Often Forget (And Why It Keeps Happening) (Crunchbase News) 8. Exclusive: Stripe Alum Raises $9M For Meadow To Help People Plan Funerals Online (Crunchbase News) 9. The Most Active Startup Acquirers Of The Past 3 Years Aren’t Always Who You’d Expect (Crunchbase News) 10. Kleiner Perkins Raises $3.5B For AI-Focused Funds (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

    1h 33m

  6. Mar 20

    Startup Jazz #24: The Strongest Q1 Since 2022 — Plus Tim Cook's Retirement Rumors

    Episode 24 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, founder insights, covering 9 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. While OpenAI Shattered Records, Robotics and Semiconductor Startups Quietly Added The Most New Unicorns In February (Crunchbase News) 2. 5 Interesting Startup Deals You May Have Missed: Blood-Drawing Robots, Inboxes For AI Agents, Franchised Defense Manufacturing, And More (Crunchbase News) 3. The Rising Investors Behind The New Unicorn Class (Crunchbase News) 4. Q1 Global Startup Funding Posts Strongest Quarter Since Q2 2022 With A Third Going To Massive OpenAI Deal (Crunchbase News) 5. Khosla’s Ethan Choi On AI, Founder-First Investing And The Fate Of Entry-Level Jobs (Crunchbase News) 6. Are Coupons Making a Comeback? How Discounts Are Quietly Shaping Revenue Wins and Losses (Entreprenuer) 7. Exclusive: Stripe Alum Raises $9M For Meadow To Help People Plan Funerals Online (Crunchbase News) 8. The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: AI, Robotics And E-Commerce Top The Ranks (Crunchbase News) 9. Is Tim Cook Really Stepping Down? The Apple CEO Finally Addresses Retirement Rumors (Entreprenuer) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

    1h 5m

  7. Mar 16

    Startup Jazz #23: From $5K Side Hustle to $3M — Plus Europe's Largest Seed Round Ever

    Episode 23 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, valuations, covering 10 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. His $5,000-a-Day Side Hustle Started With Just 10 Hours of Work Per Week And an AI Tool Anyone Can Use. Now It’s on Track for $3 Million This Year. (Entreprenuer) 2. While OpenAI Shattered Records, Robotics and Semiconductor Startups Quietly Added The Most New Unicorns In February (Crunchbase News) 3. 5 Interesting Startup Deals You May Have Missed: Blood-Drawing Robots, Inboxes For AI Agents, Franchised Defense Manufacturing, And More (Crunchbase News) 4. Khosla’s Ethan Choi On AI, Founder-First Investing And The Fate Of Entry-Level Jobs (Crunchbase News) 5. The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: AI, Robotics And E-Commerce Top The Ranks (Crunchbase News) 6. Exclusive: Rebar Lands $14M To Help HVAC Suppliers Generate Quotes Faster With AI (Crunchbase News) 7. The Series B Pipeline Looks Refreshingly Diversified (Crunchbase News) 8. Turing Winner LeCun’s New ‘World Model’ AI Lab Raises $1B In Europe’s Largest Seed Round Ever (Crunchbase News) 9. From Hype To Outcomes: How VCs Recalibrate Around Agentic AI (Crunchbase News) 10. Swedish Legal Tech Startup Legora Triples Valuation To $5.55B With $550M Series D Led By Accel (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

    1h 23m

  8. Mar 6

    Startup Jazz #22: From Wellness Hustle to $3M — Plus OpenAI's Record $110B Raise

    Episode 22 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, valuations, covering 9 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. An Insurance Salesman Went Down a Wellness Rabbit Hole, and Started a Side Hustle In His Kitchen. Now It’s On Track for $3M. (Entreprenuer) 2. Exoskeleton-as-Organ Company (36KR) 3. This is the Biggest Mistake Founders Make When Entering a ‘Hot’ Market (Entreprenuer) 4. They Started a Newsletter in College and 5 Years Later Sold It for $75 Million. Here’s How Alex Lieberman Builds Big Things. (Entreprenuer) 5. Exclusive: Founded By 2 Brothers In Their 20s, YC-Backed Denki Raises $4.1M To Automate Financial Audits (Crunchbase News) 6. Massive AI Deals Drive $189B Startup Funding Record In February While Public Software Stocks Reel (Crunchbase News) 7. Eight Sleep Raises $50M At $1.5B Valuation To Expand Into ‘Predictive, AI-Driven Health’ (Crunchbase News) 8. Fintech Plaid Completes Tender Offer At $8B Valuation (Crunchbase News) 9. OpenAI’s New $110B Raise At A $840B Valuation Marks The Largest Venture Deal Ever (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

    1h 9m
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About

Join George and Michelle every week as they explore the latest startup funding news with a unique blend of seasoned wisdom and sharp analysis.

Information

  • Creator
    George & Michelle
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    29
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    Startup Jazz