This Week in Startups Jason Calacanis

Jason and Molly kick off the show with a quick third-rail story about Area 51. (1:56) They then cover Instagram co-founders Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom’s new startup, Artifact. (10:44) Finally, Gabi Lewis of Magic Spoon joins Molly for an awesome interview about their latest raise, launching in big box stores and more. (41:56)

(0:00) Molly Kicks off the show

(1:56) Conspiracy Theories with Molly and Jason

(9:37) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist

(10:44) Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom’s new venture: Artifact

(20:16) Embroker - Use code TWIST to get an extra 10% off insurance at https://Embroker.com/twist

(21:19) Monetizing news aggregators + content moderation

(40:42) Letterhead - get 50% off their first year at tryletterhead.com/twist

(41:56) Gabi Lewis of Magic Spoon joins Molly

(1:13:51) Jay Trades, immigration and TikTok ideas



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Jason and Molly kick off the week with a generative ai update! (5:00) Then, they cover Mr. Beast’s latest video and “stunt culture” (35:21), some more third-rail topics (49:40), and Billy McFarland being back in the news! (59:50)

(0:00) M+J kick off the show

(2:10) Apply to Founder University 2-Day Workshop at https://intensive.founder.university/

(5:00) Anthropic raises at a $5B valuation

(9:31) LinkedIn Jobs - Post your first job for free at https://linkedin.com/twist

(11:01) More on Anthropic

(18:01) Notion - Sign up for FREE at https://notion.com/jason

(19:21) Semafor reports OpenAI has contracted 1000 developers

(27:06) Baidu is developing their own AI Chatbot

(33:53) CAST AI - get a FREE cloud cost audit AND a personal consultation at cast.ai/twist

(35:21) MrBeast’s latest video + Stunt culture

(49:40) Third-rail topics

(59:50) Billy McFarland is back in the news

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Molly and Jason chop it up about New York Attorney General Letitia James probing into MSG's alleged use of facial recognition to identify and target specific patrons (1:46). This segues into a great discussion about Meta's $10M deal with BuzzFeed and The Creator Economy as a whole (21:41). We cap off the week with two great interviews, one with LA26 graduate Nevsah Karamehmet of Breath Hub (36:17) and another with Brett Bauman, the creator of PlaylistAI (48:09).



(0:00) M+J kick off the show

(1:46) WLITF WTF: Facial recognition software at MSG

(8:33) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist

(10:03) More on the NYAG case regarding MSG's facial recognition software

(20:11) Linode - Apply to Linode's Rise program for up to six figures in discounts at https://linode.com/twist

(21:41) BuzzFeed's lucrative deal with Meta + Revenue share with creators

(35:07) Crowdbotics - Get a free scoping session for your next big app idea at crowdbotics.com/twist

(36:17) LA26 Founder: Nevsah Karamehmet of Breath Hub

(48:09) Ok Boomer with Brett Bauman



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Vinny and Sunny are back for our first crypto-roundtable of 2023. Vinny breaks down the macroeconomic variables affecting Bitcoin’s price (1:39), plus they all predict whether Bitcoin will hit $30K or $16 first (11:43) (This is not financial advice). They delve into the ongoing controversy involving DCG, Gemini and Genesis (26:54), as well as the news that the SEC has charged both Gemini and Genesis with offering and selling unregistered securities (35:12). We wrap up the show with a great discussion about Porsche’s failed NFT drop and how brands should approach entering Web 3.0 (44:38).

(0:00) Jason kicks off the show

(1:39) Vinny’s macroeconomic breakdown

(10:18) Acquire.com - Sign up for FREE at https://try.acquire.com/twist

(11:43) Bitcoin’s price action + will it hit $30k or $16K

(17:35) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://Squarespace.com/TWIST

(18:59) Gluttony and the lack of consumer savings

(26:54) DCG, Genesis and Gemini controversy

(33:40) Fitbod - Get 25% off at https://fitbod.me/twist

(35:12) The SEC has charged Gemini and Genesis for selling unregistered securities

(44:38) Porsche’s NFT drop



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Jason sits down with Bryan Roberts of Venrock for another episode of Angel Season 7! They discuss Bryan’s first bets (2:22) and his perception of the dot com bubble. (14:38) The two also dive into topics like creating optionality as a startup (21:24), bad habits in VC (28:49) and Theranos. (36:18) To wrap the show, Bryan and Jason discuss disagreeing with founders (39:07) and the psychology of placing bets! (44:33)

(0:00) Jason kicks off the show
(2:22) Bryan’s first investment: Illumina
(8:52) LinkedIn Jobs - Go to http://linkedin.com/angel and post your first job for free
(10:16) Bryan’s second investment: Athena Health
(14:38) Bryan’s experience during the dot-com bubble
(19:54) Merge - Get started by integrating up to 5 linked accounts for free today at merge.dev/twist
(21:24) Creating optionality in a startup
(25:30) Understanding your leaders
(28:49) Bad habits in venture
(34:55) Velocity Growth - Get $500 off your first growth audit or monthly package now with promo code TWIST at velocitygrowth.com/twist
(36:18) Bryan’s thoughts on Theranos
(39:07) Diligence and disagreements with founders
(44:33) The psychology of placing bets + advice for founders

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Molly goes solo today to cover the DOJ joining eight states to file an anti-trust lawsuit against Google (2:04) before covering Ticketmaster taking the stand in a Senate hearing today. (15:37) Producer Rachel then joins to discuss the latest on user-friendly ticket competitors. (23:07) Then, Molly is joined by two different LA26 founders: Rhian Beutler of Govalo (32:47) and Daniel Sakhai of HeyHire! (44:44)

(0:00) Molly kicks off the show

(2:04) the DOJ’s lawsuit with Google

(9:16) AgeTech Collaborative - Find out more and apply at https://agetechcollaborative.org/twist

(10:51) Google and Microsoft’s prior lawsuits with the DOJ

(15:37) Ticketmaster’s senate hearing

(21:30) AgeTech Collaborative - Find out more and apply at https://agetechcollaborative.org/twist

(23:06) Rachel joins Molly to discuss the latest on user-friendly ticket competitors

(31:18) Nutrisense - Use code TWIST and get $30 off at nutrisense.io/twist

(32:47) Rhian Beutler of Govalo joins Molly

(44:44) Daniel Sakhai of HeyHire joins Molly

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FOLLOW Daniel: https://www.heyhire.com/

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