This Week in Startups

By Jason Calacanis

Technology Tech News Business Investing

What's This Week in Startups about?

Jason Calacanis and a rotating group of guest experts bring you this weekly take on the best, worst, most outrageous and interesting stories from the world of Web companies. Calacanis, a podcasting pioneer, gives you an insider's look at what's happening in the tech industry with his trademark blunt style and good humor. Looking to start your own company? Need strategies for improving your business or motivating your team? Just want to catch up on what's happening in Silicon Valley and beyond? Your journey begins here.

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Sequoia’s new structure, $H...

10.27.2021

First, Jason covers Sequoia's VC-redefining transition to an evergreen fund (1:54). He continues Q3 earnings coverage with Robinhood (13:38) and Twitter (21:10). Then, Ryan Breslow from Bolt joins to discuss transitioning to a 4-day work week, open-sourcing their company handbook ...

This Week in Startups episodes:

10.27.2021 Sequoia’s new structure, $HOOD and $TWTR earnings + Bolt’s Ryan Breslow: 4-day work week \| E1313 First, Jason covers Sequoia's VC-redefining transition to an evergreen fund (1:54). He continues Q3 earnings coverage with Robinhood (13:38) and Twitter (21:10). Then, Ryan Breslow from Bolt joins to discuss transitioning to a 4-day work week, open-sourcing their company handbook ...
10.26.2021 Facebook’s Q3 earnings breakdown: revenue, user growth, rumored rebrand + Italic’s Jeremy Cai \| E1312 First, Jason breaks down Facebook's Q3 earnings, including: growing revenue and profits, slowing user growth, AR investment and its new reporting structure (2:00). He also covers Facebook's potential rebrand as a metaverse-focused company and its declining usage amongst US teens ...
10.25.2021 Growth & Retention: Why Subscription is the Holy Grail \| Customer Basics with Salesforce’s Tiffani Bova \| E1311 This Startup Basics is all about growth & retention. Tiffani Bova from Salesforce joins to talk about how startups should measure customer health, the pitfalls of high churn, the best kind of growth, how to earn trust by saying "no" ...
10.22.2021 Trump SPAC, WeWork SPAC, GitLab IPO w/ Eric Newcomer + Quick Commerce w/Matt Newberg \| E1310 Tech journalist Eric Newcomer joins to talk the Trump SPAC (8:26), WeWork SPAC (15:58), and the behind the scenes funding story of GitLab's IPO (25:41). Then, HNGRY's Matt Newberg joins to talk innovations in the quick commerce space, the growing ...
10.21.2021 Inflation warnings and hedge strategy, Bitcoin ETF, Hindenburg’s Tether bounty + Startup Checklist E3 \| E1309 First, Jason reacts to CNBC's Paul Tudor Jones interview, where PTJ warned about inflation and called Bitcoin (and crypto) a better hedge than gold (2:10). Then, Jason covers the new Bitcoin ETF and Hindenburg putting a bounty out for information ...
10.20.2021 Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson: the next $60B, Engage, Segment acquisition & more + Who actually uses Oculus? \| E1308 It was great to have Jeff back on the pod! But first, Producer Rachel gives some updates on TWIST Founder Meetups (01:54) and Jason talks a bit about Oculus (14:12). Then, Jeff Lawson from Twilio joins (24:42) to discuss their ...
10.19.2021 Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire on USDC, Tether & more + Jason reacts to Apple’s new M1 chips & MacBooks \| E1307 First, Jason reacts to the most recent Apple event announcing new M1 chips & Macbooks (1:26). Then, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire (23:85) joins to discuss how USDC, what makes Circle different from Tether, regulation, and more.
10.18.2021 How to manage customer relationships \| Customer Basics with Salesforce’s Tiffani Bova \| E1306 This Startup Basics is all about managing customer relationships. Tiffani Bova from Salesforce joins to talk about the ways startups can improve customer interactions, transforming one-time transactions to reoccurring relationships. Jason and Tiffani give practical tips better serve customers and ...
10.15.2021 Coinbase chases NFT billions + Peter Thiel “The Contrarian” with author Max Chafkin \| E1305 First, Jason covers Coinbase's announcement of their new NFT platform (2:06). Then, Bloomberg's Max Chafkin joins to discuss his book, "The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power" (19:57). It's a wide-ranging discussion about Peter's life, business, and ...
10.14.2021 Is Netflix over cancel culture? + Startup Checklist: Choosing a Business Model \| E1304 First, Jason covers the blowback Netflix is facing from Dave Chappelle's new special "The Closer" and the masterful response from Co-CEO Ted Sarandos (2:09). Then, continuing our startup checklist series, Jason explains 10 items founders need to go through before ...
10.13.2021 US inherits China’s Bitcoin Mining Dynasty + Jacob Helberg on the “New Cold War” with China \| E1303 Jason does a short news segment on China’s Bitcoin Mining hash rate falling to 0 and how the U.S. is now the largest mining hub (1:59). Then, Jacob Helberg author of "The Wires of War: Technology and the Global Struggle ...
10.12.2021 Solana Founder Anatoly Yakovenko on scaling the blockchain to warp speed \| E1302 Anatoly from Solana joins Jason to discuss how they've managed to build the fastest blockchain (0:54). Solana's "proof of history" innovation allows for over 50,000 transactions a second, we get into Solana's value prop (25:51), use cases (40:14), developer ecosystem ...
10.11.2021 How to understand customer engagement \| Customer Basics with Salesforce’s Tiffani Bova \| E1301 Startup Basics is BACK! This series focuses on one of the most important aspects of any successful startup: the customer. On episode two, Salesforce's Tiffani Bova joins to break down all things customer engagement: defining it, authenticity, blending automation with ...
10.08.2021 Tether’s hidden billions with Bloomberg’s Zeke Faux + Startup Checklist E1 \| E1300 First, Jason chats with Bloomberg reporter Zeke Faux about his latest investigative piece "Tether's $69 Billion Mystery"(1:04). Then, Jason launches our news series "Startup Checklist" (31:49) which explores the things you should do to be prepared to launch a company.
10.07.2021 Fantasy startup investing NFTs + former Tesla CTO JB Straubel’s Redwood Materials \| E1299 In a short news segment, Jason talks about a company that tried to sell "fantasy startup investing" NFTs and why they had to pivot (1:44). Jason gives a brief tribute to Steve Jobs (15:48). Then, he's joined by JB Straubel, ...
10.06.2021 FB Whistleblower’s Senate testimony + Scorpion Capital shorts Ginkgo Bioworks, claims fraud \| E1298 In this all news show, Jason covers Facebook Whistleblower Frances Haugen’s Senate testimony and Mark Zuckerberg's response (2:22). We also get into the fraud claims made by Scorpion Capital against Ginkgo Bioworks $DNA (1:01:35), we had Ginkgo CEO Jason Kelly ...
10.05.2021 How to create great customer experience \| Customer Basics with Salesforce’s Tiffani Bova \| E1297 Startup Basics is BACK! This series will focus on one of the most important aspects of any successful startup: the customer. On episode one, Salesforce's Tiffani Bova joins to break down all things customer experience: defining it, what an amazing ...
10.04.2021 Facebook’s whistleblower reveal & major outage + reacting to OZY media CEO on Today Show \| E1296 In this news episode, Jason covers the Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen's "60 minutes" interview and breaks down some clips. Then he shares the highlights and rationalizations from the OZY Media CEO's Today Show appearance.
10.01.2021 Coinbase CEO reflects on “mission” manifesto + Kettle’s Nat Manning on fire insurance \| E1295 First Jason covers Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong's reflections on last year's blog "Coinbase is a mission focused company.” Then, Nat Manning joins from Kettle, to chat about better assessing fire risk with data, how California can prevent home damage from ...
09.30.2021 Amazon’s AI driver supervisors, OZY media fallout, rising FEMA flood insurance, OpenScouting \| E1294 Jason does a full news show breaking down: how Amazon monitors drivers with AI cameras (01:54), Tesla's new driver score (22:05), OZY Media's continued fallout (32:45), and new proposed changes for homeowners in coastal zones (42:08). Plus, Jason explains his ...
09.29.2021 Google’s game-changing ad policy + Michael Dell on “Play Nice But Win,” stories from building a computing giant \| E1293 First, Jason brings on investor, former ad tech exec, and frequent guest Zach Coelius to discuss the strategic implications of Google's new ad attribution policy (01:43). Then Michael Dell joins for for a full interview (21:54) sharing stories from the ...
09.28.2021 OZY Media’s deception, VC retirement, Clubhouse’s monetization problem with The Verge’s Ashley Carman & more \| E1292 First, Jason covers OZY media's attempted deception of Goldman Sachs & investors (1:50), then covers Clubhouse's monetization problem with special guest Ashley Carman from the Verge (24:26). To wrap up, he discusses VC retirements (46:30) and Disney's Star Wars Visions ...
09.27.2021 Facebook puts Instagram Kids on pause, Bevy’s high-profile firing + Squarespace’s Anthony Casalena \| E1291 Jason covers Instagram's Adam Mosseri announcing the pause of Instagram Kids (2:09), the recent firing of Bevy employee following a hostile interaction in Brooklyn (21:51). Then, Squarespace Founder and CEO Anthony Casalena joins (35:43) to discuss what marketing channels have ...
09.24.2021 News! China bans crypto transactions (again), Zillow & iBuyers impacting Real Estate + Ask Jason \| E1290 Jason covers China's latest crypto mandate (0:59), a TikToker's conspiracy about iBuyers and the Redfin CEO's response (17:17), then takes a bunch of Ask Jason Questions (31:42) & more!
09.24.2021 News! EU Mandates USB-C, Facebook Files, China RE, Apple leaks, Stonkfluencers, SaaS Pod \| E1289 In this all news show, Jason teases a new podcast dedicated to SaaS (1:46) and covers: the EU's planned USB-C mandate (7:44), China's property glut (13:12), TikTok Investors following congressional trades (20:24), Tim Cook's battle against leakers (25:47), the "Facebook ...
09.22.2021 Apple Maps 3-D update, SEC Chair tips off coming crypto regulation + Pacaso’s Austin Allison \| E1288 First, Jason covers the new Apple Maps and what he speculates it means for their next major product (2:11), then discusses SEC Chair Gary Gensler calling crypto the "wild west"(10:38). Then, Jason interviews Pacaso Founder & CEO Austin Allison about ...
09.21.2021 Apple launches iCloud Private Relay + Framework’s Nirav Patel on customizable laptops \| E1287 In a short news segment, Jason describes Apple's new iCloud+ privacy suite (2:18). Then, Framework founder Nirav Patel joins to talk about making laptop customization great again (13:04)! They discuss the difficulty of raising VC for a consumer hardware startup, ...
09.20.2021 ByteDance limits daily app time for kids in China + Next Unicorns: Orbital Insight’s Kevin O’Brien \| E1286 In news, Jason covers Bytedance's decision to institute a 40 minute limit for kids on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok (1:56) and hits on the real estate situation in SF and implications for the startup community (15:02). Then, Orbital ...
09.18.2021 Head of Instagram comments on teen impact, Jay-Z’s NFT lawsuit + Sourcegraph’s Quinn Slack \| E1285 First, Jason reacts to comments from Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri on the impact of Instagram on teen girls and comparing the risks of social media to the automobile industry (1:50). Then, Jason breaks down OpenSea's update on their front-running ...
09.17.2021 Rapid Fire News: App Annie fraud, Instagram’s negative impact, Discord valued at $15B & more \| E1284 Full news show! First up, Jason covers the App Annie fraud (1:59), then he shares thoughts on Facebook's leaked documents showing they knew Instagram was detrimental to teen girls' mental health despite claiming the contrary (13:55). He also touches on ...
09.15.2021 OpenSea admits employee was front-running featured NFTs + Goldbelly CEO Joe Ariel on food e-commerce \| E1283 First, Jason breaks down NFT platform OpenSea admitting one of their employees was front-running featured items (2:02). Could this tip off the SEC that NFTs might be securities rather than collectibles (12:01)? Then, Jason talks to Producer Rachel about TWiST ...
09.14.2021 “Amazon Unbound” author Brad Stone on the mind of Bezos, the future of Amazon & more \| E1282 Brad Stone, the author of "Amazon Unbound", joined to talk about Elon Musk (09:44), Amazon's workplace environment (23:25), the importance of Prime (27:17), which tech companies are most dangerous for society (51:13), & more!
09.10.2021 Growth stocks, Inflation impacts, SPACs & more with Beth Kindig & Knox Ridley from I/O Fund \| E1281 Beth Kindig and Knox Ridley from the I/O Fund came on to discuss with Jason their top growth stocks, market indicators, how to manage risk in an all tech portfolio, potential big tech spin outs, Roku's incredible expansion and more!
09.10.2021 News! Fireproof homes, Amazon’s college plan, Facebook copies Snap, Notion Acquires Automate.io & more \| E1280 Rapid fire news episode. First, Jason covers how a fire proofed home survived the Caldor fire, Amazon's plan to provide college for all its employees, Facebook copying Snap's glasses, Notion acquiring Automate.io & more. At the end, Jason takes a ...
09.09.2021 Coinbase battles SEC over Lend + How DeFi interest rates work with Genesis’ Matt Ballensweig \| E1279 Coinbase CEO Brain Armstrong took to Twitter to call out the SEC for what Coinbase considers unclear guidance & hostility around their Lend product, Jason breaks down the situation (1:43). Then, to better understand how DeFi lending works Jason interviews ...
09.07.2021 BAYC at Sotheby’s, Loot, Tether Canada ban + 8VC’s Joe Lonsdale: Palantir, China, Cicero \| E1278 First Jason covers the $19M Bored Ape Yacht Club bid on Sotheby's & the Loot NFT collection launched by a Vine co-founder (1:42), and briefly covers Tether being banned from Canadian exchanges (11:07). Then serial founder and investor Joe Lonsdale ...
09.03.2021 Adrian Grenier: launching a new fund + FounderU: balancing product vision & customer feedback \| E1277 First, Jason discusses how to balance product vision with customer feedback in a FounderU segment (0:57). Then, actor and investor Adrian Grenier joins to discuss the launch of his new fund DuContra Ventures (20:52), the importance of saying "No" (33:24), ...
09.02.2021 Next Unicorns: Miso Robotics’ Mike Bell, $3 an hour fry cooks + MorningBrew’s Dan Toomey on TikTok \| E1276 Jason chats with Miso Robotics CEO Mike Bell (1:07), about automating food preparation, filling the labor gap, the consequences of robots, growing with crowdfunding and more. Then, TWIST Producer Rachel Braun interviews Dan Toomey about the strategies he uses to ...
09.01.2021 Bored Ape Madness with The Infatuation’s Andrew Steinthal + Breaking into VC with Nicole DeTommaso \| E1275 The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs have been going crazy in the secondary market, Jason brings on collector and co-founder of media site "The Infatuation" Andrew Steinthal (2:04) to chat about why he bought in, why he's not selling, and ...
08.31.2021 Elizabeth Holmes Theranos fraud trial kickoff + Blokable’s Aaron Holm: how to scale housing \| E1274 First, Jason covers the kickoff of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes' fraud trial (1:48). Then, Blokable Co-CEO & Co-Founder Aaron Holm joins (16:37) to discuss solving the housing crisis, the Phoenix Rising project (27:05), why vertical integration is the key to ...
08.27.2021 CCP closes foreign IPO loophole + Audius’ Roneil Rumburg: decentralized project crash course \| E1273 First Jason covers the CCP banning US IPOs for big tech companies, closing the VIE loophole (1:50), then Audius Co-Founder Roneil Rumburg joins (18:44) to talk about his "decentralized SoundCloud," how decentralized crypto projects actually work for investors and executives, ...
08.26.2021 HeadSpin accused of $80M fraud, housing startup irks NIMBYs + Not Boring’s Packy McCormick \| E1272 In the news segment, Jason covers unicorn SaaS Startup called HeadSpin has been accused of a massive fraud by the SEC and DOJ (2:06), and Pacaso real estate startup offering fractional ownership of vacation homes is causing outrage in wine ...
08.25.2021 Rapid Fire News: OnlyFans reverses course, Circle to clean up USDC reserves, Warby Parker S-1 \| E1271 In today's news show, Jason covers OnlyFans being back to business as usual (1:31), the stablecoin Circle cleaning up commercial paper from their USDC reserves (16:49), and does a break down of Warby Parker's S-1 as the company prepare to ...
08.24.2021 Rapid Fire News: Facebook “cleans up their house,” Tyga takes on OnlyFans, Jack Ma vs. CCP \| E1270 In this news episode Jason covers Facebook finally revealing their Q1 transparency report after they originally shelved the report for PR purposes (2:08), Tyga deleting his OnlyFans account and announcing he will launch a competing platform (23:59), the WSJ's coverage ...
08.20.2021 Rapid fire news: OnlyFans bans sexual conduct + Boston Dynamics, Disney & Tesla bet big on robots \| E1269 Jason breaks down the OnlyFans' pivot away from sexual conduct (1:54), then he covers all the robot highlights from this week, Boston Dynamics robots doing backflips (23:34), Disney creating AI characters (31:25), and Tesla's announcement of "TeslaBot" (38:21) & more.
08.19.2021 Robinhood earnings breakdown, Amazon launching department stores + Mark Suster deep dives VC \| E1268 Jason breaks down the 2 metrics he uses to to assess Robinhood's Q2 earnings (1:43) and Amazon entering Department Store retail (16:39). Then, Mark Suster from Upfront Ventures joins (24:07) to discuss venture metrics, community as a moat, why high ...
08.18.2021 Noodlegate, the end of cancel culture? + Next Unicorns: OpenGov CEO Zac Bookman \| E1267 Jason opens the show with a brief recap of "Noodlegate" and the end of cancel culture (2:09). Then he chats with OpenGov CEO Zac Bookman for the latest installment of our Next Unicorns series (14:10) about what makes governments ineffective ...
08.17.2021 Casey Newton’s Superhuman misfire, Apple’s backdoor, 5G crypto network, WhatsApp’s Taliban problem \| E1266 Podcasting from Italy after a 2-week break of news, Jason covers Casey Newton's failed dunk on Superhuman's $75M raise (2:58), the privacy implications of Apple's approach to preventing child porn distribution (23:14), the Helium Networks internet project (35:02), crypto regulation ...
08.13.2021 Next Unicorns: Splice CEO Steve Martocci, building the Github for music \| E1265 Steve Martocci, the CEO of Splice (also co-founder of Blade & previously sold GroupMe to Skype) joins for our Next Unicorns series to discuss how music rights work (10:07), growing a high-quality marketplace (21:59), AI music creation (36:10), & more
08.12.2021 How to secure follow-on investment for your startup (FounderU) + Ask an Angel with Zach Coelius \| E1264 Jason discusses how founders can secure follow on funding (1:57), then is joined by investor Zach Coelius to answer listener questions on technical co-founders (38:21), successful founder traits (40:41), founder red flags (46:07), why startups fail diligence (56:17) and more.

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