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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LAST EPISODE

Nikola’s Trevor Milton indi...

07.29.2021

Jason covers the Grand Jury indictment of Nikola founder Trevor Milton for making false claims to investors (1:50) and gives short recap of Robinhood's IPO (18:55). Then, Brandon Brown joins to discuss his company GRIN (25:40), the influencer economy, shifting ...

This Week in Startups episodes:

07.29.2021 Nikola’s Trevor Milton indicted for fraud, Robinhood IPO + GRIN CEO Brandon Brown \| E1256 Jason covers the Grand Jury indictment of Nikola founder Trevor Milton for making false claims to investors (1:50) and gives short recap of Robinhood's IPO (18:55). Then, Brandon Brown joins to discuss his company GRIN (25:40), the influencer economy, shifting ...
07.28.2021 Youtube vs. Netflix, Google’s $230B run rate + Next Unicorns: OpenSea’s Devin Finzer on NFTs \| E1255 Jason breaks down Google's earnings and compares Netflix & Youtube (3:22). Then, in our Next Unicorns series, Devin Finzer (27:01), the Co-Founder and CEO of OpenSea (an NFT marketplace) joins to discuss the innovations that helped NFTs take off (37:58), ...
07.27.2021 Rapid Fire News: China’s techlash continues, Tesla’s incredible Q2 earnings, Tether holders move to USDC & more \| E1254 Jason covers China reigning in big tech (2:03), Tesla’s incredible Q2 earnings crossing $1B in profit (25:30), a $300M market movement from Tether to USDC (33:24), and gives a breakdown of a Binance Crypto Pump Telegram group (37:43).
07.27.2021 Emergency Pod! Tether executives facing DOJ bank fraud probe (via Bloomberg) \| E1253 Tether executives are reportedly facing a DOJ criminal probe for bank fraud! Jason breaks down Bloomberg's report (1:31), Tether's response (10:34) and assesses potential implications for the wider crypto ecosystem, including if this had anything to do with Sunday night's ...
07.23.2021 Dfinity’s ICP crypto complaint, Snap/Twitter earnings, China’s e-learning crackdown & more \| E1252 In this rapid fire news episode, Jason covers a16z-backed Dfinity's crypto class action complaint (02:46), Snapchat and Twitter's massive earnings (19:33), the CCP considering turning it's ed-tech sector non-profit (34:15), Alphabet's new company (40:23), San Francisco's 17M sq. ft. of ...
07.22.2021 China punishes Didi, Twitter’s new feature, UAE makes it rain + Do Kwon of Terraform Labs \| E1251 Jason covers China's increasing penalties for Didi (2:52), Twitter's test of a downvote feature (12:13), and how the UAE was able to induce rain with electricity (17:32). Then Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform labs joins (22:38) to discuss his ...
07.21.2021 Reacting to Tether’s CNBC interview, Netflix earnings + Vincent’s Slava Rubin on alt assets \| E1250 In the news segment, Jason reacts to the Tether CTO & General Counsel's interview on CNBC (2:22) and digs in to Netflix's latest earnings report (37:35). Then, Vincent founder Slava Rubin joins to discuss all things alternative assets (44:26), his ...
07.21.2021 Bezos goes to space, Robinhood IPO, USDC attestation + Flock Safety’s Garrett Langley \| E1249 In news Jason covers Bezos reaching space (2:32), Robinhood's S-1/A (13:28), Circle's new USDC attestation (22:25), crypto crackdown in Asia (36:06), Zoom buying Five9 for almost $15B (46:00) Keith Rabois' OpenStore (47:11). Then for our Next Unicorns series, Jason interviews ...
07.16.2021 Rapid Fire News: AI voices after death, DOJ investigates Lordstown Motors, COVID adaptation \| E1248 Jason covers Anthony Bourdain's amazing AI deepfake voice in "roadrunner" & potential startup ideas for the technology (01:49), the investigation into EV startup Lordstown Motors (12:27), and the way businesses are reacting to how COVID is being managed in FL ...
07.16.2021 Rapid Fire News: FB’s right-wing algo, Tether update, giving Cuba internet, Powell on stable coins & more \| E1247 News episode, Jason covers CrowdTangle's data headache (01:56), how the White House wants to crack down on social media misinformation (13:34), Florida Gov. DeSantis proposal for providing internet to Cuba (17:17), a $1B fund for creators (21:32), our Tether investigation ...
07.15.2021 The Next Unicorns: Adena Hefets CEO of Divvy Homes, forging a new path to home ownership \| E1246 To kick off this season of "The Next Unicorns," Adena Hefets, CEO of Divvy Homes, joins to discuss how they are helping Americans blaze a path to owning a home (2:51), if we are in a real estate bubble (25:37), ...
07.14.2021 Education’s war on excellence, AWS atrophy, France fines Google + AppHarvest’s Josh Lessing \| E1245 Jason covers the war on excellence in public education (2:05), signs of AWS maturity (19:04), France's $592M antitrust fine for Google (30:28). Then discusses AI Farms with AppHarvest CTO Josh Lessing (47:43) covering building with robots (1:16:03), improved crop yields ...
07.13.2021 China cracks down on US IPOs, winning founder qualities, Ask Jason: accelerators, investing \| E1244 Jason covers the CCP crackdown on Chinese tech companies listing in the US, shares how he spots winning founders (14:02), then answers Ask Jason questions: finding a technical co-founder (36:47), signals for startup success (39:29), advice for new angel investors ...
07.09.2021 Biden targets big corporations + Tether Investigation with Bitfinex’ed \| E1243 Jason covers Biden's executive order seeking to increase competition and weaken the power of Big Tech (2:21). Then, we continue our Tether Investigation with @Bitfinex'ed (18:16), covering how Tether works (36:09), and why he believes there is massive risk to ...
07.08.2021 Nextdoor SPAC breakdown, Pelosi trading options + Morning Brew’s Alex Lieberman \| E1242 First, Jason breaks down the highlights from Nextdoor's SPAC announcement (1:48) and covers the profits made by politicians trading tech company options (16:26). Then, Alex Lieberman, Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of Morning Brew, joins to talk about growing a newsletter ...
07.06.2021 Barclays blocks Binance, China pauses Didi downloads + Steezy CEO Evan Zhou \| E1241 Jason covers the red flags emerging around Binance (2:34), the Chinese government's swift action against Didi relating to data privacy (16:40). Then Steezy Founder & CEO Evan Zhou joins to discuss how simple an MVP can be (27:44), growing & ...
07.02.2021 Emergency Pod! Robinhood files to go public: S-1 breakdown \| E1240 Robinhood is going public! Jason breaks down their recently filed S-1 and covers the most important metrics (1:56), comparisons against other major brokerages (8:45) and more!
07.01.2021 How to nail Monthly Investor Updates (FounderU) + Ginkgo Bioworks CEO Jason Kelly \| E1239 First Jason explains how to deliver great investor updates & the benefits of doing them well (1:36). Then, Ginkgo Bioworks CEO Jason Kelly joins to discuss the expanding capabilities of synthetic biology (24:48), how Ginkgo is currently helping customers make ...
06.29.2021 Sam Altman’s “Worldcoin,” Facebook hits $1T + Alchemy’s Nikil Viswanathan on “AWS for Blockchain” \| E1238 In the opening News segment Jason covers Sam Altman launching a new cryptocurrency "Worldcoin" (2:18), and Facebook becoming the fastest company to ever reach a $1T market cap (11:16). Then, Alchemy CEO Nikil Viswanathan joins for an interview on his ...
06.25.2021 News! Peter Thiel’s $5B Roth IRA, Black creators strike on TikTok, BuzzFeed SPAC, Microsoft goes anti-Apple PLUS Ask Jason \| E1237 News episode Jason talks about Peter Thiel’s multi-billion dollar Roth IRA (1:27), Black creators striking on TikTok (13:32), BuzzFeed's SPAC (24:15), Microsoft's dig at Apple (31:28), and two Ask Jason questions (41:59)!
06.24.2021 The power of the SOD/EOD plus Bill Maris on early Google stories, origins of GV, bioterrorism & more \| E1236 First, Jason does a "Founder University" segment on the benefits of remote managing using a SOD-EOD format (1:31). Then Bill Maris joins to discuss what working at Google was like when Bill started GV (25:28), why Google didn't win on ...
06.22.2021 China moves crypto mining to US + Overtime’s Dan Porter on GenZ basketball league & network \| E1235 Jason covers the recent Chinese Bitcoin mining migration (1:56). Then, Dan Porter the CEO of Overtime joins to discuss how Overtime is building a next-generation sports network across Youtube, Twitch, & social media (15:12) and launching Overtime Elite a new ...
06.18.2021 What startups need to succeed \| Scaling Your Startup S2 E10 with Intercom’s Des Traynor \| E1234 Intercom CEO Des Traynor discusses why startups need to grow fast (7:44), how to execute at speed (10:48), build an effective culture (33:35) & more!
06.16.2021 GameStop poaches Amazon execs, Streaming stalls + Genies CEO Akash Nigam on Avatars & NFTs \| E1233 Jason kicks off the episode with the news: an update on the Tether (02:02), how Gamestop poached Amazon talent (06:17), and the first-ever decline in the average number of streaming accounts per household (19:04). Then, Akash Nigam joins to discuss ...
06.15.2021 Tether: Crypto’s Black Swan? Plus Alternative Asset Roundtable featuring the founders of Masterworks, Fundrise & Rally Rd \| E1232 Jason kicks off the episode with research into the claims against Tether Limited, the company behind USDT, the world's largest "stablecoin" and 3rd largest cryptocurrency (1:30). Then Jason is joined by 3 founders of Alternative Asset investing platforms (25:49), Chris ...
06.11.2021 Zymergen CEO Josh Hoffman on Biofacturing PLUS Founder U Startup Math \| E1231 Jason opens with a Founder University segment on "Startup Math" (1:48), then interviews Zymergen CEO Josh Hoffman on Biofacturing (16:45), how DNA sequencing & machine learning are enabling materials science advancements (26:35), what human capital is needed for the industry ...
06.11.2021 News! The cult of Bitcoin maximalists, Bezos is going to space, & Facebook’s smartwatch \| E1230 First up, Jason covers "Bitcoin Toxicity." Are Bitcoin maximalists exhibiting cult-like behavior? (1:19) Then, he assesses the risks of Bezos going to space: is the potential upside worth the risk of ruin? (36:16) Finally, he wraps with news of Facebook's ...
06.09.2021 Customer Success \| Scaling Your Startup S2E9 with Statusphere’s Kristen Wiley & Techmate’s Nicole Beals \| E1229 Customer success is key to startup success. First, Statusphere CEO Kristen Wiley shares strategies from managing two customer success teams in B2B and B2C. (1:00) Then, find out why customers churn from Techmate COO Nicole Beals, who also shares how ...
06.08.2021 Aurora CEO Chris Urmson on building the roadmap to fully autonomous vehicles \| E1228 Chris Urmson the CEO of Aurora, a leading self-driving company, joins Jason to recount the history of autonomous vehicles (1:06), the roadmap for removing human drivers (16:47), what technology problems are left to solve (38:25) and more!
06.08.2021 Apple’s WFH blowback, navigating current startup valuations PLUS Sugar’s Fatima Dicko \| 1227 Jason gives his take on the letter from a group of employees to Tim Cook about Apple's return to work (1:00), then Fatima Dicko the CEO and Founder of Sugar discusses pivoting in the pandemic (25:54), what amenities apartments will ...
06.04.2021 Katerra’s collapse, Bill Ackman’s SPAC merger plus Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi \| E1226 Jason covers the bankruptcy of the Softbank-backed construction startup Katerra, Bill Ackman's Universal Music SPAC, then interviews Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi about portable benefits for independent contractors, the expanding UberEats business, local commerce and more!
06.03.2021 Launching Twitter Blue with Twitter’s Head of Product Kayvon Beykpour \| E1225 Kayvon Beykpour, Twitter's Head of Product shares the strategy behind Twitter's recent feature releases, what structural changes enabled Twitter to increase product velocity, how they segment composers & consumers, the Twitter blue launch & more!
06.03.2021 Low-Burn \| Scaling Your Startup S2 E8 with Neyborly’s Ben Seidl & Xendoo’s Lil Roberts \| E1224 A low-burn rate gives startups the agility they need to succeed and weather unforeseen challenges. Two CEOs join Jason to discuss how founders can make the most of their limited capital. Ben Seidl of Neyborly covers managing burn rate (2:58), ...
05.28.2021 Citizen App’s bounty blunder, “digital bodyguard” service + Coinbase launches “Fact Check” \| E1223 Jason breaks down the Citizen App's recent mistake of putting a $30,000 bounty on an incorrect arson suspect (01:39), assesses the merits of an "Uber for private security" (17:15), and covers Coinbase's launch of their self-titled "Fact Check" media arm ...
05.26.2021 Acquired.FM’s Ben Gilbert & David Rosenthal on Berkshire vs. Bitcoin, Amazon acquires James Bond IP, and more! \| E1222 Ben Gilbert & David Rosenthal of Acquired join Jason to talk about Bitcoin's recent price action (5:55), the cognitive dissonance of liking both Bitcoin and Berkshire (14:27), Amazon's acquisition of MGM (39:34), and more!
05.25.2021 Culture \| Scaling Your Startup S2 E7: 15five’s David Hassell & Balloon’s Amanda Greenberg \| E1221 Two CEOs join to talk about intentionally creating and maintaining a workplace culture that delivers high performance. First, 15five's David Hassel shares how to build culture at scale (1:49), then Balloon's Amanda Greenberg shares a process to help leaders navigate ...
05.21.2021 US initiates crypto regulation, Robinhood IPO access, Slack as a Trojan Horse PLUS Magic Spoon CEO Gabi Lewis \| E1220 Jason hits the recent restrictions on crypto from the U.S. and China, Robinhood allowing users to get in at IPO prices, and Antonio García Martínez's chat with Kara Swisher (1:15). Then in the main segment, Magic Soon Cereal Co-Founder Gabi ...
05.20.2021 Emergency Pod! Huge Bitcoin correction, Robinhood IPO rumors, Squarespace direct listing \| E1219 Emergency pod! Bitcoin sees a major correction due to China's crack down (1:46). What are the chances it could it go to zero, and could China banning crypto be a blessing in disguise? Robinhood is rumored to be going public ...
05.19.2021 Marketing SEO & Conversion Funnels \| Scaling Your Startup S2 E6: Gravitr’s Doriane Mouret & Outlaw’s Danielle Vincent \| E1218 This episode is full of tactical advice for improving your marketing operations. Gravitr's Doriane Mouret explains how to improve your conversion funnels (3:28), Outlaw's Danielle Vincent shares how to improve your SEO (33:45), then Jason joins for a Q&A covering ...
05.18.2021 Amazon in talks to acquire MGM, AT&T offloading Warner Media, Dapper Labs lawsuit plus NYT’s Taylor Lorenz on creator economy, Clubhouse & Jake Paul’s venture fund \| E1217 Jason covers Amazon's talks to acquire MGM, AT&T's spin-off of WarnerMedia to Discovery, and Dapper Labs lawsuit about the nature of NFTs (1:00). Then, NYT journalist Taylor Lorenz joins to discuss the implications of social media & its more reckless ...
05.18.2021 Emergency Pod! Twitter is reportedly building a paid subscription called “Twitter Blue” \| E1216 Jason shares insights on the Twitter Blue leak (1:40) then breaks down recent product innovations, Twitter's 2021 acquisition spree, and what it all means (15:05). Check out the pod notes: https://bitly.com/e1216notes
05.15.2021 Ask an Angel PLUS Antonio Garcia Martinez vs. Apple with Zach Coelius \| E1215 Zach Coelius joins Jason to answer live listener questions (1:09), and then the pair discuss Apple's recent debacle in firing Antonio Garcia Martinez after being pressured by employees (42:43). Check out the pod notes here: https://bitly.com/e1215notes
05.15.2021 Product \| Scaling Your Startup S2 E5 with Superhuman’s Rahul Vohra & Fitbod’s Jesse Venticique \| E1214 This episode reveals the product strategies of two of Jason's high-performing portfolio companies, Superhuman & Fitbod. First, Superhuman's Founder & CEO Rahul Vohra shares his 7 principles for improving products with game design (01:40), then Fitbod's CO-founder and Product Head ...
05.13.2021 Oura CEO Harpreet Rai on improving sleep, NBA partnerships, hardware & more PLUS the Instagram Kids debacle \| E1213 Jason gives his take on Facebook's Instagram Kids initiative (0:53), then, Ōura's CEO Harpreet Rai discusses how sleep & recovery scores are calculated (25:09), how Oura works with the NBA & enterprise to keep organizations healthy (50:49), and more! Pod ...
05.11.2021 Precursor Ventures’ Charles Hudson & Jason give candid feedback on startup pitches at Founder University \| E1212 Jason & Charles Hudson from Precursor Ventures take 8 pitches from founders and give feedback on how the pitches were structured (13:10) and their business models (38:48). Pod Notes: http://bit.ly/twist1212
05.07.2021 Facebook’s Oversight Board rules on Trump ban plus how to reverse engineer TAM & more \| E1211 Jason covers the Facebook Oversight Board's decision on Trump (15:49), gives a potential solution for bad actors on social media that are of public consequence (39:25), provides a concrete way to reverse engineer TAM (55:00), and more!
05.06.2021 Fundraising \| Scaling Your Startup S2 E4 with Density’s Andrew Farah and SoleSavy’s Dejan Pralica \| E1210 Two startup CEOs share their approach to fundraising, Andrew Farah explains the strategy he used to raise $100M for Density (03:58), Dejan simplifies his community-forming principles for SoleSavy (38:27), and both give tactical lessons from the mistakes they made along ...
05.05.2021 Crafter’s Morgan Spenla on delighting makers with memberships, materials, and a marketplace \| E1209 Morgan Spenla shares why her company Crafter delivers a wonderful experience to makers (01:06), how they monetize (15:04), why she hires customer support from Starbucks (48:07), and more!
05.05.2021 Breaking down Basecamp’s tumultuous week, politics at work & more \| E1208 Jason weighs in on Basecamp's ban of political discussion at work (10:57), the ensuing employee exodus (22:40), shares his policy for his companies (26:32), answers a listener's question about how to surround yourself with great people (40:09), and more! Pod ...
04.30.2021 How Tiger Global is outpacing VC with better, faster, cheaper, capital ft. Founders Fund’s Everett Randle \| E1207 Tiger Global, a crossover hedge fund, is moving at an unprecedented speed and scale in venture capital. Everett Randle of Founder's Fund joins Jason to break down Tiger Global's strategy, discuss the implications for the investing ecosystem (13:14), explain his ...

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