This Week in Startups

First, Jason and Molly break down the reactions from big tech companies to the Russia / Ukraine conflict (2:22), then we showcase our Startup of the Day, Backbone which is innovating in mobile games (51:41). Then Jason does an amazing interview with investor Joel Greenblatt, where we discuss increasing public market participation, strategies for finding value, taxes and more (1:05:50).

First, Molly Wood quickly sums up crypto donations flowing to Ukraine (2:03). Then, Jason and Molly chat with Molly White, the creator of the website "Web 3 is Going Great." We discuss the problems she identified with Web 3, speculation vs. building, DAOs, decentralization and more (7:01).

(00:00) Molly intros today's episode, crypto in Ukraine, Jason and Molly interview guest Molly White

(02:07) The ways crypto has been used to help Ukraine

(07:01) Molly and Jason interview guest Molly White

(10:32) Mercury - Banking built for startups. See more at https://mercury.com/twist

(12:02) Molly White talks about her website, web3isgoinggreat.com

(14:07) Molly White talks about newer technologies in web3 and their future

(17:06) Grifting in web3

(18:35) What it takes to truly understand web3

(20:38) RealGoodFoods - Go to https://realgoodfoods.com and use code TWIST for $15 off!

(22:06) Bitcoin toxicity, brigading, and wash trading

(25:34) Melania chimes in

(25:43) Categories of grift in NFT's

(30:47) Ourcrowd - Check out the deal of the week at https://ourcrowd.com/twist

(32:03) Jason predicts NFT lawsuits in 2023

(33:06) Toxicity in the bitcoin cult

(35:00) What are good uses for blockchains and the web3 shift

(35:55) Jason's defense of bitcoin

(36:42) Molly White's counter to Jason's defense of bitcoin

(38:17) Problems with energy consumption in bitcoin

(40:22) Can bitcoin help store monetary value in authoritarian countries?

(42:39) Are DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) a good idea?

(48:27) Questions companies need to be able to answer in the life of their product

(49:39) The downfall of Enron: "How does this company make money?"

(52:16) The caveats of being ok with true decentralization

(55:10) Doxxing in crypto

(01:04:03) Brigading in crypto and social media

Check out Web 3 is Going Great: https://www.web3isgoinggreat.com

FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/molly0xFFF FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

First up is a VC Sunday school where Jason discusses what investors mean when they say "we are interested in investing, but come back when you found a lead" (1:51). Then, we tease Molly's EV review of the Audi e-tron Sportback (20:42). To wrap, Molly does a This Week in Climate Startups segment with Seth Bannon (recorded on 2/9/22), a founding Partner of Fifty Years, a Venture capital firm investing in climate solutions (34:12). You will learn:

1. The convictions that unpin Fifty Years' investment thesis

2. Why Seth thinks VC has lost his way

3. Why increasing longevity could be a net-positive for climate

4. How Fifty Years measures impact of their investments

5. How Seth evaluates the potential negative externalities of his investments

6. How his PhD to VC program works

First up is a VC Sunday school where Jason discusses what investors mean when they say "we are interested in investing, but come back when you found a lead" (1:51). Then, we tease Molly's EV review of the Audi e-tron Sportback (20:42). To wrap, Molly does a This Week in Climate Startups segment with Seth Bannon, a founding Partner of Fifty Years, a Venture capital firm investing in climate solutions (34:12). You will learn:

1. The convictions that unpin Fifty Years' investment thesis

2. Why Seth thinks VC has lost his way

3. Why increasing longevity could be a net-positive for climate

4. How Fifty Years measures impact of their investments

5. How Seth evaluates the potential negative externalities of his investments

6. How his PhD to VC program works

(recorded on 2/9/22)

Show Notes:

(00:00) Jason and Molly tee up today's topics: VC Sunday School, Molly's EV reviews, and This Week in Climate Startups! (01:51) VC Sunday School: Why some investors wait for founders to "find a lead" (09:59) Odoo - Get your first app free and a $1000 credit at https://odoo.com/twist (11:04) Getting to the root of why VCs wait for leads: nobody likes to turn down founders, LAUNCH role playing (19:36) Revelo - Get 20% off the first 3 months by mentioning TWIST at https://revelo.io/twist (20:42) Molly's EV Review (check out at https://youtube.com/thisweekin), breaking down the next wave of EVs (32:42) Bubble. Get one month free of a no-code plan at https://bubble.io/twist (34:12) Seth Bannon of Fifty Years, raising their first fund, investment break down (47:11) Seth's thoughts on the startup ecosystem "losing its way" over the past few years (55:03) Helping climate entrepreneurs

Check out Fifty Years: https://fiftyyears.com

FOLLOW Seth: https://twitter.com/sethbannon

FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

Jason chats with David Heinemeier Hansson (2:03) about global governments reacting to COVID, Basecamp's Twitter cycle blowup last spring when more than 1/3 of the company left, the shift from debating in the public square (Twitter) to debating in private with friends on group chats. We also talk about why David now sees a case for Bitcoin after Canada leans toward authoritarianism.

(00:00) Jason and Molly intro today's episode, David Heinemeier Hansson, OK Boomer with Tony Tran of Lumanu (02:03) Jason catches up with David Heinemeier Hansson (07:05) DHH on Living in Denmark during COVID (10:31) Ourcrowd - Check out the deal of the week at https://ourcrowd.com/twist (11:41) Social media: a weapon of mass disfunction (20:08) Eight Sleep - Go to https://eightsleep.com/twist to check out the Pod Pro Cover and get $150 off at checkout! (21:40) DHH on keeping politics out of the workplace and offering severance for company culture unity (31:14) Marlow - Get 15% off your individual or team memberships at https://getmarlow.com/twist (32:41) Jason and DHH on the joys of working at home (39:41) Jason and DHH discuss the downsides of social media (46:50) Why DHH changed his position on cryptocurrency and the Canadian trucker protests (01:34:15) Jason, Molly, and Rachel intro this week's OK Boomer (01:36:02) Rachel speaks with Tony Tran, CEO of Lumanu

Read David's Blog: https://world.hey.com/dhh FOLLOW David: https://twitter.com/dhh

Check out Lumanu: https://www.lumanu.com/ FOLLOW Tony: https://twitter.com/TonyTranNYC

FOLLOW Rachel: https://twitter.com/_rachelbraun FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

Jason chats with David Heinemeier Hansson (2:03) about global governments reacting to COVID, Basecamp’s Twitter cycle blowup last spring when more than 1/3 of the company left, the shift from debating in the public square (Twitter) to debating in private with friends on group chats. We also talk about why David now sees a case for Bitcoin after Canada leans toward authoritarianism.

To wrap, Producer Rachel does another OK BOOMER segment where Rachel talks to Tony Tran (96:02), the founder and CEO of Lumanu, a company for creators to run their business.

Molly interviews Jason about raising "LAUNCH Fund I." This season of Angel is focused on the nitty-gritty details of raising and running a first-time fund (22:47). Jason shares everything from getting his first check to his biggest mistakes. But first, we discuss the biggest cybersecurity hacks of the last decade and potential risks going forward (1:32).

(00:00) Jason and Molly intro the show, cybersecurity and Russia invading Ukraine, Molly interviews the OG Angel (01:32) Cybersecurity and Russia's military invasion of Ukraine (12:40) LinkedIn Jobs - Go to https://linkedIn.com/angel and post your first job for free. (15:06) TikTok's not secure, Florida water treatment plant hacked last year (17:27) Hiring "bounty hackers" for defense (21:33) Ourcrowd - Check out the deal of the week at https://ourcrowd.com/twist (22:47) Molly interviews the original Angel, Jason (36:52) Embroker - Get an extra 10% off insurance for your business at https://Embroker.com/twist (38:18) Jason tells Molly what didn't work out with his first LAUNCH fund (48:14) When Jason knew the fund model would work (58:48) How his role as changed as the fund has scaled

FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

Mentioned in the episode

NotPetya: https://www.wired.com/story/notpetya-cyberattack-ukraine-russia-code-crashed-the-world/

Colonial Pipeline: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-04/hackers-breached-colonial-pipeline-using-compromised-password

Solar Winds: https://www.npr.org/2021/04/16/985439655/a-worst-nightmare-cyberattack-the-untold-story-of-the-solarwinds-hack

First we discuss Kanye's new "STEM Player" bluetooth speaker, and why he's trying to diversify away from Spotify and streaming platforms (2:21). We continue with a discussion about platform reliance one founder saw his business destroyed overnight by Facebook (25:17). Then we cover Pipe.com's recent acquisition which is bringing them into the media space (28:59)! Lastly, Molly chats with Launch Accelerator Cohort 24 founder Joshe Ordonez, the CEO of Airpals about her awesome messenger service startup (39:44).

(0:00) Jason and Molly tee up today's topics: Kanye's genius move, the pitfalls of platform reliance, Pipe's interesting acquisition, and Molly interviews another LA24 founder (2:21) Kanye's genius move: diversifying away from streaming platforms (12:17) Notion - Go to https://Notion.so and use promo code TWIST to get $250 off its annual team plan (13:49) Possibilities opened by Kanye's move, risks of platform reliance (23:55) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist (25:17) Jason gives final thoughts on leveraging platforms, but owning the relationship with consumers (28:59) Pipe's newest acquisition will help them bring non-dilutive capital to the entertainment industry (38:27) Vanta - Get get $1,000 off automating your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist (39:44) Molly sits down with LA24 founder Joshe Ordonez, CEO of Airpals

Check out Airpals: https://www.airpals.co

FOLLOW Joshe: https://twitter.com/JosheOrdonez FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

First we discuss Kanye’s new “STEM Player” bluetooth speaker, and why he’s trying to diversify away from Spotify and streaming platforms (2:21). We continue with a discussion about platform reliance one founder saw his business destroyed overnight by Facebook (25:17). Then we cover Pipe.com’s recent acquisition which is bringing them into the media space (28:59)! Lastly, Molly chats with Launch Accelerator Cohort 24 founder Joshe Ordonez, the CEO of Airpals about her awesome messenger service startup (39:44).

First, we cover Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong potentially taking credit for an idea generated by a creative firm (2:09). Then, we cover Peloton's new CEO Barry McCarthy's vision for a revitalized Peloton (15:29). To wrap, we break down a dozen growth stocks that are down over 60% off their 52-week highs. We forecast two winners, one with the highest upside and one with the lowest downside (27:53).

(0:00) Jason and Molly tee up today's topics: Coinbase CEO gets called out by ad agency, Peloton's new CEO hints at a platform play, drafting beat up tech stocks, and Molly's Startup of the Day! (2:03) Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong gets called out for not crediting an ad agency in his Twitter thread (14:20) Ourcrowd - Check out the deal of the week at https://ourcrowd.com/twist (15:290 Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy hints at creating an open platform for fitness creators (26:30) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://Squarespace.com/TWIST (27:53) Tech stock pullback draft: $HOOD, $TWLO, $ZM, $SQ (39:25) Odoo - Get your first app free and a $1000 credit at https://odoo.com/twist (40:29) Tech stock pullback draft cont'd: $OPEN, $ROKU, $CRSP, $RBLX, final selections (59:34) Molly reflects on her week and gives a climate-focused Startup of the Day! (1:18:31) Jason takes a few questions from the noti gang

FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

The Brian Armstrong Thread: https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1495635907801923584?s=20&t=iFNMbAcau5ZV2FH-ZtavHg

NYT with Barry McCarthy: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/19/business/dealbook/barry-mccarthy-interview-peloton.html