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 new mission to build the leading customer engagement platform, the launch of their new product Twilio Engage, lessons from scaling & their big acquisitions, San Francisco and more!

Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson: the next $60B, Engage, Segment acquisition & more + Who actually uses Oculus? | E1308

Jason Calacanis covers startups, tech, markets, media, and all the hottest topics in business and technology. He also interviews the world’s greatest founders, operators, investors, and innovators.

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Todays show:
Jason kicks off Ask Jason live! 5 live guests ask questions on key topics, including finding job opportunities (1:43), the “likely winner” and “definitive winner” framework (26:19), how a non-AI startup with traction can stand out to potential investors (1:04:05), and more!
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Timestamps
(0:00) Jason kicks off another Ask Jason with 5 live guests!
(1:43) Dustin asks about how to find job opportunities and market his generalist skills
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(10:42) Dustin asks about how to find job opportunities and market his generalist skills
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(26:19) Francis asks about defining the terms "likely winner" and "definitive winner" in a strategic framework using specific metrics
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(40:17) Mathew asks about choosing between mission-aligned sponsors and more lucrative, unrelated advertising opportunities for his podcast
(52:23) Jason asks whether to continue low-cost growth strategies or seek seed funding to boost growth through advertising, as their product is the advertising itself
(1:04:05) Douglas asks about how a non-AI startup with traction can stand out to potential investors
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Ask Jason LIVE!: Navigating startup growth with Real-Time Q&A | E1937

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Timestamps:
(0:00) Sunny joins Jason to dive into this week’s AI news and demos.
(2:03) Examination of Facebook's Llama 3 model, its impact on the AI community, and its superior performance compared to GPT-4 despite being a smaller model.
(4:45) Open source vs. commercial products
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(10:42) Three big projects where Facebook has affected the open community.
(15:38) US Air Foruce staging dogfights with AI-flown fighter jets.
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(21:06) Looking at Grok’s capabilities in first-party research.
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(29:08) Jason asks Grok a more “spicey” question regarding Trump.
(40:46) Sunny demos Marblism.
(45:33) Sunny demos Lumona
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AI Demos and News: Llama 3, Marblism, Lumona & AI Jet-Fighter Dogfights | E1936

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Timestamps:
(0:00) Sunny joins Jason to dive into this week's AI news and demos.
(1:39) AI, LLMs, and Groq infrastructure discussion.
(9:32) OpenPhone - Get 20% off your first six months at http://www.openphone.com/twist
(11:00 ) Meta's AI landing page, new search engine, and investment strategies
(20:06 ) Eppo. Accelerate your experimentation velocity with Eppo. Visit  https://www.geteppo.com/twist
(23:19) Zuckerberg's approach towards Google's dominance and the impact of Meta's search engine
(30:19) HiddenLayer. HiddenLayer’s AI Detection & Response Solution secures your Generative AI & LLMs from malicious attack. Visit https://www.HiddenLayer.com/TWiST to learn more.
(32:11) Importance of a dedicated domain name and Google's commitment to Google Plus
(34:36) Meta's progress in AI and the strategy of open sourcing
(45:34) The industrial revolution in technology, AI development, and rights issues
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AI Demos: Meta AI Ups it’s Game with Llama 3 | E1935

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Todays show:
David Weisburd hosts Logan Bartlett, Hunter Somerville, and Jason Calacanis to discuss the fundraising market (3:07), M&A; (26:45), Google’s huge investment in generative AI (58:15), and much more!
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Timestamps:
(0:00) David Weisburd intros Logan Bartlett, Hunter Somerville, and Jason Calacanis
(3:07) Tiger's recent fund and fundraising indicators
(11:55) HubSpot’s Chatbot Builder - https://clickhubspot.com/s0u https://clickhubspot.com/mfx
(13:26) The challenges and realities of venture capital
(25:14) DevSquad - Get an entire product team for the cost of one US developer plus 10% off at https://www.devsquad.com/twist
(26:45) Startup acquisitions, due diligence, and unethical behaviors in the industry
(31:27) Selling partial positions in startups and structuring the selling of shares
(37:18) Mercury - Join 100K+ startups banking with Mercury at http://www.mercury.com⁠
(38:20) Cendana and Kline Hill’s $105M fund to buy stakes in seed VC funds
(46:59) The correlation between capital consumption and equity value, and the dangers of excess capital
(54:28) The role of private equity in tech M&A; and the future of tech IPOs
(58:15) Google's $100 billion investment in AI and competition in the AI ecosystem
(1:06:30) The challenge of capacity in seed stage investing and the value of a strong community in portfolio management
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Great 2023 interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland
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Redpoint Ventures and Stepstone Group on VC Deployment, M&A, and Google's AI Strategy | E1934

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The Equinix Startup program offers a hybrid infrastructure solution for startups, including up to $100K in credits and personalized consultations and guidance from the Equinix team. Go to https://deploy.equinix.com/startups to apply today.
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Todays show:
Sohail Prasad joins Jason to discuss Destiny Tech 100 and why it was created (3:46), comparing the market cap to the actual holdings and the pent-up demand (11:35), how Destiny acquires the shares and how they manage both positive and negative reactions (26:49), and more!
*
Timestamps:
(0:00) Sohail Prasad of Destiny (D/XYZ) joins Jason.
(3:46) Breaking down Destiny Tech 100 and why it was created.
(5:20) What is a closed-end fund and how does it fit into the ecosystem?
(8:37) The DIY approach used to bring this to the market.
(9:33) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at http://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST
(10:54) How Destiny Tech 100 works as a direct listing.
(11:35) Comparing the market cap to the actual holdings and the pent-up demand.
(14:46) Looking at how Sohail and the company make their profits and why he does this instead of gathering higher carry.
(18:52) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at http://www.vanta.com/twist
(22:05) The concerns of the swinging nature of the stock price and the long-term view.
(26:49) How Destiny acquires the shares and how they manage both positive and negative reactions.
(30:26) Equinix - Join the Equinix Startup Program for up to $100K in credits and much more at https://deploy.equinix.com/startups
(34:10) Destiny’s access to financials for companies in their portfolio.
(35:51) Strategy behind exits for the fund and companies that then go public.
(43:13) The size of the team needed to run Dest
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Great 2023 interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland
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Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.founder.university/podcast

Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson: the next $60B, Engage, Segment acquisition & more + Who actually uses Oculus? | E1308

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