January 04, 2025

Venture Concentration, High-Skill Immigration, And Who Should Buy Lyft? | E2067

1 hour 8 minutes

This Week in Startups is brought to you by…

Paddle. Wherever you want to take your business, go there with Paddle. Go to paddle.com/twist to get started with your exclusive listener fee-free period.

Fitbod. Get 25% off your Fitbod subscription or try out the app for FREE when you sign up now at fitbod.me/TWIST.

LinkedIn Ads. Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit: http://www.linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups

Todays show: Jason and Alex discuss the over saturation of venture capital, how to fix the high-skill immigration issue, including an interview with Lisa Wehden of Plymouth, and the pressing question of who should buy Lyft?

(0:00) Jason and Alex kick off the episode

(1:56) Jason and Alex discuss their New Year holidays and resolutions

(6:25) Jason shares tips for mindfulness and meditation

(8:01) Reflecting on family moments and making memories

(10:13) Paddle. Go to paddle.com/twist to get started with your exclusive listener fee-free period.

(11:27) Jason and Alex delve into venture capital and Instacart's funding rounds

(17:41) Jason announces focus on early-stage investments and Founder University

(19:12) Fitbod. Get 25% off your Fitbod subscription or try out the app for FREE when you sign up now at fitbod.me/TWIST.

(21:05) Venture capital fundraising concentration and strategy

(25:40) Impact of large funds on seed rounds and venture capital immigration

(29:08) LinkedIn Ads. Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit: http://www.linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups

(31:05) Social media weaponization, self-censorship, and high-skilled immigration

(36:45) Criticisms, reforms, and solutions to H1B visa issues

(45:40) Consultancy costs and Jason's simple solutions for H1B visa reform

(50:05) The rise and fall of Bench and Level; predictions for startup failures by 2025

(56:21) Potential mergers in on-demand and autonomous sectors; viability of an Amazon-Lyft merger

(1:03:08) Expanding the Mag 8 to reduce tech giant dominance

(1:04:33) Valuations of major tech companies

(1:05:26) Overview and support offerings of Founder University and getstartupcredits.com

Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com

Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com

Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp

Follow Lisa Wehden:

X: https://x.com/lisawehden

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-wehden

Follow Alex:

X: https://x.com/alex

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm

Follow Jason:

X: https://twitter.com/Jason

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis

Thank you to our partners:

(10:13) Paddle. Go to paddle.com/twist to get started with your exclusive listener fee-free period.

(19:12) Fitbod. Get 25% off your Fitbod subscription or try out the app for FREE when you sign up now at fitbod.me/TWIST.

29:08) LinkedIn Ads. Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit: http://www.linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups

Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland

Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis

Follow TWiST:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups

Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916

...more

View all episodes

By Jason Calacanis

4.2

12381,238 ratings