Due to the volatility in the market, Jason and Molly review the fundamentals of Block, Zoom, Netflix, Coinbase, and AirBnB and compare this correction with the Dot-com crash (2:11). They discuss investing in a downturn, the difference between private and public investors, speculative businesses vs. strong fundamentals and more! To wrap, we cover activist investor Blackwells Capital calling for the Peloton Board to terminate CEO John Foley and consider a sale (57:10). (00:00) Jason and Molly intr...
Jan 25, 2022•1 hr 7 min
First, Jason teaches Sunday VC School: how investors work together (01:54). In this segment you will learn.: How collaboration varies across investing stages. How lead investors are determined and what their responsibilities are. The strategies you can use to win deals (Jason explains the pitch he gives to founders with options). The warning signs to watch for when working with other investors. Tactics founders can use for lower-friction fundraising. Then, Molly chats with Ramez Naam from Prime ...
Jan 23, 2022•59 min
First, Jason and Molly chat with on the top Apple reporters, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, about Apple's AR headset (2:02). They talk about Apple's strategy, timeline, competitive strengths and more. Then our Producer Rachel chats with Campbell Baron, a 19-year old who sold his TikTok to Workweek, a new startup-focused media company (1:00:25). Campbell created business content and accumulated millions of views before he turned 18! In the interim, the producers Jason & Molly have a chat about what...
Jan 23, 2022•1 hr 30 min
David Friedberg joins to discuss The Production Board's latest company, Cana, which is making, the world's first molecular beverage printer. But first Jason and Molly break down some news. Google is reportedly working on an AR headset (2:15) and Peloton trying to improve their bottom line by raising prices and reportedly halting production and trimming headcount (18:54). Then, David joins to chat about how his company Cana could totally remake the beverage industry with a device reminiscent of S...
Jan 21, 2022•1 hr 29 min
First Jason and Molly cover how 5G rollouts are causing problem with airlines (2:03) and Lina Khan’s remarks on reworking antitrust regulation to not only consider deals inflicting consumer harm, but those lessening competition (10:10). Then, David Rosenthal for Season 6 Episode 2 of Angel (29:00) - David’s been a VC for a while, but he just launched a new $2.8M fund part-time with Nat Manning - We get into why his small fund size is actually so significant and represents new possibilities in ve...
Jan 20, 2022•1 hr 17 min
Microsoft has announced its intention to make the largest tech acquisition ever by buying Activision-Blizzard for ~$75B ($68.7 when you net out Activision's cash). This is Microsoft's 3rd major gaming acquisition as it attempts to build the “Netflix for Gaming" with its Game Pass service. We cover the details of the deal: what the combined company will look like, how this fits into Microsoft's metaverse strategy, Microsoft's commitment to change the Activision-Blizzard culture, the $3B “breakup ...
Jan 19, 2022•40 min
Frank is the Chairman & CEO of Snowflake, a data warehousing company he joined and rapidly accelerated in 2019. Frank led Snowflake to the largest software IPO in history (his third massive IPO as CEO). Previously, he grew Data Domain from $0 in revenue in 2003 to a ~$776M IPO in 2007 and then grew ServiceNow to a $22B market cap. In this episode you will learn the principles Frank uses to achieve outlier outcomes. Attracting and cultivating performing talent. Getting the wrong people off th...
Jan 18, 2022•1 hr 11 min
First, Jason covers the how Signal messages led to the Oath Keeper sedition indictments (1:47) and how Google, Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter are being subpoenaed by the House committee investigating Jan 6th, 2021 (15:32). Then Producer Rachel has an "OK Boomer" segment where she talks with Alex Masmej a French entrepreneur about his experience raising $20K from selling a personal token, $ALEX (27:10). (00:00) Jason intros the show (01:47) The FBI arrested 11 members of the Oath Keepers on sediti...
Jan 14, 2022•49 min
First Jason covers the recent college enrollment decline (1:23) and lay out his alternative (9:56). Then Zach Coelius joins for an Ask an Angel session, where they answer 12 audience questions about investing and startups (20:37). (00:00) Jason intros the show (01:23) There are 1 million fewer college students in the U.S. compared to pre-pandemic levels (08:57) Dataiku - Create transparent, repeatable, and scalable AI and analytics programs. Visit https://dataiku.com to learn more. (09:56) Jason...
Jan 13, 2022•1 hr 18 min
First we talk about how the top streaming platforms projected to spend $140B on content in 2022 (2:18) and Elizabeth Warren’s bad take on grocery stores. Then Mac Conwell "Mac the VC" joins the show as the first guest for Angel Season 6 (49:29) to share his story and how he invests. (00:00) Jason and Molly intro the show (02:18) HBO to spend $18B on streaming in 2022, how does it stack up? (10:39) Embroker - Get an extra 10% off insurance for your business at https://Embroker.com/twist (11:58) S...
Jan 13, 2022•1 hr 29 min
First Jason and Molly discuss YC's new $500K deal for startups and what that means for founders and early stage investors (1:53). They also dig into car-sharing app Turo's S-1 (25:32). Then Redfin Co-founder and current Deep Sentinel CEO Dave Selinger joins to discuss how his company blends human monitors and AI-enabled cameras to deliver an unmatched security camera experience (38:25). (00:00) Jason & Molly intro the show (01:53) Y Combinator's new $500K deal (09:41) Eight Sleep - Go to htt...
Jan 11, 2022•1 hr 25 min
We cover the tech stock pullback (1:34), discuss the impact of the SEC exploring more restrictions and disclosures for late stage private companies (12:00) and share details about Apple’s mixed reality headset are leaking (37:07). We wrap with a new segment... over/under(45:11)! 00:00 Molly intros the show 01:34 Tech stock pullback amid rate-hike concerns 10:48 Marketerhire - Get $500 off your first hire at https://MarketerHire.com/twist 12:00 The SEC in considering increasing private investing ...
Jan 11, 2022•53 min
Welcome to our new Sunday show. Each episode will have two segments, Sunday VC School and Climate startups. First, Jason and Molly discuss early-stage investing including, Jason's valuation vs. traction matrix (1:44) and developing a BS detector (23:03). Then Jason introduces Molly's new climate segment (27:15) and then Molly interviews New Energy Nexus CEO Danny Kennedy (33:38). They discuss what Danny looks for in clean energy investments(37:03) and more! Valuation vs. Traction Matrix: https:/...
Jan 09, 2022•1 hr 1 min
Jason and Molly cover how 15% of the world’s bitcoin mining network going down when Kazakhstan’s internet was shut off (3:11) and Chainalysis' scam report (12:32). Then they do a "We Live in the Future" segment about AI created actors (16:49) and “Memes of the Week” review of Marc Andreessen's tweets (25:32). Finally, Producer Rachel wraps with an "OK Boomer" interview with YouTube creator and software engineer Ben Awad (38:43). (00:00) Jason and Molly intro the show (01:15) A special welcome vi...
Jan 07, 2022•1 hr 2 min
00:00 Jason & Molly intro the show 02:25 GETTR get a bump in downloads after Joe Rogan joins 09:55 Dataiku - Create transparent, repeatable, and scalable AI and analytics programs. Visit https://dataiku.com to learn more. 11:00 The darker side of community on the internet 15:54 Jason's take on decentralized social media 18:38 Eight Sleep - Go to https://eightsleep.com/twist to check out the Pod Pro Cover and get $150 off at checkout! 20:11 The challenges of content moderation on social media...
Jan 07, 2022•1 hr 14 min
In this all news show, Jason and Molly cover Toyota & Volkswagen committing a combined $170B to take on Tesla’s EV dominance (2:30), NFT platform OpenSea raising a $300M Series C at a $13.3B valuation (20:08), China’s tight grip on tech causing job loss and accelerating company closure (44:50), and how Ben Smith from the NYT is teaming up with Bloomberg Media’s CEO to launch a new media company (56:52). (00:00) Molly tees up the show (02:30) Toyota and Volkswagen pledge $170B to compete with...
Jan 06, 2022•1 hr 7 min
Jason and Molly cover Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty verdict (1:47), how even socialists have admitted that Amazon is the best place many people have ever worked (40:08). To wrap they dig into Biden’s new sanctions against China the implications from decoupling our economies (56:16). (00:00) Jason intros the show (01:47) Elizabeth Holmes Theranos fraud trial verdict (09:36) Vanta - Get get $1,000 off automating your SOC 2 at vanta.com/twist (10:53) How VCs vet charlatan founders (17:33) Femal...
Jan 05, 2022•1 hr 7 min
Jason and Molly cover how QuickCommerce startup JOKR lost $159 per order in the US in August (1:54), the state of startup valuations (25:57), Jason's case of COVID & the state of testing (32:00), OpenSea freezing over $2M worth of stolen NFTs (52:28) and they wrap with quick recap of the latest chapter of Web 3 Twitter beef featuring AirBnB CEO Brian Chesky and Box Founder Aaron Levie (58:24).
Jan 04, 2022•1 hr 8 min
Jason hosts "The 2021 TWISTY Awards" where we give out 10 awards for top podcast moments from this year including: the most surprisingly awesome guest (02:17), best chemistry (04:48), best live moment (23:43), most awkward moment (28:51), funniest moment (36:51), best guest (45:19) and more! At the end he has a short "after-party" discussion with producers (50:58). Thank you for listening, this is our last planned episode of 2021.
Dec 27, 2021•59 min
Jason is joined by This Week in Startups' new co-host Molly Wood for a news show. First they cover why Molly joined the TWiST team (1:24), then they dig into the Web3 wars erupting on Twitter (24:00) and break down Rivian's Q3 earnings (51:45). Producer's note: this is our only podcast this week
Dec 22, 2021•1 hr 17 min
Praying for Exits, the top meme account in Venture Capital joins to discuss being a pseudonymous commentator (01:13), why VCs spend too much time brand building (12:37), entitlement in tech (23:47), assessing founders and companies qualitatively and quantitatively (35:46), crazy VC stories (52:10) plus so much more!
Dec 17, 2021•1 hr 17 min
First Jason covers Melania Trump launching an NFT series (02:27) and Reddit just filing to go public(13:10). Then, Twitter's Tony Haile joins (24:14) to talk about selling his startup Scroll to Twitter, helping lead Twitter's product team (37:07), Twitter's roadmap and more.
Dec 17, 2021•1 hr 8 min
First Jason covers the Mayo clinic's promising new signs for mRNA cancer treatment (02:02), Google's firm vaccine policy (07:41) and the Better.com CEO stepping away after last week's meltdown (16:39). Then, Jason brings on three founders he has invested in and chats with them about their company: SupporTrends co-founder Oliver Rowen on customer insights (25:23), Wearwell co-founder and CEO Erin Houston on sustainable fashion (37:11), and PaidBack co-founder Amber Masters on budgeting and paying...
Dec 16, 2021•1 hr 1 min
All news show! First Jason gives an Elizabeth Holmes trial update and reveals the key point the prosecution missed (2:12). Then he covers, Nike acquires an NFT company (14:17), $USDT becoming an official currency of a shadow government in Myanmar (31:55), how “The Hangover” director Todd Phillips made $150M on the trilogy (36:58) and the Japanese billionaire who delivered UberEats to the international space station (44:55).
Dec 15, 2021•48 min
First, Jason breaks down the math of why Peloton might be undervalued (3:23). Then, the founder and CEO Rad Power Bikes Mike Radenbaugh joins to discuss building a massive ebike company (15:36), the most innovative features, ebike regulation and cites. Then, *spoiler alert* Jason gives his top takeaways from the Succession season three finale recap (01:05:58) and Producer Nick pitches a storyline to work Jason into season four. At the end of the show Jason and Nick discuss the strategy and behin...
Dec 14, 2021•1 hr 54 min
First, Jason plays "Guess the Fake Startup" (1:30). Then, Jason interviews four founders he invested in (12:50): David Park from Jenni.ai about computer copywriting assistants (18:08), Samuel Spitz from Wearloom on aggregating the resale marketplace shopping experience (28:11), Sudhama Bhatia from Track about his premium calendar client (40:35) and Marie Ng from Llama Life on building a time-based productivity tool (51:05). To wrap up the show, we have an "OK Boomer" segment where Producer Rache...
Dec 10, 2021•1 hr 41 min
First, Jason covers the recent crypto hearings (1:25), then offers a brief potential NFT solution for Adele's ticket scalper problem (16:06). After the news, Jason closes out the 100-point Startup Checklist with ten tips for founders including, lean management (23:19), constant product engagement (43:51), monthly updates (46:30) and more!
Dec 10, 2021•51 min
All news today. Jason recaps his Art Basel experience (1:55), meeting Beeple, being ultra candid with the JUUL CEO (6:58) and interviewing Cathie Wood & Tiffany Zhong about crypto at 500 Global's Pre-Money conference (17:23). Then, he breaks down the Better.com CEO's 900-person layoff over Zoom (31:36). Forbes Article mentioned: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2021/12/03/investor-cathie-wood-on-bitcoin-why-she-sold-stocks-in-china-and-what-her-firm-is-buying-now/...
Dec 09, 2021•1 hr 3 min
Geoff Lewis is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at Bedrock Capital. He joins to discuss lessons from entrepreneurship (1:25), why "vibe" is the critical way he assesses founders (11:44), his investment in Praxis, a city-state building company (23:15), his unique answer to the contrarian question (31:17), defense tech, AI and much more.
Dec 07, 2021•1 hr 7 min
Crypto is reaching the mainstream, which has major implications for crypto and traditional startups alike. Kruze Consulting COO Scott Orn joins to discuss what regulation and taxes actually apply to crypto (3:17), recent improvements in crypto accounting infrastructure (8:24), appropriately documenting crypto holdings (21:25) and more! With crypto market capitalizations rivaling large cap tech companies, the IRS wants its due. This is a great crash course for properly documenting crypto and avoi...
Dec 06, 2021•35 min
