For today's VC Sunday School, Jason talks about saying "no" to founders (1:20), and Molly asks about board meeting etiquette (20:12). Then, for This Week in Climate Startups, Molly speaks with Michael Luciani of Climate Capital (37:18). (0:00) Jason intros today’s show (1:20) VCSS: Saying “no” to founders (9:20) Brave - Download today at https://brave.com/twist to browse faster, search privately and so much more (11:01) Some VCs give a “no” to gauge a founder’s tenacity (19:08) iTrust Capital - ...
Jul 24, 2022•1 hr 3 min
Today, Jason and Molly speak with Ben Narasin of Tenacity VC about raising a new venture capital fund in the down market (1:30). Then, for this week's segment of OK Boomer, Producer Rachel sits down with Natalie Barbu of Rella (1:00:33). (0:00) Jason intros today’s show! (1:30) Jason and Molly speak with Ben Narasin of Tenacity VC (11:45) Masterworks - Skip the waitlist to invest in art using promo code TWIST at https://Masterworks.io/twist (13:07) How do you make a decision to sell a percent of...
Jul 23, 2022•1 hr 26 min
First up, Jason and Molly break down Amazon acquiring One Medical for $3.9B — what is the long-term strategy here (2:44)? And you know it’s Thursday, so you know we had to have Lon Harris on the show (16:36). We break down the Snyder Cut bot craziness (24:38), and Netflix’s path forward (37:25). There might even be a Jay Trade involved! (0:00) Jason and Molly tee up the show! (2:44) Amazon acquired One Medical for $3.9B (14:20) Prometheus - Go to Prometheusalts.com or download it on the App Stor...
Jul 22, 2022•52 min
Yesterday, Netflix released its Q2 earnings, and this prompted Jason to make some Jay Trades (2:53). Then, we have our second installment of "The Blueprint," where Jason breaks down when you should quit your job (45:14). Finally, we wrap with our Startup of the Day: BeReal (1:06:48). (0:00) Jason and Molly tee up today’s show! (2:53) Jay Trading: Jason does some Jay Trading in relation to the Netflix Q2 results (10:27) BairesDev - Go to https://www.baires.dev/twist (11:50) Netflix reported Q2 ea...
Jul 21, 2022•1 hr 19 min
Molly had a big board meeting today, so we had our guy Zach Coelius join for another version of Ask an Angel (1:32). Zach and Jason share their thoughts on remote work (4:40), the downturn (22:10), and then they answer audience questions (41:22). It’s a solid episode for founders and investors! (0:00) Jason intro’s today’s Ask an Angel episode with Zach Coelius (1:32) Ask an Angel with Zach Coelius (4:40) Zach’s thoughts on remote work (13:19) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off y...
Jul 20, 2022•1 hr 40 min
Today, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is celebrating his one-year anniversary, and the NYT published an interesting profile that has a lot to do with regulatory scrutiny (3:01). Then we cover the boom of remote work incentive programs all over the US to attract remote tech workers (27:00). And, we get into an awesome new company called Phaidra in our Series A segment… some former DeepMind engineers started an awesome machine learning company (40:16). And we wrap with a great story about retail investors ...
Jul 19, 2022•59 min
On today's episode of VC Sunday School, Molly asks Jason about taking the leap on valuation (2:10) and best practices for strategic retreats (11:41). Then, Molly speaks with Meiling Gao and David Lu of Clarity Movement, to talk about their hardware for measuring air quality (33:25). (0:00) Jason and Molly intro today’s show! (2:10) VCSS: Taking the leap on valuation (10:28) Embroker - Get an extra 10% off insurance for your business at https://Embroker.com/twist (11:41) VCSS: strategic retreats ...
Jul 17, 2022•59 min
Today, we cover the WSJ reporting on Amazon thinking of exiting the private-label business entirely (2:26). Then, Jason talks to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr about banning TikTok in the US (15:23). And of course, we wrap with another episode of OK Boomer from Producer Rachel (56:17). Check out BuzzFeed's report on TikTok: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emilybakerwhite/tiktok-tapes-us-user-data-china-bytedance-access (0:00) Jason and Molly tee up today’s show (2:26) WSJ spoke to anonymous ...
Jul 16, 2022•1 hr 23 min
Today, Jason makes his first investment in our new Jay Trading segment (which is not investing advice), and Jason and Molly break it down (3:22). Then, we do a little segment called “Series A & M&A” (24:40)! We also cover Stripe’s 409A valuation (37:52). And of course, we have to cover the Netflix + Microsoft partnership (45:50). Finally, we wrap with Peloton outsourcing their hardware manufacturing (57:00). (0:00) Jason and Molly tee up today’s show! (3:22) Jay Trading: Bill Gurley boug...
Jul 15, 2022•1 hr 17 min
Today we kick off our new series, "The Blueprint." Jason gives practical advice on how to brand yourself (1:33). Then, Jason sits down with Stanford professor and author Jeffrey Pfeffer to talk about his new book, "7 Rules of Power: Surprising--but True--Advice on How to Get Things Done and Advance Your Career" (14:36). (0:00) Jason tees up today’s show! (1:33) The Blueprint E1: branding yourself (13:39) Visa. Learn more about Visa’s online Small Business Hub at Visa.com/smallbusinesshub. (14:36...
Jul 14, 2022•1 hr 17 min
First, we break down the 3AC situation where the founders were reportedly MIA for about 12 hours (1:52). It’s a complex situation, and we try and make sense of it. Then, we cover Matt Taibbi’s deep-dive article on Circle (8:10). Jason also gives his thoughts on a recent Twitter thread about how to succeed as a low-level startup employee (33:27). And we wrap with a little M&A story from Spotify (40:50)! (0:00) Jason tees up today’s topics! (1:52) Bloomberg reported that liquidators in charge ...
Jul 13, 2022•56 min
Today we talk about the Elon Musk & Twitter deal-or-no-deal (2:14). Then we get into two big pieces of Uber news today: first, over a hundred thousand leaked documents about Uber’s aggressive expansion efforts back in the early days (20:47), and second, present-day Uber under Dara is testing out geo-located ads (33:18). Finally, we’ve also got some insider dirt from Apple’s autonomous car efforts (49:20). (0:00) Jason and Molly intro today’s show (2:14) Elon Musk calls off the Twitter deal (...
Jul 12, 2022•1 hr
For today's VC Sunday School, Jason asks Molly what she's learned in her first six months as a venture capitalist (1:59). Then, on This Week in Climate Startups, Molly speaks with siblings Steven and Zora Chung of ReJoule about EV battery recycling (18:52). (0:00) Jason and Molly intro the show (1:59) VCSS: Molly’s first 6 months as an investor recap (14:06) Bubbles - Get your point across with unlimited screen and video recordings for free at https://usebubbles.com/twist (15:24) Toss to TWiCS (...
Jul 10, 2022•48 min
Today, Jason sits down with Frost Giant CEO Tim Morten to discuss the gaming business models, Esports, and more (1:50). Then, on this week's OK Boomer segment, Producer Rachel speaks with Richard Mensah, co-founder of Salley, about being an international founder (1:09:45). (0:00) Jason and Molly introduce today’s show (1:50) Jason speaks with Production Director & CEO of Frost Giant, Tim Morten (11:15) PolicyGenius - Head to https://www.policygenius.com to get your free life insurance quotes...
Jul 09, 2022•1 hr 40 min
First, we cover some breaking news: Theranos ex-president Sunny Balwani has been found guilty of fraud (2:27). Then we dive into crypto: those responsible for the lack of crypto regulation in the US might also have significant crypto investments themselves, and the US is currently trying to change that (13:42). Then a big class-action lawsuit hits Solana and takes aim at VCs (23:09). But it's not all bad news, we cover the Turkish government claiming it just discovered almost 700M metric tons of...
Jul 08, 2022•57 min
Molly is out today, but don’t worry- we still have crypto news to cover. Crypto firm Voyager Digital filed for bankruptcy (2:14), and crypto loan company Celsius paid some debts (10:43). Finally, Jason takes some questions in today’s Ask Jason segment (25:35)! Voyager Bankruptcy Filing: https://cases.stretto.com/public/x193/11753/PLEADINGS/1175307062280000000036.pdf (0:00) Jason introduces today's show! (2:14) Crypto Update: Voyager Digital filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy late last night (9:31) Embr...
Jul 07, 2022•1 hr 14 min
On today's show, Molly and Jason catch up after the long weekend (0:00) before breaking down how the new "Minions" movie broke a box office record by using TikTok, catchy hooks, and viral marketing (5:19). They also cover TikTok dropping plans to expand its ecommerce platform into the US and Europe (29:52), before covering the "Chips Act" stalemate and discussing how we should reframe semiconductor manufacturing and energy independence as national defense issues (35:50). Links referenced in the ...
Jul 06, 2022•51 min
For today's VC Sunday School, Molly asks Jason about what makes a venture scale business (2:20). Then, for This Week in Climate Startups, Molly sits down with Matt Duesterberg, co-founder of OhmConnect (19:38). (0:00) Jason and Molly tee up today’s show (2:20) VCSS: What is a “venture scale business”? (12:15) OpenPhone - Get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://openphone.com/twist (13:31) More on being venture scale (17:35) Molly tees up This Week in Climate Startups (19:...
Jul 03, 2022•48 min
First, we cover an update from the BlockFi CEO denying that FTX is buying them for $25N (2:33), and we have a couple more crypto quick hits (5:51) before we touch on Sequoia's largest investments being down 70% (34:01). Klarna is raising way down at a $6B valuation (45:23), Zoom is looking to expand beyond video conferencing, (54:50), and the FCC approved Starlink to supply internet to moving vehicles (57:40). Finally, Rachel speaks with co-founder and CEO of Stages, Jared Downing, for this week...
Jul 01, 2022•1 hr 31 min
First, we talk about Meta’s new Facebook Groups overhaul that looks like Discord (2:35). Then we touch on Sequoia raising over 2 billion for its US venture and growth funds (20:31) and FTX acquiring BlockFi for $25M, 99% below their last private valuation (32:08). For our We Live in the Future, the MLB is looking to automate home plate umpires by 2024 (52:17). Finally, it appears Subtstack is making some cuts after saying it wouldn’t (1:04:48). (0:00) Jason and Molly intro the show! (2:35) Meta ...
Jul 01, 2022•1 hr 20 min
Today, Jason is joined by the hosts of “What are your thoughts?” Downtown Josh Brown (CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management) and Michael Batnick (Managing Partner at Ritholtz Wealth Management). They discuss the Knicks (1:22), Podcasting (14:25), markets (26:20), Disney (37:52), and more. Finally, Jason takes some audience questions (44:50). (0:00) Cold Open (1:22) Downtown Josh Brown & Michael Batnick join Jason: catching up and talking basketball (13:10) Coda - The All-in-one doc for teams, ge...
Jun 30, 2022•1 hr 9 min
First, we dig into the crypto contagion where FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is stepping in to backstop crypto lenders (2:56). Then, we check in on the billions of dollars sitting in SPACs- remember those (39:27)? We do a quick hit on the venture market drying up in Q2 (54:27) before we get into our We Live in the Future: a mockup of a SkyCruise luxury airliner that uses nuclear power and never lands (1:16:36). (0:00) Jason and Molly tee up today’s show! (2:56) FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried seems to be a...
Jun 28, 2022•1 hr 26 min
Today, we bring on Kim Clark, an attorney at Legal Voice, who reached out to Molly after listening to our shows last week that mentioned the impacts of surveillance on healthcare privacy, notably abortion (2:13). And in related news, today’s Startup of the day is Stardust, an end-to-end encrypted Period Tracking App (39:13). Then, we cover a non-Roe v. Wade story: Zendesk will be acquired by an investor group in an all-cash transaction valuing it at around $10.2B (42:45). (0:00) Jason and Molly ...
Jun 27, 2022•53 min
For today's VC Sunday School, Molly asks Jason about co-investing with other VC firms (3:11). Then for This Week in Climate Startups, Molly sits down with REGENT co-founder Billy Thalheimer to talk about the ins and outs of their electric sea gliders (29:46). (0:00) Jason and Molly tee up today’s show! (3:11) VC Sunday School: Co-investing with other VC firms, how and when to do it (12:59) Swag.com - Visit https://swag.com/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off your order! (14:16) Co-investing in ...
Jun 26, 2022•1 hr
Today, Jason sits down with the anonymous account Praying For Exits — they discuss everything going on in markets, crypto, startup valuations post-crash, and even what was behind the All in podcast controversy (3:09). Then, Producer Rachel sits down with Anisha Sunkerneni of Cyphr VC to talk about NFT NYC and navigating tech events (1:13:30). (0:00) Jason and Molly intro today’s show! (3:09) Jason sits down with the anonymous account Praying For Exits (13:01) Microsoft for Startups Hub - Apply i...
Jun 25, 2022•1 hr 42 min
Today we bring on Lon Harris to discuss the Obi-Wan Kenobi finale (2:23), then we do a quick hit on the FDA taking action against Juul (42:14). Finally, Molly chats with AJ Loiacono from Capital RX, who is laser-focused on increasing transparency in prescription drug pricing (55:26). (0:00) Jason and Molly intro today’s show (2:23) Lon Harris joins to recap the Obi-Wan Kenobi finale (10:45) BairesDev - Go to https://www.baires.dev/twist and get $10k off when you sign your first contract (11:58) ...
Jun 23, 2022•1 hr 41 min
Today we kick it off with a discussion of BuzzFeed’s reporting on TikTok, and we debate if there are real risks to worry about here (2:04). Then, we discuss Amazon forecasting it will run out of workers in some of the cities it operates in (37:16). Finally, we talk about some of the ways we are reducing our consumption (43:55). (0:00) Jason and Molly tee up today’s topics! (2:04) TikTok: BuzzFeed News investigation revealed 8 internal TikTok meetings showing that US data has been repeatedly acce...
Jun 22, 2022•55 min
There’s been some crazy news in Crypto, so we bring on Vinny Lingham, an early investor in Solana, who runs a startup that encrypts identity information on the blockchain called Civic. We dig into NFT NYC (8:24), the fiasco on Solend protocol (22:29), and how South Korean prosecutors have instituted a flight ban for employees while they investigate the $40 billion collapse (45:54). Finally, we talk about how, despite all of this, the Solana NFT Marketplace Magic Eden still raised $130 million at...
Jun 21, 2022•1 hr 24 min
For this week's VC Sunday School, Molly asks Jason about when to take a meeting with a founder (2:18). Then for This Week in Climate Startups, Molly speaks with the CEO and Founder of Hyfé Foods, Michelle Ruiz (16:43). Finally, as we're off tomorrow, we wrap with a couple of Juneteenth book recommendations (44:15). (0:00) Jason and Molly intro today’s show! (2:18) VCSS: When to take a founder meeting (12:00) LinkedIn Marketing - Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit at https://linkedin.com/thisweekinsta...
Jun 19, 2022•49 min
Today, we recap the Warriors' finals win (2:50) with some potential takeaways for founders (14:00). Next, Jason speaks with Jesse Powell: founder, and CEO of crypto exchange Kraken, and they discuss the state of crypto and the recent hit piece the NYT published on him (48:06). For this week's OK Boomer segment, Producer Rachel sits down with Alexander Olesen, co-founder, and CEO of Babylon Micro-Farms (2:07:41). (0:00) Jason and Molly tee up today’s show! (2:50) Warriors win! Recapping the Warri...
Jun 18, 2022•2 hr 27 min
