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This Week in Startups

Jason Calacanisthisweekinstartups.com
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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Episodes

Misaligned Incentives Between GPs and Founders with Altimeter's Jamin Ball | E2045

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… LinkedIn Jobs. A business is only as strong as its people, and every hire matters. Go to https://www.linkedin.com/twist to post your first job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Beehiiv. Power your newsletters with AI tools, referral programs, and ad network features—all in one platform. Get 30 days free and 20% off your first 3 months at https://www.beehiiv.com/twist CLA. Innovation takes balance. CLA's CPAs, consultants, and wealth advisors can he...

Nov 15, 20241 hr 2 min

TWiST News: Face Robots, Solar's Growth, The Polymarket Mess, and YC's Latest Call for Startups | E2044

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Fundrise provides access to diversified portfolios of private real estate to all investors with their industry leading, easy to use platform. Sign up today at https://www.fundrise.com/TWIST OpenPhone. Create business phone numbers for you and your team that work through an app on your smartphone or desktop. TWiST listeners can get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://www.openphone.com/twist Linear. Linear helps product teams foc...

Nov 15, 20241 hr 33 min

TWiST News: Underwater Drones, Robot Swarms, and Klarna's Going Public | E2043

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Squarespace. Turn your idea into a new website! Go to https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST for a free trial. When you’re ready to launch, use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Lemon.io - Hire pre-vetted remote developers, get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist Sprig. The Product Experience platform that generates AI-powered opportunities to continuously improve your product at ...

Nov 14, 20241 hr 15 min

TWiST News: Serve Robotics, High Skill Immigration, and the Trump Trade | E2042

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Beehiiv. Power your newsletters with AI tools, referral programs, and ad network features—all in one platform. Get 30 days free and 20% off your first 3 months at https://www.beehiiv.com/twist Vanta. Compliance and security shouldn't be a deal-breaker for startups to win new business. Vanta makes it easy for companies to get a SOC 2 report fast. TWiST listeners can get $1,000 off for a limited time at https://www.vanta.com/twist Cloud Devs. Building th...

Nov 11, 20241 hr 23 min

TWiST News: Reddit Earnings, Apple Intelligence, and more AI money | E2041

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Runway. Looking to up-level your financial planning Runway is the modern and intuitive way to model, plan, and align your business for everyone on your team. Sign up at https://www.runway.com/twist to get your first 3 months free. LinkedIn Ads. To redeem a $100 LinkedIn ad credit and launch your first campaign, go to https://www.linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups⁠⁠ Vanta. Compliance and security shouldn't be a deal-breaker for startups to win new business...

Nov 08, 20241 hr 30 min

TWiST News: Skydio's Drones, High-Skill immigration, and M&A Unleashed | E2040

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Oracle. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, or OCI, is a single platform for your infrastructure, database, application development, and AI needs. Save up to 50% on your cloud bill at ⁠ https://w⁠⁠⁠⁠ww.oracle.com/twist Notion. Notion combines your notes, docs, and projects into one beautifully designed space with AI built right in. Try it for free today at https://notion.com/twist AssemblyAI. Get maximum value from voice data with AssemblyAI. Build powerful p...

Nov 07, 20241 hr 21 min

Insane Demands of AI & Datacenters: Exowatt’s Mission for Affordable, Sustainable Power| E2039

This Week in Startups is brought to you by: NetSuite. The number one cloud financial system, bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, and HR, into one platform. Giving you one source of truth. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine Learning for free at https://www.netsuite.com/twist Gusto. Gusto is easy online payroll, benefits, and HR built for modern small businesses. Get three months free when you run your first payroll at https://www.gusto.com/twist *Gusto pricing shown in a...

Nov 05, 202454 min

TWiST News: AI in Gaming, Nvidia and GPU Clouds, Nuclear Energy Challenges, and Waymo Updates | E2038

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Squarespace. Turn your idea into a new website! Go to https://www.Squarespace.com/twist for a free trial. When you’re ready to launch, use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. OpenPhone. Create business phone numbers for you and your team that work through an app on your smartphone or desktop. TWiST listeners can get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://www.openphone.com/twist Lemon.io . H...

Nov 05, 20241 hr 8 min

TWiST News: Grape-picking robots, startup investing for all, and the earnings numbers you need to know | E2037

This Week in Startups is brought to you by: Fidelity Private Shares℠. Manage your cap table and data room, get faster, more accurate 409A valuation and fully automate your next financing round. Visit ⁠https://fidelityprivateshares.com ⁠! Mention our podcast and receive 20% off your first-year paid subscription. LinkedIn Jobs. A business is only as strong as its people, and every hire matters. Go to https://www.linkedin.com/twist to post your first job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Oracle...

Nov 02, 20241 hr 31 min

Fast growth, big capital, and how Moniepoint is building a fintech unicorn in Africa | E2036

This Week in Startups is brought to you by: OpenPhone - Create business phone numbers for you and your team that work through an app on your smartphone or desktop. TWiST listeners can get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://www.openphone.com/twist Lemon.io - Hire pre-vetted remote developers, get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://www.Lemon.io/twist Linear - Linear helps product teams focus on what they do best: Planning and building great products. ...

Oct 31, 202454 min

AI-Driven Auto Shops with Mastertech.ai and Data Observability with Monte Carlo | E2035

This Week in Startups is brought to you by: Vanta. Compliance and security shouldn't be a deal-breaker for startups to win new business. Vanta makes it easy for companies to get a SOC 2 report fast. TWiST listeners can get $1,000 off for a limited time at https://www.vanta.com/twist Squarespace. Turn your idea into a new website! Go to https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST for a free trial. When you’re ready to launch, use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. ...

Oct 29, 202456 min

TWiST News: The Startup Redefining Sonos, Influencers, Elections and Google's next AI push | E2034

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Digital Ocean. Whether you’re just getting started with AI, or seeing your project take off, DigitalOcean is the cloud platform that lets you focus on what matters: building killer apps. Right now get up to $100k in free credits at https://do.co/twist Terms and conditions apply. Cloud Devs. Building the best remote team is tough, but you don’t have to do it alone. Visit https://www.clouddevs.com/twist for an unbeatable offer on hiring elite Latam talen...

Oct 29, 20241 hr 25 min

Merge's Unified API Bet in the AI Era | E2033

In this episode: Alex talks with Shensi Ding from Merge, who shares her transition from finance to tech and highlights the critical role of integrations in modern businesses. They explore the challenges of building and maintaining these integrations, emphasizing the importance of standardized data models. Shensi discusses partnerships and the strategies to overcome resistance. The conversation delves into trust-building, enhancing integration observability, and expanding Merge's offerings to inc...

Oct 25, 202453 min

AI for Investors, Publisher Rewards, Sleep Tech & More – 2024 Jam with JCal Recap | E2032

In this episode we look back at all the Jam with JCal sessions from 2024. This is where startups pitch their groundbreaking ideas to Jason, covering everything from AI-driven investor tools and gamified publisher rewards to sleep tech and architecture compliance software. Watch as these innovative founders get unfiltered feedback and game-changing advice! Don’t miss these exciting pitches that could be the next big thing. * Timestamps: (0:00) Alex kicks off the show, setting the stage for our "J...

Oct 24, 20241 hr 18 min

TWiST News: Headphones.com, How Sound Takes Down Drones, TollBit Secures Series A | E2031

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… LinkedIn Ads. To redeem a $100 LinkedIn ad credit and launch your first campaign, go to https://www.linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups Vanta. Compliance and security shouldn't be a deal-breaker for startups to win new business. Vanta makes it easy for companies to get a SOC 2 report fast. TWiST listeners can get $1,000 off for a limited time at https://www.vanta.com/twist Beehiiv. Power your newsletters with AI tools, referral programs, and ad network fea...

Oct 23, 20241 hr 15 min

Election Security, Skift's Rafat Ali, and Anthropic Unleashes PC AI | E2030

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Squarespace. Turn your idea into a new website! Go to https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST for a free trial. When you’re ready to launch, use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. LinkedIn Jobs. A business is only as strong as its people, and every hire matters. Go to https://www.linkedin.com/twist to post your first job for free. Terms and conditions apply Kalshi. The largest regulated predictions market—now lets yo...

Oct 23, 20241 hr 25 min

TWiST News: F1 on Apple Vision Pro, Self-Driving, and Stablecoins | E2029

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… DigitalOcean’s GPU Droplet - simple flexible, affordable, and scalable machines for your AI/ML workloads. Spin up powerful GPU virtual machines and start training models, building agents, or digging deep into huge data sets in seconds—and spin them back down just as quickly. With options ranging from single-GPU configurations to setups with 8 GPUs, you can scale computing power based on your specific needs without having to make upfront hardware invest...

Oct 22, 20241 hr 12 min

The Anatomy of a Startup Acquisition with Cacheflow's Sarika Garg | E2028

Todays show: Cacheflow’s Sarika Garg joins Alex Wilhelm to discuss the challenges of B2B software sales (4:26), finding product-market fit (14:08), HubSpot's acquisition of Cacheflow (17:32), and more! * Timestamps: (0:00) Cacheflow’s Sarika Garg joins Alex (2:25) Sarika Garg's startup journey and founding of Cacheflow (4:26) Challenges in B2B software sales, managing billing complexities, and SaaS explosion (10:09) Initial funding, product development, and growth (10:34) AssemblyAI - Get 100 fr...

Oct 18, 202453 min

The Best Financial Advice VCs Give Startups | Startup Finance Basics w/ Kruze's Scott Orn

Todays show: Kruze’s Scott Orn joins Jason on the latest edition of Startup Finance Basics! In this episode, they break down the best financial advice that VCs give founders including, managing cash flow (0:21), accounting methods (5:19), building an effective financial plan (15:22), and more! * Timestamps: (00:00) Kruze COO, Scott Orn, joins Jason (0:21) The best financial advice VCs give startups, managing cash flow, and the risks of over-fundraising (5:19) Growth strategies for early-stage st...

Oct 17, 202421 min

TWiST News: Subscription Economics, Density's Waffle, and The Cost of AV Fleets | E2027

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Fundrise. Fundrise provides access to diversified portfolios of private real estate to all investors with their industry leading, easy to use platform. Sign up today at https://www.fundrise.com/twist Brave. Brave is an internet privacy company on a mission to protect your personal info online. Download Brave today at https://brave.com/twist to browse faster, search privately and so much more. All in a single click. OpenPhone. Create business phone numb...

Oct 17, 20241 hr 5 min

AI Demos: ChatGPT-o4 Canvas, Notebook LM & Meta's Movie Gen | E2026

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Lemon.io - Hire pre-vetted remote developers, get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist Fidelity Private Shares℠. Manage your cap table and data room, get faster, more accurate 409A valuation and fully automate your next financing round. Visit ⁠ https://www.fidelityprivateshares.com ⁠! Mention our podcast and receive 20% off your first-year paid subscription. CLA. Innovation takes balance. CLA's CPAs, consultants, and w...

Oct 16, 20241 hr 6 min

TWiST News: Tesla Robotaxis, Electric RVs, and How Startups are Helping Secure Elections | E2025

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Squarespace. Turn your idea into a new website! Go to https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST for a free trial. When you’re ready to launch, use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Beehiiv. Power your newsletters with AI tools, referral programs, and ad network features—all in one platform. Get 30 days free and 20% off your first 3 months at ⁠https://www.beehiiv.com/twist Cloud Devs. Building the best remote team is t...

Oct 15, 20241 hr 15 min

TWiST500 Spotlight: The must-know startups from AI to robotics! | E2024

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… OpenPhone. Create business phone numbers for you and your team that work through an app on your smartphone or desktop. TWiST listeners can get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://www.openphone.com/twist⁠ NetSuite. The number one cloud financial system, bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, and HR, into one platform. Giving you one source of truth. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine Learning for free at h...

Oct 11, 202436 min

Navigating the AI Boom | Startup Finance Basics w/ Kruze's Scott Orn

Todays show: Kruze’s Scott Orn joins Jason on the latest edition of Startup Finance Basics! In this episode, they break down the unique aspects and dynamics of the current AI boom, contrasting AI startup revenue, costs, and growth rates with traditional SaaS models (4:11). They also dive into AI tools' impact on productivity and labor efficiency (8:12), the accounting challenges and operational issues AI startups face (14:27), and more! * Timestamps: (00:00) Kruze COO, Scott Orn, joins Jason (1:...

Oct 10, 202424 min

TWiST News: M.G. Siegler Explains the Current Venture Crisis and Google’s Antitrust Woes | E2023

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Gusto is easy online payroll, benefits, and HR built for modern small businesses. Get three months free when you run your first payroll at https://www.gusto.com/twist *Gusto pricing shown in ad is based on pricing prior to March 2025 Oracle - Save up to 50% on your cloud bill at ⁠https://w⁠⁠⁠⁠ww.oracle.com/twist Linear. Streamline issues, projects, and product roadmaps in a tool your team will actually enjoy using. Get 25% off at https://www.linear.app...

Oct 09, 20241 hr 15 min

The Next-Generation of Single-Stage-to-Orbit Spaceplanes with Radian's Richard Humphrey | E2022

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Lemon.io - Hire pre-vetted remote developers, get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist Vanta. Compliance and security shouldn't be a deal-breaker for startups to win new business. Vanta makes it easy for companies to get a SOC 2 report fast. TWiST listeners can get $1,000 off for a limited time at https://www.vanta.com/twist AssemblyAI. Get maximum value from voice data with AssemblyAI. Build powerful products and feat...

Oct 08, 202456 min

Hacking Meta's AR glasses, a shakeup at Initialized, and the best startups of the decade | E2021

Timestamps: (0:00) Alex and Jason kick off the news show! (3:26) Overview of Harvard's AR glasses tech demo and club projects (10:09) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST (11:35) Discussing responsible tech use, privacy, and entrepreneurial aspirations (18:30) Guests' academic focus and future in technology (19:41) LinkedIn Ads - Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit at http://www.linkedin.com/thisweekinstartup...

Oct 07, 20241 hr 6 min

Highlighting Data Intelligence with Databricks & Bonbon’s Reward Innovation | E2020

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… OpenPhone. Create business phone numbers for you and your team that work through an app on your smartphone or desktop. TWiST listeners can get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://www.openphone.com/twist⁠ LinkedIn Jobs. A business is only as strong as its people, and every hire matters. Go to https://www.linkedin.com/twist to post your first job for free. Terms and conditions apply Beehiiv. Power your newsletters with AI tools, ...

Oct 04, 20241 hr 26 min

The Automation Endgame, VCs Returning Cash, and the OpenAI Wager | E2019

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Notion. Notion combines your notes, docs, and projects into one beautifully designed space with AI built right in. Try it for free today at https://notion.com/twist Fidelity Private Shares℠. Manage your cap table and data room, get faster, more accurate 409A valuation, and fully automate your next financing round. Visit https://www.fidelityprivateshares.com Mention our podcast and receive 20% off your first-year paid subscription. Kyte. Looking to get ...

Oct 03, 20241 hr 25 min

Monique Woodard, Fund of Funds Panel & The Pro-Rata Yacht! | E2018

This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Squarespace. Turn your idea into a new website! Go to Squarespace.com/TWIST for a free trial. When you’re ready to launch, use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Gusto. Gusto is easy online payroll, benefits, and HR built for modern small businesses. Get three months free when you run your first payroll at Gusto.com/twist . *Gusto pricing shown in ad is based on pricing prior to March 2025 Runway. Looking to up...

Oct 02, 202451 min
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