Today’s show: In this episode, Jason, Alex, and Lon dive into Blue Origin’s all-female celeb spaceflight (yes, Katy Perry sang on reentry), Hugging Face’s unexpected move into robotics, and Jack Dorsey’s wild take that we should “delete all IP law.” Plus, they break down Figure AI’s eye-popping $39B valuation, the risks of SPVs, and what founders and investors can learn from the SPAC boom. As Jason puts it: “You just have to assume an 80% failure rate.” * Timestamps: (0:00) Jason kicks off the s...
Apr 15, 2025•1 hr 3 min
Today’s show: We dive into the latest tech and startup news — including Palantir’s bold new fellowship program that challenges the traditional college path, and DoorDash’s rollout of burrito-delivering Coco robots in LA and Chicago. We debut our new segment “Tips from the Trenches,” focused on how to land your first customers, and wrap up with two great Office Hours: BRX.ai (self-healing AI agents) and InviteJet (calendar-based marketing). Plus, one founder’s wild story about a fake investor usi...
Apr 12, 2025•1 hr 9 min
Today’s show: Jason, Alex, and Lon talk about stories reshaping the startup world: 70mph drone deliveries are officially live in Dallas, with Zipline and Walmart promising groceries “as the crow flies” in under 5 minutes. Meanwhile, Trump slaps a 125% tariff on China and hints at a global economic shakeup — Jason warns founders to brace for layoffs and bankruptcies unless they’ve got a Plan B and C. Finally, a UK startup sells for $450M and VCs barely break even… but the founders walk with $20M....
Apr 10, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 2109
Today’s show: Jason and Alex unpack a wild week in tech and the markets — including a fake tweet that moved $4 trillion and Trump’s latest tariff talk. Lon jumps in for another round of Founder Fridays Pitch Madness , where four early-stage startups compete for a spot in the Elite Eight. Plus, Alex chats with Sunny Khamkar, CEO of MenuData, about how AI is revolutionizing the food industry. They also dive into how founders should rethink their runway, what Shopify’s bold AI memo means for the fu...
Apr 08, 2025•1 hr 27 min
Today’s show: Jason and Alex dive into the startup world’s latest chaos — from Nasdaq’s slide and Trump’s tariffs to Klarna’s IPO pause and Rippling’s $16B target. They break down what founders really need to know: tightening CIO budgets, longer sales cycles, but easier hiring. Plus, TikTok’s ban gets another delay (with Bezos possibly lurking?). In Office Hours, they chat with two sharp founders: Luke Belbina from PodEngine, who's building AI for podcasters and doubling revenue, and David Mosca...
Apr 05, 2025•2 hr 32 min
This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Kyte - TWIST Listeners: Go to https://kyte.com/ and download the Kyte app today. Use code JASON to save 10% on your first rental. Atlassian - Head to https://www.atlassian.com/startups/twist to see if you qualify for 50 free seats for 12 months. Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist Today’s show: Jason and Alex go deep into the shocking new details about the Rippling vs. Deel corporate espionage scandal—w...
Apr 03, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 2106
Today’s show: Circle gears up for its IPO and the stablecoin wars heat up, Palantir’s meme stock status gets a reality check, and they riff on a possible Uber + DoorDash merger and whether AI should train on Substack content. They react to Sequoia partner Andrew Reed’s inside take on fund dynamics, laugh at a brutal VC meme, and wrap with “Office Hours” featuring Caylee Harrington, founder of Hookhub — the Airbnb for RV parking — to talk vanlife, growth, and building in an unsexy market. * Times...
Apr 01, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 2105
Today’s show: Jason, Alex, and Lon cover everything from wild political headlines to big moves in AI and venture. They kick things off with the surprising Trump pardon of Trevor Milton, the disgraced Nikola founder, and break down CoreWeave’s rocky IPO debut. Then, Jason and Alex sit down with Mariano Apodaca, founder of Prosperous AI, to talk about AI tools for negotiating construction and aerospace material costs. Later, in a brand new segment called "Office Hours with JCal," Jason r...
Mar 29, 2025•1 hr 14 min
OpenPhone - Streamline and scale your customer communications with OpenPhone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at www.openphone.com/twist LinkedIn Ads - To redeem a $100 LinkedIn ad credit and launch your first campaign, go to linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups Brex - the financial stack founders can bank on. Get the business account trusted by 1 in 3 US startups at brex.com/banking-solutions . Today’s show: Jason, Alex, and Lon dig into the controversy around 11x, the Andreessen-backed startup accu...
Mar 27, 2025•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 2103
Today’s show: In this episode, Alex and Lon kick things off with the latest tech news — including 23andMe’s dramatic collapse, MicroStrategy’s half-million Bitcoin haul, and whether we’re finally seeing a rebound in startup M&A. Then they sit down with three standout founders building the future across AI chips, data privacy, and healthcare. First up, Etched CEO Gavin Uberti explains why they’re betting big on transformer-specific ASICs. Then, Skyflow co-founder Anshu Sharma breaks down how ...
Mar 25, 2025•2 hr 36 min
Today’s show: Jason, Alex, and Lon break down a subreddit question: A founder builds 100% of the product, is promised equity—and now he’s being pushed out. We break down exactly what he should do next. Plus, YouTuber Mark Rober’s viral Tesla test gets fact-checked by a small creator, and the results don’t look great for Mark. Finally, TechCrunch gets quietly sold to Regent in what looks like a fire sale. Is this the end of an era for tech media? Timestamps: (0:00) Episode Teaser(1:25) Jason'...
Mar 21, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 2101
Today’s show: Tesla FSD drama, Google’s massive $32B cybersecurity bet, and XRP’s SEC victory. Jason, Lon, and Alex break down the internet firestorm over Mark Rober’s viral Tesla test, why Google’s Wiz acquisition could spark a new M&A wave, and what the SEC dropping its case against XRP means for crypto’s future. Timestamps: (0:00) Episode Teaser(1:27) Show intro(2:01) Jason's skiing trip and Tesla stock banter(3:00) Criticism of Democratic party’s approach(5:44) Discussion of Mark Rob...
Mar 19, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 2100
Today’s show: Alex interviews two incredible founders from the TWIST 500! First, Replit CEO Amjad Masad breaks down how AI-powered coding is changing software development and what the future of agents looks like. Then, Starfish Space co-founder Austin Link explains how they’re building a satellite towing service to extend missions and clean up orbit. Two deep dives into the future of tech and space. Timestamps: (0:00) Alex kicks off the episode! (0:53) Discussing Replit's capabilities and in...
Mar 18, 2025•1 hr 2 min
Today’s show: Jason, Alex, and Lon break down a wild viral test on self-driving cars— will FSD see through fog, or does LiDAR win? Plus, Klarna is finally going public… but is "buy now, pay later" still the future or just a debt trap? And Netflix drops $300M on a Russo Brothers sci-fi blockbuster—critics hate it, but audiences love it. Was it worth it? We also dive into big tech’s crackdown on remote work, the Uber of estate managers, and why content creators might be falling into an a...
Mar 17, 2025•1 hr 13 min
This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST CLA. Get started with CLA's CPAs, consultants, and wealth advisors now at https://claconnect.com/tech Today’s show: Jason and Alex break down the biggest tech stories of the moment. OpenAI is pushing to rewrite copyright laws to benefi...
Mar 14, 2025•59 min•Ep. 2097
Today’s show: Europe wants to keep its founders from fleeing, AI is growing at breakneck speed, and Nick Denton is back with a spicy Twitter storm—so we had to talk about it. Jason, Alex, and Lon break down Project Europe, a new $10M fund aimed at stopping the European startup brain drain. Plus, Anthropic’s revenue just jumped 40% in a single quarter, and we debate what that means for AI’s future. Meanwhile, China’s EV makers are coming for Tesla, Saudi Arabia is building a gaming empire with a ...
Mar 13, 2025•1 hr 1 min
In this episode of AI Basics, Jason sits down with Jia Li from LiveX AI to explore how human-like AI agents are changing the game for businesses. Instead of clunky bots, these AI agents engage customers in real-time, helping with onboarding, support, and even stopping them from leaving before they churn. We’ll break down how they work, why they feel more natural than traditional chatbots, and how companies can train them to eliminate costly mistakes. Plus, we’ll talk about whether AI-powered sup...
Mar 11, 2025•14 min
Timestamps: (0:00) Roy Lee's hack and Amazon's reaction (3:03) MicroStrategy's Bitcoin strategy(4:29) Market reactions to Trump's policies(6:33) Creating value in current market conditions(8:00) South by Southwest highlights (10:19) Coda. Empower your startup with Coda’s Team plan for free—get 6 months at https://www.Coda.io/twist (12:03) The $20,000 electric car concept(16:18) Electric unicycles as a startup category (19:12) Vanta. TWiST listeners automate your SOC2 and get $1,0...
Mar 11, 2025•1 hr 1 min
Today’s show: AI is evolving at lightning speed—smarter assistants, faster models, and now, the massive energy demands that come with it. In this episode, Alex dives into two cutting-edge companies from the TWIST 500 that are shaping AI’s future in very different ways. First, Alex interviews Zap Energy, where CEO Benj Conway explains how their breakthrough fusion power technology could provide unlimited, clean energy to fuel AI and beyond. Then, we talk to PolyAI, where CEO Nikola Mrkšić shares ...
Mar 07, 2025•49 min
This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Northwest Registered Agent. Form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today! Lemon.io . Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist Horatio. Visit https://www.hirehoratio.com/twist and get $2,000 off your initial set up. Today’s show: Jason and Alex cover CoreWeave’s filing for a $35 billion IPO af...
Mar 05, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 2093
In this episode: Jason sits down with Harrison Chase, CEO of LangChain, to explore how AI-powered agents are transforming the way startups operate. They discuss the shift from traditional entry-level roles to AI-driven automation, the importance of human-in-the-loop systems, and the future of AI-powered assistants in business. Harrison shares insights on how companies like Replit, Klarna, and GitLab are leveraging AI agents to streamline operations, plus a look ahead at what's next for AI-dr...
Mar 04, 2025•20 min
Today’s show: Trump just floated the idea of a U.S. Crypto Reserve, suggesting a 10 bips transaction tax and naming unexpected altcoins like XRP, Solana, and Cardano. Jason and Alex break down what this means for crypto markets, regulation, and startups—plus the legal and political fallout. Is this a game-changer or just another pump-and-dump controversy? * Timestamps: (0:00) Alex and Jason kick of the show!(1:48) Trump's crypto policy and PR strategy(7:14) Analysis of Trump's proposed U...
Mar 04, 2025•59 min
Today’s show: Jason and Alex break down the latest head-scratching SEC ruling on meme coins—did they just legalize pump-and-dumps to protect Trump’s token? Plus, they dive into why venture debt can destroy startups, the rise of AI-driven companies, and how Tesla is gearing up to challenge Waymo in the self-driving car race. Then, Brandon Brown from GRIN joins the show to talk about scaling to 8-figure revenue, surviving brutal market corrections, and why he’s stepping down as CEO after a decade....
Mar 01, 2025•1 hr 15 min
Today’s show: Jason interviews Rahul Vohra, CEO and founder of Superhuman, and Vlad Tenev, CEO and co-founder of Robinhood. This is a packed episode featuring founder tips, fun stories about how Superhuman and Robinhood got their start and much more! Timestamps: (0:00) Episode teaser(2:13) Product market fit and founder journeys(3:25) Jason's investment in Superhuman and market positioning(5:14) AI's role and features in Superhuman(10:25) Lemon.io . Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of deve...
Feb 27, 2025•2 hr 39 min•Ep. 2090
Today’s show: Jason and Lon break down the latest trends shaping AI training, the evolving job market, and the shifting landscape of social media. A tribute to Steve Jobs on what would have been his 70th birthday explores his lasting impact, Apple’s massive $500 billion AI investment, and the future of US manufacturing. The conversation dives into Outlier’s role in AI training data, its effects on journalism, and broader job market implications. Jason also shares insights on autonomous vehicles,...
Feb 25, 2025•1 hr 8 min
This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Squarespace. Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST LinkedIn Jobs. Post your first job for free at https://www.linkedin.com/twist AdQuick. Visit https://adquick.com/twist and mention TWIST to get $1000 off your first campaign. Today’s show: Jason interviews Bryon Hargis, CEO of Castelion, about the United State’s hypersonic technology gap with China, how we’re catching up and...
Feb 22, 2025•56 min•Ep. 2088
This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll at http://gusto.com/twist *Gusto pricing shown in ad is based on pricing prior to March 2025 Lemon.io . Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist Atlassian. Head to https://www.atlassian.com/software/startups to see if you qualify for 50 free seats for 12 months. Today’s show: Jason and Lon Harris cover Nikola’s Chapter 11 and how founders can avoid the same m...
Feb 20, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 2087
In today's episode: Jason and Alex break down one of the craziest crypto stories yet—a $100M meme coin meltdown, insider trading, and Argentina’s president caught in the middle. Coffeezilla joins the show to explain how meme coins are rigged, why Dave Portnoy got a $5M refund while everyone else got wrecked, and what really went down with the Libra token. Plus, we debate if crypto can be fixed or if the grift is too far gone. Timestamps: (0:00) Jason and Alex kick off the show.(2:17) Libra f...
Feb 19, 2025•1 hr 10 min
Today’s show: IPO shakeups, big AI moves, and essential founder hacks—this episode covers it all. Jason breaks down Robinhood’s 6X stock surge and his strategy for $HOOD, plus the latest on tech IPOs as Turo pulls out and SailPoint surges. We dive into AI’s open-source battle, with X.ai chasing a $10B raise and DeepSeek challenging Hugging Face. And for founders, Jason shares the startup golden rule you should break for success—plus, a brand-new startup idea he’s willing to fund right now. * Tim...
Feb 15, 2025•1 hr 20 min
This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Vanta. Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist Northwest Registered Agent. Form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today! LinkedIn Ads. Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit at http://www.linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups Today’s show: Jason and Alex cover…TBD Timestamps: (0:00) Episode Teaser(1:16) Welcome Alex Wilhelm & Sam Le...
Feb 12, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 2084
