This Week in Startups

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.

Last refreshed: June 1st, 2026 at 2:50 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

Emergency Pod! uBiome: Anatomy of an Alleged Fraud with Wall Street Journal reporter Amy Dockser Marcus | E1192

Podcast Notes: https://rb.gy/gbzfqm Check out Amy's work at the WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/news/author/amy-dockser-marcus FOLLOW Amy: https://twitter.com/AmyDMarcus FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Mar 31, 2021•51 min

Startup Bracketology: selecting the world’s best private company with Acquired FM PLUS future of VC | E1191

Check out Acquired: https://www.acquired.fm FOLLOW Ben: https://twitter.com/gilbert FOLLOW David: https://twitter.com/djrosent FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Mar 26, 2021•1 hr 27 min

Common First-Time Founder Mistakes with Becki DeGraw | Wilson Sonsini Startup Legal Basics

Check out the Legal Basics playlist: https://rb.gy/f0bbv2 Check out our Startup Basics page: https://thisweekinstartups.com/basics Check out Wilson Sonsini: https://wsgr.com FOLLOW Wilson Sonsini: https://twitter.com/wilsonsonsini FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Mar 26, 2021•30 min

Emergency Pod! Microsoft in talks to buy Discord for $10B+; breaking down their thesis, Discord’s business & more | E1190

FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Mar 26, 2021•18 min

Ask an Angel with Zach Coelius: Starting your angel career, building marketplaces & more | E1189

Check out Zach on AngelList: https://angel.co/p/zach-coelius FOLLOW Zach: https://twitter.com/zachcoelius FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Mar 25, 2021•51 min

Joanne Wilson on spotting a bubble, NYC’s post-pandemic reset, portfolio management in an unsustainable market & more | Angel S5 E10

Check out Gotham Gal Ventures: https://gothamgal.com/investments FOLLOW Joanne: https://twitter.com/thegothamgal FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Mar 24, 2021•1 hr 9 min

Sahil Lavingia on Gumroad’s groundbreaking equity crowdfunding raise, lessons from a decade-long startup journey, insights on rolling funds & more | E1188

Check out Gumroad: https://gumroad.com FOLLOW Sahil: https://twitter.com/shl FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Mar 24, 2021•1 hr 22 min

Cade Metz on his controversial Slate Star Codex article, new book “Genius Makers,” dangers of algorithmic moderation, a16z vs. legacy media & more | E1187

Buy Genius Makers: https://rb.gy/s84drl FOLLOW Cade: https://twitter.com/cademetz FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Mar 19, 2021•1 hr 39 min

Ask an Angel with Zach Coelius: changing VC landscape, pitch deck punch-ups, Tesla’s future & more | E1186

Check out Zach on AngelList: https://angel.co/p/zach-coelius FOLLOW Zach: https://twitter.com/zachcoelius FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Mar 19, 2021•31 min

Stock option grants deep dive with Becki DeGraw | Wilson Sonsini Startup Legal Basics

Mar 18, 2021•32 min

Paul Judge on helping lead SoftBank’s $100M Opportunity Fund, future of fundraising, importance of “building your Olympic Team” & more | Angel S5 E9

Check out Panoramic Ventures: https://panoramic.vc Check out SoftBank's Opportunity Fund: https://theopportunityfund.com FOLLOW Paul: https://twitter.com/pauljudge FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Mar 18, 2021•1 hr 17 min

Kevin Rose on his product philosophy, Reddit & Digg’s inverse journeys, Twitter’s recent innovations & more | E1185

Check out True Ventures: https://trueventures.com FOLLOW Kevin: https://twitter.com/kevinrose FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Mar 16, 2021•1 hr 24 min

Tobi Lütke on Shopify’s impact on the creator economy, COVID forcing focus, early Internet breakthroughs, evolving as a remote manager & much more | E1184

Check out Shopify: https://www.shopify.com FOLLOW Tobi: https://twitter.com/tobi FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Mar 14, 2021•1 hr 33 min

How to run an efficient board meeting with Becki DeGraw | Wilson Sonsini Startup Legal Basics

Mar 12, 2021•20 min

Garry Tan on lessons from past startup failures, power of community funnels, Alexis Ohanian’s departure & more | Angel S5 E8

Check out Initialized: https://initialized.com FOLLOW Garry: https://twitter.com/garrytan FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Mar 11, 2021•1 hr

Harlem Capital’s Henri Pierre-Jacques on funding underrepresented founders, insights from raising first fund & getting Apple as an LP, Black culture’s impact on social apps | E1183

Check out Harlem Capital: https://harlem.capital FOLLOW Henri: https://twitter.com/hpierrejacques FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Mar 10, 2021•1 hr 6 min

Keith Rabois on Miami vs. Bay Area, cognitive variety, America’s self-examination & more PLUS Keith’s Best Twitter Dunks | E1182

Check out Founders Fund: https://foundersfund.com FOLLOW Keith: https://twitter.com/rabois FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Mar 05, 2021•1 hr 32 min

Matt Mullenweg on pioneering remote work, investing in open-source, crypto & more | Angel S5 E7

Check out Automattic: https://automattic.com FOLLOW Matt: https://twitter.com/photomatt FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Mar 04, 2021•1 hr 23 min

Hims & Hers CEO Andrew Dudum on the future of healthcare post-COVID, starting a company to SPAC’ing in 36 months | E1181

Check out Hims: https://www.forhims.com Check out Hers: https://www.forhers.com FOLLOW Andrew: https://twitter.com/andrewdudum FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Mar 03, 2021•51 min

Founders from LAUNCH Accelerator’s 20th Cohort join Jason to talk fundraising, growth, pitching & more | E1180

Check out SparkPlug: https://sparkplug.app Check out Storybook: https://storybook-app.com Check out SkillBank: https://www.joinskillbank.com FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Feb 27, 2021•52 min

Ask an Angel with Zach Coelius: early-stage valuations, product roadmaps, startup killers, Twitter gets its groove back & more | E1179

FOLLOW Zach: https://twitter.com/zachcoelius FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Feb 27, 2021•47 min

Reid Hoffman on the Joby Aviation SPAC, lessons from early Airbnb & Facebook bets, passing on Stripe & SpaceX, investment thesis & more | Angel S5 E6

Check out Greylock: https://greylock.com FOLLOW Reid: https://twitter.com/reidhoffman FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Feb 25, 2021•1 hr 10 min

Emergency Pod! Deconstructing the grift: Clubhouse coaching scams with Coffeezilla | E1178

Check out Coffeezilla on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFQMnBA3CS502aghlcr0_aw FOLLOW Coffeezilla: https://twitter.com/coffeebreak_YT FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Feb 25, 2021•50 min

“Crisis” Director Nick Jarecki on the opioid problem in America, post-COVID film distribution & more | E1177

Crisis release dates: Theatrical: February 26th, 2021 VOD: March 5th, 2021 Check out Crisis: Twitter: https://twitter.com/crisis_movie Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crisismovie2020 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crisismovie FOLLOW Nick on Twitter: https://twitter.com/njarecki FOLLOW Nick on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/njarecki FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis

Feb 23, 2021•1 hr 7 min

Ask Jason! All-In origins, avoiding common investor mistakes, defining “lifestyle” business vs. venture scale & more! | E1176