First, crypto reporter Bennett Tomlin joins to break down the the massive decline of algorithmic stablecoin Terra USD (UST) and how the Terra-Luna ecosystem works (09:00). Then we recap five tech stocks that are down at least 70% off mid-COVID peaks Coinbase, Shopify, Twilio, Zoom and Block (44:44). We briefly touch of Elon’s comments about reducing permanent bans on Twitter (1:05:48). Wrap with Peloton’s painful earnings (1:22:53). (00:00) Jason and Molly tee up today’s topics (02:54) Jason and...
May 11, 2022•1 hr 38 min
First, we discuss Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi's company-wide email rallying Uber behind a cash-generating vision to court investors (6:30). Then, we cover Apple's machine learning director departing because of the company's work from home policies (43:22) and the White House's negotiation with ISPs for low-cost high-speed internet to pair with the Affordable Connectivity Program (57:00). (00:00) Jason and Molly intro today’s news stories (02:30) Jason and Molly catch up (06:30) Uber CEO Dara Khos...
May 10, 2022•1 hr 6 min
Sunday double-header. First, Jason discusses why some VC firms allow side investing and others explicitly forbid it (01:50). Then, in a This Week in Climate Startups segment Molly interviews Nan Ransohoff, Head of Climate at Stripe (12:27) about their $900M+ plan to fund carbon sequestration (31:18). 00:00 Jason and Molly introduce today’s show 01:50 VC Sunday School: What’s the deal with side investing? 09:42 Thorne - Personalized, scientific wellness. Go to https://Thorne.com/u/TWIST 10:55 Int...
May 08, 2022•47 min
First Jason and Molly break down Twitter's new community annotation feature Birdwatch (1:40), they go through screenshots of the beta version and weigh the possibility for the Birdwatch to bridge the moderation gap. Then Producer Rachel interviews Patrick McDonnell of Flapjack (44:04) about working in a hacker house in Miami, optimizing restaurant menus and his experience making the Boring Company flamethrower. (00:00) Jason and Molly tee up today’s show (01:40) BREAKING NEWS: Jason and Molly go...
May 07, 2022•1 hr 12 min
First we chat with Lon Harris from Inside Streaming about the latest Netflix news, strategy, exciting upcoming shows and the proliferation of ads on streaming services (2:23). Then we cover Plaid CEO insinuating that a Stripe PM probed their company for information before making a copycat (39:40), Cameo's round of layoffs that included 4 execs (53:08) and the latest on Elon Musk's Twitter acquisition (1:06:25). (00:00) Jason and Molly tee up today’s show (02:23) This Week in Streaming with Lon H...
May 06, 2022•1 hr 20 min
Every Monday - Thursday, Jason and Molly record live at https://youtube.com/thisweekin - it has bonus content that doesn't make it into the edited version of the show. This is a sample of the LIVE version recorded today. If you like this, subscribe , sign up for notifications and join us live in the YouTube chat.
May 05, 2022•1 hr 43 min
First Jason and Molly discuss the way tech is impacted by the leaked Supreme Court Roe vs. Wade decision (2:20). Then they break down the differences between a Lyft and Uber’s Q1 (52:18). To wrap, we discuss AirBnB’s strong quarter and upcoming big announcement (1:03:48). 00:00 Jason and Molly intro today’s show 02:20 Catching everyone up on the history of Roe v. Wade 11:01 Odoo - Get your first app free and a $1000 credit at https://odoo.com/twist 12:06 When has a federal right been taking away...
May 05, 2022•1 hr 18 min
First, we speak with The Information’s Sylvia Varnham O’Regan about Meta's plan to double its VR headsets by 2024 (02:06), VR adoption (13:14), and more. We wrap by discussing the SEC’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit adding 20 new agents (39:52). 00:00 Jason and Molly tee up today’s show 02:06 Speaking with The Information’s Sylvia Varnham O’Regan on her article about Meta doubling its VR headsets by 2024 12:01 Vanta - Get $1,000 off automating your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist 13:14 What will...
May 03, 2022•56 min
First, we discuss Bolt’s declining customer base and struggles with The Information’s Malique Morris (02:50). In addition, we discuss Fast, Amazon's "Buy with Prime," ShopPay (25:35) and all the other developments in online checkout. Next, we cover a massive spike in Ethereum gas prices from Yuga Labs and Solana's bot attack (55:12). We wrap with our Startup of the Day: Gravity Sketch, a 3D design platform (1:11:35). (00:00) Jason and Molly introduce today’s show (02:50) Last Thursday, The Infor...
May 03, 2022•1 hr 24 min
Sunday double-header. First, in VC Sunday School Jason discusses competing companies in the portfolio, when it's ok, when it's not and how to manage issues in good faith (01:52). Then, in This Week in Climate Startups, Molly interviews Energy Impact Partners' Shayle Kann (19:42) about "Deep Decarbonization," the carbon management industry (33:37) and more. 00:00 Jason and Molly intro today’s show 01:52 VCSS: Can you invest in competing companies? Where to draw that line? 11:55 iTrust Capital - V...
May 01, 2022•1 hr 8 min
First, we cover 5 news stories: Amazon Q1 earnings (02:01), Apple's fiscal Q2 earnings (06:33), China's new tune for tech (12:06), AirBnB's long-term remote commitment (16:55) and Snap's new Pixy camera drone (24:48). Then Producer Rachel interviews Landon Campbell of inTheir20s and inside.com about investing, landing big guests like Steve Wozniak for his podcast and what he's learned about how great people spent their 20s (29:47). (00:00) Molly introduces today’s 5-for-5 Friday news stories (02...
Apr 30, 2022•58 min
First up, Lon Harris joins to break down the finales of WeCrashed (1:52) and Severance (34:50), then The Verge's Corin Faife joins to discuss his research on the sharp changes in Twitter follower counts for right-leaning and left-leaning accounts. (1:07:39) 0:00 Jason & Molly intro today’s show with some Don Julio 1942 1:52 Jason and Molly catch up with Lon Harris 5:10 Toasting to the WeCrashed finale 10:03 OpenPhone - Get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://openphon...
Apr 29, 2022•1 hr 43 min
All news. First we break down the SEC's allegations from one of the craziest financial stories since Bernie Madoff, Archegos Capital (4:20). Then cover: Bolt being sued by its largest customer (28:47), Google and Microsoft's Q1 2022 earnings for the first quarter (42:45) and Apple selling iPhone spare parts and repair tools (1:02:10). We wrap with GM's EV corvette announcement (1:07:20). 00:00 Jason and Molly tee up today’s news stories 04:20 Archegos Capital owner Bill Hang and its CFO were arr...
Apr 28, 2022•1 hr 12 min
All news. We break down, Jack chiming in on Twitter’s sale to Elon Musk and the employee reactions (2:21). Then, we talk about an NFT project where Doctor influencers on TikTok are selling access to medical advice (40:02). To wrap, we cover Hopin’s fundraising at a large valuation, its founder's $195M secondary sale and more (52:27). (00:00) Jason and Molly tee up today’s news stories (02:21) What did “Jack After Dark” have to say about Twitter deal? (14:56) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to...
Apr 26, 2022•1 hr 13 min
First, we cover Twitter's Board accepting Elon Musk's take-private deal (1:41). Then, we cover a new EU social media regulation that will increase algorithm transparency called the Digital Services Act (41:34). Our startup of the day is Pipedream Labs which is making a Hyperloop for package delivery (53:37). (00:00) Jason and Molly intro today’s big news stories (01:41) Elon Musk has acquired Twitter (10:58) Coda - The All-in-one doc for teams, get a $1,000 credit at https://coda.io/twist (12:14...
Apr 26, 2022•1 hr 9 min
First, in a VC Sunday School segment, Jason explains his approach to deal memos (01:42) and what parts of a memo are most important. Then, in a This Week in Climate Startups segment, Molly chats with Alex Wright-Gladstein of Sphere (17:06) about offering climate friendly retirement plan options (21:43), financial incentives and more. (00:00) A teaser from today’s VCSS (01:42) VCSS: Deal Memos (10:06) iTrust Capital - Visit https://itrust.capital/twist to create your Crypto IRA today (11:13) Whic...
Apr 24, 2022•49 min
First Jason and Molly do four rapid news stories: Elon securing funding for the Twitter buyout (03:20), Bill Ackman’s $430M loss on Netflix (11:48), The Boring Company's $675M raise (18:47), Amazon’s $1B Industrial Innovation fund (28:56). Then, Producer Rachel interviews Dwarkesh Patel of The Lunar Society Podcast (37:12), he's a recent computer science graduate and one of the 42 people Jeff Bezos follows on Twitter! (00:00) Jason and Molly intro today's show (03:20) Elon secures funding (09:59...
Apr 23, 2022•59 min
First, Jason and Molly cover Tesla’s strong Q1 and gems from the earnings call (2:22), then Lon Harris joins (31:32) to discuss WeCrashed episode 7 (34:17), Severance episodes 1-3 (58:46), Netflix’s rough Q1 and quality drop off (1:13:35) and CNN+ shutting down (1:26:40). (00:00) Jason and Molly intro today’s news topics and their chat with Lon Harris (02:22) Tesla had a blowout quarter in Q1 earnings (14:12) Rocket - Go to http://getrocket.com/twist and use promo code TWIST for 20% off your fir...
Apr 22, 2022•1 hr 37 min
First, we break down Netflix's earnings and discuss where Netflix’s content strategy might have gone wrong (2:46). Then, Jason pitches Jared Kushner’s leaked PE firm fundraising deck (35:15). We wrap with a discussion of Warner Bros. Discovery possibly killing CNN+ (56:27) and Just Eat Takeaway announcing they are looking into selling Grubhub, 10 months after finalizing a $7B acquisition (1:13:21)! (00:00) Jason and Molly intro today’s news show (02:46) Netflix reported a drop in subscribers for...
Apr 21, 2022•1 hr 29 min
First, Jack is getting candid about Twitter’s board dysfunction (2:14). Then, we cover Facebook’s internet infrastructure development projects in Africa (24:31) and Better.com's new round of layoffs (33:53). Our startup of the day is Regent, which is making a regional seaplane (46:51). We wrap with a discussion of Zendesk considering a sale (1:01:34) and Telsa's third act (1:04:57). (00:00) Jason and Molly intro today’s news (02:14) “Jack After Dark” Dorsey tweeting candidly about twitter’s boar...
Apr 19, 2022•1 hr 11 min
All-news show. First, we go over PitchBook’s Q1 Venture Monitor report where VC fundraising is high, but portfolio exits are down (3:08). Then, we discuss how the incoming CNN CEO Chris Licht and Chris Sacca are both taking a Twitter break (33:35), and touch on Alex Jones' InfoWars filing for bankruptcy (44:33). Our startup of the day is new social app BeReal (53:55). (00:00) Jason and Molly intro today’s news stories (03:08) PitchBook and the NVCA released Q1 2022 Venture Monitor, results are s...
Apr 19, 2022•1 hr
Friday variety show! First, The Verge’s Alex Heath joins to talk about two big stories he recently broke (2:32): Facebook’s plans for AR glasses and Twitter’s internal reaction to Elon’s takeover bid. Molly sits down with LAUNCH Accelerator founder Aleks Smechov whose company Wordcab specifically focuses on speech-to-text AI summaries (1:04:54). We wrap with an edition of OK Boomer where Producer Rachel talks to writer and marketer Rachel Cantor (1:18:51)! (00:00) Molly tees up today’s variety s...
Apr 15, 2022•2 hr 1 min
All news show. First, Jason and Molly debrief after their Worldcoin interview (2:37). Next, they discuss Elon Musk's take-private offer for Twitter at $43B (08:50), the highlights from Elon's TED interview (15:33), and more (24:53). In a We Live in the Future segment, we react to a viral video of police pulling over self-driving Cruise car (58:38). (00:00) Jason and Molly intro today’s Elon/Twitter packed news day (02:37) Discussing Worldcoin and dictating narratives (08:50) Elon offers to purch...
Apr 14, 2022•1 hr 10 min
First, we cover Meta's announcement that they will be taking 47.5% creator fees on their Horizons platform (2:17) and A16Z’s Crypto lead Chris Dixon ranking number one on the Forbes Midas List. Then, Jason and Molly chat with Worldcoin CEO Alex Blania to talk about the crypto project he launched with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (11:08). Worldcoin is scanning people’s irises with custom-made hardware and aspires to reach over 1 billion people (23:21). Alex addresses privacy concerns, scaling challenges...
Apr 13, 2022•1 hr 1 min
First we discuss Shopify planning 10-to-1 stock split & increasing CEO/Founder Tobi Luke’s control from 34% to 40% (1:42). Then, the Atlantic's Derek Thompson joins to discuss his piece “Why American Teens Are So Sad” (25:59), including the impacts of new-parenting styles (33:38), social media (44:10) and infinite news. Check out Derek's piece: https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2022/04/american-teens-sadness-depression-anxiety/629524/ FOLLOW Derek: https://twitter.com/DKThomp (...
Apr 13, 2022•1 hr 16 min
All news show. First, we discuss Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announcing that Elon has reversed his decision to join Twitter's board (04:10) and the NYT's Editor telling reporters to stop tweeting so much in an internal memo (31:29). Then, we discuss Ryan Breslow's latest series of threads, including one claiming that Instacart’s CEO was shadow-fired by Sequoia (44:35). (00:00) Jason on meeting Harrison Ford (01:42) Jason and Molly catching up (04:10) Elon reverses decision to join Twitter board, a...
Apr 12, 2022•1 hr
Another Sunday edition of This Week in Startups! In VC Sunday School, Jason answers a question about investing in down rounds (1:54)from "Noti Gang" member Bob Gee. Then, Molly has a great interview with Jay Koh (12:16), an investor at The Lightsmith Group about how he invests in the climate landscape (20:41), cautionary tales from the first climate investing wave (32:13), and more. (0:00) Jason intros today’s episode (1:54) VCSS: Has Jason Participated in a down round and what were his lessons?...
Apr 10, 2022•45 min
Jason talks about how he sees the startup landscape developing, running remote teams and more on This Week in Startups Australia with Mark Pesce. Check out TWISTA: https://twistartupsaus.com/ Subscribe to TWISTA on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/twista-this-week-in-startups-australia/id951368363
Apr 09, 2022•38 min
First, Jason chats with Alex Campbell of Rose Technology, a data analytics tool and marketplace that helps organizations more clearly understand macro trends (1:28). Alex is a former trader for Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates and shares some incredible insights on the global macro environment across Chinese real estate (10:45), investment rates, Bitcoin, Tether, historical financial crises (43:36) and more. Then, for another edition of "OK Boomer," Producer Rachel Chats with Gaby Goldberg (1:...
Apr 08, 2022•1 hr 33 min
First, Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal from Acquired join Jason to talk portfolio construction (13:41), Roelof Botha succeeding Doug Leone at Sequoia (30:58), and to debate the takeaway from Fast's demise (52:22). Then Lon Harris from Inside Streaming joins to discuss the final two episodes of The Dropout (1:24:16)! (00:00) Jason intros today’s show (1:31) Catching up w/ the http://acquired.fm guys: David Rosenthal and Ben Gilbert (12:25) Fiverr - Sign up for https://Fiverr.com/Business free for...
Apr 08, 2022•1 hr 38 min
