Intro

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 http://www.gusto.com/twist

*Gusto pricing shown in ad is based on pricing prior to March 2025

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.

Northwest Registered Agent. Visit - http://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist⁠ to get a 60% discount on your next LLC.

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Timestamps:

(0:00) Jason joins seven strong startup pitches from LAUNCH Accelerator.(1:11) Jacqui kicks off the demo day.(1:40) Introductions to the guest jugdes.(4:40) Justin pitches Melengo(10:18) Gusto - Get three months free when you run your first payroll at http://www.gusto.com/twist

(11:32) Edward ptiches PodcastAI(18:09) LinkedIn Jobs - Post your first job for free at https://www.linkedin.com/twist(19:04) Daniel pitches Tolt(24:55) Rae pitches River(27:49) Northwest Registered Agent - Get a 60% discount on your next LLC at - http://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist⁠(34:01) Kash pitches TaxGPT(40:56) George pitches Fanfare(46:31) Jam pitches Monic.ai(52:05) Our panel of judges pick their top three pitches.

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Apply to the LAUNCH Accelerator here: https://launchaccelerator.co/

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Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp

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Follow these founders and their companies:

Justin Kwong & Melengo

https://www.melengo.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinckwong/

justin@melengo.com

Edward Brawer & PodcastAI

https://podcastai.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardbrawer/

ebrawer@podcastai.com

Daniel Gjokaj & Tolt

https://tolt.io/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielgj/

daniel@tolt.io

Rae Lambert & River

https://app.getriver.io

https://www.linkedin.com/in/raechel-lambert/

rae@getriver.io

Kashif Ali & TaxGPT

https://www.taxgpt.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chkashifali/

kash@taxgpt.com

George Lam & Fanfarehttps://fanfare.app/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgewlam/

george@fanfare.app  Jam Mirzakhalov & Monic.ai

http://monic.ai/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mirzakhalov/

mirzakhalov@monic.ai

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Thank you to our judges:

Ben Narasin - Tenacity Venture Capital

https://twitter.com/bnarasin

Blaine Davis - Outlander

https://twitter.com/blainerdavis

Minnie Ingersoll - TenOneTen

https://twitter.com/himinnie

Nicole Seah - Costanoa

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-seah1/

Stella Zhang - Conductive Ventures

https://www.linkedin.com/in/xinxin-stella-zhang/

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Follow Jason:

X: ⁠https://twitter.com/jason⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/jason⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis

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Thank you to our partners:

(10:18) Gusto - Get three months free when you run your first payroll at http://www.gusto.com/twist

*Gusto pricing shown in ad is based on pricing prior to March 2025

(18:09) LinkedIn Jobs - Post your first job for free at https://www.linkedin.com/twist

(27:49) Northwest Registered Agent - Get a 60% discount on your next LLC at - http://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist⁠

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Great 2023 interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland

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Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis

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