EP 41: FTX Part 2 and the Twitter Breakdown: Aztec’s Jon Wu joins to talk FTX then Former Twitter Director Ryan Sarver & Fintwit Poster Compound248 Break Down Elon’s Takeover, Paid Verification, Advertisers Fleeing and the FTC

The Logan Bartlett Show

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This is the 41st episode of Cartoon Avatars. Rashad and I catch up on the week's events, as well as our favorite Twitter impersonations that we saw as the verification system went wild. Then you're going to hear a conversation I had with Aztecs John Wu about what's transpired with FTX. And then on the back half of the episode, You're going to hearing a conversation that I had with Ryan Sarver, who was actually a partner at Red Point and a longtime Twitter employee.

In episode 41 we get a visit from Aztec’s Jon Wu to talk briefly about FTX and then former Twitter Director Ryan Sarver joins along with Fintwit Personality Compound248 to try to explain everything that’s happened with the Twitter take private. From Elon firing half the staff, desperately trying to rehire them, advertisers bailing, and paid verification leading to fake companies and celebrities. As well as explaining why this has gotten so bad so quickly, why Twitter is unique, and what could have been done differently.

(0:00) Intro

(1:54) Welcome Rashad

(4:12) “Verified” Twitter Accounts

(7:36) FTX

(10:08) Rashad’s new podcast

(12:43) Welcome back Jon Wu

(14:32) SBF, FTX, and Alameda

(21:33) What was the fraud?

(24:56) Malicious intent or the tipping point?

(30:49) What was the sentiment of SBF by people in the ecosystem?

(34:10) What’s upcoming to pay attention to?

(36:23) CZ

(38:10) Welcome Ryan Sarver and Compound248

(43:04) Recapping what’s happened since Elon bought Twitter

(45:30) Blue checks

(51:48) Why Twitter is a difficult business

(1:00:30) Brand-based advertising to subscription

(1:16:33) Who will pay for verification?

(1:26:51) Why has Twitter been advertising-based?

(1:32:12) How much was pseudonymity a feature?

(1:34:49) What changes would you focus on?

(1:41:22) Twitter’s FTC order

(1:45:40) Elon shifting blame

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Mixed and edited: Justin Hrabovsky

Produced: Andrew Nadeau and Rashad Assir

Executive Producer: Josh Machiz

Music: Griff Lawson

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About the Show

A Saturday morning podcast hosted by Logan Bartlett (Partner and Managing Director at Redpoint Ventures) covering the tech news with his friends and other people with industry expertise.

Executive Producer: Rashad Assir

Producer: Leah Clapper

Mixing and editing: Justin Hrabovsky

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About the Show

Logan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode, Logan goes behind the scenes with world-class entrepreneurs and investors. If you're interested in the real inside baseball of tech, entrepreneurship, and start-up investing, tune in every Friday for new episodes.