Intro

This Week in Startups is brought to you by…

Runway. Looking to up-level your financial planning Runway is the modern and intuitive way to model, plan, and align your business for everyone on your team. Sign up at https://www.runway.com/twist to get your first 3 months free.

LinkedIn Ads. To redeem a $100 LinkedIn ad credit and launch your first campaign, go to https://www.linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups⁠⁠

Vanta. Compliance and security shouldn't be a deal-breaker for startups to win new business. Vanta makes it easy for companies to get a SOC 2 report fast. TWiST listeners can get $1,000 off for a limited time at https://www.vanta.com/twist

*

Todays show:

Alex Wilhelm joins Jason to discuss Apple’s on-device AI and its privacy implications, Reddit’s earnings, and Amazon’s multi-billion dollar investment interest in Anthropic with strategic chip conditions. They also discuss economic indicators like inflation’s impact on voter sentiment and what metrics will define success for the next administration. Finally, they explore how product velocity has been key to Toast’s SaaS success and share valuable lessons for startup growth.

*

Timestamps:

(0:00) Jason and Alex kick off the show

(3:29) Discussion Apple Intelligence and privacy concerns

(10:32) Runway - Sign up at https://www.runway.com/twist to get your first 3 months free.

(12:12) Trust in tech companies and privacy

(17:20) Trends on AI topics and ChatGPT

(17:20) Trends and tech product comparisons

(20:59) OpenAI's Chat.com acquisition

(22:45) Mac mini unboxing experience wrap-up

(24:40) LinkedIn Ads - Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit at https://www.linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups⁠⁠

(26:12) Analysis of Toast's business and growth

(36:25) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist

(37:30) Reddit's growth, user engagement, and moderation challenges

(47:36) Social media incentives and reputation systems

(52:07) Reddit's AI translations and community management strategies

(57:25) Reddit's potential for creating a search engine

(1:00:38) OpenAI's citation challenges

(1:05:30) Amazon's interest in Anthropic and AI regulation

(1:07:37) US immigration and AI regulation under Trump administration

(1:11:43) TikTok's role in US-China relations

(1:15:42) Major IPOs and market potential

(1:17:19) Economic topics and inflation's impact on consumer spending

*

Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com

Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com

*

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

*

Mentioned on the show:

https://security.apple.com/blog/private-cloud-compute/

*

Follow Alex:

X: https://x.com/alex

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

*

Follow Jason:

X: https://twitter.com/Jason

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

*

Thank you to our partners:

(10:32) Runway - Sign up at https://www.runway.com/twist to get your first 3 months free.

(24:40) LinkedIn Ads - Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit at https://www.linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups⁠⁠

(36:25) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist

*

Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland

*

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

*

Follow TWiST:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin

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

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups

Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

*

Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916