This Week in Startups

The MEI vs DEI debate, tech press, Chime buys Salt Labs, and more! | E1974

Jul 2, 2024

01:20:45

Snipd AI

The podcast explores the MEI vs DEI debate in Silicon Valley, Amazon's talent acquisition from Adept AI, and Chime's purchase of Salt Labs. The discussion also touches on political coverage in the media, the significance of diverse opinions in editorial boards, and the challenges of promoting diversity in the tech industry. Additionally, it delves into the debate on meritocracy vs diversity, the rise of partner titles in tech, and strategies for navigating challenges in the edtech market.

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

The MEI vs DEI debate in Silicon Valley highlights the ongoing discussion on diversity and meritocracy.

Amazon's strategic shift towards integrating AI assistants like Rufus aims to enhance user experience.

Chime's innovative model of linking employee hours to ownership assets transforms engagement and incentivizes workers.

Deep dives

Amazon Acquiring Adept AI's Talent and Technology

Amazon recently acquired the talent and licensed technology from Adept AI, a company in the AI-powered agents space. The co-founders are transitioning to Amazon, with the head of engineering moving into the CEO spot. Despite claims that the company is not dead, when an investment cedes its founders and technology to a major tech company, the investment is likely to be written off to zero.

Intro

2min

Discussion on the MEI vs DEI debate and political speculation

6min

Political Strategy and Age Limits

6min

Discussions on Editorial Boards and Tech Talent Hiring

3min

Navigating Controversies in Tech Industry Coverage

10min

Exploring the blogging era, tech blog influence, and a sponsorship ad for Pod4 Ultra by 8Sleep

3min

DEI vs MEI Debate: Exploring Meritocracy and Diversity in the Corporate World

12min

Partner Titles Trend and Northwest Registered Agent Services for Startups

2min

Amazon's Acquisition of Talent and Technology from Adept AI

11min

10.

Evolving Equity: From Hourly Work to Investment Strategies

22min

11.

Navigating Challenges in EdTech Sales

5min

This Week in Startups is brought to you by…

Lemon.io - Hire pre-vetted remote developers, get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist

Eight Sleep. Good sleep is the ultimate game changer. The newest generation of the pod, the Pod 4 ultra has arrived. Head to https://www.eightsleep.com/twist and use code TWIST to get $350 off the Pod 4 Ultra.

Northwest Registered Agent. Northwest Registered Agent will form your business quickly and easily. In just 10 clicks and 10 minutes, set up your entire business identity—name, address, mail service, phone, email, website, and domain. For just $39 plus state fees, Northwest will handle your complete business identity. Visit ⁠http://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist⁠ today.

Todays show:

Alex Wilhelm joins Jason to discuss the weekend debate regarding MEI/DEI (12:12), Amazon buys Adept’s key talent (42:39), Chime buys Salt Labs (52:41), and more!

Timestamps:

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

(1:47) Weekend recap and political debate analysis

(10:50) Media's role in political coverage

(14:49 ) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist

(16:12) The weekend debate regarding MEI/DEI and that TechCrunch article

(27:50) Eight Sleep - Head to https://www.eightsleep.com/twist and use code TWIST to get $350 off the Pod 4 Ultra.

(29:20) Discussion on DEI vs MEI and meritocracy in Silicon Valley

(41:10) Northwest Registered Agent - For just $39 plus state fees, Northwest will handle your complete business identity. Visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today.

(42:39) Amazon buys Adept’s key talent

(52:20) Chime's acquisition of Salt Labs

(1:16:12) Challenges and strategies for EdTech companies

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

Check out the TWIST500: twist500.com

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

Mentioned on the show:

https://techcrunch.com/2024/06/28/dei-more-like-common-decency-and-silicon-valley-is-saying-no-thanks

https://techcrunch.com/2010/09/21/so-a-blogger-walks-into-a-bar

https://x.com/alexandr_wang/status/1801331034916851995

https://techcrunch.com/2024/06/28/amazon-hires-founders-away-from-ai-startup-adept

https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/19/microsoft-hires-inflection-founders-to-run-new-consumer-ai-division

https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/21/microsoft-inflection-ai-investors-reid-hoffman-bill-gates

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kna9E_3kFF0

https://www.chime.com/blog/chime-acquires-enterprise-employee-rewards-company-salt-labs

https://www.saltlabs.com

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:

(14:49) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist

(27:50) Eight Sleep - Head to https://www.eightsleep.com/twist and use code TWIST to get $350 off the Pod 4 Ultra.

(41:10) Northwest Registered Agent - For just $39 plus state fees, Northwest will handle your complete business identity. Visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today.

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