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This Week in Startups

Venture Concentration, High-Skill Immigration, And Who Should Buy Lyft? | E2067

Jan 4, 2025
01:08:08

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Todays show: Jason and Alex discuss the over saturation of venture capital, how to fix the high-skill immigration issue, including an interview with Lisa Wehden of Plymouth, and the pressing question of who should buy Lyft?


(0:00) Jason and Alex kick off the episode (1:56) Jason and Alex discuss their New Year holidays and resolutions (6:25) Jason shares tips for mindfulness and meditation (8:01) Reflecting on family moments and making memories (10:13) Paddle. Go to paddle.com/twist to get started with your exclusive listener fee-free period.

(11:27) Jason and Alex delve into venture capital and Instacart's funding rounds (17:41) Jason announces focus on early-stage investments and Founder University (19:12) Fitbod. Get 25% off your Fitbod subscription or try out the app for FREE when you sign up now at fitbod.me/TWIST. (21:05) Venture capital fundraising concentration and strategy (25:40) Impact of large funds on seed rounds and venture capital immigration (29:08) LinkedIn Ads. Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit: http://www.linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups (31:05) Social media weaponization, self-censorship, and high-skilled immigration (36:45) Criticisms, reforms, and solutions to H1B visa issues (45:40) Consultancy costs and Jason's simple solutions for H1B visa reform (50:05) The rise and fall of Bench and Level; predictions for startup failures by 2025 (56:21) Potential mergers in on-demand and autonomous sectors; viability of an Amazon-Lyft merger (1:03:08) Expanding the Mag 8 to reduce tech giant dominance (1:04:33) Valuations of major tech companies (1:05:26) Overview and support offerings of Founder University and getstartupcredits.com


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Follow Lisa Wehden:

X: https://x.com/lisawehden

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-wehden


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:

(10:13) Paddle. Go to paddle.com/twist to get started with your exclusive listener fee-free period. (19:12) Fitbod. Get 25% off your Fitbod subscription or try out the app for FREE when you sign up now at fitbod.me/TWIST. 29:08) LinkedIn Ads. Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit: http://www.linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups


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


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Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups

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Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com


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

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