This Week in Startups is brought to you by…
Google Cloud. Accelerate your startup journey with the Google for Startups Cloud Program. Get up to $200K in Google Cloud credits – or up to $350K for AI startups – plus training and guidance. Apply at https://startups.google.com/twist
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
AssemblyAI. Get maximum value from voice data with AssemblyAI. Build powerful products and features for your end users on the industry’s leading speech-to-text models. Get 100 free hours to start building at https://www.assemblyai.com/twist
*
Todays show:
Alex Wilhelm joins Jason to discuss the evolution of startup costs and media aggregation (3:17), media's addiction to Trump coverage (13:46), Polymarket and Perplexity partnership (40:08), and more!
*
Timestamps:
(0:00) Jason and Alex kick off the show
(3:17) Evolution of startup costs and media aggregation
(7:47) Jason and Alex discuss Trump and Elon conversation
(10:09) Google Cloud - Accelerate your startup journey with the Google for Startups Cloud Program. Apply at https://startups.google.com/twist
(13:46) Media's addiction to Trump coverage
(20:04) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist
(21:18) Trump's media strategies and speech analysis
(30:04) AssemblyAI - Get 100 free hours to start building at https://www.assemblyai.com/twist
(31:17) Societal resistance to tech and the rise of self-driving cars
(37:14) Self-driving technology's impact on Uber and Lyft
(40:08) Polymarket and Perplexity partnership
(47:34) Hacking capitalism and the FIRE movement
(54:12) Perplexity's AI competition and the value of proprietary data
(1:00:45) Reddit's traffic and monetization
(1:07:35) European venture capital and the rise of unicorns
(1:13:00) Work culture: Europe vs. US
(1:16:11) Investing in AI startups and consulting opportunities
*
Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com/
Check out the TWIST500: https://twist500.com
*
Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp
*
Mentioned on the show:
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:
(10:09) Google Cloud - Accelerate your startup journey with the Google for Startups Cloud Program. Apply at https://startups.google.com/twist
(20:04) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist
(30:04) AssemblyAI - Get 100 free hours to start building at https://www.assemblyai.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
This Week in Startups