This Week in Startups

TechCrunch's Alex Wilhelm joins Jason to break down the big tech's Q1 earning reports (0:53). They discuss Google's culture of entitlement, Microsoft's AI momentum, Meta's year of efficiency, how Amazon may be in for a few quarters of pain, and Snap's double-digit drop (21:11). (0:00) Nick kicks off the show (0:53) TechCrunch's Alex Wilhelm joins Jason (1:23) Reflecting on SVB contagion  (3:48) First Republic Bank and BuzzFeed's stock  (6:16) Uber's profits (8:23) Embroker - Use code TWIST to get an extra 10% off insurance at https://Embroker.com/twist (9:56) The SF boom/bust (14:52) More on BuzzFeed (19:41) Miro - Sign up for a free account at https://miro.com/startups (21:11) Google's earnings (25:28) Google's culture of entitlement (31:40) Integrating ChatGPT into your workflow (35:47) AI innovation in hospitality (38:12) Crowdbotics - Get a free scoping session for your next big app idea at http://crowdbotics.com/twist (39:23) Microsoft's earnings (43:19) Meta earnings (54:29) Amazon's earnings (1:04:08) Snap's earnings  (1:11:34) Thoughts on TikTok FOLLOW Alex: https://twitter.com/alex FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis Subscribe to our YouTube to watch all full episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkhmBWfS7pILYIk0izkc3A?sub_confirmation=1 FOUNDERS! Subscribe to the Founder University podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/founder-university/id1648407190

Billy McFarland joins Jason to discuss the lessons he has learned from his Fyre Fest fraud, before discussing the festival’s origin story and what led him to winding up in jail (1:36). This leads to an all-encompassing conversation about Billy’s early days as an entrepreneur, his experience in prison, and if he is a changed man (13:46). (0:00) Jason kicks off the show (1:36) Reflecting on Fyre Festival (6:57) The origin of Billy’s charisma & communication (11:31) Billy’s first experience with computers (12:29) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist (13:46) Spling (14:40) Billy’s experience in solitary confinement  (17:52) The origins of Fyre Festival (25:34) Pilot - Get 20% off the first 6 months at https://pilot.com/twist (27:06) Billy’s behavioral changes (29:02) Fyre Festival ticket sales  (30:41) Fyre’s board of directors (36:22) DIY Syndrom  (39:28) Hyperice - Get $50 off your order of $150 or more with code TWIST50 at http://hyperice.com/ (40:57) Billy’s early release from prison  (43:37) Billy’s prison experience  (46:22) The final moments before Fyre Festival (50:44) Can we trust Billy Macfarland 2.0?  FOLLOW Billy: https://twitter.com/pyrtbilly FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis Subscribe to our YouTube to watch all full episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkhmBWfS7pILYIk0izkc3A?sub_confirmation=1 FOUNDERS! Subscribe to the Founder University podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/founder-university/id1648407190

Vinny and Sunny join Jason to discuss the three phases of AI adoption and the emergence of new business models (1:55), which leads to a conversation about Grimes open-sourcing her AI-generated vocals before debating whether the government should regulate AI (24:57). They wrap with a conversation about AI’s technical constraints, OpenAI’s transparency issues, and the future of startups (39:31). (0:00) Show start (1:04) Vinny and Sunny join Jason  (1:55) The three phases of AI adoption (11:15) CacheFly - Get 10 terabytes free by signing up at https://twist.cachefly.com (12:41) Building AI applications (18:27) House of Macadamias - Get 20% off your first purchase and a free bottle of cold-pressed macadamia oil at http://houseofmacadamias.com/twist by using code twist20 (19:59) Emerging business models (24:57) Grimes’ approach to AI-generated music  (28:31) Notion - Take the first step toward an organized, happier team. Apply for Notion for Startups at https://notion.com/jason. (30:04) Regulating AI  (39:31) The technical constraints of AI  (45:33) Becoming more efficient with AI  (51:16) OpenAI’s lack of transparency  (1:01:44) Lessons from Mahalo (1:05:55) The future of startups  (1:08:36) Reflecting on the Starship launch FOLLOW Sunny: https://twitter.com/sundeep FOLLOW Vinny: https://twitter.com/vinnylingham FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis Subscribe to our YouTube to watch all full episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkhmBWfS7pILYIk0izkc3A?sub_confirmation=1 FOUNDERS! Subscribe to the Founder University podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/founder-university/id1648407190

Jason starts the show by breaking down Spotify’s latest earnings report before discussing pop star Grimes taking to Twitter to announce a new business model for her AI-generated music (1:44). Then, Cafe X CEO Henry Hu joins Jason to discuss their latest equity crowdfund and being resilient, surviving a downturn, and more (18:22). (0:00) Jason kicks off the show (1:44) Spotify Earnings (8:25) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://Squarespace.com/TWIST (9:56) Grimes takes an AI-based music approach (16:57) LinkedIn Marketing - Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit at https://linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups (18:22) What is Cafe X? (26:20) Advantages of a robot arm (31:10) Brilliant.org - Get 20% off an annual subscription at http://brilliant.org/twist (32:40) Cafe X’s pivot (38:07) Pricing of the Cafe X system (40:54) Cafe X’s OS  (42:42) Raising equity crowdfunding (43:11) Navigating edge issues  (45:22) Finding success and Cafe X’s current focus  (50:38) Inventing menu items and other use cases FOLLOW Henry: https://twitter.com/supergeek18 FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis Subscribe to our YouTube to watch all full episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkhmBWfS7pILYIk0izkc3A?sub_confirmation=1 FOUNDERS! Subscribe to the Founder University podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/founder-university/id1648407190

Tome CEO Keith Peiris joins Jason to demo Tome’s AI-powered text-to-presentation platform (10:25). They discuss concerns about the pace of AI and the prevalence of 10x engineers (35:55), before Velocity Growth’s Jen Bryan breaks down how to get started with paid ads (47:19). (0:00) Jason kicks off the show  (2:013) Tome CEO Keith Peiris joins Jason  (5:27) Creating a pitch deck with Tome (8:48) Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub - Apply in 5 minutes for six figures in discounts at http://aka.ms/thisweekinstartups (10:25) Tome Demo (23:10) Clumio - Start a free backup, or sign up for a demo at https://clumio.com/twist (24:28) Datasets and What the future holds (28:18) Integrating AI elements into Tome's platform (29:51) Deploying capital responsibly  (31:53) Acquiring talent (34:36) Mercury - Apply in minutes and get up to $5M in FDIC insurance at https://mercury.com  (35:55) Concerns about the pace of AI (44:12) The prevalence of the 10x engineer (47:19) Velocity Growth's Jen Bryan on getting started with paid advertising (48:29) What is advertising? (50:15) Problem / Solution fit (53:12) See competitor ads (54:44) Building custom audiences FOLLOW Keith: https://twitter.com/keithpeiris FOLLOW Jen: https://twitter.com/JenBryan_ FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis Subscribe to our YouTube to watch all full episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkhmBWfS7pILYIk0izkc3A?sub_confirmation=1 FOUNDERS! Subscribe to the Founder University podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/founder-university/id1648407190

Jason recaps SpaceX's Starship rocket launch (2:06) and discusses BuzzFeed's 15% RIF and Fox News settling its Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit (9:11). He also covers Reddit's announcement to charge large AI companies for data and Tiger Global's $12.7B fund markdown (19:40). The show ends with another edition of Ask Jason (34:41). (0:00) Jason kicks off the show (2:06) Recapping Jason's experience at Space X's Starship launch (7:52) Pilot - Get 20% off the first 6 months at https://pilot.com/twist (9:11) BuzzFeed's 15% RIF (14:07) Fox News settled with Dominion Voting Systems (18:20) Issuu - Sign up for free or get 50% off an annual premium account by using promo code twist at https://issuu.com/podcast (19:40) Reddit to charge AI companies for its data (27:50) Tiger Global's 20% markdown (33:13) Linode - Apply to Linode's Rise program for a $500 credit and up to six figures in discounts at https://linode.com/twist (34:41) Ask Jason! FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis Subscribe to our YouTube to watch all full episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkhmBWfS7pILYIk0izkc3A?sub_confirmation=1 FOUNDERS! Subscribe to the Founder University podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/founder-university/id1648407190

Jason hosts another pitch competition featuring two startups from our Founder University program! Apply for Founder University: https://course.founder.university⁠ (0:00) Jason kicks off the show (3:35) Jason and Presh describe who Founder University is for (8:35) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at ⁠https://vanta.com/twist (9:52) Alexandra Bellensweig pitches HumHum (22:15) Presh's thoughts on HumHum (26:47) CacheFly - Get 10 terabytes free by signing up at https://twist.cachefly.com (28:13) Russell Palmer pitches Cyberfilm (37:41) QuickNode - Get one month free by using code TWIST at https://go.quicknode.com/twist (38:56) Creating fantastic branding (47:41) Deliberations (59:43) Jason picks a company (50:43) Q&A with Jason and Presh FOLLOW Presh: ⁠https://twitter.com/preshdkumar FOLLOW Jason: ⁠https://linktr.ee/calacanis⁠ Subscribe to our YouTube to watch all full episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkhmBWfS7pILYIk0izkc3A?sub_confirmation=1 FOUNDERS! Subscribe to the Founder University podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/founder-university/id1648407190

Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela joins Jason to discuss their suite of generative AI video editing tools (3:03), Runway's AI Film Festival and the rapid evolution of filmmaking (22:21), Runway's ability to lower the barrier to entry for aspiring filmmakers (36:05), and more! (0:00) Jason kicks off the show (3:03) What is Runway?  (6:39) Runway's text-to-video demo (11:08) Clumio - Start a free backup, or sign up for a demo at https://clumio.com/twist (12:08) Latent Diffusion paper (16:30) The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (20:51) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://Squarespace.com/TWIST (22:21) Runway's AI Film Festival (29:08) The rapid evolution of filmmaking (31:59) Favorite directors and films  (36:05) Lowering the barrier of entry to filmmaking (41:20) Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub - Apply in 5 minutes for six figures in discounts at http://aka.ms/thisweekinstartups (42:51) Driving costs of filmmaking to zero  (44:57) Training Runway's data set & Fan Fiction  (52:07) Runway's generative capabilities  (54:30) Safety concerns  (58:20) The challenges of operating Runway FOLLOW Cristóbal: https://twitter.com/c_valenzuelab FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis Subscribe to our YouTube to watch all full episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkhmBWfS7pILYIk0izkc3A?sub_confirmation=1 FOUNDERS! Subscribe to the Founder University podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/founder-university/id1648407190

Rachel is back to help Jason break down the news! First, they cover Google reportedly “panicking” over Samsung potentially switching to Bing as its device-default search engine, how Google can beat OpenAI/Microsoft,” and Project Magi” (1:43). Then, they discuss some recent AI-generated viral hits and what it means for the future of the music industry (21:48) before wrapping up on the possibility that Brian Armstrong may relocate Coinbase outside of the US (49:25). (0:00) Jason and Rachel tee up today’s topics (1:43) Samsung’s possible switch to Bing (10:08) LinkedIn Jobs - Post your first job for free at https://linkedin.com/twist  (11:30) Google’s effort to catch OpenAI  (13:24) Google’s Project Magi (20:20) Merge - Integrate up to 3 customers for free today at https://merge.dev/twist (21:48) AI-generated hits: Heart on My Sleeve (33:16) Mercury - Apply in minutes and get up to $5M in FDIC insurance at https://mercury.com (34:45) Real Kanye or Fake Kanye (40:41) AI Jason and a special guest  (49:25) Coinbase considers leaving the US market FOLLOW Rachel: https://twitter.com/_rachelbraun  FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis Subscribe to our YouTube to watch all full episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkhmBWfS7pILYIk0izkc3A?sub_confirmation=1 FOUNDERS! Subscribe to the Founder University podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/founder-university/id1648407190

 Uizard CEO Tony Beltramelli joins Jason to demo Uizard’s AI-powered UI designer (6:01) and discusses how he iterated on Uizard’s product-market fit and the competition it faces (21:20). Then, Kelly Schricker from Founder University breaks down how to choose a CRM and how to build one yourself in Notion (42:54)! (0:00) Jason kicks off the show (2:21) CEO of Uizard, Tony Beltramelli, joins Jason  (6:01) Tony demos Uizard’s text-to-UI platform (13:52) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist (15:09) Uizard’s target market  (21:20) Attaining product market fit (29:25) Embroker - Use code TWIST to get an extra 10% off insurance at https://Embroker.com/twist (30:56z) Uizard’s competition  (35:03) GPT4’s impact  (37:52) First impressions of Google’s Bard (40:32) Trovata - Go to https://trovata.io/TWIST/ and use code TWIST for 30% off premium features for one year (42:54) Choosing a CRM  (48:18) Understanding how to set up a CRM (54:18) Demo of a CRM in Notion (58:48) CRM management (1:00:35) Top 4 failures when implementing a CRM FOLLOW Tony: https://twitter.com/tbeltramelli FOLLOW Kelly: https://twitter.com/kschricks FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis Subscribe to our YouTube to watch all full episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkhmBWfS7pILYIk0izkc3A?sub_confirmation=1 FOUNDERS! Subscribe to the Founder University podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/founder-university/id1648407190