This Week in Startups

Join Molly and Jason as they react to TikToks posted by former Google employees who have recently been let go. They discuss why Google is letting people go despite their massive profits (8:54). They also explore Open AI and Microsoft's codified partnership (38:39) and the report from the WSJ that activist investor Elliot Management has invested billions into Salesforce (45:06). To end the show, we have another great edition of WLITF featuring NVIDIA's new AI-generated eye contact feature (49:16). (0:00) M+J kick off the show (2:35) Jason is still on the mend + vaccine talk (7:46) Embroker - Use code TWIST to get an extra 10% off insurance at https://Embroker.com/twist (8:54) The difference between Meta, Amazon and Google's layoffs + Employee reaction to getting laid off (18:52) LinkedIn Jobs - Post your first job for free at https://linkedin.com/twist (20:16) Why Google is doing layoffs + more employee reactions (37:05) Meowtel - Book a local and insured sitter on the #1 cat sitting app. Save $25 on your first booking with code TWIST25 (38:29) OpenAI codified its deal with Microsoft (45:06) Elliot Management invests billions in Salesforce (49:16) WLITF: NVIDIA's insane update This Week in Startups 90-second survey - Enter for a chance to win a $50 amazon gift card at www.thisweekinstartups.com/survey FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

Molly and Jason tackle Netflix's stellar fourth-quarter earnings and the news that Reed Hastings is stepping down as CEO. (1:55) Plus, they delve into Google's announcement to lay off 6% of its workforce (17:00), and the former MySpace founders raised a $32M Seed round for their new gaming startup PLAI. (28:55) Lastly, Producer Rachel is back with another segment of Ok Boomer with Mike O'Brien! (36:47) (0:00) M+J kick off the show (1:55) Netflix earnings + Reed Hastings steps down as CEO (9:29) Crowdbotics - Get a free scoping session for your next big app idea at crowdbotics.com/twist (9:37) Netflix's future (17:00) Google to layoff 6% of their staff (23:37) Mixpanel - Apply for $50K in credits at https://mixpanel.com/startups (20:50) Will Apple do a RIF? (28:55) Former MySpace founders raise $32M for their new startup PLAI (33:53) This Week in Startups 90-second survey - Enter for a chance to win a $50 amazon gift card at www.thisweekinstartups.com/survey (35:19) House of Macadamias - Get 20% off at https://houseofmacadamias.com/twist by using code TWIST20 (36:47) Ok Boomer with Mike O'Brien Bloomberg Article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-01-20/reed-hastings-retires-as-netflix-ceo-with-a-long-list-of-wins FOLLOW Mike: https://twitter.com/mikeobrienn FOLLOW Rachel: https://twitter.com/_rachelbraun FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

Molly and Jason kick off the show by discussing the concept of 'quiet hiring' (1:53) and the SEC's proposed rules making it easier for LPs to sue VCs (9:37). They also cover Semafor's buyback of Sam Bankman-Fried's $10M investment (20:50). And Lon Harris is back to discuss the new box office hit M3GAN (31:00) and the premiere of The Last of Us (45:45).  (0:00) Molly kicks off the show (1:53) Jargon Watch: What is “quiet hiring”? (8:29) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist (9:37) SEC proposes new rules making it easier for LPs to sue VCs (19:21) Supergut - Get 30% off with code TWIST at https://supergut.com (20:50) Semafor to buy back SBF’s $10M investment (29:44) Formulate - Get 25% off at formulate.co/twist (31:00) Blumhouse and Atomic Monster’s potential merger + M3GAN’s marketing campaign (45:45) The Last of Us Premiere + more on video game adaptations FOLLOW Lon: https://linktr.ee/lons FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

(0:00) Jason Kicks off the show (2:49) Brad Feld, Co-founder of Foundry, talks about starting out in investing (13:30) LinkedIn Jobs - Post your first job for free at https://linkedin.com/angel  (14:56) Brad’s thesis for whom he’ll get in the “trenches” with (20:48) MasterClass - Get 15% off an annual membership at https://masterclass.com/startups (22:22) Fighting to the end + Investing through the dot-com bubble (38:13) Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub - Apply in 5 minutes, no funding required, sign up at http://aka.ms/thisweekinstartups (39:43) Surviving the GFC (44:23) Brad’s perspective on the investor/CEO dynamic + being a leader in a down market (1:00:02) Reflecting on the speculative asset bubble (1:16:44) Looking forward into 2023 FOLLOW Brad: https://linktr.ee/bfeld FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

First up, Molly and Jason cover a bunch of news happening in the world of AI, Getty Images is preparing to sue Stable Diffusion creator Stability AI (8:47), Meta is partnering with Shutterstock to train its AI models, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced the company will integrate OpenAI’s software into Azure - it’s cloud computing platform - and ALL it’s other products. (36:07) Then, we cover two new sustainability startups! Mill is a company started by former Nest co-founders making an automated compostability trash can. (55:12) And Sollum is building AI-enabled LED lighting solutions for indoor farming. (1:06:35) (0:00) M+J kick off the show. (2:47) Molly and Jason catch up after their long weekend (7:23) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://Squarespace.com/TWIST (8:47) Getty Images prepares a lawsuit against Stability AI (12:54) Data and data integrity (17:55) AgeTech Collaborative - Find out more and apply at https://agetechcollaborative.org/twist (19:30) The similarities between AI and the music industry (34:31) AgeTech Collaborative - Find out more and apply at https://agetechcollaborative.org/twist (36:07) Microsoft announces that they will integrate AI into all their products + more on round-tripping (49:50) Blockchain versus AI (55:12) SOTD: Mill (1:06:35) SOTD: Sollum Technologies FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

Molly and Jason dive deep into the recent news of Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, taking a $50 million pay cut. They discuss this move's implications and whether CEOs are worth their large compensation packages. (1:24) Andrew Gazdecki, CEO of Acquire.com, joins Jason for a fun interview discussing Acquire.com's rebrand and the acquisition marketplace. (24:47) (0:00) Molly kicks off the show (1:24) CEO of Apple, Tim Cook takes a $50M pay cut (11:51) LinkedIn Marketing - Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit at https://linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups (13:21) Are CEOs worth their compensation packages? (23:18) Notion - Sign up for FREE at https://notion.com/jason (24:47) Andrew Gazdecki of Acquire.com joins Jason (40:45) Formulate - Get 25% off at formulate.co/twist (42:02) Serial sellers, Acquire.com’s growth and M&As FOLLOW Andrew: https://twitter.com/agazdecki FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

Molly and Jason kick off the show about social taboo topics and getting to the bottom of Covid-19.(2:22) Following the two discuss Molly attending Strictly VC, DeepMind’s new chatbot Sparrow and OpenAI’s end game. (15:43) Then Molly interviews LAUNCH Accelerator founder United by Zero CEO and Founder Lex Kiefhaber (52:34). Then we cap off the episode with another great edition of Ok Boomer featuring Juliet Meskers, co-founder and CEO of MOTH (1:08:45) (0:00) M+J kick off the show (2:22) Covid-19 and cultural taboo topics (10:32) Linode - Apply to Linode's Rise program for up to six figures in discounts at https://linode.com/twist (12:01) Getting to the bottom of Covid-19 (15:43) Molly attended Strictly VC to hear Sam Altman speak about AI (19:33) Crowdbotics - Get a free scoping session for your next big app idea at crowdbotics.com/twist (21:06) The difference between creating and packaging AI (28:42) DeepMind’s chatbot Sparrow + AI infringing on intellectual property (37:18) Acquire.com - Sign up for FREE at https://try.acquire.com/twist (38:49) What is OpenAI’s end game? (52:34) Molly interviews LAUNCH Accelerator founder United by Zero CEO and Founder Lex Kiefhaber (1:08:45) Ok Boomer featuring Juliet Meskers, co-founder and CEO of MOTH FOLLOW Lex: https://mobile.twitter.com/_united_by_zero FOLLOW Juliette: https://mobile.twitter.com/mothhealth FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

Molly and Jason chop it up about Jason's latest Jay Trades: Apple, Amazon and Disney. (2:21) Then they briefly discuss SBF's new Substack. (14:42) To wrap up the show, Lon joins us for this week's edition of This Week in Streaming to talk about award season and Netflix's content strategy. (21:14) (0:00) M+J kick off the show (2:21) Jason explains why he placed a bet on Apple (8:12) Embroker - Use code TWIST to get an extra 10% off insurance at https://Embroker.com/twist (9:20) Molly and Jason discuss his two other Jay Trades, Amazon and Disney (14:42) SBF's Substack (19:42) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist (21:14) Lon joins to discuss award season with Molly and Jason (35:44) Fitbod - Get 25% off at https://fitbod.me/twist (37:17) Netflix's content strategy is like a “gourmet cheeseburger” (50:36) Award season continued FOLLOW Lon: https://linktr.ee/lons FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

First up, J+M cover the problems at Slack and Salesforce (3:00), before breaking down the anti-competitive issues with bundling software to harm competitors. (13:34) Then, they talk about the comeuppance from "A-players" regarding the lack of efficiency in big tech (26:35), a 10-month jail sentence for crypto inside trading (39:52), and DoNotPay's AI-based robo-lawyer taking a case! (51:14) (0:00) J+M tee up today's topics! (3:00) Breaking down the recent rift between Slack and Salesforce (12:00) AgeTech Collaborative - Find out more and apply at https://agetechcollaborative.org/twist (13:34) Issues with bundling, did Salesforce overpay for Slack? (25:00) AgeTech Collaborative - Find out more and apply at https://agetechcollaborative.org/twist (26:35) Lack of efficiency as a lightning rod at big tech companies, management styles (38:22) Nutrisense - Use code TWIST and get $30 off at nutrisense.io/twist (39:52) The brother of a former Coinbase PM was sentenced to 10 months in prison for using tips from his brother to make $900K (51:14) DoNotPay's robo-lawyer will be used in a court case, OpenAI will pilot a paid version of ChatGPT (1:06:51) Jason ends with an emotional video from Ke Huy Quan's Golden Globes acceptance speech FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood Subscribe to our YouTube to watch all full episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkhmBWfS7pILYIk0izkc3A?sub_confirmation=1

Molly and Jason discuss the news that Coinbase is doing another 20% RIF. (6:50) Then they discuss the announcement that Microsoft is investing $10B into OpenAI with some pretty favourable terms. (27:19) After, Molly and Jason chat about Make Sunsets’ plan to cool the planet and Enpal, a German solar panel company raising money at a $2.4B valuation. (46:56) Then we wrap with this year’s first edition of TWiCS featuring Mike O’Kronley, CEO of Ascend Elements. (1:00:56) (0:00) M+J kick off the show (2:10) Atmospheric rivers and the chaos in California (6:50) Coinbase does another 20% RIF (11:56) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist (13:03) The future of employment in tech (21:50) Mixpanel - Apply for $50K in credits at https://mixpanel.com/startups (23:16) The perfect amount of founders (27:19) Microsoft is invests $10B into OpenAI (32:46) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://Squarespace.com/TWIST (34:10) OpenAI going from a non-profit to a for-profit + What is roundtripping? (46:56) Make Sunsets raises $750K to do what?! (53:05) Enpal raises at a $2.4B valuation (1:00:56) TWiCS: Mike O’Kronley of Ascend Elements FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood