This Week in Startups

Frank Slootman joins Jason for another incredible conversation that ranges from the management shift in Silicon Valley (1:08) to how to know if you’re moving the dial in your organization (9:59). Then, they discuss Frank’s hiring philosophy and how to create a winning relationship between an executive and their direct reports (27:05). Finally, they discuss managing burnout and creating security for yourself (46:33). (0:00) Molly kicks off the show (1:08) Layoffs + the management shift in Silicon Valley (8:29) MasterClass - Get 15% off an annual membership at https://masterclass.com/startups (9:59) How to know if you are moving the dial and moving at a fast pace (18:36) Contra - Get $500 off your first hire at https://contra.com/twist (20:09) Dealing with recessions and countering the media frenzy (27:05) Frank’s definition of culture and hiring for enthusiasm (32:32) The relationship between an executive and their employees (35:49) House of Macadamias - Get 20% off at https://houseofmacadamias.com/twist by using code TWIST20 (37:19) Assessing performance, hiring the right people, and being thoughtful (41:56) Starting with a great product (46:33) Managing burnout and creating security (56:49) Consumption-based pricing + acquisitions (1:00:30) Frank’s thoughts on AI FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

Vinny and Sunny joined Molly on another segment of Crypto Roundtable! Highlights included how Twitter could have integrated crypto  (2:02), the benefits and controversy of a national ID system (23:00), and Spotify's NFT experiment. (0:00) Molly kicks off the show (2:02) The future of Twitter payments  (12:16) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist (14:21) What does an ideal Twitter identity system look like?  (21:16) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://Squarespace.com/TWIST (23:00) The benefits and controversy of a national ID system  (32:20) Predictions about the latest Yuga drop  (35:41) Contra - Get $500 off your first hire at https://contra.com/twist (41:54) Vinny breaks down the future of Coinbase and its active users  (48:07) Molly sees the connection between K-Pop and crypto    Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp FOLLOW Vinny: https://twitter.com/vinnylingham FOLLOW Sunny: https://twitter.com/sundeep FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

Maha Ibrahim of Canaan joins Molly to discuss her early days in VC (1:38), managing distributions and exiting at the right time (20:36), the clean tech bubble, being a generalist/specialist, diversity, and more (37:42). (0:00) Molly kicks off the show (1:38) Maha’s first years in venture (11:18) LinkedIn Jobs - Go to https://linkedIn.com/angel and post your first job for free. (12:43) Investing in the early 2000s and Canaan’s strategy (19:12) Cast.ai - Get a free cloud cost audit with a personal consultation at https://cast.ai/twist (20:36) Exiting at the right time and distributing earnings (30:00) Learning from a downturn (34:58) The mismatch between VCs to outlier startups (36:11) Prenuvo - Get $300 off at http://prenuvo.com/twist (37:42) The climate tech bubble (40:14) Generalists vs. specialists (42:16) Responding to cycles and signs of good timing (48:53) Structuring a generational off-ramp (51:39) All Raise (55:30) What does the future hold? FOLLOW Maha: https://twitter.com/mahaibrahim FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

Neeva CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy joins Molly to talk all things search and AI chatbots, including Neeva’s technology and the difficulty of building a search engine (1:41), Neeva’s consumer focus and business model (20:00), and the search-to-answer revolution (41:31). (0:00) Molly kicks off the show (1:41) Neeva’s Purpose (5:06) The technological underpinning of Neeva (8:00) The hurdles building Neeva (10:26) Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub - Apply in 5 minutes for six figures in discounts at http://aka.ms/thisweekinstartups (11:53) The problems search aims to solve (18:31) LinkedIn Marketing - Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit at https://linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups (20:00) Why choose Neeva (24:01) Neeva’s business model (29:18) Moving from search to answers + citing sources (35:53) The ad supported publishing ecosystem (37:58) Pilot - Get 20% off the first 6 months at https://pilot.com/twist (39:13) Leaving Google (41:31) The search to answers revolution (44:34) Compensating publishers and dealing with content moderation (48:51) Open loop vs. Closed loop (54:29) Neeva copycats FOLLOW Sridhar: https://twitter.com/ramaswmysridhar FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

The Friday variety show is back! Jason kicks it off by interviewing WallStreetBets founder Jaime Rogozinski, who's currently suing Reddit (2:08). Then, Molly is joined by Hyper CEO Andrew Hart to discuss the augmented reality market and Hyper's store-mapping technology (30:16). Producer Rachel wraps the show with content creator Humphrey Yang breaking down his creative process, what he considers valuable metrics, and so much more (53:40). (0:00) Molly kicks off the show (2:08) WSB milestones and arbitrage (12:07) Contra - Get $500 off your first hire at https://contra.com/twist (13:36) How Reddit works + the WSB controversy (23:42) Embroker - Use code TWIST to get an extra 10% off insurance at https://Embroker.com/twist (24:45) Jaime’s ideal solution (30:16) Andrew Hart of Hyper (33:57) Creating the ultimate user experience (39:19) Retreat - head to http://planretreat.com/twistto help you plan the offsite your team deserves! (40:43) Mapping store and onboarding customers (45:55) Hyper’s development and future opportunities (53:40) Ok Boomer with Humphrey Yang FOLLOW Jaime: https://twitter.com/wallstreetbets FOLLOW Andrew: https://twitter.com/AndrewHartAR FOLLOW Humphrey: https://twitter.com/Humphreytalks FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

Sophia Amoruso, Founder and GP at Trust Fund, joins Jason to discuss her angel investments (1:23), raising a fund publicly (5:54), and the creative process (12:14). Then, they discuss portfolio construction and putting past identities to bed (27:04). (0:00) Molly kicks off the show (1:23) Previous angel investing experience (5:54) Why Sophia is raising a public fund (10:45) Linode - Apply to Linode's Rise program for up to six figures in discounts at https://linode.com/twist (12:14) Branding and the creative process (20:55) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist (22:25) What stage of investing is Sophia going after (27:04) Portfolio construction (37:16) Brilliant.org - Go to http://brilliant.org/twist to start your 30-day free trial today and get 20% off your annual premium plan (38:44) Pro rata rights (46:56) Putting past identities to bed (1:01:18) Fund cycles (1:05:17) Investing in founders or investing in ideas & more FOLLOW Sophia: https://twitter.com/sophiaamoruso FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

Jason is joined by Mark Suster of Upfront Ventures to cover raising capital in the early 2000s (1:22), aligning board members (21:19), the three variables VCs need to bet on (40:51), and so much more! (0:00) Molly kicks off the show (1:22) A recap of the previous 3 market cycles (5:23) The hurdles founders will face starting a company in 2023 (6:55) Raising capital in the early 2000s (9:15) LinkedIn Jobs - Go to https://linkedIn.com/angel and post your first job for free. (10:37) Upfront’s strategy and changes to the market (15:35) Misalignment of investors (19:48) Prenuvo - Get $300 off a full-body MRI scan at https://prenuvo.com/twist (21:19) Aligning of board members (29:13) Setting reality as an investor/board member (33:40) Cutting Burn & Mark’s decision framework (39:23) Orgspace - Get $2000 of credits on pro plans with a 30-day free trial at https://orgspace.io/twist (40:51) The 3 variables VCs need to bet on (48:28) The power law and mission-aligned founders (52:13) Feed the family money (58:33) Company killers + Investing in lines not dots FOLLOW Mark: https://twitter.com/msuster FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

Precision Neuroscience’s Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer joins Molly to discuss how the brain communicates with the body (7:08) and the breakthroughs that allowed companies like Precision to exist. (12:52) Then, they discuss Precision’s founding principles, the process of getting FDA approval for its neural interface, and much more. (28:55) (0:00) Molly kicks off the show (1:27) Dr. Rapoport’s origin story (7:08) How the brain communicates with the body (11:22) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://Squarespace.com/TWIST (12:52) Breakthroughs in neuroscience (22:37) Contra - a commission-free marketplace for freelancers and independent creators. Get $500 off your first hire at https://contra.com/twist  (24:06) The tension between public and private institutions (28:55) The founding principles of Precision Neuroscience (33:21) The Layer 7 interface and preparing for FDA approval (40:39) LMNT - Get a free sample pack with any purchase at https://DrinkLMNT.com/TWIST (42:07) Minimizing risk (45:25) Interfacing with different areas of the brain (47:06) Medical infrastructure and the business model of med-tech CHECK OUT Precision Neuroscience: https://precisionneuro.io FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

First up, J+M break down Meta taking a note from Twitter with a $12 paid tier and how it can have a material impact on revenue. (12:05) Then, they cover the problems with Bing's new chatbot (32:13) before wrapping on Stripe potentially missing its window (46:14) and Meta copying a Telegram feature! (1:00:30) (0:00) J+M tee up today's topics! (2:22) Proper PTO operating standards, what's in store for the next few weeks on TWiST! (10:31) MasterClass - Get 15% off an annual membership at https://masterclass.com/startups (12:05) Zuck announces Meta Verified, a $12/month paid service for Facebook/Instagram and WhatsApp (18:56) How Meta's new product can have a material impact on revenue (21:49) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist  (22:47) What enticing features major social platforms can add to get more paid users (30:42) Contra - Get $500 off your first hire at https://contra.com/twist (32:13) Bing's new chatbot has already been toned down by Microsoft for responding with a style the company did not intend (46:14) Stripe's $4B tax bill and further valuation cuts: did the highest-flying startup fumble the bag? (1:00:30) Meta also copied Telegram's broadcast channels feature, which Zuck used to announce Meta's new paid tier! 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

Vinny and Sunny join Jason and Molly for another crypto roundtable discussing the federal government’s crackdown on crypto. (1:39) They define what staking is (10:13), and Jason addresses his Twitter Exchange with Coinbase founder and CEO Brian Armstrong. (32:20) Then Producer Rachel is joined by Prince Ghosh of Factored Quality for another edition of Ok Boomer. (1:06:45) (0:00) Molly kicks off the show (1:39) Crypto crackdown + the roles of the SEC and CFTC (8:46) Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub - Apply in 5 minutes for six figures in discounts at http://aka.ms/thisweekinstartups (10:13) Definitions of “staking” (21:30) Merge - Integrate up to 5 customers for free today at https://merge.dev/twist (23:00) Using Web 3.0 for crowdsource capital (32:20) Brian Armstrong and Jason’s exchange + Challenges of crypto exchanges (40:25) Pilot.com. - Go to https://pilot.com/twist for 20% off your first 6 months of Pilot Core. (41:54) Regulating stablecoins (57:41)$100M New Jersey Deli + Jason’s grand plan for TikTok (1:06:45) Ok Boomer with Prince Ghosh of Factored Quality FOLLOW Vinny: https://twitter.com/vinnylingham FOLLOW Sunny: https://twitter.com/sundeep FOLLOW Prince: https://twitter.com/princeghosh97 FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood