This Week in Startups

Jason and Molly cover how 15% of the world’s bitcoin mining network going down when Kazakhstan’s internet was shut off (3:11) and Chainalysis' scam report (12:32). Then they do a "We Live in the Future" segment about AI created actors (16:49) and “Memes of the Week” review of Marc Andreessen's tweets (25:32). Finally, Producer Rachel wraps with an "OK Boomer" interview with YouTube creator and software engineer Ben Awad (38:43).  (00:00) Jason and Molly intro the show (01:15) A special welcome video for Molly (03:11) Kazakhstan crypto (10:42) OpenPhone - Get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://openphone.com/twist (12:32) Chainalysis 2021 Crypto Crime Report (16:49) WLITF Synthesia replacing cameras with code (21:06) Ourcrowd - Check out the deal of the week at https://ourcrowd.com/twist (22:26) Possibilities for AI deepfakes (25:32) Memes of the Week - Marc Andreessen (34:18) OK Boomer - Producer Rachel introduces the guest (37:12) Revelo - Get 20% off the first 3 months by mentioning TWIST at https://revelo.io/twist (38:43) Ben Awad Gen Z Programming Mentor FOLLOW Ben: https://twitter.com/benawad FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

00:00 Jason & Molly intro the show 02:25 GETTR get a bump in downloads after Joe Rogan joins 09:55 Dataiku - Create transparent, repeatable, and scalable AI and analytics programs. Visit https://dataiku.com to learn more. 11:00 The darker side of community on the internet 15:54 Jason's take on decentralized social media 18:38 Eight Sleep - Go to https://eightsleep.com/twist to check out the Pod Pro Cover and get $150 off at checkout! 20:11 The challenges of content moderation on social media 21:13 NYT reportedly buying The Athletic for $550M 30:30 Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://Squarespace.com/TWIST 32:15 Interview - Jeff "Jiho" Zirlin from Axie Infinity 40:11 How "play to earn" games actually work 53:33 How do balance stakeholders in the in-game economy 58:05 Renting Axies and how "guilds" work 1:03:42 Buying digital land Check out Axie Infinity: https://www.axieinfinity.com FOLLOW Jiho: https://twitter.com/jihoz_axie FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

In this all news show,  Jason and Molly cover Toyota & Volkswagen committing a combined $170B to take on Tesla’s EV dominance (2:30), NFT platform OpenSea raising a $300M Series C at a $13.3B valuation (20:08), China’s tight grip on tech causing job loss and accelerating company closure (44:50), and how Ben Smith from the NYT is teaming up with Bloomberg Media’s CEO to launch a new media company (56:52). (00:00) Molly tees up the show (02:30) Toyota and Volkswagen pledge $170B to compete with Tesla (09:16) RealGoodFoods - Go to https://realgoodfoods.com and use code TWIST for $15 off! (10:49) Power of Tesla’s supercharging network, why Apple should have bought Tesla (18:55) Marlow - Get 15% off your individual or team memberships at https://getmarlow.com/twist. (20:08) OpenSea just raised $300M at a $13.3B valuation (36:03) Linode - Apply to their Rise program for founder-led, early-stage startups and get 3 years of discounts at https://linode.com/twist. (37:18) Jason teases his first NFT purchase (44:50) China’s tech crackdown is causing issues (56:52) Former CEO of Bloomberg Media is starting a new stealth media company FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

Jason and Molly cover Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty verdict (1:47), how even socialists have admitted that Amazon is the best place many people have ever worked (40:08). To wrap they dig into Biden’s new sanctions against China the implications from decoupling our economies (56:16).  (00:00) Jason intros the show (01:47) Elizabeth Holmes Theranos fraud trial verdict (09:36) Vanta - Get get $1,000 off automating your SOC 2 at vanta.com/twist (10:53) How VCs vet charlatan founders (17:33) Female CEOs in tech (21:12) Masterworks - Skip the waitlist to invest in art using promo code TWIST at Masterworks.io/twist (22:25) Are Female founders held to a higher standard by the media? (31:17) Ourcrowd - Check out the deal of the week at ourcrowd.com/twist (32:34) Funny Holmes impressions (40:08) Socialist podcast "This Machine Kills" admits Amazon has been the best place many people have worked (56:16) President Biden's sanctions on China and the impact on tech FOLLOW Jason: linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: twitter.com/mollywood

Jason and Molly cover how QuickCommerce startup JOKR lost $159 per order in the US in August (1:54), the state of startup valuations (25:57), Jason's case of COVID & the state of testing (32:00), OpenSea freezing over $2M worth of stolen NFTs (52:28) and they wrap with quick recap of the latest chapter of Web 3 Twitter beef featuring AirBnB CEO Brian Chesky and Box Founder Aaron Levie (58:24).

Jason hosts "The 2021 TWISTY Awards" where we give out 10 awards for top podcast moments from this year including: the most surprisingly awesome guest (02:17), best chemistry (04:48), best live moment (23:43), most awkward moment (28:51), funniest moment (36:51), best guest (45:19) and more! At the end he has a short "after-party" discussion with producers (50:58). Thank you for listening, this is our last planned episode of 2021.

Jason is joined by This Week in Startups' new co-host Molly Wood for a news show. First they cover why Molly joined the TWiST team (1:24), then they dig into the Web3 wars erupting on Twitter (24:00) and break down Rivian's Q3 earnings (51:45). Producer's note: this is our only podcast this week

Praying for Exits, the top meme account in Venture Capital joins to discuss being a pseudonymous commentator (01:13), why VCs spend too much time brand building (12:37), entitlement in tech (23:47), assessing founders and companies qualitatively and quantitatively (35:46), crazy VC stories (52:10) plus so much more!

First Jason covers Melania Trump launching an NFT series (02:27) and Reddit just filing to go public(13:10). Then, Twitter's Tony Haile joins (24:14) to talk about selling his startup Scroll to Twitter, helping lead Twitter's product team (37:07), Twitter's roadmap and more.

First Jason covers the Mayo clinic's promising new signs for mRNA cancer treatment (02:02), Google's firm vaccine policy (07:41) and the Better.com CEO stepping away after last week's meltdown (16:39). Then, Jason brings on three founders he has invested in and chats with them about their company: SupporTrends co-founder Oliver Rowen on customer insights (25:23), Wearwell co-founder and CEO Erin Houston on sustainable fashion (37:11), and PaidBack co-founder Amber Masters on budgeting and paying off debt (50:15).