

This Week in Startups
Jason Calacanis
Jason Calacanis covers startups, tech, markets, media, and all the hottest topics in business and technology. He also interviews the world’s greatest founders, operators, investors, and innovators.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 11, 2021 • 50min
How to come up with a startup idea (FounderU) + Ask an Angel with Zach Coelius | E1263
Jason does a Founder University segment on how to generate startup ideas (1:55), then Zach Coelius joins to take some "Ask an Angel" questions: what data points are most valuable when iterating on product (29:03), what skills are most important to be a success in VC (36:410), what skills are most important to be a success in VC (42:51).

Aug 10, 2021 • 1h 30min
Nick Kokonas of Tock & Alinea, flipping the low-margin restaurant model | E1262
Nick Kokonas joins to discuss his his company Tock (10:50), his world-class restaurant group Alinea (0:54), how restaurants can improve their operating leverage (18:05), digital experiences augmenting hospitality (39:41), why tipping needs to be replaced (44:50), the labor supply (56:16), inflation (1:00:27), employee health and more!

Aug 6, 2021 • 1h 18min
Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman on the current state and future of the US housing market | E1261
Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman joins to discuss the current U.S. housing situation (05:05), homebuilding rates, San Francisco (23:43), remote work (28:22), generational work-life balance differences (35:24), Redfin's approach to real estate (46:52), regulation, DOJ & MLS (58:33), & more.

Aug 5, 2021 • 1h 15min
Bootstrapping vs. taking Venture Capital (FounderU) + Ask An Angel with Zach Coelius | E1260
In a Founder University segment, Jason compares running a bootstrapped vs. venture-backed company (1:17), discusses 'pegasus' companies (11:09), advises what types of businesses should take VC (23:59), and explains what motivates VCs (33:27). Then Zach Coelius joins to take some listener questions (38:48).

Aug 4, 2021 • 52min
How to a Grow Consumer SaaS App to 225K Paying Customers – Next Unicorns: Fitbod CEO Allen Chen | E1259
Fitbod CEO Allen Chen joins to discuss how they got funded & why they haven't deployed their capital (01:06), the importance of being user-centric when building a consumer app (17:44), how Allen plans grow to 1 million customers (29:14), & more!

Aug 3, 2021 • 1h 24min
Creating a new venture fund: formation, follow-on strategies & more with Acquired | E1258
Ben Gilbert & David Rosenthal from Acquired join to discuss David's new venture fund Kindergarten Ventures (00:56), how to structure a VC fund (12:16), Jason's super pro-rata strategy (30:17), podcasting (35:50), and they tease the next episode on "The Mount Rushmore of Venture Capital" (56:11) & more!

Jul 30, 2021 • 1h 31min
News! Robinhood/Duolingo IPOs, Big Tech earnings, China & more with TechCrunch’s Alex Wilhelm | E1257
Alex Wilhelm from TechCrunch joins Jason to chop up this week's news. They cover Robinhood & Duolingo's IPOs (3:40), consumer subscription businesses (25:09), Google's growth (28:25), the startup funding landscape (38:51), Amazon (42:46), China's actions against tech (47:35), Apple (1:04:19) & more!

Jul 29, 2021 • 1h 17min
Nikola’s Trevor Milton indicted for fraud, Robinhood IPO + GRIN CEO Brandon Brown | E1256
Jason covers the Grand Jury indictment of Nikola founder Trevor Milton for making false claims to investors (1:50) and gives short recap of Robinhood's IPO (18:55). Then, Brandon Brown joins to discuss his company GRIN (25:40), the influencer economy, shifting advertising trends, social media platforms and more.

Jul 28, 2021 • 1h 7min
Youtube vs. Netflix, Google’s $230B run rate + Next Unicorns: OpenSea’s Devin Finzer on NFTs | E1255
Jason breaks down Google's earnings and compares Netflix & Youtube (3:22). Then, in our Next Unicorns series, Devin Finzer (27:01), the Co-Founder and CEO of OpenSea (an NFT marketplace) joins to discuss the innovations that helped NFTs take off (37:58), the future of collectibles & more.

Jul 27, 2021 • 42min
Rapid Fire News: China’s techlash continues, Tesla’s incredible Q2 earnings, Tether holders move to USDC & more | E1254
Jason covers China reigning in big tech (2:03), Tesla’s incredible Q2 earnings crossing $1B in profit (25:30), a $300M market movement from Tether to USDC (33:24), and gives a breakdown of a Binance Crypto Pump Telegram group (37:43).


