This Week In Startups - Audio

First, Jason and Molly cover the news of Alumni Ventures Group getting charged by the SEC for misleading investors about their management fees (1:56). AVG had to repay $4.7M to investors and paid $800,000 in a settlement. Next, we briefly touch on Index Ventures stopping their investments in Russia (24:56). Then, Radiant Energy Fund Managing Director Mark Nelson joins to make the case for nuclear power and explain why many countries have chosen to decrease their nuclear capacity (40:03).

Another Sunday double-header edition! First Jason leads a VC Sunday School session on how to react when companies try and skip steps and raise larger rounds (2:51). Plus, how Pegasus (or Alicorn) companies can end up being much better investments than traditional Unicorns. Then, for This Week in Climate Startups, Molly chats with Andrew Beebe of Obvious Ventures (18:47). You will learn: 1. Andrew's focus within climate tech (electric mobility, carbon and carbon markets) 2. How Andrew's first startup exit set him up to join the solar industry 3. How contrarian bets make careers 4. The key criteria for climate investments to be good venture bets 5. How Obvious Ventures puts its "world positive" mission into practice 6. The way carbon disclosure requirements will reshape industry 7. Why Andrew recommends reading Kim Stanley Robinson's "The Ministry for the Future"

First Jason and Molly cover Google is bringing employees back to the office three times per week starting in early April (1:41), Snowflake dropping 15% after reporting strong earnings, Slack’s slowing growth within Salesforce. After the news, Molly sits down with Alyse Killeen of Stillmark to continue Season 6 of Angel: First-time funds (38:10). We wrap with Producer Rachel's interview with Kai Han of Pallet, which is building a platform for creators to curate job boards (1:11:50).

Cana is back on the podcast, previously David Friedberg teased the "molecular beverage printer" on E1365. This time, we speak and to CEO Matt Mahar about pricing, their go-to-market plans, their cartridge subscription process, Cana's potential climate impact, current flavors and more! Molly was the first outsider to tour their facility and she tried a whole bunch of beverages from the Cana One. To see the video search "This Week in Startups - Video" in your podcast player or go to https://youtube.com/thisweekin.

First, we talk about Apple pausing all sales in Russia and other actions they’re taking (1:47). Then, we cover Ford splitting its EV business off from its ICE business (15:57). Then, Joe Speiser from Hampton VC joins to talk about how being too reliant on Facebook killed his media company Little Things with an algorithm change (25:42). We wrap with a quick WLITF segment on humanoid robots (42:05).

First, Jason and Molly break down the reactions from big tech companies to the Russia / Ukraine conflict (2:22), then we showcase our Startup of the Day, Backbone which is innovating in mobile games (51:41). Then Jason does an amazing interview with investor Joel Greenblatt, where we discuss increasing public market participation, strategies for finding value, taxes and more (1:05:50).

First, Molly Wood quickly sums up crypto donations flowing to Ukraine (2:03). Then, Jason and Molly chat with Molly White, the creator of the website "Web 3 is Going Great." We discuss the problems she identified with Web 3, speculation vs. building, DAOs, decentralization and more (7:01).

First up is a VC Sunday school where Jason discusses what investors mean when they say "we are interested in investing, but come back when you found a lead" (1:51). Then, we tease Molly's EV review of the Audi e-tron Sportback (20:42). To wrap, Molly does a This Week in Climate Startups segment with Seth Bannon (recorded on 2/9/22), a founding Partner of Fifty Years, a Venture capital firm investing in climate solutions (34:12). You will learn: 1. The convictions that unpin Fifty Years' investment thesis 2. Why Seth thinks VC has lost his way 3. Why increasing longevity could be a net-positive for climate 4. How Fifty Years measures impact of their investments 5. How Seth evaluates the potential negative externalities of his investments 6. How his PhD to VC program works

Jason chats with David Heinemeier Hansson (2:03) about global governments reacting to COVID, Basecamp’s Twitter cycle blowup last spring when more than 1/3 of the company left, the shift from debating in the public square (Twitter) to debating in private with friends on group chats. We also talk about why David now sees a case for Bitcoin after Canada leans toward authoritarianism. To wrap, Producer Rachel does another OK BOOMER segment where Rachel talks to Tony Tran (96:02), the founder and CEO of Lumanu, a company for creators to run their business.

Molly interviews Jason about raising "LAUNCH Fund I." This season of Angel is focused on the nitty-gritty details of raising and running a first-time fund (22:47). Jason shares everything from getting his first check to his biggest mistakes. But first, we discuss the biggest cybersecurity hacks of the last decade and potential risks going forward (1:32).

First we discuss Kanye’s new “STEM Player” bluetooth speaker, and why he’s trying to diversify away from Spotify and streaming platforms (2:21). We continue with a discussion about platform reliance one founder saw his business destroyed overnight by Facebook (25:17). Then we cover Pipe.com’s recent acquisition which is bringing them into the media space (28:59)! Lastly, Molly chats with Launch Accelerator Cohort 24 founder Joshe Ordonez, the CEO of Airpals about her awesome messenger service startup (39:44).

First, we cover Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong potentially taking credit for an idea generated by a creative firm (2:09). Then, we cover Peloton’s new CEO Barry McCarthy's vision for a revitalized Peloton (15:29). To wrap, we break down a dozen growth stocks that are down over 60% off their 52-week highs. We forecast two winners, one with the highest upside and one with the lowest downside (27:53).

Angel Season 6 is all about first-time fund managers. Fahd Ananta of Roach Capital joined to discuss his path from founder to PM to VC (04:07). You will learn: 1. How Fahd got Angel investing at Shopify 2. How Fahd made the transition from Angel investing to raising a fund 3. How geography can be used as a differentiator 4. The way he used his product skill to get on competitive cap tables Then in our OK Boomer segment, Producer Rachel talks to John Herrick, the CTO of Dive Chat, a new messaging and event app (34:09).

Ashley Carman joins Jason & Molly to discuss Spotify's acquisition of podcast ad-tech companies Chartable and Podsights (1:55). Ashley is a senior reporter at The Verge and the lead writer at HotPod. We dig into why she thinks Spotify's main competition is YouTube and how the Big Tech and Big Media podcasting efforts are playing out. After that, 10 companies pitch Jason and the team in rapid-fire (46:16). These startups went through Founder University, a 12-week course run by the team at Launch. Companies: Giphting, Chojuu, TaCo, Term Payments, Fix6, Remotespace, SavvyTeam, Gaan, Timewell, Innocuous AI

World-class investor-operator Keith Rabois is back for his eighth time! But first, Jason breaks down Airbnb’s great Q4 and full-year earnings report (2:42) and how its customer segment is evolving. Then, he briefly covers the SF Board of Education recall (22:58). When Keith joins (31:27), he and Jason discuss: 1. How he called the top of the tech market in November 2021 2. Keith's 2019 prediction that came true 2. Venture Capital's decaying price discipline 3. Facebook's challenge ahead 4. Six predictions for the market

Catalyzed by a Ryan Breslow viral tweetstorm, we break down the arguments for if companies should loan money to employees to allow them to exercise their stock options early (1:42). Then, we briefly cover Nvidia’s attempted Arm acquisition falling through and what it might mean for the SoftBank-backed chip designer (30:21). Finally, Molly interviews Craig Zingerline from Growth University, a LAUNCH Accelerator founder (38:00)!

First, we break down the Crypto companies that ran super bowl ads and see how they stack up against the dot-com era ads (1:53). Then, we do an update on Joby aviation now that they are trying to roll out an air taxi service in South Korea (28:03). To wrap, Molly covers the BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) space and the challenges these companies are having as they scale, specifically Affirm's recent earnings (36:49).

Jason and Molly begin this double-header Sunday show with a VC Sunday School segment on top-tier VC behavior (01:38). You will learn: 1. How first-tier VCs compare to second-tier VCs 2. When VCs should intervene in a portfolio company 3. The difference between micromanaging and good governance 4. Jason's framework for ensuring alignment: Mission, Plan, Strategy, Tactics 5. Why good Board Members remain calm and positive Then, Molly is joined by Mike Lin from Dangerous Ventures for a This Week in Climate Startups segment (22:00). You will learn: 1. What Mike learned from working at Makani Power (acquired by Google X) 2. The potential of "muscle-powered" energy and its limits 3. Lessons from the failed Potenco generator & One Laptop Per Child project 4. How Mike got himself fired from Apple for insubordination 5. Why Dangerous Ventures is backing "Dunkirk" climate solutions

Jason and Molly open the shown discussing Disney’s Q1 Earnings and the 37% increase in Disney+ subscribers (01:51). Then, Qloo CEO Alex Elias joins to discuss his AI prediction company (21:12). You will learn: 1. How Qloo uses machine learning to understand taste and draw cultural correlations 2. Why Qloo adopted an API business model and is focused on developers 3. Ways businesses and brands are using Qloo to improve customer experience and drive revenue To wrap, we have an “OK Boomer” segment where Producer Rachel speaks with Zehra Naqvi from Republic (45:21). They disucss Zehra's work at Republic as an investment associate (48:00) and how Zehra developed the Z-list to facilitate intros between startups & VCs (55:21).

In the opening news segment, Molly and Jason break down the news around Peloton's new CEO, Barry McCarthy, including the open letter he sent to the company, his background and principles for success (2:05). Then, Monique Woodard of Cake Ventures joins for Episode 5 of Season 6 of Angel (32:50). Monique was a founder, startup community leader, VC scout, and VC partner before raising her first fund. In this episode you will learn: 1. Her thesis on investing in demographic change 2. What fundraising is like as a founder vs. fundraising as an aspiring fund manager 3. Why she chose to have multiple closes for her fund 4. Why Monique focused her efforts on institutional LPs, even though they take longer to close than individual LPs 5. What it takes to operate as a solo GP