This Week in Startups

This Week In Startups is made possible by:

LinkedIn - http://linkedin.com/twist

Every.io - http://every.io/

Northwest registered Agent - www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist

Today’s show: 

Sean Liu gave his OpenClaw “eyes” by hooking the AI assistant up to his Meta Ray Bans. While Jason and Alex consider the implications… guest expert Alex Finn quickly loses interest…

It’s another All-Clawdbot TWiST where we debate the most essential uses for the viral agent platform. For their part, Alex Finn and Matt Van Horn are building practical skills to help founders (esp. solo founders)… Alex has a brain trust of AI agents working round the clock to improve his organization and content, while Matt designed a skill for his agent to order sushi lunches (keeping them under $20).

PLUS find out how Producer Oliver designed his “Model Council” based on Perplexity’s set-up, why running everything local is “illogical” for most people in 2026, AND why Jason’s next Founder U cohort will all be building with OpenClaw.

Timestamps: 
(00:00) Why Jason is STILL Claw-pilled! We can’t get enough!
(03:17) “Mr. Clawdbot” Alex Finn of Creator Buddy joins us! He’s Claw-Pilled too!
(04:50) Sean Liu (@_seanliu) added OpenClaw to his Meta Ray Bans… Here’s why Alex doesn’t care!
(8:33) Lost your job to AI? Maybe AI can make you a founder!
(12:35) LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at http://linkedin.com/twist Terms and conditions apply.
(13:34) “Last 30 Days” skill creator Matt Van Horn (@mvanhorn) joins the show
(14:54) Why Jason wants to invest in Matt’s new project.
(15:53) Meeting Alex’s organization of AI agents who collaborate on his projects autonomously
(22:28) Is Alex planning to turn his OpenClaw set-up into a company? Maybe…
(23:10) Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit http://every.io/
(25:16) Using OpenClaw to create a “lights out” startup
(28:17) Deciding when to use local models vs. more powerful cloud-based models
(29:52) Northwest Registered Agent. Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity —  Learn more at www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist
(30:58) How Producer Oliver created a “Model Council” for LAUNCH based on Perplexity’s set-up
(35:52) Why it’s so important to have an orchestrator that knows the right model for the right task
(39:12) Why running everything local is “illogical” for most companies in 2026
(41:15) Matt walks us through the latest and greatest incarnation of his “Last 30 Days” skill
(45:57) Why Jason thinks recursive machine learning is the solution to human laziness
(46:38) How Alex has supercharged his social media and his startup during OpenClaw Mania
(50:15) Why Founder University is going ALL OPENCLAW next cohort
(51:21) How big a jump over Opus 4.5 is Opus 4.6?
(53:35) OpenClaw’s going to start scanning skills for malware… Will this help?
(57:13) No one was SUPER impressed by the AI dot com Super Bowl ad… except JCal
(1:01:11) Matt used his “Order Sushi” OpenClaw skill live on the show to get lunch
(1:04:08) Polymarket’s sharps are wagering on Claude 5’s hotly anticipated release

Thank you to our partners:
(12:35) LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at http://linkedin.com/twist Terms and conditions apply.
(23:10) Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit http://every.io/
(29:52) Northwest Registered Agent. Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity —  Learn more at www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist

Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/

This Week In Startups is made possible by:

Crusoe Cloud - https://crusoe.ai/savings

Lemon IO - https://Lemon.io/twist

Northwest Registered Agent - https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist

Thanks to our guests:

Alex Cheema of ExoLabs http://exolabs.net

Ryan Yanneli of NextVisit https://nextvisit.ai/

Today’s show: 

It’s the Age of Ultron at TWiST and LAUNCH. We’ve given our OpenClaw digital Replicants the keys to all of our systems and we’re seeing how much of our jobs they can really do when left to their own devices.

Producer Oliver stops by the show to give us a peek behind the curtain, at the new control panel and dashboard OpenClaw built FOR ITSELF (with a bit of human assistance).

PLUS we’re joined by Alex Cheema of ExoLabs. His company helps everyday consumers run powerful frontier LLMs on their own devices, essential to protect your data and personalize your AI experience.

ALSO congratulations to Ryan Yanneli from NextVisit on winning our Gamma Pitch Deck Competition! He walks away with $25K from LAUNCH and our friends at Gamma.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introducing Alex Cheema to the show

(3:17) Why it is so important to run AI on local hardware

(6:58) Using OpenClaw Producer to automate TWiST

(8:59) How to Train your AI

(11:58) What is a Chron Job? (Hint: chron means chronological)

(13:24) Crusoe Cloud: Crusoe is the AI factory company. Reliable infrastructure and expert support. Visit https://crusoe.ai/savings to reserve your capacity for the latest GPUs today.

(17:53) OpenClaw managing the LAUNCH/TWiST team

(19:54)  Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist

(20:58) Turning AI into Ultron, self optimization

(27:21) The Future: frontier models: running on your Iphone!

(28:37) Prompt injections: how people can hack your OpenClaw

(30:25) Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity —  Learn more at https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist

(31:31) OpenClaw invites guests that join the show

(40:29) Oliver shows off OpenClaw mission control dashboard

(46:30) Stacking Apple Silicon vs. Running Kimi-K

(50:18) How Exo Labs works — stringing together Mac Silicon

(54:29) Ryan from Nextvisit wins Gamma Pitch Competition

(59:10) Industry Season 4 reflects tech regulation

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis/

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Thank you to our partners:

(13:24) Crusoe Cloud: Crusoe is the AI factory company. Reliable infrastructure and expert support. Visit https://crusoe.ai/savings to reserve your capacity for the latest GPUs today.

(19:54)  Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist

(30:25) Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity —  Learn more at https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist

Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/

This Week In Startups is made possible by:

Circle - http://Circle.so/twist

Caldera Lab - http://calderalab.com/TWIST

LinkedIn - http://linkedin.com/twist

Today’s show: 

There was a time, not long ago, when offices everywhere came to a standstill, and everyone became even more fixated on their phones than usual, each time HQ Trivia went live. The app-based game show was a massive viral hit… until suddenly, around a year later, it wasn’t.

Now, HQ Trivia host Scott Rogowsky is back with a new concept: Savvy, another game show you play on your phone, this time inspired by the word puzzle hit Wordle. Is lightning about to strike twice? 

PLUS, Alex chats with Trevor Bennett of space transportation outfit Starfish Space. This comes off two major successes for the team: the Remora mission that proved Stafish’s autonomous rendezvous capabilities and the $52.5 Million dollar contract to dispose of low Earth orbit satellites.

Timestamps: 

(00:00) How Scott first got involved with HQ Trivia

(2:23) Why Scott thinks HQ Trivia struck such a chord with fans

(4:12) Scott couldn’t get a job in late night, so he made his own show

(5:31) Delving into the behind-the-scenes tensions at HQ Trivia

(11:07) Circle -  the easiest way to build a home for your community, events, and courses — all under your own brand. TWiST listeners get $1,000 off the Circle Plus Plan by going to http://Circle.so/twist

(13:53) The end of HQ Trivia and why Scott jumped ship

(16:35) Savvy just had its series premiere: you play the game against the host

(20:14) How to play Savvy and win cash

(20:57) Why Jason thinks a subscription model is the future of Savvy

(22:25) Whether you’re starting fresh or upgrading your routine, Caldera Lab makes skincare simple and effective. Head to http://calderalab.com/TWIST and use TWIST at checkout for 20% off your first order.

(23:31) Introducing Dr. Trevor Bennet of Starfish Space

(24:04) What the Otter Spacecraft does: de-orbiting to clean up space

(26:46) Why space will need hundreds of Otters in space

(29:24) LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at http://linkedin.com/twist Terms and conditions apply.

(30:23) Starfish Space’s business model: operating a starfleet

(33:17) The success of the Remora mission: autonomous rendezvous in space.

(43:47) The rise of the space economy

(48:18) Starfish’s $52.5 Million dollar contract and what it means for the space ecosystem

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Follow Lon:

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Follow Alex:

X: https://x.com/alex

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm/

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis/

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Thank you to our partners:

(11:07) Circle -  the easiest way to build a home for your community, events, and courses — all under your own brand. TWiST listeners get $1,000 off the Circle Plus Plan by going to http://Circle.so/twist

(22:25) Whether you’re starting fresh or upgrading your routine, Caldera Lab makes skincare simple and effective. Head to http://calderalab.com/TWIST) and use TWIST at checkout for 20% off your first order.

(29:24) LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at http://linkedin.com/twist Terms and conditions apply.

Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:

Quadratic - http://quadratic.ai/twist

Today’s show: 

Don’t get distracted! Here are the MOST CRUCIAL aspects of running a startup, where founders need to keep their full and uninterrupted focus.

- Make sure you’re saving up your cash
- Why you need to just get started and build SOMETHING
- Trust and reliability is EVERYTHING for new products
- Why distribution should be your top priority

Download all this practical and tactical startup advice from seasoned veterans Jason Calacanis, Amanda Bradford, and William P. Barnes in this Tokyo edition of TWiST.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Amanda and Will’s big takeaways from Founder U in Saudi Arabia and now Tokyo

(3:19) Why cash flow management is so important before you find PMF

(5:57) Why first-time founders get the order of operations wrong

(6:45) Just build SOMETHING, even if it’s taped together

(11:19) “Focus is everything in the early stages”

(14:17) From a wedge to a bridge

(15:50) Quadratic - Bringing the productivity boost of AI into your spreadsheets. Visit http://quadratic.ai/twist to sign up and use the code TWIST to get one free month of their pro tier subscription.

(18:45) What to put on your “Not Right Now” list

(19:11) Embracing simplicity

(22:00) The importance of trust and reliability (especially for Uber!)

(28:12) Why innovation needs a constraining variable

(33:40) To really drive word of mouth, you have to overdeliver

(36:32) Distribution is the primary job of a founder/CEO

(38:19) Some of the panel’s favorite distribution hacks

(45:54) Why Jason respects Japan’s commitment to excellence and competency

(49:38) Looking for “high slope” in early employees

(53:11) Transitioning your team from early-stage startup to growth

(57:45) Whoever writes it down gets credit for the idea

(58:04) Q: Has the meaning of money changed for the panel now that they’ve had successful exits?

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis/

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Thank you to our partners:

(15:50) Quadratic - Bringing the productivity boost of AI into your spreadsheets. Visit http://quadratic.ai/twist to sign up and use the code TWIST to get one free month of their pro tier subscription.

Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/

This Week In Startups is made possible by:

Uber - http://uber.com/twist

Deel - http://deel.com/twist

Northwest Registered Agent - https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist

Today’s show: 

SpaceX is buying xAI, forming a mega-corp that plans to launch data centers into SPACE. Will Tesla also join up, fulfilling Elon’s destiny to become real-life Tony Stark, with his own Musk Industries? Jason and Alex break down the future of SpaceXAI in a breaking news report.

THEN, we’re still celebrating OpenClaw (née Clawdbot) Mania! Oliver and Lukas return to TWiST to share their Almost Top 10 (okay it’s just a Top 6) favorite Skills so far. 

Learn how they’re using Replicants to summarize TWiST episodes, surf Reddit, produce original Gamma decks, train agents to make themselves smarter, and take care of LAUNCH’s administrative and operations tasks.

Timestamps:

(00:00) BREAKING: SpaceX bought xAI!

 (1:56) Why it will be cheaper to generate compute in space than here on Earth

(8:19) Will Tesla eventually join the club, forming “Musk Industries”?

(11:36) Uber AI Solutions - Your trusted partner to get AI to work in the real world. Book a demo with them TODAY at http://uber.com/twist

(12:37) ALSO BREAKING: We’re still obsessing about Clawdbot/OpenClaw

(14:58) So is OpenClaw and all of its various skills secure yet? NO.

(16:42) Today we’re looking at our picks for the Top 6 OpenClaw skills

(17:13) Alex’s first pick: Reddit (read only), which makes it easier to track down what you want on the aggregator

(19:35) Reddit hates bots! But maybe they’ll change their tune?

(21:47) Deel - Founders ship faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes and get back to building. Visit http://deel.com/twist to learn more.

(22:46) Our Replicant summarized the last few episodes of TWiST… but at what COST? (18 cents)

(26:40) Lukas taught our Replicant to make Gamma decks for us

(29:23) Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity —  Learn more at https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist

(30:21) Our Replicant has ALL the Polymarket data now! The power!

(34:14) AI agents are also playing cards together on ClawPoker

(35:07) Oliver tested out our pal Matt Van Horn’s (@mvanhorn) self-improving “Last 30 Days” skill

(38:22) Why memory is so crucial for getting models to improve themselves over time

(40:33) Yo dawg I know you like monitoring tasks so I built you a task monitor that monitors your tasks so you can task monitor your tasks

(41:40) What makes OpenClaw so powerful is also what makes it dangerous!

(49:12) If you want to really learn about OpenClaw, you need to make your own skills

(50:03) Jason’s advice for OpenClaw’s suddenly famous creator: Peter Steinberger (@steipete)

(56:31) What would be the best way(s) to monetize OpenClaw?

(57:54) Will an OpenClaw agent sue a human in court?

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm/

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Thank you to our partners:

(11:36) Uber AI Solutions - Your trusted partner to get AI to work in the real world. Book a demo with them TODAY at http://uber.com/twist

(21:47) Deel - Founders ship faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes and get back to building. Visit http://deel.com/twist to learn more.

(29:23) Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity —  Learn more at https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist

Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/