This Week in Startups

This Week In Startups is made possible by:

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Today’s show: 

Jason is back from Davos and Tokyo! We are jumping right back in with a group of Clawdbot power users: Alex Finn, Matt Von Horn, and Dan Penguine.

Clawdbot is a hot open source AI project that lets users automate… everything! Dan helped his automate his aging parent’s tea shop, Matt built news sourcing bots, and Alex runs his one-man SAAS startup with Clawdbot as an AI employee!

But with all of that power comes the responsibility of making sure you are not giving your AI too many authorizations that could come under fire! Whether fisching emails, “injections”, or bad decision making from incorrect information online.

Check out how these 3 experts, Jason and Alex are thinking about the bleeding edge of AI!

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introducing today’s Clawdbot experts!

(04:09) How Matt Von Horn makes “Skills” with Clawdbot

(10:53) Quo (formerly OpenPhone) gives you a clean, modern way to handle every customer call, text, and thread all in one place. Try it free at http://quo.com/TWiST.

(13:25) Dan Penguine’s “Normy” use case: automating his parent’s tea shop

(19:50) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://lemon.io/twist

(22:23) Alex Finn breaks down how Clawdbot lets him run a one man startup

(24:28) Alex Finn on Clawdbot autonomously building apps within his business

(28:33) Security concerns with Clawdbot, can your AI get hacked?

(32:46) 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

(35:07) Why is everyone buying Mac Minis?

(37:39) How to think about LLM Token usage

(46:02) Clawdbot will build CRMs, project management software, etc without being asked. Is this the end of SAAS?

(46:58) Matt live uploads his new Clawdbot skill on aire!

(48:22) Why was Clawdbot able to move so much quicker than Anthropic and OpenAI?

(50:17) What is Clawdbot’s business model as an open source AI?

(53:27) Matt’s recursive AI prompt loop and how AI prompts layer

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Thank you to our partners:

(10:53) Quo (formerly OpenPhone) gives you a clean, modern way to handle every customer call, text, and thread all in one place. Try it free at http://quo.com/TWiST

(19:50) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://lemon.io/twist

(32:46) 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:
Sentry.io - sentry.io/twist
Hubspot - clickhubspot.com/twist2
Northwest Registered Agent - https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist
Today’s show:
One day soon, you might consult an AI general practitioner about your health, and then the computer will recommend human specialists to take up your case.
On TWiST Tokyo, Jason chats with Fred Almeida — founder and CEO of American Medical Intelligence Inc. — and Maxwell Weiss, a partner at Pacific Bays Capital.
Together, they discuss the future of medicine, and the opportunities for individuals to take greater control over their health and preventative care strategies.
PLUS a look at how Japan has stayed at the forefront of technology despite NOT being a manufacturing hub, why so many Americans are willing to take a pay cut to move to Japan for work, and the concept of “genten shugi,” and how it prevents some Japanese people from communicating with English speakers, despite understanding the language.
THEN we hear pitches from some of our favorite Founder University x Japan companies, and Fred, Jason, and Max pick their favorites!
Timestamps:
(00:00) Introducing today’s big guests: founder Fred Almeida and investor Max Weiss!
(5:43) Why Fred thinks one day soon, an AI will be your general practitioner
(8:26) The power of getting self-directed medical diagnostics
(13:27) Max says Japan has moved into Decade 2 in its venture capital journey
(14:37) Sentry - New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST
(16:05) Max and Jason had wagyu barbecue the other night
(17:10) Japan doesn’t OFFICIALLY have a standing army…
(21:37) Why the line between talking startups and politics is blurring
(23:05) Hubspot - Check out the guide “Advanced ChatGPT Prompt Engineering: From Basic to Expert in 7 Days.” Download it for free at clickhubspot.com/twist2.
(24:59) Japan doesn’t make a lot of things, but it produces the underlying tech behind a lot of things
(25:52) Understanding Genten Shugi: Why some in Japan still have an “English allergy”
(29:42) Why some Americans will take a pay cut to come work in Japan
(33:28) 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
(34:10) PITCH #1: Cascade(36:10) PITCH #2: Altsource Global(38:10) PITCH #3: GoalMochi(40:25) Jason, Max, and Fred give feedback on our first three pitches(42:45) Would GoalMochi ever consider adding personas for added expertise, like say a nutritionist?(44:30) How does Cascade plan to compete against the massive ad networks of companies like Google and Meta?(46:05) PITCH #4: RandomChat(48:10) PITCH #5: Eir(50:05) More feedback for our final two pitches of the day(52:44) Fred wants to know how Eir’s product will integrate with other systems(54:19) Why Gigi made herself available to chat in her app(57:50) Why Jason thinks RandomChat should add anonymous personas

Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com
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Thank you to our partners:
(14:37) Sentry - New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST
(23:05) Hubspot - Check out the guide “Advanced ChatGPT Prompt Engineering: From Basic to Expert in 7 Days.” Download it for free at clickhubspot.com/twist2.
(33:28) 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

This Week In Startups is made possible by:

Northwest Registered Agent - www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist

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

LinkedIn Jobs - http://linkedIn.com/twist

Today’s show: 

On today’s TWIST episode, Alex interviews two of the top startup co-founders: Keller Cliffton of Zipline and Anastasis Germanidis of Runway. 

Zipline announced its $600 million raise at a $7.6 BILLION valuation. Kellers breaks down the origins, economics, and future of Zipline’s contrarian bet in drone delivery. What was science fiction a decade ago is now a regular part of life for many. In fact, Zipline operates more flights than United!

Zipline is set to leapfrog the car delivery apps AND self driving cars with the superior economics of drone delivery. It is much cheaper to transport your burrito in a lightweight drone than a 6,000 pound self driving car!

Then, Alex is joined by Anastasis Germanidis, the CTO and co-founder of Runway, to explain why the next frontier of generative AI is world models! Runway  is looking to build a universal simulation, which will unlock massive gains in robotics, autonomy, and simulations. The world model would be able to simulate rare edge cases that could take years to find naturally! 

Check out how this cutting edge AI startup’s NYU Tisch School of Art’s origins

Then, See Jason’s answer to the question: “When should founders pivot or give up?”

Timestamps: 

(00:00) The Drone revolution is here!

(02:46) Inside Zipline’s factory to build 20K drones a year

(04:40) American dynamism Vs. Chinese manufacturing dominance

(09:00) How Zipline is growing 75% month on month

(9:50) 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

(11:15) Zipline teleports food and goods to your house

(21:54) 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.

(23:02) Is it affordable to use a drone to deliver a burrito?

(29:18) Zipline DOUBLES United’s flight numbers

(31:11) LinkedIn Jobs - post your job for free at http://linkedIn.com/twist then promote it to get access to LinkedIn Jobs new AI assistant.

(32:21) Anastasis break’s down Runway’s AI modeling

(35:24) Runway’s Gen 4.5 and the world model

(40:57) Why do robotics companies need a world model?

(43:04) Using AI to simulate robot laundry folding

(52:37) Runway’s origins at NYU’s art school

(55:46) Founder Q/A: When to pivot or give up on your startup

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Follow Lon:

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

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Thank you to our partners:

(9:50) 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

(21:54) 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.

(31:11) LinkedIn Jobs - post your job for free at http://linkedIn.com/twist then promote it to get access to LinkedIn Jobs new AI assistant.

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

This Week In Startups is made possible by:

Circle.so - http://Circle.so/twist

Deel - http://deel.com/twist

Uber AI Solutions - http://uber.com/twist

Today’s show:

Not long ago, promising young Japanese graduates wanted to go work for the largest, most established, and even oldest corporations: Sony, Mitsubishi, and the like. But now, just over the last few years, more and more Japanese people are becoming entrepreneurs and founders. 

TWiST Japan continues with a fascinating look inside the country’s growing startup ecosystem with special guest, venture capitalist Shinichi “Shin” Takamiya. 

He’ll walk Jason through how Japan stayed ahead of the rest of the world in technology, but started falling behind when it came to founding companies, and how the Japanese are now starting to level the playing field.

PLUS why his fund, Globis, sees other VC firms as collaborators rather than the competition… How AI is helping Japanese and American founders build their companies more quickly… Why Jason prefers training younger people to become VCs rather than hiring more experienced players… Shin’s guide to eating out in Tokyo… and much more!

Timestamps: 

(00:00) We’re so excited to bring Founder University in Japan!

(04:15) Jason and our guest first met 15-25 years ago…

(06:06) How is Japan always so far ahead of the rest of the world?

(08:29) Globis is one of Japan’s largest and oldest venture capital firms!

(10:48) Circle.so -  the easiest way to build a home for your community, events, and courses — all under your own brand. TWiST listeners get $1,000 off Circle’s Professional Plan by going to http://Circle.so/twist

(12:38) Why founders need to play the long game when it comes to networking

(15:03) “The founder is the most precious resource in the startup community”

(16:50) Shin takes us inside his Mercari (a massive Japanese marketplace site) investment

(18:20) How startups became “cool” in Japan, just recently

(19:43) 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.

(21:09) You don’t have to tell an investor your whole story… just get them interested

(25:28) Why Jason likes to train young folks to be VCs, rather than hiring for experience

(28:44) The differences between being candid and rude

(29:44) 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

(35:40) Why Globis sees other VC firms as collaborators

(39:08) The world’s OLDEST company is 1500 years old… and it’s from Japan…

(39:54) Why a lot of great businesses aren’t right for VC investment

(43:34) Why picking the right market is so crucial

(48:37) When you know the direction of change but can’t predict the timing

(50:34) How founders are using AI to build better companies faster

(54:39) Shin’s guide to eating out in Tokyo

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Check out the TWIST500: https://twist500.com

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Follow Lon:

X: https://x.com/lons

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Follow Alex:

X: https://x.com/alex

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

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Follow Jason:

X: https://twitter.com/Jason

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

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Thank you to our partners:

(10:48) Circle.so -  the easiest way to build a home for your community, events, and courses — all under your own brand. TWiST listeners get $1,000 off Circle’s Professional Plan by going to http://Circle.so/twist

(19:43) 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.

(29:44) 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

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

This Week In Startups is made possible by:

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

Deel - http://deel.com/twist

LinkedIn Jobs - http://linkedIn.com/twist

Today’s show: 

Some pitches sound just like ads… and it’s a huge red flag for investors.

On our latest edition of TWiST Tokyo, Jason welcomes legendary angel investor (and long-time friend of the pod) Thomas McInerney. His list of investments reads like a Who’s Who of the tech elite, including Notion, SpaceX, Uber, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity….

At Founder University x Tokyo, they discuss how the angel investing landscape has shifted, why it’s so important for founders to stay humble, the reasons that investors need to stay not just optimistic but aggressively so, and what angels can add to companies beyond just writing checks.

Plus we revisit some classic TWiST clips featuring Thomas from over 10 years ago AND take a look at three of our favorite pitches from our Japanese founders.

Timestamps:

(00:00) FLASHBACK: Clips from Tom’s classic TWiST appearances

(02:54) Why Jason and Tom love hanging and building in Tokyo.

(05:30) How has the angel investing landscape changed over the last decade plus?

(09:38) “Being an investor is a commodity… You have to provide more than just money.”

(12:17) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist

(13:34) How Thomas evaluates very early stage startups

(14:56) Why Thomas invested in nuclear tech when it was hugely unpopular

(17:31) Why it’s so important for new founders to be both humble and smart

(18:50) The relevance and accuracy of Marc Andreessen’s “Idea Maze” metaphor

(20:40) 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.

(21:41) How Elon Musk brings oversized, visionary ideas to life

(26:11) Why founders using buzzwords is a huge red flag

(27:13) The little “poker tells” Thomas and Jason look for in a founder

(28:26) “If there’s any doubt, there’s no doubt.”

(30:47) LinkedIn Jobs - post your job for free at http://linkedIn.com/twist then promote it to get access to LinkedIn Jobs’ new AI assistant.

(32:04) PRO TIP: Don’t run out of money!

(38:10) The importance of being an aggressive optimist for investors

(43:27) The human brain cannot comprehend 1000x growth

(45:33) PITCH #1: Sakenomist is the cross-border commerce platform, starting with sake exporters (Hiroshi Takeuchi)

(51:47) PITCH #2: HomiiWorld, the IRL social app which helps you meet new people anywhere in the world

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Check out the TWIST500: https://twist500.com

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Follow Lon:

X: https://x.com/lons

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Follow Alex:

X: https://x.com/alex

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

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Follow Jason:

X: https://twitter.com/Jason

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

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Thank you to our partners:

(12:17) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://lemon.io/twist

(20:40) 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.

(30:47) LinkedIn Jobs - post your job for free at http://linkedIn.com/twist then promote it to get access to LinkedIn Jobs’ new AI assistant.

Great TWIST interviews: 

Will Guidara
https://youtu.be/pvJa2pzuXWQ

Eoghan McCabe
https://youtu.be/9dHN4YFkgv4

Steve Huffman
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-on-mod-revolt-building-a/id315114957?i=1000617333424

Brian Chesky
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/airbnb-ceo-brian-chesky-on-early-rejection-customer/id315114957?i=1000611761112

Bob Moesta
https://youtu.be/y2UMzSqX94Q