The state of seed, the first TWIST500 startups, and the impact of anonymous apps on society | E1963

This Week in Startups

This Week in Startups is brought to you by…

Attio. A radically new CRM for the next era of companies. Head to https://attio.com/twist to get 15% off for your first year.

OpenPhone. Create business phone numbers for you and your team that work through an app on your smartphone or desktop. TWiST listeners can get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://www.openphone.com/twist⁠

.Tech Domains - Don’t miss our “Jam with JCal” contest! To apply and get more details go to https://www.jamwithjcal.tech brought to you by .tech domains.

*

Todays show:

Alex Wilhelm joins Jason to discuss concerns about the app "Fizz" (12:24), the state of seed (31:35), the first TWIST500 startups (58:58), and more!

*

Timestamps:

(0:00) Jason and Alex kick off the show

(11:15) Attio - Head to https://attio.com/twist⁠ to get 15% off for your first year.

(12:24) Concerns about the app "Fizz" and the use of anonymity in social media apps

(19:14) The impact of anonymous apps on society, parenting concerns, and the responsibility of investors in harmful tech startups

(23:16) The case for banning smartphones in schools

(30:19) OpenPhone - Get 20% off your first six months at https://www.openphone.com/twist⁠

(31:35) The state of seed

(35:33) Impact of AI on startup efficiency

(38:17) .Tech Domains - Apply for the “Jam with JCal” contest today at https://www.jamwithjcal.tech

(39:45) The variety of seed deals

(45:13) How to leave and join a rival company legally

(58:58) The first TWIST500 startups

(1:05:48) Impact of AI on journalism and media companies

*

Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp

*

Mentioned on the show:

https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/fizz-is-the-latest-campus-gossip-app-it-took-two-days-to-shake-up-one-high-school-1d59ffd4

https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-fizz-app-anonymous-messaging-cyber-bullying-vermont-2024-6

https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/10/insiders-bet-more-on-fizz-a-social-network-that-has-now-bubbled-up-at-80-college-campuses/

https://x.com/JonHaidt/status/1799525595509850522

https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/28/yik-yak-shuts-down-after-square-paid-1-million-for-its-engineers/

https://x.com/Jason/status/1799868195899376014/photo/1

https://techcrunch.com/2024/06/07/y-combinator-yc-startups-tiny-seed-rounds-vc-investors-not-interested/

https://x.com/dhh/status/1799427898652389827

https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahemerson/2024/06/07/buzzy-ai-search-engine-perplexity-is-directly-ripping-off-content-from-news-outlets/

https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/24/zendesk-drama-concludes-with-10-2-billion-private-equity-acquisition

*

Follow Alex:

X: https://x.com/alex

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

*

Follow Jason:

X: https://twitter.com/Jason

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

*

Thank you to our partners:

(11:15) Attio - Head to https://attio.com/twist⁠ to get 15% off for your first year.

(30:19) OpenPhone - Get 20% off your first six months at https://www.openphone.com/twist

(38:17) .Tech Domains - Apply for the “Jam with JCal” contest today at https://www.jamwithjcal.tech

*

Great 2023 interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland

*

Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis

*

Follow TWiST:

Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups

*

Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.founder.university/podcast