Ask Jason – This Week In Startups

ask jason

TWIST fans and influencers ask Jason Calacanis questions about startups, tech trends and more.

First Jason covers the recent college enrollment decline (1:23) and lays out his alternative (9:56).

Then Zach Coelius joins for an Ask an Angel session, where they answer 12 audience questions about investing and startups (20:37).

You will learn:
- What is the definition of an outlier success in VC?
- Are investors okay with founders that use no-code software like Bubble as an MVP?
- How does a seasoned investor deal with a founder who is headed in the wrong direction?
- Common pitch failures?
- When should you go for top line versus bottom line?
- Would VC funds do better with individuals instead of institutions?
- What industries Zach and Jason would like to see disrupted
- How much of an impact does bad reputation have on investing?
- What makes a good Board Meeting?
- As a VC, is it better to stay off the board from a liability standpoint?
- What is too expensive at the seed stage?

January 13, 2022

1M fewer college students: is it a problem? + Ask an Angel with Zach Coelius | E1360

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).

August 5, 2021

Bootstrapping vs. taking Venture Capital (FounderU) + Ask An Angel with Zach Coelius | E1260

Zach Coelius joins Jason to answer live listener questions (1:09), and then the pair discuss Apple's recent debacle in firing Antonio Garcia Martinez after being pressured by employees (42:43). Check out the pod notes here: https://bitly.com/e1215notes

May 15, 2021

Ask an Angel PLUS Antonio Garcia Martinez vs. Apple with Zach Coelius | E1215

Jason covers the Facebook Oversight Board's decision on Trump (15:49), gives a potential solution for bad actors on social media that are of public consequence (39:25), provides a concrete way to reverse engineer TAM (55:00), and more!

May 7, 2021

Facebook’s Oversight Board rules on Trump ban plus how to reverse engineer TAM & more | E1211

Ask an Angel with Zach Coelius: Starting your angel career, building marketplaces & more | E1189

March 25, 2021

Ask an Angel with Zach Coelius: Starting your angel career, building marketplaces & more | E1189

Ask an Angel with Zach Coelius: changing VC landscape, pitch deck punch-ups, Tesla's future & more | E1186

March 18, 2021

Ask an Angel with Zach Coelius: changing VC landscape, pitch deck punch-ups, Tesla’s future & more | E1186

Ask an Angel with Zach Coelius: early-stage valuations, product roadmaps, startup killers, Twitter gets its groove back & more | E1179

February 26, 2021

Ask an Angel with Zach Coelius: early-stage valuations, product roadmaps, startup killers, Twitter gets its groove back & more | E1179

Ask Jason! All-In origins, avoiding common investor mistakes, defining

February 20, 2021

Ask Jason! All-In origins, avoiding common investor mistakes, defining “lifestyle” business vs. venture scale & more! | E1176

Ask an Angel with Zach Coelius: is moving to SF still worth it, bubble/recession potential, post-COVID funding & more | E1172

February 10, 2021

Ask an Angel with Zach Coelius: is moving to SF still worth it, bubble/recession potential, post-COVID funding & more | E1172

E1139: Loop CEO Brian Gannon shares secrets to scaling a hardware startup & launching the Loop 2 + bonus Ask Jason!

November 17, 2020

E1139: Loop CEO Brian Gannon shares secrets to scaling a hardware startup & launching the Loop 2 + bonus Ask Jason!

E1138: Ask Jason! Benefits to growing a company internationally, Apple's new chip impact, investing in solo founders & more!

November 13, 2020

E1138: Ask Jason! Benefits to growing a company internationally, Apple’s new chip impact, investing in solo founders & more!

E1114: #AskJason! Silicon Valley exodus, product vs. branding, expanding into adjacent markets, avoiding burnout & more

September 25, 2020

E1114: #AskJason! Silicon Valley exodus, product vs. branding, expanding into adjacent markets, avoiding burnout & more

E1072 Ask Jason: Growing as a leader, managing more experienced employees as a young CEO, Consumer SaaS pricing tips, bull markets post-COVID & more

June 9, 2020

E1072 Ask Jason: Growing as a leader, managing more experienced employees as a young CEO, Consumer SaaS pricing tips, bull markets post-COVID & more

E1071 Ask Jason: Black Lives Matter, Post-COVID tech hubs, Founder/VC disputes, bringing manufacturing back to the US, pre-selling SaaS products & more

June 5, 2020

E1071 Ask Jason: Black Lives Matter, Post-COVID tech hubs, Founder/VC disputes, bringing manufacturing back to the US, pre-selling SaaS products & more

E1053: Ask Jason! Catching‌ ‌an‌ ‌investor's‌ ‌eye‌ ‌with‌ ‌a‌ ‌cold‌ ‌email‌, what founders/investors often overlook during pitches, COVID's impact on Jason's deal flow, domain name hacks & more!

May 5, 2020

E1053: Ask Jason! Catching‌ ‌an‌ ‌investor’s‌ ‌eye‌ ‌with‌ ‌a‌ ‌cold‌ ‌email‌, what founders/investors often overlook during pitches, COVID’s impact on Jason’s deal flow, domain name hacks & more!

E1047: Ask Jason Slack Special! Sourcing talent during a crisis, building strong culture & motivating remote teams, investing in distributed startups, importance of market timing & more!

April 21, 2020

E1047: Ask Jason Slack Special! Sourcing talent during a crisis, building strong culture & motivating remote teams, investing in distributed startups, importance of market timing & more!

E782: Founder.University Startup Tuneup: Jason & Brian Alvey dissect then perfect pitches in 7 verticals (stain-free clothes, outdoor marketplace, political engagement, acct data, podcast sharing, healthcare, electric scooters!)

December 6, 2017

E782: Founder.University Startup Tuneup: Jason & Brian Alvey dissect then perfect pitches in 7 verticals (stain-free clothes, outdoor marketplace, political engagement, acct data, podcast sharing, healthcare, electric scooters!)

E774: All #AskJason: product pitches, investment v. bootstrapping, best models & metrics for SaaS & enterprise, getting to revenue, diversity in teams, landing angels & VCs, with Brian Alvey

November 2, 2017

E774: All #AskJason: product pitches, investment v. bootstrapping, best models & metrics for SaaS & enterprise, getting to revenue, diversity in teams, landing angels & VCs, with Brian Alvey

E658: #AskJason at The Last Mile tech accelerator & training program at San Quentin State Prison

July 8, 2016

E658: #AskJason at The Last Mile tech accelerator & training program at San Quentin State Prison

E653: #AskJason @ Microsoft Global Startup Roadshow: global economic engagement, universal CEO challenges, China’s B2C market, fundraising metrics & more

June 21, 2016

E653: #AskJason @ Microsoft Global Startup Roadshow: global economic engagement, universal CEO challenges, China’s B2C market, fundraising metrics & more

E648: All #AskJason: cannabis, education, diversity, real estate, funding & more at #TWiSTlive, Microsoft Reactor

June 3, 2016

E648: All #AskJason: cannabis, education, diversity, real estate, funding & more at #TWiSTlive, Microsoft Reactor

E612: All #AskJason: scaling strategies, pitching tips, video trends, traction tactics, cautionary hiring, valuable practices and more for 2016

January 12, 2016

E612: All #AskJason: scaling strategies, pitching tips, video trends, traction tactics, cautionary hiring, valuable practices and more for 2016

E601: All Shark Tank / Ask Jason at TWiST Live!

December 4, 2015

E601: All Shark Tank / Ask Jason at TWiST Live!

#AskJason: Mobile, Wearables & Internet of Things! Part 3, with Janice Fraser, Pivotal

October 28, 2015

#AskJason: Mobile, Wearables & Internet of Things! Part 3, with Janice Fraser, Pivotal

#AskJason: Mobile, Wearables & Internet of Things! Part 2

October 1, 2015

#AskJason: Mobile, Wearables & Internet of Things! Part 2

#AskJason: Mobile, Wearables & Internet of Things! Part 1

September 10, 2015

#AskJason: Mobile, Wearables & Internet of Things! Part 1

E569: All #AskJason: Zirtual lessons, product launch tips, VCs & copycats behaving badly, crowdfunding v. raising, remote devs, side projects, living in the now -- and more

August 14, 2015

E569: All #AskJason: Zirtual lessons, product launch tips, VCs & copycats behaving badly, crowdfunding v. raising, remote devs, side projects, living in the now — and more

E565: Ahryun Moon, founder of EtchApp & the return of

July 31, 2015

E565: Ahryun Moon, founder of EtchApp & the return of “Ask Jason”!

E546: #TWiSTLive at Samsung Global Innovation Center: All

May 29, 2015

E546: #TWiSTLive at Samsung Global Innovation Center: All “Ask Jason”/Shark Tank

December 23, 2014

E501: “No holds barred” Part 2: Jason tells all & makes bold predictions for 2015

December 19, 2014

E500: The “No holds barred” interview with Jason in the hot seat (PART 1)

BONUS TWIST!: Jason hosts Singularity University for lively Q&A

October 9, 2014

BONUS TWIST!: Jason hosts Singularity University for lively Q&A

E410: Mogl's Jon Carder on 'fighting hunger with hunger' & Ask Jason

January 7, 2014

E410: Mogl’s Jon Carder on ‘fighting hunger with hunger’ & Ask Jason

E347: All Ask Jason - Fundraising #E347

April 30, 2013

E347: All Ask Jason – Fundraising #E347

E297: All Ask Jason - TWiST

October 16, 2012

E297: All Ask Jason – TWiST

E283: All Ask Jason - TWiST

August 21, 2012

E283: All Ask Jason – TWiST

E255: All Ask Jason on This Week in Startups

April 30, 2012

E255: All Ask Jason on This Week in Startups

E104: Ask Jason Marathon!

December 28, 2010

E104: Ask Jason Marathon!

E099: -Ask Jason/Shark Tank Takeover

December 7, 2010

E099: -Ask Jason/Shark Tank Takeover

E096: - Bonus Episode - All Ask Jason and Shark Tank

November 28, 2010

E096: – Bonus Episode – All Ask Jason and Shark Tank

E087: Ask Jason and Shark Tank Special!

October 20, 2010

E087: Ask Jason and Shark Tank Special!

E059: All Ask Jason

June 25, 2010

E059: All Ask Jason

E056: All Ask Jason

June 13, 2010

E056: All Ask Jason

E048: Ask Jason

April 21, 2010

E048: Ask Jason

E034: Ask Jason Bonanza

January 8, 2010

E034: Ask Jason Bonanza

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