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Episode 2271

AI Rebuilt Every YC W26 Startup. Should Founders Be Scared? | E2271

Apr 3, 20261:20:08Watch on YouTube

Brought to you by:

Guests:

Marik Hazan: https://x.com/MarikHazan

Feltsense: https://feltsense.com/

Andrew D’Souza: https://x.com/andrewdsouza

Boardy: https://www.boardy.ai/

Related Links

The Syndicate: https://thesyndicate.com/

The All-In Podcast: https://allin.com/

This Week in Tech: https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech

Y Combinator W26 batch directory: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies?batch=Winter+2026

Polsia: https://polsia.com/

Medvi: https://home.medvi.org/

NYT Medvi profile: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/02/technology/ai-billion-dollar-company-medvi.html

TBPN: https://www.tbpn.com/

TBPN acquired by OpenAI: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/02/openai-acquires-tech-podcast-tbpn.html

Creandum: https://creandum.com/

Vast Space: https://www.vastspace.com/

Zipline: https://www.zipline.com/

Apple: 50 Years of Thinking Different: https://www.apple.com/50-years-of-thinking-different/

Don Valentine’s 1977 Apple Memo: https://x.com/sequoia/status/2039434032132575544

Timestamps:

0:00 Jason's direction for TWiST and thoughts on legacy media

4:51 Marik of Feltsense joins the show

5:30 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!

6:47 Marik's viral YC replicator stunt

9:00 Deel - Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, get visas handled fast, and get back to building. Visit https://deel.com/twist to learn more.

19:53 Grasshopper bank - Time is money. Don't waste either. Go to https://grasshopper.bank/twist and get an exclusive $500 cash bonus just for opening an account.

21:10 Feltsense founder goes on trial!

25:03 Jason dunks on Bank of America's app

27:36 TBPN acquired by OpenAI

29:05 The All In Podcast is worth $1B!

29:27 Render - Find out why 5 million developers are already using the all-in-one cloud platform, Render. Go to https://render.com/twist and apply for the Render Startup Program to get $500-$100,000 in free credits, depending on your stage and backers.

32:39 Andrew D'Souza joins the show along with his agent, Boardy!

42:54 So how does Boardy make money?

48:09 Lon is becoming more and more "AI-pilled"

50:18 Tactical/ practical: "If we have data, let's look at data. If all we have are opinions, let's go with mine." -Jim Barskdale, former CEO of Netscape

1:00:37 Tactical/ practical: hire a PR firm to report on your competitors' wrong doings.

1:02:35 Jason calls out Apple for being DISGRAZIAD!

1:14:22 Off Duty with Lon and J-Cal

1:14:46 Lon's TV pick of the week: "Something Very Bad is Going to Happen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMc_pWm7G7o

1:16:48 Jason recommendations a weighted vest

1:19:29 Become an Angel Investor at https://thesyndicate.com/

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