<p><strong>This Week In Startups is made possible by:</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Grasshopper Bank https://grasshopper.bank/twistLinkedIn Jobs https://LinkedIn.com/twistNorthwest Registered Agent https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Today’s show:</strong></p><p><strong>Jason breaks down the real math behind raising a seed round. Here’s the funnel: contact 150 firms, get 50 first meetings, convert 2o into second meetings, and close 2 term sheets.</strong></p><p><strong>PLUS Jason responds to viewer questions about why hardware is no longer a dirty word for investors, how to differentiate your startup from frontier-model companies like OpenAI, even when they’re in your niche. Plus a pitch for “Founder Community College,” and anecdotes from Lon’s European odyssey.</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Thanks for the Questions:</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Richard Corral: CEO of Quanto:</strong><a href="https://quanto.co/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://quanto.co/</strong></a></p><p><strong>ØnProtons on X:</strong><a href="https://x.com/0nProtons" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://x.com/0nProtons</strong></a></p><p><strong>SergeDawg on X:</strong><a href="https://x.com/sergedawg" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://x.com/sergedawg</strong></a></p><p><strong>Mahika Golani</strong></p><p><strong>Peridot:</strong><a href="https://www.tryperidot.com/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://www.tryperidot.com/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Shawn Sully on X:</strong><a href="https://x.com/aroogle" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://x.com/aroogle</strong></a></p><p><strong>Programs and Accelerators Mentioned:</strong></p><p><strong>Y Combinator:</strong><a href="https://www.ycombinator.com/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://www.ycombinator.com/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Techstars:</strong><a href="https://www.techstars.com/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://www.techstars.com/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Antler:</strong><a href="https://www.antler.co/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://www.antler.co/</strong></a></p><p><strong>PearX:</strong><a href="https://pear.vc/pearx/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://pear.vc/pearx/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Sequoia ARC:</strong><a href="https://www.sequoiacap.com/arc/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://www.sequoiacap.com/arc/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Kauffman Fellows:</strong><a href="https://www.kauffmanfellows.org/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://www.kauffmanfellows.org/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Companies and Startups Referenced:</strong></p><p><strong>Whoop:</strong><a href="https://www.whoop.com/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://www.whoop.com/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Knightscope:</strong><a href="https://knightscope.com/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://knightscope.com/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Eight Sleep:</strong><a href="https://www.eightsleep.com/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://www.eightsleep.com/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Cafe X:</strong><a href="https://www.cafexapp.com/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://www.cafexapp.com/</strong></a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Media Referenced:</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>New Yorker Sam Altman profile:</strong><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may-control-our-future-can-he-be-trusted" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may-control-our-future-can-he-be-trusted</strong></a></p><p><strong>Off-Duty Recommendations</strong></p><p><strong>Terra Kaffe Demi compact automatic espresso machine:</strong><a href="https://www.terrakaffe.com/products/tk-demi" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://www.terrakaffe.com/products/tk-demi</strong></a></p><p><strong>Osteria Pastella (Florence, Italy):</strong><a href="https://www.osteriapastella.it/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://www.osteriapastella.it/</strong></a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Timestamps:</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>0:00 Inside the TWiST private group chat</strong></p><p><strong>3:25 How to react when an investor says your &quot;too early.&quot;</strong></p><p><strong>6:50 The ultimate seed round funnel</strong></p><p><strong>8:48 Jason&#39;s new Associate in Training program</strong></p><p><strong>10:09 Grasshopper Bank - Time is money. Don&#39;t waste either. Go to https://grasshopper.bank/twist and get an exclusive $500 cash bonus just for opening an account.</strong></p><p><strong>18:28 How have the metrics for early-stage companies changed?</strong></p><p><strong>20:20 LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at https://LinkedIn.com/twist</strong></p><p><strong>22:34 TWiST Bounties update</strong></p><p><strong>23:43 Competing against frontier labs</strong></p><p><strong>30:03 What signals real investor-founder alignment?</strong></p><p><strong>30:14 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://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist</strong></p><p><strong>36:07 A crash course in Bay Area startup culture</strong></p><p><strong>40:15 Automatons-as-a-Service (AaaS)</strong></p><p><strong>42:29 Who in Silicon Valley does Jason really not like?</strong></p><p><strong>49:59 Museum Etiquette with Lon Harris</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter:</strong><a href="https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com</strong></a></p><p><strong>Check out the TWIST500:</strong><a href="https://www.twist500.com" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://www.twist500.com</strong></a></p><p><strong>Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple:</strong><a href="https://rb.gy/v19fcp" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://rb.gy/v19fcp</strong></a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Follow Lon:</strong></p><p><strong>X:</strong><a href="https://x.com/lons" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://x.com/lons</strong></a></p><p><strong>Follow Alex:</strong></p><p><strong>X:</strong><a href="https://x.com/alex" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://x.com/alex</strong></a></p><p><strong>LinkedIn:</strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm</strong></a></p><p><strong>Follow Jason:</strong></p><p><strong>X:</strong><a href="https://twitter.com/Jason" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://twitter.com/Jason</strong></a></p><p><strong>LinkedIn:</strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis</strong></a></p><p><strong>Check out all our partner offers:</strong><a href="https://partners.launch.co/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://partners.launch.co/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Great TWIST interviews:</strong><a href="https://youtu.be/pvJa2pzuXWQ" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> Will Guidara,</strong></a><a href="https://youtu.be/9dHN4YFkgv4" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> Eoghan McCabe</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-on-mod-revolt-building-a/id315114957?i=1000617333424" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> Steve Huffman</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/airbnb-ceo-brian-chesky-on-early-rejection-customer/id315114957?i=1000611761112" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> Brian Chesky</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://youtu.be/y2UMzSqX94Q" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> Bob Moesta,</strong></a><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/box-ceo-aaron-levie-breaks-down-box-ai-and-generative/id315114957?i=1000612384545" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> Aaron Levie</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/sophia-amoruso-on-branding-raising-a-fund-portfolio/id315114957?i=1000601352978" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> Sophia Amoruso</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/reid-hoffman-on-ais-crescendo-moment-regulation-and/id315114957?i=1000612548498" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> Reid Hoffman</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/snowflake-ceo-frank-slootman-on-moving-the-needle-win/id315114957?i=1000602560622" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> Frank Slootman</strong></a><strong>,</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/billy-mcfarland-on-fyre-fest-fraud-failure-hacking/id315114957?i=1000610922577" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> Billy McFarland</strong></a></p><p><strong>Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters:</strong><a href="https://substack.com/@calacanis" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://substack.com/@calacanis</strong></a></p><p><strong>Follow TWiST:</strong></p><p><strong>Twitter:</strong><a href="https://twitter.com/TWiStartups" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://twitter.com/TWiStartups</strong></a></p><p><strong>YouTube:</strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin</strong></a></p><p><strong>Instagram:</strong><a href="https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups</strong></a></p><p><strong>TikTok:</strong><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups</strong></a></p><p><strong>Substack:</strong><a href="https://twistartups.substack.com" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong> https://twistartups.substack.com</strong></a><br></p>