Weekly Recap July 11-July 17: Jay Trading, "The Blueprint", FCC Commissioner on banning TikTok

Hi everybody,

Last week saw a lot of fresh content and new segments on the show!

We launched two new segments and one new miniseries:

• Jay Trading: Jason is now trading stocks live on the show. Not kidding. (Podcast | YouTube | Timestamp: 3:22)
• Series A & M&A: We stick to the startup world and cover noteworthy companies that recently raised a Series A! (Podcast | YouTube | Timestamp: 24:40)
• The Blueprint: Jason gives you frameworks and examples for how to get ahead in your career. (Podcast | YouTube | Timestamp: 1:33)

Here’s a quick recap of Jason and Molly’s best breakdowns from last week:

• Molly and Jason covered Matt Taibbi’s investigation into Circle’s stablecoin USDC. Taibbi spent the last month researching the crypto crash, going through Circle’s terms of service, and contacting the company for points of clarification. He wound up with some interesting findings regarding ownership of the digital currency under duress. Jason said it best: “This is was journalism used to be.” (Podcast | YouTube | Timestamp: 8:10)
• The WSJ published an article titled “Stripe Cuts Internal Valuation by 28%” and Jason took exception with the article’s title by breaking down 409A valuations and why this valuation reduction is standard practice and probably a non-story (Podcast | YouTube | Timestamp: 37:52)
• Jason kicked off a brand new miniseries called “The Blueprint”, where he explains frameworks for advancing your career, by giving three strategies for how to “brand yourself with a breakout skill” as an employee (Podcast | YouTube | Timestamp: 1:33)

Producer’s pick:

• There was really only one option this week: Jason is now actively trading stocks live on the show. Buckle up, folks. (NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE) (Podcast | YouTube | Timestamp: 3:22)

Episode and interview recaps:

Sunday: Taking the leap on valuation, strategic retreats (VC School), + more | E1510

On this episode of VC Sunday School, Jason and Molly go deep about taking leaps on valuations and best practices for what Jason calls “strategic retreats.” Then, Molly speaks with Meiling Gao and David Lu of Clarity Movement to talk about their HaaS (hardware-as-a-service) product for measuring air quality!

Friday: $AMZN considers dropping “Basics”, FCC Commissioner Carr on banning TikTok + more | E1509

First up, Jason and Molly briefly cover the WSJ reporting that Amazon is considering exiting its private-label businesses (including Amazon Basics!) to avoid regulatory pressure. Then, Jason spoke with FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr about banning TikTok in the US. The show wraps with another edition of OK Boomer from Producer Rachel, where she speaks with Eric Button, co-founder of Contrast.

Thursday: Jay Trading, Stripe valuation cut, $NFLX ads, $PTON outsourcing, + more | E1508

*** NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE *** To kick off the show, Jason debuts a new segment called “Jay Trading” where he actively trades stocks, breaks down a company and gives his thesis for investing. Then, in ANOTHER new segment called “Series A & M&A," Jason and Molly talk about the AI search engine?you.com and its recent fundraising. They also cover Stripe’s 409A valuation, the Netflix and Microsoft partnership, and Peloton outsourcing its hardware.

Wednesday: The Blueprint E1: Branding yourself, + Jeffrey Pfeffer on the 7 Rules of Power | E1507

(NEW SERIES ALERT!) This episode starts with the first version of “The Blueprint” — a miniseries where Jason breaks down frameworks for getting ahead in your career. Then, Jason speaks with Stanford professor Jeffrey Pfeffer about his new book: “7 Rules of Power: Surprising—but True—Advice on How to Get Things Done and Advance Your Career” explaining how someone can obtain power in business and life. (Spoiler: Jason is mentioned in a few chapters about breaking the rules and branding!)

Tuesday: 3AC liquidation chaos, Taibbi’s USDC deep dive, startup employee advice + more | E1506

Jason and Molly cover the latest in crypto, including the 3AC founders going briefly MIA and Matt Taibbi’s investigation into Circle’s stablecoin USDC. It’s not all crypto, though; they also discuss a recent thread on Twitter that dives into how to succeed as a low-level startup employee and the latest M&A from Spotify.

Monday: Twitter deal called off, Uber leaks, + Apple Car setbacks | E1505

First up J&M discuss the Twitter deal…. or no deal? Then, they cover some Uber news including the leaked documents about Uber’s aggressive expansion efforts in the early days and present-day Uber testing out geo-located ads. Molly and Jason conclude by covering some recent reporting about Apple’s distressed car efforts.

Thanks for reading, everybody!

Producer Nick

A special thanks to our amazing partners (Deals below):

• Dell - Apply for Dell for Startups and get an additional 10% off Dell Latitude products at?https://dell.com/twist
• BetterHelp - Get 10% off your first month at https://betterhelp.com/twist
• Thorne - Personalized, science-backed wellness. Get 10% off your first order at [thorne.com/u/TWIST](https://thorne.com/u/TWIST.)
• Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist
• Embroker - Get an extra 10% off insurance for your business by using code TWIST at https://Embroker.com/twist
• Assure - To get 20% off your first Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) visit https://Assure.co/twist
• Visa - Learn more about Visa’s online Small Business Hub at [Visa.com/smallbusinesshub](https://visa.com/smallbusinesshub.)
• LinkedIn Marketing - Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit at https://linkedin.com/AngelPod
• OpenPhone - Get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://openphone.com/twist
• Liquid I.V. - Feel better faster. Get 25% off at https://www.liquid-iv.com using promo code TWIST
• Wealthfront - Get your first $5,000 managed for free, for life at https://wealthfront.com/TWIST
• Harmonic - Get $4000 off at https://harmonic.ai/twist
• Vanta - Get $1,000 off automating your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist
• Prometheus - Go to Prometheusalts.com or download it on the App Store and use the access code TWIST to sign up
• UserTesting - Get real human insights from customers, try for free today at https://usertesting.com/twist
• Microacquire - Sell your business with no fees at https://try.microacquire.com/twist
• Brave - Download today at https://brave.com/twist to browse faster, search privately and so much more