20VC: Twitter's Most Controversial VC Delian Asparouhov on Inside the Walls of Founders Fund: What the World Does Not See | Why Western Europe Will Be Like the Third World | Why SaaS as an Industry Might Be Dead
Delian Asparouhov is a Partner at Founders Fund and Co-Founder and President of Varda Space Industries, which is building the world's first space factories. At Founders Fund Delian has led deals in the likes of Ramp ($7BN) and Sword Health ($3BN) among others. Before joining Founders Fund, he was a Principal at Khosla Ventures, Head of Growth at Teespring, and Founder of a healthcare company called Nightingale.
In Today's Episode with Delian Asparouhov We Discuss:
1. Venture Capital: Winners, Losers and Everyone Else:
Who are the Top 3 venture firms in the world today according to Delian?
Why does Delian believe that Benchmark are not the firm they were?
Who will be the winners in venture in the next 10 years?
Who will be the losers in venture in the next 10 years?
2. Inside Founders Fund: What No One Sees:
What are the most important and impactful elements of Founders Fund that no one knows about?
What does Delian believe that the Founders Fund partnership will strongly disagree with him on?
Why does Founders Fund believe the path of most resistance is the best way to make decisions?
What single topic has Delian publicly disagreed with Peter Thiel on most? How did it go?
3. What Every Young VC Needs to Know:
What are Delian's single biggest tips to young VCs looking to scale the VC ladder today?
What are the five core pillars of venture according to Delian? What should young VCs focus on?
Why does Delian disagree with Founders Fund partners that "the best founders do not need the help of their VCs?"
Does Delian agree with Vinod Khosla that "90% of VCs do detract value?"
What are the biggest ways that Delian believes VCs can and do detract value?
4. Europe Will Be Third World, Parenting and Marriage:
Why does Delian believe that Western Europe will become like the third world?
What are Delian's single biggest tips on finding a life partner?
What have been the biggest changes to Delian since becoming a father?
What question does no one ask Delian that someone should ask him?
Crypto, the Midas List, and democratizing VC with Delian Asparouhov and Mel Williams | E1952
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Todays show:
David Weisburd hosts Mel Williams, Delian Asparouhov, and Jason Calacanis to discuss discuss crypto regulation (17:05), AI spending (27:21), and immigration's role in startups (55:43).
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Timestamps:
(0:00) David Weisburd intros Mel Williams, Delian Asparouhov, and Jason Calacanis
(3:46) WSJ reports that top crypto funds are back in the market
(9:38) OpenPhone - Get 20% off your first six months at https://www.openphone.com/twist
(10:54) Jason's proposal for a "sophisticated investor test" for crypto investments
(17:05) The limitations of current SEC regulations and the potential political impact of crypto regulation
(26:03) Coda - Get a $1,000 startup credit at https://coda.io/twist
(27:21) AI spend is up across the board in 2024
(39:42) Northwest Registered Agent - For just $39 plus state fees, Northwest will handle your complete business identity. Visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today.
(41:01) GPT-4o demos and the rapid commoditization of AI technology
(48:29) The impact of AI on the economy
(55:43) Immigration and its impact on the startup ecosystem
(1:06:11) Self-censorship and the importance of a free society
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Follow Mel:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mel-williams-00584a5
Check Out: https://truebridgecapital.com
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Follow Delian:
X: https://x.com/zebulgar
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/delian-asparouhov-87447742
Check out: https://foundersfund.com https://www.varda.com
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Follow David:
X: https://twitter.com/DWeisburd
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dweisburd
Check out: https://10xcapital.com
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Follow Jason:
X: https://twitter.com/jason
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jason
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis
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Thank you to our partners:
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(26:03) Coda - Get a $1,000 startup credit at https://coda.io/twist
(39:42) Northwest Registered Agent - For just $39 plus state fees, Northwest will handle your complete business identity. Visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today.
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Next Unicorns: Manufacturing pharma drugs in space with Varda’s Delian Asparouhov | E1793
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Today’s show:
Varda’s Delian Asparouhov is back with Jason to discuss Varda (18:43), his insights on different aspects of venture capital (1:41), the shifts in silicon valley culture (11:56), and much more! Then, Jason is joined by Argyle CEO Maret Thatcher to discuss how her startup is using AR headsets to make construction PMs faster and more efficient. (58:27)
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Time stamps:
(0:00) Varda President and Co-Founder Delian Asparouhov joins Jason
(1:41) Delian’s insights on different aspects of venture capital
(8:35) Defense tech and silicon valley’s aversion to military
(10:48) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist
(11:56) The shift in silicon valley culture
(14:39) Culture wars and keeping everyone focused
(18:43) The inception of Varda
(23:15) Varda’s first provisions and overall mission
(27:14) CLA - Get started with CLA's CPAs, consultants, and wealth advisors now at https://claconnect.com/tech
(28:31) The customer base and transporting cargo into space
(33:14) LinkedIn Jobs - Post your first job for free at https://linkedin.com/unicorn
(34:30) Proving this is a sustainable business and “induced demand” in this area
(47:21) Government engagement in the startup community
(50:53) Progress around the globe and U.S. relationship with China
(58:27) Argyle CEO Maret Thatcher joins Jason
(1:03:50) Argyle’s product and Magic Leap’s role
(1:07:42) Video examples of the product in the field
(1:09:09) The customer base and how designs are rendered
(1:22:25) Business model and live demo of Argyle's UI
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Follow Delian: https://twitter.com/zebulgar
Check out Varda: https://www.varda.com
Follow Maret: https://twitter.com/MaretSheWrote
Check out Argyle: https://www.argyle.build
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Read LAUNCH Fund 4 Deal Memo: https://www.launch.co/four
Apply for Funding: https://www.launch.co/apply
Buy ANGEL: https://www.angelthebook.com
Great recent interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland, PrayingForExits, Jenny Lefcourt
Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/jason
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jason
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis
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LK-99 breakthrough with Varda’s Delian Asparouhov & Andrew McCalip | E1788
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Today’s show:
Varda CEO Delian Asparouhov and R&D head Andrew McCalip join Jason to break down their recent experiment in replicating the LK-99 room-temp superconductor (4:19), the current state of material science (18;52), what the world would look like if this works (26:34), and more. Then, Krepling’s Liam Gerada joins Jason for an update on his business! (40:46)
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Time stamps:
(00:00) Varda CEO Delian Asparouhov and R&D head Andrew McCalip join Jason
(1:21) The LK-99 superconductor and how Varda is involved
(4:19) Varda’s latest achievements in replicating the LK-99 superconductor
(8:05) Is this the real deal or just a strong diamagnetic effect
(11:00) OpenPhone - Get 20% off your first six months at https://openphone.com/twist
(12:30) Securing the material needed to run these experiments
(14:06) The increased interest in Varda and feedback from the community
(18:52) The culture shift in the tech industry
(25:06) Crowdbotics - Get a free scoping session for your next big app idea at crowdbotics.com/twist
(26:34) Brute force science: How innovation emerges and receives funding
(30:17) How the venture model has continued to evolve
(34:28) Superside - Go to https://superside.com/twist to get $2000 off with Superside's Startup Accelerator package
(36:00) Questions from the live audience
(40:46) Krepling’s Liam Gerada joins Jason for an update on his business!
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Check out Varda: https://varda.com
Follow Delian: https://twitter.com/zebulgar
Follow Andrew: https://twitter.com/andrewmccalip
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Read LAUNCH Fund 4 Deal Memo: https://www.launch.co/four
Apply for Funding: https://www.launch.co/apply
Buy ANGEL: https://www.angelthebook.com
Great recent interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland, PrayingForExits, Jenny Lefcourt
Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis
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Follow Jason:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jason
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jason
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis
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Follow TWiST:
Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin
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Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.founder.university/podcast