Elon buys ~9% stake in Twitter + Freestyle Capital's Dave Samuel | E1426
First, Jason and Molly discuss Elon buying a 9.2% stake in Twitter (01:50). Then, Dave Samuel of Freestyle VC joins (23:18) for a discussion on early stage investing. Freestyle invested early in startups including Airtable, Patreon and Intercom. We talk about how fund size dictates strategy, how to give feedback to founders (especially when it's a no) and more.
(00:00) Jason and Molly intro today’s show
(01:50) Elon takes 9.2% stake in Twitter, TWTR stock up ~28% today
(11:09) Masterworks - Skip the waitlist to invest in art using promo code TWIST at https://Masterworks.io/twist
(12:250 Do we want more people to take stakes like this?
(20:58) Ourcrowd - Check out the deal of the week at https://ourcrowd.com/twist
(23:18) Interview with Dave Samuel of Freestyle VC
(30:13) iTrust Capital - Visit https://itrust.capital/twist to create your Crypto IRA today
(31:27) Dave’s lessons for other capital allocators and founders
FOLLOW Dave: https://twitter.com/dsamuel
Check out Freestyle: https://freestyle.vc
FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis
FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood
E1025: #StartupTuneup @ Founder.University Part 2!: 6 founders pitch to Jason & Dave Samuel of Freestyle Capital on AI driving assistance, sleep-aid wearables, marijuana, B2B food analytics & more!
1:07 Megan pitches Moment AI (facial recognition software that helps drivers)
3:19 Juan pitches DreamOn (wearable and app that help you fall asleep and sleep better)
5:38 Elissa pitches Fumé (marijuana products)
7:46 Feedback & questions for Cohort 3
19:54 Rankings for Cohort 3
23:38 Stewart pitches EVOLUTIONS (marketplace for financial fitness)
25:34 Nadia pitches Keybee (marketplace for short-term rental support services)
29:21 Riana pitches Journey Foods (service that brings metrics and nutrition tools to improve product development)
31:45 Feedback & questions for Cohort 4
42:49 Rankings for Cohort 4
47:43 Jason & Dave rank the best companies from cohorts 1-4
E1024: #StartupTuneup @ Founder.University: 6 founders pitch to Jason & Dave Samuel of Freestyle Capital on merging communication networks, athlete performance tracking, DTC women’s clothing, smart tabletop gaming systems & more!
1:31 Bryan pitches Project OWL (smart communications platform)
3:46 Erin pitches Nude Barre (DTC eco-friendly hosiery)
6:02 Mike pitches STACT (Athlete performance tracking)
8:05 Feedback & questions for Cohort 1
16:53 Rankings for Cohort 1
19:53 Jonathan pitches Move38 (smart tabletop gaming)
22:04 Brandon pitches ReplyBuy (text messaging support for sports, entertainment & higher education)
24:20 Stella pitches Stella Carakasi DTC (Size-inclusive & affordable luxury clothing for women)
28:22 Feedback & questions for Cohort 2
37:55 Rankings for Cohort 2
E994: All Turtles CEO Phil Libin shares his state machine that answers all growth questions; Future of Early-Stage VC w/Pete Flint (NFX), Rebecca Lynn (Canvas Ventures), Dave Samuel (Freestyle Capital); plus LAUNCH Scale Partner Talk w/Lever CTO Nate Smith
1:03 Jason intros Phil Libin from LAUNCH Scale 2019
1:51 Phil Libin on "The State Machine that Answers All Growth Questions"
32:40 Jason joins Phil on stage for Q&A
39:56 Jason intros Phil (NFX), Rebecca (Canvas Ventures) & Dave (Freestyle Capital)
41:34 Transitioning from founder to VC
44:08 How to let a founder know when they are headed down the wrong path
47:42 At what stage does a founder have to change their mindset?
49:49 Dave Samuel on Airtable CEO Howie Liu not taking his advice and succeeding anyway
52:21 How Rebecca Lynn recruited current LendingClub CEO Scott Sanborn in the early days
55:39 Should startups still relocate to the Bay Area under any circumstances?
1:03:40 How are VCs dealing with the influx in the number of startups over the past 10 years?
1:13:23 LAUNCH Scale Partner Talk: Lever CTO Nate Smith
