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Sep 2023
1h 24m

Benchmark's Sarah Tavel on the state of ...

Jason Calacanis
About this episode

This Week in Startups is brought to you by…

Miro. Working remotely doesn't mean you need to feel disconnected from your team. Miro is an online whiteboard that brings teams together - anytime, anywhere. Go to https://miro.com/startups to sign up for a FREE account with unlimited team members.

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Today's show:

Benchmark's Sarah Tavel joins Jason to discuss the state of VC (1:57), her time at Benchmark (13:33), her recent Substack blogs (31:51), AI's impact on startups (44:31), and much more!

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Time stamps:

(0:00) Benchmark's Sarah Tavel joins Jason

(1:57) The state of VC and the biggest things founders have had to contend with

(12:08) Miro - Sign up for a free account at https://miro.com/startups

(13:33) Benchmark's culture

(21:35) Evolving trends in VC

(24:37) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist

(25:45) Tradeoffs and common VC mistakes

(31:51) Sarah's Substack blogs and the inspiration behind her writing

(35:42) Mercury - Join 100K+ startups banking with Mercury at http://mercury.com

(36:54) Entrepreneurship in 2023 and the importance of a founder's long-term vision

(44:31) Technology catalysts and how AI is impacting startups

(58:36) Business models, the amount of developers needed, and navigating funding rounds

(1:04:42) The complexities of strategic partnerships and corporate VC

(1:14:54) M&A in the era of Lina Kahn and looking at the macro picture as an investor

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Follow Sarah: https://twitter.com/sarahtavel

Check out Sarah's Substack: https://www.sarahtavel.com

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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

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