logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2023
58m 30s

The hard lessons from building three sta...

Jason Calacanis
About this episode

This Week in Startups is brought to you by…

Vanta. Compliance and security shouldn't be a deal-breaker for startups to win new business. Vanta makes it easy for companies to get a SOC 2 report fast. TWiST listeners can get $1,000 off for a limited time at www.vanta.com/twist

The Embroker Startup Program helps startups secure the most important lines of insurance, at a lower cost, and with less hassle. For guaranteed 10% off on premiums (& up to 20% depending on quote) go to www.embroker.com/twist.

Brave is an internet privacy company on a mission to protect your personal info online. Try the Brave Search API at http://www.brave.com/jason

Today’s show:

Maven Co-Founder and CEO Gagan Biyani joins Jason to break down his startup's live, cohort-based education model (2:28). Then, Gagan dives into his past journeys at Udemy, where he was eventually fired but wound up revolutionizing online learning and going public (35:08), and Sprig, a food-delivery startup that went on to raise $60M and scale to $20M in revenue, but ultimately failed (47:36).

*

Time stamps:

(0:00) Gagan Biyani, CEO of Maven, joins Jason to discuss the future of online learning.

(2:24) Maven: the evolution of online learning.

(3:23) Exploring Maven's elite courses offered by a diverse pool of passionate professionals.

(6:57) Analyzing who is leveraging Maven for education and the cost dynamics of online learning.

(10:30) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist

(11:36) How Maven's live cohort-based learning emphasizes accountability and interactivity for higher success rates.

(13:15) Comparing the outdated cost structures of traditional education with modern alternatives.

(23:10) Embroker - Use code TWIST to get an extra 10% off insurance at https://www.Embroker.com/twist

(26:31) Unveiling the potential earnings for educators in the online learning marketplace.

28:27) The online educational landscape featuring insights on Coursera, Udemy, and others.

(30:56) Brave - Try the Brave Search API at http://www.brave.com/jason

(33:40) Jason built the “pit” at TechCrunch50, where he and Gagan first met.

(35:08) How Udemy's early days were shaped by the Founder Institute and Adeo Ressi.

(41:28) Gagan shares his personal story of being fired from Udemy and his lessons learned.

(47:33) The trials, tribulations, and ultimate closure of the food delivery startup, Sprig.

(53:39) Discussing the most effective methods for scaling and growing a product.

(55:02) The world of fundraising and understanding the power law in venture capital.

Check out Maven: https://www.maven.com

Follow Gagan:

https://twitter.com/gaganbiyani

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gaganbiyani * Read LAUNCH Fund 4 Deal Memo: https://www.launch.co/fourApply for Funding: https://www.launch.co/applyBuy ANGEL: https://www.angelthebook.com

Great 2023 interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland

Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis

*

Follow Jason:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jason

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jason

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis

*

Follow TWiST:

Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin

*

Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.founder.university/podcast


Up next
Yesterday
Google is Nano Banana, Apple AI plans & The Great H1B Visa Debate | E2170
Today’s show:On a brand-new TWiST, Jason and Alex are asking why there are SO MANY note-taking AI apps?Plus another death has been linked to ChatGPT… is it too easy to get past chatbot guardrails? Why Donald Trump Jr. is joining Polymarket…. How the US Navy could catch up with it ... Show More
1h 29m
Aug 26
xAI’s App Store lawsuit, Intel shares vs. grocery stores, and Netskope’s IPO | E2169
Today’s show:On an upbeat and optimistic new TWiST, Jason and Alex are debating why any new innovation or technology gets hit with a wave of bitter cynicism.PLUS Jason defends the government taking shares of Intel, explains the importance of interoperability, and predicts how Air ... Show More
1h 14m
Aug 22
Do Kwon Guilty, Powell Pivot & OpenAI’s $12B Run Rate | E2168
Today’s show:Terra’s collapse, Powell’s pivot, and OpenAI’s explosive growth all collide in this TWiST deep dive.Do Kwon has pled guilty after Terra/Luna’s $60B implosion, Fed Chair Powell hints at a September rate cut, and OpenAI has officially crossed $1B in monthly revenue (on ... Show More
1h 16m
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2021
E43: Innovative venture strategies, Zymergen's implosion, Square acquires Afterpay, future of fintech & more
Show Notes: 0:00 Big week for the besties: Friedberg's new raise, Sacks' new fund & more 16:30 Innovative venture strategies: internal mark ups, venture studios, deployment strategies 30:44 Zymergen's implosion: role of diligence, how to make deep tech sustainable, finding frauds ... Show More
1h 31m
Jun 2024
Lessons from a two-time unicorn builder, 50-time startup advisor, and 20-time company board member | Uri Levine (co-founder of Waze)
Uri Levine is the co-founder of Waze, the world’s largest community-based traffic and navigation app, acquired by Google for over $1 billion. He’s also founded nine other companies, been on the board of 20 companies, and advised more than 50 companies. He’s most recently the auth ... Show More
1h 22m
May 2024
JACOB LEVINRAD - Social Media & Ecommerce Marketing
Jacob Levinrad is an expert in Social Media conversions. He is a multi-millionaire high school dropout, helping others start their own online business while maintaining and growing his own.Join us for an exciting conversation with Jacob Levinrad as he shares his insights on how t ... Show More
52m 24s
May 2024
Unorthodox frameworks for growing your product, career, and impact | Bangaly Kaba (YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Instacart)
Bangaly Kaba was an early growth PM at Facebook, head of growth at Instagram, and VP of Product at Instacart and is currently Director of Product at YouTube overseeing a global team working on creator monetization. Bangaly has also been a growth advisor to dozens of companies, in ... Show More
1h 42m
Feb 2021
11:FS Co-Founder Simon Taylor - The State of Crypto, CBDCs, NFTs, and Clubhouse!
Worlds collide today as the two gold-standards of fintech content come together on the Wharton Fintech Podcast. Ryan Zauk sits down with Simon Taylor, Co-Founder and Head of Ventures at 11:FS, a challenger consultancy and emerging fintech empire. They help the world’s top founder ... Show More
36m 58s
Jun 2024
Developing technical taste: A guide for next-gen engineers | Sam Schillace (Deputy CTO at Microsoft, creator of Google Docs)
Sam Schillace is the CVP and Deputy CTO at Microsoft. Before Microsoft, Sam held prominent engineering roles at Google and Box. He has also founded six startups, including Writely, which was acquired by Google and became Google Docs.–In today’s episode, we discuss: Sam’s advice f ... Show More
1h 5m
Jun 2024
How to Scale your Startup with Growth Levers: Matt Lerner
Sponsored by Brilliant - visit https://brilliant.org/DeepDive/ and the first 200 of you will get 20% off Brilliant's annual premium subscription. I’ve built a brand new community for like-minded people called Productivity Lab. We’ll have online classes, workshops, and coaching to ... Show More
2h 32m
May 2020
#96 – Stephen Schwarzman: Going Big in Business, Investing, and AI
Stephen Schwarzman is the CEO and Co-Founder of Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment firms with over 530 billion dollars of assets under management. He is one of the most successful business leaders in history, all from humble beginnings back in Philly. I recommend h ... Show More
1h 10m
Apr 2024
S3 E16 - The Dev Life | Angular Academy: Building a Team of Code Ninjas with Trevor Kendall Part 2
EPISODE DESCRIPTION: This is part 2 to a fantastic in-depth discussion on teaching and learning in software development. We go WAY beyond teaching technical skills alone and focus on how companies can build leaders and individuals can forge successful careers for themselves. We e ... Show More
32m 54s
May 2024
GPT-4o launches, Glue demo, Ohalo breakthrough, Druck's Argentina bet, did Google kill Perplexity?
(0:00) Bestie Intros: Recapping Phil Hellmuth's birthday weekend (7:38) OpenAI launches GPT-4o: better, faster, cheaper (29:40) Sacks demos Glue: How AI unlocked his Slack killer (40:12) Friedberg walks through his major breakthrough at Ohalo (1:01:35) Stanley Druckenmiller bets ... Show More
1h 41m