About This Episode
<p dir="ltr">This Week In Startups is made possible by:</p> <p dir="ltr">Digital Ocean - <a href="http://do.co/twist">do.co/twist</a></p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="http://agree.com">Agree.com</a> - <a href="https://agree.com/">agree.com</a></p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="http://every.io">Every.io</a> - <a href="http://every.io/">every.io</a>.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Today's show:</p> <p dir="ltr">How many startups matter in tech? Fewer than you think. That's why venture capitalists are tripping over themselves to get onto their cap tables, no matter the cost. Why? Footwork's Nikhil Basu Trivedi argues that the Valley has never been more "power-law-pilled" than it is today. Basu Trivedi joined Cendana Capital's Michael Kim and TWiST's Alex Wilhelm to go deep on secondary markets, the state of startup M&A, why the SaaSpocalypse may be temporary, and what could trigger a retrenchment of the AI trade. It's Wednesday, so it's time for our venture capital roundtable to go deep on how VCs are investing today, and where on the horizon they have their eyes fixed!</p> <p dir="ltr">Guest links:</p> <p dir="ltr">Nikhil Basu Trivedi <a href="https://x.com/nbt">https://x.com/nbt</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Footwork <a href="https://www.footwork.vc/">https://www.footwork.vc/</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Michael Kim <a href="https://x.com/MKRocks">https://x.com/MKRocks</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Cendana Capital <a href="https://www.cendanacapital.com/">https://www.cendanacapital.com/</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Show links:</p> <p dir="ltr">The USVC-Anduril blowup <a href="https://x.com/ankurnagpal/status/2072701195714531398">https://x.com/ankurnagpal/status/2072701195714531398</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Kline Hill Cendana Partners <a href="https://www.secondariesinvestor.com/kline-hill-and-cendana-raise-400m-for-second-vc-secondaries-fund/"> https://www.secondariesinvestor.com/kline-hill-and-cendana-raise-400m-for-second-vc-secondaries-fund/</a></p> <p dir="ltr">GPTZero's exit <a href="https://gptzero.me/news/preserving-whats-human/">https://gptzero.me/news/preserving-whats-human/</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Salesforce buys Fin <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/news/press-releases/2026/06/15/salesforce-signs-definitive-agreement-to-acquire-fin/"> https://www.salesforce.com/news/press-releases/2026/06/15/salesforce-signs-definitive-agreement-to-acquire-fin/</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Vercel buys Better Auth <a href="https://vercel.com/blog/vercel-acquires-better-auth">https://vercel.com/blog/vercel-acquires-better-auth</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Figma buys Bud <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/07/figma-acquires-team-behind-a-vibe-coding-app/"> https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/07/figma-acquires-team-behind-a-vibe-coding-app/</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Protoge <a href="https://withprotege.ai/">https://withprotege.ai/</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Windborne <a href="https://windbornesystems.com/">https://windbornesystems.com/</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Etched <a href="https://www.etched.com/">https://www.etched.com/</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Lovable's reported raise <a href="https://sifted.eu/articles/lovable-300m-13-2bn-valuation">https://sifted.eu/articles/lovable-300m-13-2bn-valuation</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Josh Browder <a href="https://x.com/Joshuabrowder">https://x.com/Joshuabrowder</a></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Timestamps:</p> <p dir="ltr">0:00 Introduction: Nikhil Basu Trivedi (Footwork) & Michael Kim (Cendana Capital)</p> <p dir="ltr">1:59 The Anduril vs. USVC secondary market blowup</p> <p dir="ltr">4:08 Why Silicon Valley is 'power-law-pilled'</p> <p dir="ltr">8:23 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!</p> <p dir="ltr">9:37 Information asymmetry in the secondary markets</p> <p dir="ltr">9:45 Every.io — For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https://every.io</p> <p dir="ltr">15:02 Is SPV fraud smoke or fire?</p> <p dir="ltr">16:32 Superhuman acquires GPTZero</p> <p dir="ltr">19:54 Agree.com - Stop chasing invoices and automate your entire contract-to-cash stack. Go to https://agree.com and tell them Jason sent you to get 50% off for life!</p> <p dir="ltr">21:10 The M&A wave</p> <p dir="ltr">27:19 The SaaSpocalypse debate</p> <p dir="ltr">29:59 DigitalOcean - Head to https://do.co/twist to start building on DigitalOcean's AI-Native Cloud today — and cut your AI workload costs by up to 50%.</p> <p dir="ltr">30:44 Data's moment in the energy → compute → data loop</p> <p dir="ltr">35:01 Where will AI value accrue?</p> <p dir="ltr">40:04 What could cause an AI correction?</p> <p dir="ltr">42:17 Why some companies are "too big to miss"</p> <p dir="ltr">46:23 China's possible open-weight model ban</p> <p dir="ltr">53:28 Young founders: Etched, Thiel Fellows, Z Fellows, Neo</p> <p dir="ltr">55:33 Portfolio spotlight: WindBorne's weather balloons and data moat</p> <p dir="ltr">58:47 Michael's favorite fund manager: Josh Browder</p> <p><strong><br /> <br /></strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: <a href="https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com">https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Check out the TWIST500: <a href="https://www.twist500.com">https://www.twist500.com</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: <a href="https://rb.gy/v19fcp">https://rb.gy/v19fcp</a></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Follow Lon:</p> <p dir="ltr">X: <a href="https://x.com/lons">https://x.com/lons</a></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Follow Alex:</p> <p dir="ltr">X: <a href="https://x.com/alex">https://x.com/alex</a></p> <p dir="ltr">LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm</a></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Follow Jason:</p> <p dir="ltr">X: <a href="https://twitter.com/Jason">https://twitter.com/Jason</a></p> <p dir="ltr">LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis</a></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Check out all our partner offers: <a href="https://partners.launch.co/">https://partners.launch.co/</a></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Great TWIST interviews: <a href="https://youtu.be/pvJa2pzuXWQ">Will Guidara,</a> <a href="https://youtu.be/9dHN4YFkgv4">Eoghan McCabe</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-on-mod-revolt-building-a/id315114957?i=1000617333424"> Steve Huffman</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/airbnb-ceo-brian-chesky-on-early-rejection-customer/id315114957?i=1000611761112"> Brian Chesky</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/y2UMzSqX94Q">Bob Moesta,</a> <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/box-ceo-aaron-levie-breaks-down-box-ai-and-generative/id315114957?i=1000612384545"> Aaron Levie</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/sophia-amoruso-on-branding-raising-a-fund-portfolio/id315114957?i=1000601352978"> Sophia Amoruso</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/reid-hoffman-on-ais-crescendo-moment-regulation-and/id315114957?i=1000612548498"> Reid Hoffman</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/snowflake-ceo-frank-slootman-on-moving-the-needle-win/id315114957?i=1000602560622"> Frank Slootman</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/billy-mcfarland-on-fyre-fest-fraud-failure-hacking/id315114957?i=1000610922577"> Billy McFarland</a></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: <a href="https://substack.com/@calacanis">https://substack.com/@calacanis</a></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Follow TWiST:</p> <p dir="ltr">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/TWiStartups">https://twitter.com/TWiStartups</a></p> <p dir="ltr">YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin">https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups">https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups</a></p> <p dir="ltr">TikTok: <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups">https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Substack: <a href="https://twistartups.substack.com">https://twistartups.substack.com</a></p>