This Week in Startups

This Week In Startups is made possible by:
Plaud - Plaud.ai/twist
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Today’s show:
It’s a packed TWiST Today! WITH US, we’ve got Erik Voorhees of VeniceAI and Logan Allin of Fin Capital on to talk agents, crypto, and… you guessed it, OPENCLAW!
Where does agentic AI meet the financial system? How will agents transact? And what does privacy look like in a world with omnipresent AI?
Stick around for some demos! We’ve got George Pickett to demo OpenClaw studio and David Kaufman to show us what he’s building at Siteline!

Timestamps:

00:04:31 What was Logan’s original thesis in Circle?

10:08 LinkedIn Jobs - Thanks to our partners at @LinkedIn! Post your job for free at https://⁠linkedIn.com/twist⁠ then promote it to get access to LinkedIn Jobs’ new AI assistant.

00:11:52 Logans thoughts on Open vs. Closed Source

00:15:33 How to maintain privacy in AI

20:02 Deel - Founders ship faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes and get back to building. Visit https://⁠deel.com/twist⁠ to learn more.

00:23:29 Why LAUNCH’s token usage is trending higher than payroll!

00:25:05 How Fin capital uses personality types and AI to assess investments

00:29:45 Why Erik thinks Anthropic’s defiance of the federal gov. is bravery!

32:10 Iru - Iru unifies identity, endpoint security, and compliance into one platform. TWiST listeners get 20% off when they book a demo at https://⁠iru.com⁠/twist!

00:42:23 How Siteline is helping understand companies and their agent traffic.

00:57:15 OpenClaw Studio makes OpenClaw as user friendly as possible.

01:10:09 The layers and layers of Microstrategy’s business model.

01:11:44 Which AI tools are the most indispensable?

01:12:25 How Jason uses the Grok button on threads

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Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/

Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland

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

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This Week In Startups is made possible by:Circle — http://circle.so/twistHubspot Creators — http://clickhubspot.com/twist2Uber AI Solutions — http://uber.com/ai-solutionsToday’s show: *Dave Morin joined the show today to explain how the OpenClaw Foundation came into existence, and what its goals are. Fear not, Peter Steinberger retains directional control of the project. But if you want to sustain an open-source project over time, you need a corporate entity, well-heeled sponsors, maintainers and more. Morin is helping make sure that OpenClaw can stay true to itself well into the future.TWIST also put the day’s most critical AI stories to Morin for his insight: What’s his take on the Anthropic-DoW fracas? Does Morin think that OpenAI and Anthropic are catching up to OpenClaw in agentic terms? And will OpenAI cede the consumer crown to Anthropic? Next came two amazing demos: Runtools’ CTO Greg Kara showed off a 3D interface for OpenClaw that his team built, allowing ‘Claw users to watch their agents work in real time, and even read over their shoulder. Then PickelWatch founder George Yameen showed off an agnetic workflow using OpenClaw and Claude’s Chrome plugin side-by-side. The gist? Make sure that the agentic service you select is cost-effective. **GUESTS:**Dave Morin: https://x.com/davemorin?lang=enGreg Kara: https://x.com/GregKara6George Yameen: https://x.com/GeorgeYameen**Timestamps:** 00:00 Dave Morin Joins the Show

02:31 How Dave Morin got Claw-Pilled

05:01 Jason’s critical OpenClaw moments

08:38 How Dave showcases his OpenClaw skills

10:47 Uber AI Solutions - Your trusted partner to get AI to work in the real world. Book a demo with them TODAY at http://uber.com/ai-solutions

14:40 How long has the OpenClaw Foundation existed?

17:21 How much authority does Peter Steinberger retain?

00:20:21 Hubspot - Check out the guide “Advanced ChatGPT Prompt Engineering: From Basic to Expert in 7 Days.” Download it for free at http://clickhubspot.com/twist2

19:20 How ‘air traffic control’ works for a project like OpenClaw

23:15 The economics of open-source maintainers

25:13 Dave’s physical OpenClaw setup

27:45 How Jason uses OpenClaw to curate his reading, fashion, and travel

30:23 Circle - Circle gives you everything you need to build and scale your community-led business. TWIST listeners get $1,000 off the Circle Plus Plan at http://circle.so/twist

32:18 Why the second wave of ideas is where things get the most interesting

34:06 Apple’s slow movement and hesitance to depricate products

39:51 How Jason uses OpenClaw to coach the next generation of executives

44:52 Are Anthropic and OpenAI catching up to OpenClaw?

49:40 Introduction to Runtools.AI

53:49 Runtools.AI demo of 3D OpenClaw environment

57:06 Introduction to PickleWatch

57:27 PickelWatch demo of Claude Chrome vs. OpenClaw

01:03:38 How PickleWatch ups your pickleball swing

32:56 Jason’s advice for founders on stumbling onto new ideas

42:16 Jason on the DoW’s handling of the Anthropic mess

01:11:08 Would Jason fund the tech that Anthropic won’t supply?Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com/Check out the TWIST500: https://twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp*Follow Lon:X: https://x.com/lons*Follow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm/*Follow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis/*Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/*Follow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: [https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups](https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups/)TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: [https://twistartups.substack.com](https://twistartups.substack.com/)

This Week In Startups is made possible by:
Deel - http://deel.com/twist
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Today’s show:
*$110 billion buys you 15% of OpenAI. Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank placed their bets on ChatGPT, which now has 900 million weekly active users and 50 million paying subscribers. Find out why Jason is anticipating the wildest J-Curve swing of all time, and believes we’ve ALREADY hit AGI… it’s just not implemented yet.
Plus a visit from our roving correspondent Nick O’Neill, checking in on the Crypto Chaos in Miami Beach, and hot demos from three young founders.
GUESTS:
Nick O’Neill: https://x.com/chooserich
Everest Chris: https://openclaw.unloopa.com/
Ben Broca: https://polsia.com/
Adi Gabrani: https://makemyclaw.com/
Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:33 We’re hiring a new producer!

05:42 OpenAI raised $110 billion

08:59 Understanding the LLM J-Curve

00:11:25 Deel - Founders ship faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes and get back to building. Visit ⁠https://deel.com/twist⁠ to learn more.

00:15:02 CRYPTO CHAOS IN MIAMI BEACH!

00:21:10 Wispr Flow - Stop typing. Dictate with Wispr Flow and send clean, final-draft writing in seconds. Visit ⁠https://wisprflow.ai/twist⁠ to get started for free today.

00:22:54 Mass layoffs at Block

00:30:50 Luma AI - Stop guessing and start directing with the all-in-one Dream Machine text-to-video platform. Visit ⁠https://lumalabs.ai/twist⁠ to try The Dream Machine for free.

00:32:04 AI Scott Adams: The Saga Continues

00:38:13 Make URLs for local businesses with Unloopa

00:45:36 Rent a Polsia agent to run your company

00:58:55 Deploy swarms in 60 seconds with MakeMyClaw

01:05:05 LAUNCH FEST is coming to SF

01:55:49 Will Paramount actually buy WBD?

01:06:58 Why Lon loves “Knight of the 7 Kingdoms”

01:07:21 On “Neighbors” and First Amendment Warriors

01:13:43 All about Jason’s favorite chargers
Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com
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Follow Lon:
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Follow Jason:
X: https://twitter.com/Jason
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis

Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/

Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland

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

Follow TWiST:
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Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:

Lemon IO - https://Lemon.io/twist
Every.io - https://every.io
Sentry.io- https://sentry.io/twist

Today’s show:
We’re going behind the curtain today — it’s a packed show!
We found Tyler Yust, OpenClaw’s third EVER contributor to share his insights from within foundation! We’ve got Deedy Das, of Menlo Ventures, on the show to discuss whether SaaS is cooked! Next we met the creator of an OpenClaw instance that fits in your pocket! We’ve also got the founder of OpenBrowse showing us how he automatically detects and generates OpenClaw skills!

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro - Deedy Das Joins the Show!04:54 Anthropic’s revenue growth and valuation06:07 OpenClaw Contributor Tyler Yuts joins the show09:24 iMessage integration and Apple’s proprietary systems
00:10:07 Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist14:31 Anthropic vs. the Pentagon
00:20:02 Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https://every.io.
00:30:08 Sentry - New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to https://sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST
00:35:46 The Infamous Citrini article00:32:47 Come to LAUNCH fest! https://fest.launch.co00:36:28 Why Deedy thinks the Cetrini article is a work of science fiction00:44:51 The illusion of privacy in corporate America00:41:18 Deedy thinks Enterprise SaaS apps aren’t going to be vibe coded00:49:20 Jason’s Reddit Bot00:52:01 Jason’s obsession with Singapore’s food00:55:22 How Unbrowse pulls any backend API!01:02:07 Sebastian shows off the smallest OpenClaw form factor!01:12:04 The Prolo ring — for people who doomscroll01:20:21 Deedy’s Podcast Player App!

Thank you to our partners:
(10:07) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist

(20:02) Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit every.io.

(30:08) Sentry - New users can get $240 in free credits when they go to sentry.io/twist and use the code TWIST

Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com
Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com
Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp

Follow Lon:
X: https://x.com/lons

Follow Alex:
X: https://x.com/alex
LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm

Follow Jason:
X: https://twitter.com/Jason
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis

Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/

Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland

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

Follow TWiST:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups
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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups
Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

This Week In Startups is made possible by:Caldera Lab - [calderalab.com/twist](https://calderalab.com/twist)Iru - [iru.com](http://Iru.com/twist)LinkedIn Jobs - http://linkedin.com/twist*OpenClaw is incredible at automating tasks. But what if it could also fix your startup’s internal communication problems? Give agents shared memory, and you may be able to break down information silos while ensuring that teammates have the same context.@oliverhenry and @jeffweisbein demo what they’ve actually built with OpenClaw, including marketing automations, agentic loops, and bug fixing tools. Then we dig into what agentic infrastructure means for how startups operate, and why traditional SaaS products need to quickly adapt for the agentic era.Oliver Henry: The creator of the ‘[Larry](https://clawhub.ai/OllieWazza/larry)’ OpenClaw skill, and founder of [Larrybrain](https://www.larrybrain.com/)Jeff Weisbein: The Claw-pilled founder of [WizardRFP](https://www.wizardrfp.com/) and [WhoCoversIt](https://www.whocoversit.com/), who shared his OpenClaw framework [publicly](https://weisbe.in/openclaw) and built a [getting-started guide for the tool](https://github.com/jeffweisbein/openclaw-starter-kit)**Timestamps:** 00:00 Intro
(00:01:43) Here’s why you never ski alone in a blizzard!
(00:04:22) Why everyone at LAUNCH is going to get their own Mac Mini and AI agent
(00:08:06) “OpenClaw has changed my entire solo-preneur lifestyle.” — Jeff Weinstein of Hype Lab
(00:09:06) Jason’s urgent API message to Steve Huffman of Reddit
(00:10:20) LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at [LinkedIn.com/twist](http://linkedin.com/HiringProOffer).
(00:15:12) Oliver shows us his Larry Skill to make viral TikTok content with zero human intervention
(00:20:10) Iru unifies identity, endpoint security, and compliance into one platform. Book a demo at [www.iru.com/twist](www.iru.com/twist).
(00:21:22) Why are platforms like TikTok still so hostile toward bots?
(00:24:45) The shift from asking a chatbot how to do things, to just telling an agent to do things
(00:26:05) How Oliver is training Larry to get better at its job
(00:30:09) Whether you’re starting fresh or upgrading your routine, Caldera Lab makes skincare simple and effective. Head to [CalderaLab.com/TWIST](http://calderalab.com/TWIST) and use TWIST at checkout for 20% off your first order.
(00:32:47) Why making your agent more PROACTIVE is more important than automating everything
(00:37:14) Why pull requests… just aren’t really a thing any more.
(00:39:40) How Jason is using his new AI assistant, “Roy,” to keep track of everything going on at his company
(00:53:00) Is the SaaS crash actually rational after all?
(00:51:48) Using AI to create “pools of excellence”
(00:54:03) The more you integrate software into AI, the less valuable the software becomes
(00:56:56) Why “Agentify Your SaaS” may become the rallying cry
(00:58:31) How has the age verification scandal impacted Discord’s IPO plans?
(01:03:10) When you want to build your own skill vs. downloading someone else’s
(01:03:53) How Larrybrain finds helpful skills and helps creators monetize
(01:08:32) When we will get true experts making verifiably top skills?
(01:11:40) Jason’s SCARY but also AWESOME new OpenClaw CEO tools
(01:18:35) Why a lot of MBAs should probably have PhD’s
Thank you to our partners:(30:09) Caldera Lab - Whether you’re starting fresh or upgrading your routine, Caldera Lab makes skincare simple and effective. Head to [CalderaLab.com/TWIST](http://calderalab.com/TWIST) and use TWIST at checkout for 20% off your first order.(20:10) Iru - Iru unifies identity, endpoint security, and compliance into one platform. Book a demo at [iru.com](http://iru.com/).(10:20) LinkedIn Jobs - *Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at* [LinkedIn.com/twist](http://linkedin.com/HiringProOffer)