How VCs evaluate pre-launch startups + Mycocycle's Joanne Rodriguez | E1540
This Week in Startups
Jason Calacanis
4.2 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 21 August 2022
⏱️ 54 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Sunday show! First up, Jason breaks down how VCs evaluate pre-launch startups (1:54) and startups that are going after a market that doesn't exist yet. (15:21) Then, Molly is joined by Mycocycle CEO and Founder Joanne Rodriguez to talk about developing fungi-powered toxic waste removal and raw material generation! (30:36)
(0:00) Molly intros today's segments!
(1:54) VC Sunday School: How Jason evaluates pre-launch startups
(13:46) OpenPhone - Get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://openphone.com/twist
(15:21) How VCs evaluate startups building for markets that don't exist yet
(20:51) Comparing early examples of traction: pre-orders, crowdfunding, LOIs and more
(29:16) Masterworks - Skip the waitlist to invest in fine art using at https://Masterworks.io/twist
(30:36) Mycocycle CEO Joanne Rodriguez joins to talk about fungi-powered toxic waste removal and raw material generation
(38:26) Helpware - Go to https://helpware.com/TWIST to get $1000 off your first invoice
(39:33) Mycocycle's finished product, how they're recycling raw materials, traction so far, future of the business
Disclaimer: Since inception, Masterworks has sold five paintings from the collection. All sales are net of all fees and expenses. The sale of any paintings from the Masterworks collection, and the option to waive fees, is at the sole discretion of Masterworks and paintings may be held in excess of or up to 10 years or longer. Past price performance is no guarantee of future results. Any historical returns, expected appreciation, or probability projections are not guaranteed and may not reflect actual future performance.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | All right, everybody, welcome to the Sunday edition of this week and startups. |
| 0:04.2 | No such thing as a day of rest. |
| 0:06.0 | No, you get Saturday, but what else? |
| 0:07.8 | Maybe we'll start releasing content on Saturdays, but we have a great VC Sunday |
| 0:11.0 | school today. |
| 0:11.5 | We're talking about how should you evaluate a startup if they are pre-traction? |
| 0:16.8 | They haven't lost their launch their product yet. |
| 0:18.5 | They don't have any traction. |
| 0:19.8 | How do you decide who gets money when there's no product to play with? |
| 0:24.6 | There's no customers to talk to. |
| 0:26.2 | It's a great topic. |
| 0:27.2 | It really is. |
| 0:27.9 | And you would not expect it to be as tactical and specific as it is, but that's Jason |
| 0:32.0 | for you. |
| 0:32.5 | And then in this week in climate startups, I sit down with motorcycle founder and CEO Joanne |
| 0:38.1 | Rodriguez, this is a company that uses mushrooms to remove toxins from construction |
| 0:42.2 | waste and turn it into new building materials. |
| 0:45.1 | So get a big chocolate bar filled with non psychoactive mushrooms. |
| 0:51.1 | Order a mushroom pizza. |
| 0:53.2 | Don't put the, don't put the wacky mushrooms on it, just the regular delicious ones. |
| 0:56.8 | And enjoy this great show. |
| 0:58.4 | It's going to be great. |
... |
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