The End of the ZIRP Era, and why recruiting is SO PAINFUL | E2164
This Week in Startups
Jason Calacanis
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 14 August 2025
⏱️ 81 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today’s show:
We’re back with another all-star VC roundtable discussion.
Joining Jason are Dave McClure of Practical VC, NVNG’s Grady Buchanan, and Tomasz Tunguz of Theory VC. Together, they’re having a deep insider discussion of the state of venture, secondary markets, running funds of funds, the legacy of Lina Khan, the difficulty of recruiting, and why the pendulum has potentially swung in founders’ favor.
Timestamps
(0:00) INTRO, The origins of Practical VC and how secondary funds work.
(05:44) So… how does Dave decide what to BUY?
(09:27) Melanie - Companies are staying private longer… Is this good for fund managers?
(10:02) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST
(11:18) Show Continues…
(14:17) We’ve all heard about unicorns but… what about centaurs?!
(16:19) Jacob - Are VC marks… bullsh*t?! How long until your LPs should see DPI? The panel debates.
(17:22) Jacob - Is Jason too hard on Lina Khan? Dave says VCs created the problem!
(20:07) AWS Activate - AWS Activate helps startups bring their ideas to life. Apply to AWS Activate today to learn more. Visit aws.amazon.com/startups/credits
(21:30) Show Continues…
(30:01) Public - Take your investing to the next level with Public. Build a multi-asset portfolio and earn 4.1% APY on your cash—with no fees or minimums. Start now at public.com/twist.
(31:16) Show Continues…
(31:34) When it’s time to embed an expert into a struggling startup
(34:15) How investing in SO MANY COMPANIES gave Dave a trove of data
(40:33) Sometimes VCs have to be the “voice of reality”…
(45:53) Are stock buybacks the best use of capital?
(49:29) Jacob - The End of the ZIRP Era meets the Dawn of the AI Era
(51:04) Why running your business on debt, not equity, requires tough choices
(58:23) When you need to “take the medicine” on returns and live to fight another day.
(01:11:17) Is Grady actively seeking managers that have shown a demonstrated ability to produce liquidity?
(01:13:24) Dave says the pendulum has swung into founders’ favor.
(01:20:25) Dave teases his new secondary podcast, “Trading Places”!
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(30:01) Public - Take your investing to the next level with Public. Build a multi-asset portfolio and earn 4.1% APY on your cash—with no fees or minimums. Start now at public.com/twist.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I think a more basic set of advice is, can you be profitable enough to borrow money at |
| 0:07.9 | 8 to 10% and run your business on debt, not equity? |
| 0:12.5 | Like, there's a difference between default alive and, hey, I'm running my business properly |
| 0:17.2 | enough to cover, you know, higher interest credit that might be 10, 12%. |
| 0:22.2 | Like, there's a lot of companies that can cover the cost of debt with their existing margins, |
| 0:27.9 | but that might not clear their preference stack of raised capital. |
| 0:31.7 | And that's the set of companies that I think probably have to start rethinking, like, |
| 0:36.4 | look, I'm not going to make my equity investors whole, but I might be able to make my debt investors money. |
| 0:43.8 | This week in startups is brought to you by Squarespace. |
| 0:47.9 | Turn your idea into a beautiful website. |
| 0:50.7 | Go to Squarespace.com slash twist for a free trial. |
| 0:56.0 | When you're ready to launch, use offer code Twist to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. AWS Activate. |
| 1:03.7 | AWS Activate helps startups bring their ideas to life. As you build and scale your business, |
| 1:09.7 | activate credits grow with you to support your |
| 1:12.0 | changing needs. Apply to AWS Activate today and receive up to $100,000 in credits. Visit |
| 1:19.6 | aWS.amazon.com slash startups slash credits. And public. You take investing seriously. Public does too. Build a multi-asset |
| 1:32.6 | portfolio and earn an industry leading 4.1% APY on your cash with no fees or minimums. Learn more |
| 1:41.3 | at public.com slash twist. Hey everybody. Welcome back to this week in startups. I'm your host, Jason Callicanus. |
| 1:47.8 | And we've got our venture roundtable. We've been experimenting on Wednesdays with doing a roundtable |
| 1:52.8 | from the other side of the table. Obviously, here on this week in startups, we talk to founders |
| 1:56.9 | most often. We talk about tech news. But today, we've got a bunch of folks who |
| 2:01.7 | place bets on startups and they have unique insights, obviously. Dave McClure, general partner |
... |
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