This Week in Startups is brought to you by…

OpenPhone. Create business phone numbers for you and your team that work through an app on your smartphone or desktop. TWiST listeners can get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at openphone.com/twist

DevSquad. Most dev agencies only offer developers. Why? Because product management is hard. Get an entire product team for the cost of one US developer plus 10% off at http://devsquad.com/twist.

Squarespace. Turn your idea into a new website! Go to Squarespace.com/TWIST for a free trial. When you’re ready to launch, use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

*

Today’s show:

Bill Gurley, Brad Gerstner, and Jason Calacanis join David Weisburd to discuss the market downturn's impact on startups, including shutdowns and shifting investment strategies (1:29). They also debate the AI boom (54:50), chatbots' future potential and hype (1:01:11), and which tech giants may perform best or worst in 2024 (1:20:32).

*

Timestamps:

(0:00) David Weisburd hosts Bill Gurley, Brad Gerstner, & Jason Calacanis to discuss the state of tech markets

(1:29) Startup shutdowns in 2023 vs dotcom crash

(3:52) Perspective on current market from Bill Gurley

(7:52) Brad's outlook on startup shutdowns continuing in 2024

(11:48) OpenPhone - Get 20% off your first six months at https://openphone.com/twist

(13:16) Different investor perspectives based on investment stage

(16:47) Altimeter's recent investing activity

(25:32) DevSquad - Get an entire product team for the cost of one US developer plus 10% off at http://devsquad.com/twist

(26:30) Reflecting on past IPOs and paths to building businesses for growth

(36:40) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://Squarespace.com/twist

(38:07) State of Series B/C deals in 2023 vs 2021 peak

(42:42) Why now is a great time to start a company

(47:17) Jason's theories for success in venture

(49:42) Abundance of technical talent in Silicon Valley and impact of AI on company size and competition

(54:50) AI investments in 2024

(1:01:11) Launguage models raising large rounds quickly and the potential for LLMs to hit a ceiling soon

(1:05:18) The best case for Meta being a leader in AI and Apple's position

(1:08:55) Importance of voice recognition for AI interfaces, challenges of enabling transactions via AI, and consumers choosing services via AI

(1:20:32) Picks for best and worst performing tech giants in 2024

*

LINKS:

Unicorn Investors article: https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/top-unicorn-investors-eoy-2023/

Bill Gurley's Above the Crowd article: https://abovethecrowd.com/2011/05/24/all-revenue-is-not-created-equal-the-keys-to-the-10x-revenue-club/

*

Follow David

X: https://twitter.com/DWeisburd

David's Podcast: https://limitedpartnerpodcast.com/

*

Follow Brad

X: https://twitter.com/altcap

*

Follow Bill

X: https://twitter.com/bgurley

*

Follow Jason:

X: https://twitter.com/jason

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

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

*

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 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

Bill Gurley, Brad Gerstner, & Jason Calacanis on the state of tech markets, hosted by David Weisburd | E1875

This Week in Startups