JasonCalacanis's blog

Thank you @zappos for making my life so much easier... Which two people?

Jan 12, 2012 10:33:44 AM

Tred desk!

Jan 6, 2012 4:32:42 PM

"Office Hours" stage at the LAUNCH Conference March 7/8

At the LAUNCH Conference on March 7th and 8th we're going to host a
second stage for the first time.

discussion here:
https://plus.google.com/103716847685048716973/posts/VEkmXPYxBAT

The stage is going to be called "Office Hours with..." and it will
feature moderated Q&A sessions with only 50-75 seats in the room. Yes,
it's a inspired by the awesome "office hours" format pionered by Paul
Graham of Ycombinator. :-)

Each "office hour" session will be 40 minutes and it will feature an
all-star moderator like +Jason Nazar. I've reached out to +Mark Suster
and +Andrew Warner to be my other two. Three of the best interviewers
in my circle, and guys I can really trust with this very important
stage while I'm running the main stage.

Other notes about the "Office Hours" stage:

1. We're accepting pitches for speakers... just email
tips@launch.is(put office hours in subject line please).
2. These will all be recorded and made available to the public in HD.
So, if you miss any of them you're ok.
3. We're going to these in groups of three.
4. We're going to focus on angel investors and founders, but we're
open to anyone you think would be helpful to hear from.
5. Seating will be first come. If there is a line we will clear the
room after every group of three speakers.
6. Yes, this will slightly take away from the main stage, but it's
only 75 people out of the 2,000 at the event so it shouldn't be
perceivable. And with our awesomely affordable ticket prices most
folks are sending 3-4 people.

Questions:

a) who do you want to host office hours?
b) any thoughts for a fourth moderator?
c) any criticism or concerns?

best jason

tickets here:
http://launchmedia.ticketleap.com/launch/

there are still a couple of $1 tickets for under 10 employee and under
$100k in funding startups.

Also, I really need some help from sponsors and I lost my sales person
who quit on me over the holiday break with almost no notice eight
weeks from the conference... grrrrr...... if you're interested in a)
helping sales or b) sponsoring the event email me jason@calacanis.com

Dec 29, 2011 11:56:38 AM

Dave Morin discusses the awesome Path.com

I think +Dave Morin's frank founder-to-founder discussion on This Week
in Startups is among the top 2-3 episodes (and we've done 216).

Really appreciate it when a founder like Dave just puts it all out
there for other entrepreneurs to learn and be inspired.

Dec 22, 2011 7:29:11 PM

$5 Billion in Product Launches in Five Years

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jason Calacanis
Date: Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 1:09 PM
Subject: $5 Billion in Product Launches in Five Years

We are 86 days out from the LAUNCH Festival on March 7th and 8th, where 2,000 folks will come see about 40 amazing new products debut on stage.

And I want you to launch something awesome (or at least join us and be inspired)!

This is the fifth year I've hosted a LAUNCH event. Wow.

Dropbox, Mint, Yammer, ZocDoc, FitBit, TripIt, Red Beacon, Room77 and Powerset are among the amazing companies that I've been privileged to coach in rehearsals.

Those companies combined have a market cap of over $5B now.

In only five years!

Wow.

Of course we can't take any credit for their success. They would have their success with or without the help of the conference, but my team is so proud to have played a tiny role in helping these juggernauts launch!

Now we're looking for the next 40 companies to make the debut... and I'm hoping you're one of them!

There is a rolling application process. This means we look at applications as they come in. Apply here: http://launch.producteev.com/home.php

Other important updates:

1. BOOKSTRAP TICKETS: We're giving 200 tickets to startups with under $100k in money raised and under 10 employees. (There is a $1 processing fee for these tickets). http://launchmedia.ticketleap.com/launch/

2. STARTUP TICKETS: Startups with 10 employees or more -- or $250k raised -- can buy a ticket for just $299 (what a deal!). It's important to support the conference, so please buy these. You can save money buying four tickets for $1,000, or ten tickets for $2,000 and send your whole company: http://launchmedia.ticketleap.com/launch/

3. TICKETS: Conference tickets are only $999. If you're a lawyer, accountant, big company VP, baller, investor, supporter, venture capitalist, head hunter or angel, these tickets are for you! They include seating in the VIP area, where you'll have an ethernet connection at your class-room style table PLUS waiter service. This means you won't miss any of the action, and you'll have power to charge your laptop and phone. Receive 10% off if you buy before January 1st: http://launchmedia.ticketleap.com/launch/

4. DEMO PIT TABLES: We're giving away the first 100 tables in our demo pit for just $500. That includes the table, four tickets, electricity and internet. That is less than our cost for the tables. To apply for one of these table click here. After the first 100 tables are sold the price will go to $1,500: http://launchmedia.ticketleap.com/launch/

5. SPONSORS: We can't put this show on without the support of sponsors. There are multiple levels available. Please contact partners@launch.is or call Jason Krute at (323) 639-3205 for more information.

If you have any questions just hit reply!

all the best,

Jason

Dec 12, 2011 1:58:25 PM

This Week In Startups--Shervin Pishevar of Menlo Ventures

awesome episode... 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
To: Jason <jason@calacanis.com>

On This Week in Startups, distinguished VC Shervin Pishevar (http://twitter.com/shervin) of Menlo Ventures joined us in studio for a chat. Shervin's also an entrepreneur and angel investor, so he had wisdom to share from nearly every facet of startup life. In the candid interview, Shervin even talked about his experience growing up as the child of immigrants and how it feels to be living "the American dream."

Watch the full episode here: http://goo.gl/DdFmG

Or, you can watch just a few of the many highlights from the show below:
• 14 minutes: Is entrepreneurship and startup culture a religious experience for Shervin? Watch: http://goo.gl/RKbSw
• 24 minutes: How Shervin found strength to keep going as a founder. Watch: http://goo.gl/0RVxC
• 47 minutes: Shervin tells us how quickly he's able to make investment decisions. Watch: http://goo.gl/BA4Ft

Want to share this episode with others? Just tweet this: "Watch @Jason's candid sit down with Menlo Ventures VC (and angel, and entrepreneur) Shervin Pishevar on #TWiST: http://goo.gl/R3UiD"

On Friday, Dec. 9 at 1pm PT we'll be back with a very special, live-from-San-Francisco News Roundtable Panel! Joining us are entrepreneur and CEO Peter Horan (http://twitter.com/peterchoran) and CNET journalist Rafe Needleman (http://twitter.com/rafe). Be sure to join us to watch and discuss in the chats here: http://thisweekin.com/live

We couldn't bring you episodes like today's without our awesome sponsors MailChimp (eeee!) (http://mailchimp.com) and SurveyMonkey (oooo!) (http://surveymonkey.com). Huge thanks to them--and to our other sponsors who have special offers just for you, our viewers!

• Free 30 day trial of GoToMeeting (http://gotomeeting.com) with the code START
• 25% off the gold and platinum SurveyMonkey plans at http://try.SurveyMonkey.com/TWiST
• 20% off for 6 months on your membership at Squarespace (http://squarespace.com) with code TWiST11
• Register domains for $7.49 on GoDaddy (http://godaddy.com) with the code WEB749

Thanks for your viewership and support!
Carolyn, TWiST Producer
@cbedgood

[Just hit 'reply' to reach our whole team.]

If you're not subscribed in iTunes, it's only a click away!
Subscribe to iTunes audio: http://goo.gl/0SbGu
Subscribe to iTunes video: http://goo.gl/mdcO5

And keep your friends in the loop! Forward this email and tell everyone to subscribe at http://thisweekin.com/email

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
TWiST #212 with Shervin Pishevar of Menlo Ventures

0:00-2:00 Welcome, very happy to have you on the show today, Shervin.
2:00-3:30 How do you describe yourself at this point? What do you do?
3:30-5:30 So you recently went to Egypt with Sean Penn?
5:30-11:15 Thank you to SurveyMonkey for sponsoring the program!
11:15-12:30 How does this relate to entrepreneurship, the situation in the middle east?
12:30-14:15 Didn’t the Arab Spring start because a small business owner’s livelihood was compromised?
14:15-16:30 Is entrepreneurship in a way a religious or spiritual experience for you?
16:30-18:45 So you gave a chunk of your stock to the charity Invisible Children?
18:45-20:15 It takes amazing sacrifices to make the companies, so how do you achieve a balance in life?
20:15-21:15 Are you an investor in Path or just a fan?
21:15-22:15 How much better is their second version?
22:15-24:00 How do you go from having your app panned just one year ago to now being the talk of the town?
24:00-26:15 How does an entrepreneur have the courage to admit that their an idea is a failure and put it to bed rather than flame out?
26:15-28:00 The genius of Path is that, where Facebook turned the world upside down and made everything public, Dave (Morin, the founder) said forget growth, we want privacy.
28:00-31:15 Thank you to MailChimp for sponsoring the program!
31:15-35:45 What was the toughest moment of your career?
35:45-36:30 So you’ve had some experience, gotten a thicker skin?
36:30-38:15 It’s almost your brand to be relentlessly positive, isn’t it? Were you always this way?
38:15-42:00 Can your parents even comprehend how much of an American dream you’re living?
42:00-44:15 Tyler: I see you regularly checking in at the White House, Shervin. What’s going on in those meetings?
44:15-47:00 Were you too tired to start another company? Is that why you became a VC?
47:00-48:45 When you’re talking to an entrepreneur for the first time, how long does it take you to know whether or not you want to invest in them?
48:45-50:30 The story in the Wall Street Journal about there being too many incubators--true or not true?
50:30-52:30 So you think the incubators are catalysts, but they’re not the sole way that companies should be--or can be--born?
52:30-55:15 Tyler recounts the first time that Jason and Shervin ever met--and didn’t exactly get along.
55:15-55:30 Thank you so much for joining us today, Shervin. And thank you to MailChimp and Survey Monkey for sponsoring the show.