Is investing REALLY the hardest job in tech? A TWIST VC Roundtable (ft. Deedy Das and Jay Eum) | E2204

Register for Founder University Japan's kickoff! https://luma.com/cm0x90mk Today's show: *On TWiST, Jason welcomes an all-star VC panel — Deedy Das of Menlo Partners and Jay Eum of GFT Ventures — for a deep dive into the shocking scale of early-stage AI raises, a transitional moment for investors, the growing importance of the "prosumer" market, ChatGPT's insane smile curves, and much much more. IN THIS EPISODE • What the panelists make of Roelof Botha's exit from Sequoia… and is he really going anywhere… • Why Jason says VC is no longer the best way to get rich… • Why so many private companies are growing SO HUGE before going public… And much more! Timestamps: (00:03:37) Jason is fresh from surviving Riyadh traffic but he's here and introducing our all star panel (00:04:03) Why Jason compares Riyadh to Silicon Valley in the 1960s (00:05:21) Friend of the Pod Roelof Botha is stepping down at Sequoia… our insiders try to guess what might have happened… (10:00) Crusoe - Crusoe is the AI factory company. Reliable infrastructure and expert support. Visit crusoe.ai/startup to reserve your capacity for the latest GPUs today. (00:13:11) Deedy moved up at Menlo without being a venture native… he shares the secrets behind his rise. (00:19:09) Was Roelof wrong about "return-free risk"? Does more capital always = more great companies? (20:00) Northwest Registered Agent - Form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today! (00:26:54) With so many private companies growing SO HUGE… when is the right time to go public? Considering the case of Glean and Stripe… (30:00) AWS Marketplace - If you're ready to really accelerate your sales cycle, AWS Marketplace is your next stop. Head to https://aws.com/startups to learn more. (00:30:07) Why Jason says venture capital is no longer the best way to get rich (00:32:34) Why AI apps are so appealing to enterprises after years of paying for SaaS (00:36:32) The growing importance of "prosumers" (00:37:31) Why Deedy says a smile curve is the most beautiful depiction of "Product Market Fit" (00:44:36) Why it's still tough to raise pre-seed money, even during an AI "boom"! (00:46:08) Why Jason says the hardest job in the tech ecosystem is being an investor (00:55:52) "Time is one of the primary drivers of venture capital return." - Jay Eun (00:57:42) Deedy on the shocking amounts being raised by early-stage AI companies (01:00:21) Just how much DO VCs work compared to founders? The panel compares notes. (01:02:53) Are some investors not doing diligence? Deedy on the speed of some AI deals. (01:16:51) The panel picks their fav portfolio company of the moment (or one of their faves) Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com 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 Thank you to our partners: Crusoe - Crusoe is the AI factory company. Reliable infrastructure and expert support. Visit crusoe.ai/startup to reserve your capacity for the latest GPUs today. Northwest Registered Agent - Form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit AWS Marketplace - If you're ready to really accelerate your sales cycle, AWS Marketplace is your next stop. Head to https://aws.com/startups to learn more. Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916