Ryan Smith on buying the Utah Jazz, evolving Qualtrics, AI’s early days, and more | E1782

This Week in Startups is brought to you by…

Fin can’t burn its mouth on hot pizza. Or wave at someone who wasn’t waving at them. Fin can resolve half of your customer support tickets instantly before they reach your team. Meet Fin. A breakthrough AI bot by Intercom – ready to join your support team today. Visit https://intercom.com/fin

Lemon.io - Hire pre-vetted remote developers, get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist

Superside. Design and creative are crucial for growth. Tech companies like Shopify, Amazon, and Meta have found the perfect solution: Superside. Get $2000 off with Superside's Startup Accelerator package superside.com/TWIST.

*

Today’s show:

Ryan Smith joins Jason to discuss buying the Utah Jazz while simultaneously prepping for an IPO (3:19), Qualtrics going from IPO prep to acquired to spin out IPO to a take-private in under five years (58:56), his thoughts on AI’s impact (49:12), and much more!

*

Time stamps:

(00:00) Qualtics Co-Founder Ryan Smith joins Jason

(3:19) Ryan’s decision to buy the Utah Jazz NBA team

(9:05) The Rudy Gorbet Utah Jazz deal

(12:05) Fin - Try Fin, Intercom's new AI customer support chatbot, at https://intercom.com/f

(12:46) The process of owning an NBA team while prepping for an IPO

(21:09) The impact of the midseason tournament

(23:30) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist

(24:50) Providing a better user experience with free-to-watch games in Utah

(26:37) Paradigm shifts in media and building an NBA media giant

(36:10) The importance of going direct in media

(39:52) Superside - Go to https://superside.com/twist to get $2000 off with Superside's Startup Accelerator package

(41:24) Qualtrics’ product evolution

(49:12) Ryan’s thoughts on AI’s impact on business

(54:49) Job displacement as a result of AI

(58:56) Qualtrics going from IPO prep to acquired to spin out IPO to a take-private in under five years

(1:03:31) The change in approach to private vs public businesses

*

Check out Qualtrics: https://www.qualtrics.com/

Follow Ryan: https://twitter.com/RyanQualtrics

*

Read LAUNCH Fund 4 Deal Memo: https://www.launch.co/four

Apply for Funding: https://www.launch.co/apply

Buy ANGEL: https://www.angelthebook.com

Great recent interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland, PrayingForExits, Jenny Lefcourt

Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis

*

Follow Jason:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jason

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

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

*

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