Airbnb has a new label to denote its top (and worst) listings, Apple announces new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models with M3 chip

Top News

Airbnb has a new label to denote its top listings, identifying the top 25% and 1% of properties on its listing page. - Link

Apple announces new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models with M3 chip. - Link

Wagely, a fintech out of Indonesia, creates a way for workers in Southeast Asian countries to get advances on their salaries without resorting to higher-interest loans. - Link

Topsort helps e-commerce create ads without being ‘creepy’, allowing users to control how ads are shown, how to measure ad quality and relevance, and who can launch campaigns. - Link

How AI is used to evaluate the authenticity of paintings, as conservators express concerns over whether the tech can account for wear, damage, and other factors. - Link

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Advice of the Day

Cap Table Management for Startups

Startups should maintain a balanced equity distribution, especially in the early funding stages. An article by Haje Jan Kamps illustrates how a Norwegian hardware startup faced investment challenges due to having surrendered over two-thirds of its equity for relatively small funding. This situation shows the risks of inexperienced startups in less developed ecosystems accepting unfavorable terms from investors. Founders need to be cautious about equity dilution, understand the long-term implications of their fundraising decisions, and seek equitable terms that preserve a significant stake for themselves and align incentives among all stakeholders. Startups should be aware of and navigate the disparities in investment practices, seeking experienced advisors to avoid pitfalls in their capital-raising journey. - Link

Startup Demo of the Day:

Wondercraft is a tool that helps users create studio-quality audio for their podcasts, ads, company communications, meditations, and many other projects. The tool also translates and dubs existing content to broaden audience reach using an AI translation with human editing and quality assurance.

Founder University is a 12-week pre-accelerator program run by Jason/LAUNCH for builder founders. We're investing $25k in 20-30 companies from Cohort 7. Apply at founder.university/letsbuild.

This Week in Startups

E1907: David Weisburd, Erik Torenberg, Guy Perelmuter, and Jason, discuss leaked VC returns from Sequoia Capital and Union Square Ventures, bearish signs in the startup employment market, the emergence of the first one-person unicorn, and the return of founders and investors to San Francisco. - Watch

E1906: David Clark joins Jason to discuss VenCap's investment strategies and analyze over 500 investments. They delve into the criteria for success in VC, examining data from 12K companies and the concept of the power law. Key topics include the selection of top-performing investments, the benefits of long-term company investment, challenges faced with seed managers, and selling strategies. - Watch

E1905: In this "Ask Jason" episode, questions range from the relevance of a fintech degree for joining startups to strategies for pre-VC survival and the timing of fundraising. Other questions include the pitfalls of incorrect pivoting, whether to focus on deep relationships with a few customers or to target a broader base, and common mistakes by first-time founders. - Watch

1904: Sunny Madra joins Jason to discuss the challenges faced by Google's AI, exploring how Google can learn from Meta's solutions. Google's Gemini model, Apple's gradual integration of AI features, and an analysis of OpenAI's Sora are also discussed. - Watch

E1903: Jason, along with guests Bryan Rosenblatt, Michael Downing, and David Weisburd delve into the potential of Reddit as an advertising platform in light of its upcoming IPO. The integration of AI in traditional businesses and a comparison between consumer-focused and enterprise AI are also discussed. - Watch

This Week in Startups Paid Partnerships

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Coda is an all-in-one platform that combines documents, spreadsheets, and apps. Get a $1,000 startup credit at https://coda.io/twist.

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