Roper plans to buy Procare Solutions, Porsche releases its Macan EV that costs over $78K

Top News

Industrial tech company Roper plans to buy Procare Solutions, which makes cloud tools for childcare centers, for $1.75B from Warburg Pincus and TA Associates. - Link

Porsche reveals its Macan EV, a long-delayed project that will test whether buyers want electric vehicles that costs more than $78K. - Link

Google partners with Hugging Face to host the startup's open-source AI models on Google Cloud, letting Hugging Face developers access Google's computing power. - Link

Meta rolls out new DM restrictions on both Facebook and Instagram for teens that prevent anyone from messaging them unsolicitedly. - Link

Google rolls out a few new features for Pixel 8 Pro users, announcing that they can use the phone’s Thermometer app to take their temperature with a forehead scan. - Link

Vanta is a compliance system specializing in simplifying the journey to SOC 2 and ISO 27001 compliance so you can build trust effortlessly. They automate up to 90% of the compliance process, saving you time and money. Enjoy $1,000 off at vanta.com/twist! Ad

Advice of the Day

Gong’s Approach to Product Development

Gong.io is one of the fastest SaaS companies to reach $100M in ARR, boasting over 4K customers, including prominent companies like SnowflakeDB, Shopify, HubSpot, and LinkedIn. Gong’s co-founder and CPO, Eilon Reshef, reveals their approach to product development, including:

1. High autonomy for teams.

2. Organizing teams around outcomes rather than features.

3. Utilization of the “W”-framework for yearly planning and the quarterly “M” process.

4. Aversion to using OKRs and Scrum methodologies.

5. Engineers having the responsibility for prioritizing bug fixes, not Product Managers.

6. Collaboration with design partners in developing new products, and employing a “slice” strategy.

7. Using "almost real-life assignments" in their interviewing process.

Read more here.

Startup Demo of the Day:

Sequence allows users to combine all their finances, including credit cards, loans, bank accounts, and money apps, all in one platform. Users can create automations to boost savings, optimize finances, and automatically move money based on dates, balance status, and other criteria.

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

E1885: Jesse Lyu from Rabbit joins Jason to discuss their latest innovation, the Rabbit R1, a compact AI device. They cover various aspects of the product, including its introduction, pricing, and the distinction between large language and action models. The video gives insights into Rabbit's early development, Jesse Lyu's journey, AI prospects, along with a discussion about the product's timeline and getting it to early adopters. - Watch

E1884: Sunny and Jason discuss how AI is used at work, especially in remote settings. Sunny shows different AI tools like Hour One, Bland AI, Dinnerfly, and AI Comic Factory. They also talk about Apple's behavior with smartwatches and share a short film called "Borrowed Time" made entirely with AI. - Watch

E1883: David Weisburd and guests delve into various aspects of the venture capital landscape, discussing positive trends in startup valuations for 2024, current valuation methods, and key considerations for investors. The conversation also explores strategies for securing competitive deals, examines controversial practices like round-tripping, and highlights recent developments in the industry, such as Lexington's successful $22.7 million secondary investment raise and increased mergers and acquisitions activity. - Watch

E1882: Joshua Berkowitz from Berkocorp joins host Jason to discuss various facets of VC and fundraising. They cover why family offices are increasingly diversifying into VC, focusing on aspects such as higher returns and the entrepreneurial element. The conversation also explores how venture firms make decisions, weighing consensus against individual decision-making, and what it takes for a VC fund to succeed. - Watch

E1881: Flexport's CEO, Ryan Petersen, covers topics including the company's focus, pick-and-pack economics, global logistics challenges, the Red Sea Crisis impact, trends in sourcing, and the effects of the market collapse on CEO transition. The conversation also touches on leadership challenges, decisions on going public, and the state of the global workforce and remote work. - Watch

This Week in Startups Paid Partnerships

OpenPhone is an all-in-one phone system for teams. Manage your business calls, texts, and contacts in one app across all your devices. Get an extra 20% off any plan for your first six months by signing up at openphone.com/twist.

Scalable Path helps speed up product development by hiring deeply vetted engineers in specific time zones. Get 20% off your first month at http://www.scalablepath.com/twist

Uizard helps you generate editable app designs with text prompts and handoff completed designs as React or CSS code. Get access to all Uizard’s AI features and more with 25% off Uizard Pro. Head over to http://uizard.io/twist and use code TWIST at checkout.