Rippling Targets $16B, Market Chaos, TikTok Timeout, and Office Hours | E2107
This Week in Startups
Jason Calacanis
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 5 April 2025
⏱️ 92 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today’s show: Jason and Alex dive into the startup world’s latest chaos — from Nasdaq’s slide and Trump’s tariffs to Klarna’s IPO pause and Rippling’s $16B target. They break down what founders really need to know: tightening CIO budgets, longer sales cycles, but easier hiring. Plus, TikTok’s ban gets another delay (with Bezos possibly lurking?). In Office Hours, they chat with two sharp founders: Luke Belbina from PodEngine, who's building AI for podcasters and doubling revenue, and David Moscatelli from Abacus, who’s bringing secure, on-prem AI to banks and just hit $1M ARR. Don’t miss it! 👇
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Timestamps:
(0:00) Jason kicks off the show!
[3:37] Cloud stocks dip: What it means for startups
[5:31] Trump's tariffs: A new startup recession?
[7:01] Retail’s reaction to tariff pressure
[10:16] LinkedIn Ads - Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit at http://www.linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups
[12:35] Supply chains & startup struggles
[14:53] What’s still getting funded in VC
[17:21] Layoffs looming? What founders should prep for
[19:10] AI, macro takes & market signals
[21:32] Northwest Registered Agent - Get a 60% discount on your next LLC at https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist
[23:21] European tech cooling off?
[24:36] Hiring freezes vs. easier recruiting
[27:39] Startup strategies in tough markets
[29:34] Vapi - Go to https://vapi.ai/twist and get 1000 minutes free per month - for life.
[31:38] How to communicate tough changes
[33:33] TikTok ban delayed… again
[39:38] Trump’s China playbook: Startup impact
[42:12] Office Hours: Luke from PodEngine
[47:31] Automating with AI & driving sales
[55:53] Pricing, lead gen & scaling tips
[1:06:30] Office Hours: David from Abacus
[1:08:32] On-prem AI for banks + hitting $1M ARR
[1:14:42] Team building & founder strategy
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Links from the show:
Check out PodEngine: https://www.podengine.ai/
Check out Abacus: https://www.goabacus.co/
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Follow Luke:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukebelbina/
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Follow David:
X: https://x.com/DaveMoscatelli
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Follow Alex:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm
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Follow Jason:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis
Thank you to our partners:
[10:16] LinkedIn Ads - Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit at http://www.linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups
[21:32] Northwest Registered Agent - Get a 60% discount on your next LLC at https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist
[29:34] Vapi - Go to https://vapi.ai/twist and get 1000 minutes free per month - for life.
Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland
Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis
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Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com
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Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | What this means is all the independents, all the moderates, let's call them Clinton Democrats, you know, business people who quickly bent the knee to kind of smooth things over with Trump. |
| 0:13.2 | You know, those people were kind of doing that in a very pragmatic way. Mark Zuckerberg being probably the ultimate example of it, right? He bought a house in D.C. |
| 0:21.7 | now. He banned Trump from reaching billions of people and then now he's all in on Trump. |
| 0:26.9 | I think those folks, if this becomes cataclysmic and it's affecting their business, they could be |
| 0:31.8 | pragmatic and say, you know what? Maybe we should have more balance in the other arms of government. |
| 0:39.4 | And maybe tariffs shouldn't be done by emergency edict, which I think is how they're being |
| 0:44.1 | executed now. |
| 0:45.3 | And they should be done through the Congress. |
| 0:46.8 | And of course, there are people doing that. |
| 0:47.9 | So all this chaos for startups means fundraising is going to get harder. |
| 0:51.8 | Selling into customers, especially like Fortune 500s, is going to be harder. |
| 0:57.3 | There will be only one thing that's easier. |
| 0:59.8 | Can you guess? |
| 1:00.6 | I was going to say hiring because there's going to be more people. |
| 1:03.1 | Ah, yes, nailed it. |
| 1:04.1 | It's going to be easier to hire people. |
| 1:05.4 | So look for the purple hiring rings on LinkedIn. |
| 1:07.6 | It's my best advice. |
| 1:09.6 | This weekend startups is brought to you by LinkedIn Ads. To redeem a |
| 1:13.8 | $100 LinkedIn ad credit and launch your first campaign, go to LinkedIn.com slash this weekend startups. |
| 1:19.4 | Northwest Registered Agent. Starting your business should be simple. With Northwest Registered |
| 1:23.5 | Agent, you can form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. From LLCs to trademarks, domains to custom websites, they've got you covered. |
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