#53 Ask Me Anything
Playing With Unicorns
It’s been a year since my last Ask Me Anything session. A lot has happened since then across AI, marketplaces, macro, and the broader tech ecosystem. Here are the questions we covered: · Why does AI feel so widely feared or disliked right now? · Why is AI driving massive progress while politics and public systems lag behind? · What are the real opportunities in commercializing AI today? · Will startups still need human co-founders in an AI-first world? ...
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#52 Marketplaces in the Age of AI
Playing With Unicorns
Over the past few weeks, a growing narrative has emerged arguing that AI could destabilize the economy and disrupt entire business models. Last week, I published my view that AI is far more likely to be a productivity revolution than an economic collapse. But what does this mean specifically for marketplaces? Many founders are asking: • Will LLMs capture discovery? • Will AI compress take rates? • Will traffic shift away from platforms? • How defensible are marketplaces in an AI-native world? In this upcoming episode, I break down:...
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#51 Zach Resnick, Founder & CEO of Ascend
Playing With Unicorns
I had the pleasure of chatting with Zach Resnick, the founder and CEO of Ascend (formerly FlyFlat), a membership program for frequent travelers that eliminates 90% of travel decisions and saves 35% off biz/first class flights. Ascend has been helping my partners Jose and Jeff with all their travels for a couple years now, saving FJ Labs over six figures since we first learned about them. Prior to starting Ascend, Zach opened hundreds of credit cards, manufactured over $100M in credit card spend, and started three other travel companies. In addition, he started a crypto hedge fund and a...
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#50 Venture Market Trends
Playing With Unicorns
The venture market is in flux. AI is booming while the rest of venture is in the dumps. Venture capital as an asset class is evolving and retrenching. Fewer deals are happening at higher prices. New marketplace types are emerging. AI is impacting marketplaces in unexpected ways and new technologies are coming of age. There is much to discuss! You can follow along live on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Twitch. If you are interested in seeing past episodes, including the supporting materials presented during the stream, check out my blog's Playing with Unicorns section. It takes me a...
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#49 Dan Park and the Incredible Comeback Story of Clutch
Playing With Unicorns
has had an incredible ride. As the “Carvana of Canada” it was a highflier in 2021. It had a brush with death in 2023 and effected an incredible turnaround. They are now once again on a tear. Dan Park, Clutch’s Founder & CEO, joined us to share all the lessons learned along the way.
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#48 Ask Me Anything
Playing With Unicorns
I had not done an Ask Me Anything session in over a year which led to many questions on a wide variety of topics: macro, marketplaces, AI, fundraising, wealth management, education, island shopping, India, how to lose your accent, adventure travel, climate tech, the state of VC, and much more. Here are the key questions we covered: 00:01:17 How will all the geopolitical changes, tariffs, and Trump policies influence the world? 00:06:14 What are the key tips for finding and persuading investors? 00:08:44 What do you think is the future of fashion marketplaces? How has it been impacted by...
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#47 Marketplace Trends
Playing With Unicorns
Given that I have been building and investing in marketplaces for 26 years you might think that everything that needed to be built has already been built, but nothing could be further from the truth. In many ways, we are still at the beginning of the marketplace revolution with lots of exciting new trends. In this episode, I cover: Cross border commerce. Live commerce. New goods verticals supported by service layers. High take rate business models based on convenience. Climate tech. AI enabled marketplaces. B2B marketplaces: Marketplace for inputs. SMB enablement. Friendshoring. B2B...
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#46 FJ Labs’ AI Thesis
Playing With Unicorns
While AI investing continues to reach new highs, we have been contrarian. Given how non-consensus we are, I wanted to share our thoughts and perspective. In this episode, I cover: The general state of venture. The explosion in AI investing. The varying fortunes of AI startups. FJ Labs’ perspective on AI. FJ Labs’ AI investments. The episode was highly interactive with dozens of audience questions. Here are some of the questions that I answered: How is AI impacting sports, especially tennis from an entertainment and industry standpoint? How are you utilizing AI in your...
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#45 Ask Me Anything
Playing With Unicorns
I had not done an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session in over a year which led to many questions on a wide variety of topics: AI, augmented reality, crypto, macro and much more. Here are the key questions we covered: • 00:01:44 Artificial Intelligence: Where are we now? Where are we heading? What is the timeline? Why is FJ Labs a way contrarian on the AI trend? • 00:09:42 What's your perspective on augmented reality? Is the Apple Vision Pro a revolution? And what is the timing for that to filter into our day-to-day life? • 00:15:28 What was the fundamental inspiration for me to start OLX? •...
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#44 Unlocking Productivity: Streamlining Your Days for Passion and Purpose
Playing With Unicorns
People often ask me how I manage to accomplish so much while leading such a rich, passionate life as illustrated by . In this episode I share all my secrets. I will cover everything from general productivity tips to how and what you can outsource in your professional and personal life.
info_outlineIn a way I live in your future. By virtue of receiving 150 startup pitches per week, I have a good sense of what founders are trying to build for the coming decade. At the same time, as a student of history, penetration and cost trends, I can make calculated guesses for when things go from being fringe to mainstream.
In today’s episode, I take a stab at which categories investors and entrepreneurs should focus on for the coming 5 years. This time horizon is relevant because for an idea to be investable by a VC today, it means the company needs to hit its stride in 3-5 years, which in turn implies the market must be ready for the idea.