Jason Calacanis
Jason Calacanis | |
---|---|
Born | Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | November 28, 1970
Education | Fordham University (B.A.) |
Occupations | |
Spouse | Jade Li (m. after 2006) |
Children | 3 |
Jason McCabe Calacanis (born November 28, 1970) is an American Internet entrepreneur,[1] angel investor,[2] author and podcaster.[3][4]
His first company was part of the dot-com era in New York. His second venture, Weblogs, Inc., a publishing company that he co-founded together with Brian Alvey, capitalized on the growth of blogs before being sold to AOL. Calacanis is also an angel investor in various technology startups and co-host of the All-In podcast alongside David Sacks, Chamath Palihapitiya and David Friedberg, and the host of This Week in Startups Podcast.
Early life
[edit]Calacanis was born in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, New York, and has two brothers.[5] He is of half-Greek and half-Irish descent.[6] He graduated from Xaverian High School in 1988 and attended Fordham University, where he received a B.A. in psychology.[7]
Career
[edit]Calacanis started his career in the 1990s as a reporter covering the internet industry in New York.[3]
Calacanis was the founder and CEO of Rising Tide Studios, a media company that published print and online publications. During the dot-com boom, Calacanis was active in New York's Silicon Alley community, and in 1996 began producing the Silicon Alley Reporter.[1] Originally a 16-page photocopied newsletter,[2] it eventually expanded into a 300-page magazine, with a sister publication called the Digital Coast Reporter for the West Coast. Calacanis' socializing earned him a nickname as the "yearbook editor" of the Silicon Alley community.[8] The company also organized conferences in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco focused on the Internet, web, and New Media.
Calacanis co-founded the blog network Weblogs, Inc.[3] with Brian Alvey on September 24, 2003, and the startup was supported by an angel investment from Mark Cuban.[9]
Two years after its inception, the Weblogs, Inc. blogs business was generating $1,000 a day just from AdSense.[10] Time Warner's America Online agreed to buy Weblogs, Inc. in October 2005 for $25–30 million.[3][11][12]
On November 16, 2006, TechCrunch reported that Calacanis had resigned from his position as CEO of Weblogs, Inc. and general manager of Netscape.[13] Calacanis later confirmed this on his blog and the Gillmor Gang podcast.[14]
Calacanis joined Sequoia Capital, a venture capital firm,[3] as an EIA (entrepreneur in action) in December, 2006,[15] a position which he held until May, 2007.[16] Through this program, Calacanis invested $25K in Travis Kalanick's company, Uber.[2] As of 2017 the investment was worth roughly $100 million.[3]
In 2007, Calacanis is credited with starting an internet trend he called "fatblogging" after being fed up with being overweight.[17] Fatblogging is when a person loses weight by exercising and then posting their weight afterwards onto their blog for encouragement and support from commenters and other fatbloggers.[17]
He launched the web directory Mahalo ("thank you" in Hawaiian),[11] which raised $20 million in venture capital from investors[18] including Sequoia Capital, News Corp, CBS, Mark Cuban, and Elon Musk. Mahalo hit a peak of 15 million unique visitors a month and achieved profitability in 2011, but suffered a sharp decline in traffic that year from the Google Panda search algorithm update and shut down in 2014.[19]
Calacanis founded ThisWeekIn.com,[18] which shut down in 2012 but is live again and available as a weekly podcast.[20]
This Week in Startups (also called TWiSt) is a show founded and hosted by Calacanis. The show was co-hosted by Molly Wood from 2021 to 2023.[21] Molly left the podcast in 2023 for unnamed reasons.
He also founded a startup Inside.com which focuses on delivering thematic newsletters.[22] The company raised $2.6 million.[23]
In June 2019, Calacanis partnered with the NSW Government to create the Sydney Launch Festival for startups to give their pitches to global audiences.[24]
After Elon Musk acquired Twitter in 2022 and re-organized the management and governance structure, Calacanis helped run the company Twitter along with David Sacks.[25]
Angel investing
[edit]In 2009, Calacanis founded the Open Angel Forum, an event that connects early-stage startups with angel investors. The forum was the culmination of a series of public comments by Calacanis questioning the ethics of pay-to-pitch angel forums.[26] Calacanis believes startups shouldn't have to pay to pitch angel investors, calling out fees that can range from $1,000 to $8,000 for a single 10- or 15-minute presentation.[27][28] Calacanis is an angel investor in Robinhood, Wealthfront, Uber,[3] Desktop Metal, Datastax, Thumbtack, Superhuman and Trello.[29]
Calacanis raised a $10 million fund for his own venture investment firm to invest in startups that emerged from the Launch conference.[30][31] Limited partners in the fund include David Sacks.[32] Following the success of the Launch conference,[33] Calacanis declared his intent to get closer and more involved in the new ventures that emerged from that conference. The level of investment was around $25,000 to $100,000 in five to 10 startups per year.[2][34]
In 2016, Calacanis was banned from attending Y Combinator's Demo Day. According to a post on Hacker News by then-president of Y Combinator Sam Altman, the decision to exclude Calacanis was driven by feedback received from YC founders regarding their interactions with him.[35]
Calacanis publicly announced in 2018 that he had sold all of his Facebook stock, expressing sharp criticism of company CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg on the Too Embarrassed to Ask podcast. He called Zuckerberg "completely immoral" in how he runs the business and said, "No founder should ever sell a company to him."[36]
Calacanis authored a book titled "Angel: How to Invest in Technology Startups—Timeless Advice from an Angel Investor Who Turned $100,000 into $100,000,000"[3] on angel investing published by HarperCollins in 2017.[37]
In 2018, Calacanis invested in Calm, a meditation app that is valued at $1 billion.[38][39]
Podcasting
[edit]This Week in Startups
[edit]This Week in Startups | |
---|---|
Presentation | |
Hosted by | Jason Calacanis and Molly Wood |
Related | |
Website | thisweekinstartups |
This Week in Startups is a weekly podcast created and hosted by Calacanis.[18][40] The Wall Street Journal contributor Cecilie Rohwedder described the podcast as "an influential Web series filmed in the U.S."[41]
History
[edit]Plans for the podcast were announced on March 16, 2009, through a blog post. The 60-minute program premiered on May 1, 2009, featuring Brian Alvey, CEO and founder of the content management and hosting system Crowd Fusion, as its first guest..[42]
Reception
[edit]This Week in Startups was listed in an article at Fortune.com titled "The Ultimate Guide to the Best Business Podcasts".[43]
All-In
[edit]As of 2022, Calacanis is co-host of the All-In podcast, alongside Chamath Palihapitiya, David O. Sacks, and David Friedberg.[44][45][46] In May 2022, the All-In Podcast team hosted their first All-In Summit in Miami, where leaders in business and tech attended to discuss the central theme of "What problem do you want to solve right now?"[47]
Personal life
[edit]Calacanis married Jade Li sometime between 2006 and 2009.[48][49]
Calacanis was an early supporter and founder for the effort behind the successful recall election of the San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin in 2022.[50][51]
Publications
[edit]- Jason Calacanis, Angel: How to Invest in Technology Startups, Harper Business, 2017 ISBN 9780062560704
References
[edit]- ^ a b . New York. Vol. 39, no. 24. p. 28.
- ^ a b c d Loizos, Connie. (June 3, 2013). Entrepreneur Jason Calacanis raising a $10 million fund. Reuters. Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Manjoo, Farhad (September 27, 2017). "Should the Middle Class Invest in Risky Tech Start-Ups?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 3, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
- ^ Jason Calacanis (November 28, 2005). "My retirement party". Jason Calacanis weblog. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2006.
- ^ Drange, Matt; Cheng, Candy (June 3, 2021). "Jason Calacanis went from dotcom roadkill to early investor in Uber, Calm, and Robinhood. Here's how he's reshaping venture capital with bluster, ego, and media-savvy". Business Insider. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
- ^ Remnick, David (2001). The New Gilded Age: The New Yorker Looks at the Culture of Affluence. Random House Publishing Group. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-375-50705-2.
- ^ "Featured Discussion Leaders". The Media Center. 2007. Archived from the original on May 4, 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
- ^ Grigoriadis, Vanessa (March 6, 2000). "Silicon Alley 10003". New York. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
- ^ "6 Reasons Why You Should Know Jason Calacanis". Startup San Diego. June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
- ^ Penenberg, Adam L.. (2007-09-01) Man vs. Machine | Fast Company | Business + Innovation. Fast Company. Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ^ a b Dotan, Tom (January 27, 2014). "Entrepreneur making news: Jason Calacanis looks to deriver in journalism". Los Angeles Business Journal. 36 (4). CBJ: 1. ISSN 0194-2603. Gale A360474368. Archived from the original on October 15, 2022.
- ^ Arrington, Michael (October 5, 2005). "AOL Acquires Weblogs, Inc". techcrunch.com. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
- ^ Arrington, Michael (November 16, 2006). "Jason Calacanis resigns from AOL". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
- ^ Farber, Dan. (2006-11-17) Jason Calacanis talks about leaving AOL and what's next. ZDNet. Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ^ Arrington, Michael (December 5, 2006). "Calacanis takes position at Sequoia Capital". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
- ^ Why Jason Calacanis Is Betting All His Chips On Web Video Archived October 20, 2021, at the Wayback Machine. The Rise to the Top. Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ^ a b Pham, Alex (June 15, 2007). "On 'fatblogs,' heavy people weigh in". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 27, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
- ^ a b c Dotan, Tom (January 7, 2013). "Ex-search engine finds way to video: Mahalo to produce YouTube channels as Inside.com". Los Angeles Business Journal. 35 (1): 1. Gale A315221432 – via Cengage.
- ^ Adam L. Penenberg (June 14, 2012). "Mahalo.com: Pivot or Die". Fast Company. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
- ^ Anthony Ha. "Jason Calacanis Says He Will Shut Down Podcast Network ThisWeekIn.com, This Week In Startups Will Continue". TechCrunch. AOL.
- ^ Fred Wilson (July 9, 2011). "This Week In Startups". avc.com.
- ^ Mazarakis, Shontell, Anna, Alyson (August 3, 2017). "How a founder went from being worth millions to -$10,000 almost overnight — then rebounded to a $100 million fortune". Business Insider. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Inside Inside's new local newsletters and its plans to keep scaling (with 750,000 active subscribers on board)". Nieman Lab. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
- ^ Alois, J. D. (June 18, 2019). "Jason Calacanis' Launch Festival Takes Place in Sydney Australia this Week". Crowdfund Insider. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- ^ O'Sullivan, Clare Duffy,Oliver Darcy,Donie (November 15, 2022). "Twitter chaos spills into public view as Musk clashes with and fires employees on the platform | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Paul Boutin (December 6, 2009). "Calacanis Launches Open Angel Forum". VentureBeat. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
- ^ Adrianne Jeffries (December 12, 2011). "Pay-to-Pitch Comes Creeping Back: How Much Is Too Much?". Observer. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ Jason Calacanis (October 9, 2010). "Why startups shouldn't have to pay to pitch angel investors". Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
- ^ Griswold, Alison (August 3, 2017). "At dim sum with angel investor Jason Calacanis, buying his book is mandatory". Quartz. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
- ^ Racism Denier Jason Calacanis Is Starting His Own VC Fund Archived 2013-06-08 at the Wayback Machine. Valleywag.gawker.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ^ Entrepreneur Jason Calacanis raising a $10 million fund. FinancePlus (2013-06-04). Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ^ Launch founder Jason Calacanis raising $10 million venture fund Archived 2013-06-18 at archive.today. Techinvestornews.com (2013-06-03). Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ^ Launch founder Jason Calacanis raising $10 million venture fund. VentureBeat (2013-07-15). Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ^ Private equity and venture capital news, data and community. peHUB (2013-06-03). Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ^ . The Information. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
- ^ Eric Johnson (May 4, 2018). "Why did Jason Calacanis sell all his Facebook stock?". Vox. Recode. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ Calacanis, Jason (July 18, 2017). Angel : how to invest in technology startups-timeless advice from an angel investor who turned $100,000 into $100,000,000 (First ed.). New York, NY. ISBN 9780062560711. OCLC 993752430.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Levy, Ari (March 26, 2018). "This meditation app is now worth $250 million and has Trump-related stress to thank". CNBC. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
- ^ LaVito, Angelica (February 6, 2019). "Relaxation app Calm raises $88 million, valuing it $1 billion". CNBC. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
- ^ Hernbroth, Megan. "A famous startup investor had a DM fail and accidentally revealed his clever strategy for getting into super competitive funding rounds". Business Insider. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
- ^ Cecilie Rohwedder (November 17, 2013). "Careers: Learning the Art of the American Pitch --- Coaches Teach International Entrepreneurs to Deliver Persuasive Presentations to Investors, Clients". The Wall Street Journal. p. B6.
- ^ "Podcasts Business Leaders in Philadelphia". Philly Mag. February 12, 2018.
- ^ "The Ultimate Guide to the Best Business Podcasts". Fortune. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
- ^ "Chamath Palihapitiya is 'Not Even Sure That China is a Dictatorship'". January 18, 2022.
- ^ "Golden State Warriors Co-Owner: "Nobody Cares About What's Happening to the Uyghurs" in China". January 17, 2022.
- ^ Jones, Dustin (January 17, 2022). "Co-owner of NBA's Warriors slammed after saying 'nobody cares about the Uyghurs'". NPR.
- ^ "All-In Summit". Aedea Partners LLC — Strategy Consulting and Training with Aneta Key. May 15, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
- ^ "Revenge of the Dotcom Poster Boy". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ^ "Jade's first show! Invitation to OUT THERE Exhibit, June 12". Jason Calacanis. May 29, 2009. Archived from the original on December 20, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- ^ Akela, Lacy (June 3, 2022). "What's Stopping Chesa Boudin?". The Intercept. First Look Institute. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
- ^ Akela, Lacy (January 26, 2021). "A Tech Investor Is Raising Funds to Investigate San Francisco Prosecutor's Decarceral Approach". The Intercept. First Look Institute. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
- General
- Brown, Eryn (January 2006). "Revenge of the Dotcom Poster Boy". Wired; Conde Nast Digital. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
External links
[edit]- Jason Calacanis on Instagram
- All In – podcast