Episode Summary
Executive Summary: In this episode of This Week in Startups, host Jason Calacanis discusses the state of San Francisco as a ghost town, the TikTok ban debate amid US-China tensions, Twitter's subscription plans, and Clubhouse's rise. The conversation also delves deeply into racial justice and diversity in tech, featuring Morgan DeBaun (CEO of Blavity) who shares insights on media revenue during the pandemic, the effectiveness of corporate diversity commitments, and the need for authentic inclusion. The panel explores media coverage biases, the future of higher education, and practical steps for supporting underrepresented founders.
Main Topics: San Francisco's Decline During COVID-19 (Priority: 2/5): Discussion of San Francisco becoming a ghost town with 12-20% rent declines, no traffic, and companies leaving, contrasted with Calacanis's observations of the homeless crisis worsening. TikTok Ban and Chinese Apps Security (Priority: 4/5): Debate on whether TikTok should be banned due to Chinese government data access, with differing views on national security vs. free market concerns, and an experiment proposed to test censorship on the platform. Racial Justice, Diversity in Tech, and Black Entrepreneurship (Priority: 5/5): Morgan DeBaun discusses Blavity's revenue drop during protests, corporate diversity initiatives, the importance of authentic support for black founders, and challenges faced by black women in VC. Covers practical solutions like Founder Gym and specific investment strategies. Twitter's Subscription Model and Social Media Dynamics (Priority: 3/5): Analysis of Twitter's planned subscription platform (codenamed Griffin), willingness to pay for features like ad-free experience, archive functionality, and the toxic culture on Twitter, including Calacanis's experience with doxxing. Clubhouse Audio App and Its Future (Priority: 3/5): Discussion of Clubhouse's unique features, privacy risks, growth strategy, potential business models, and the likelihood of acquisition by Facebook or Twitter, with predictions on its longevity.
Key Arguments: Calacanis argues that the Trump administration's consideration of banning TikTok is driven more by embarrassment from Gen Z trolling than genuine security concerns, but acknowledges that China does have data access. Morgan DeBaun argues that corporate diversity commitments often reallocate existing budgets rather than representing new investment, and that real change requires explicit signals of care for underrepresented communities. Alex Wilhelm challenges Calacanis's critique of tech media as hyper-negative, stating that most coverage is neutral and that the debate is limited to a small number of vocal VCs on Twitter. Calacanis argues that Harvard charging $50,000 for fully virtual classes demonstrates the bankruptcy of higher education and that skills-based learning is replacing credentialing. Morgan DeBaun emphasizes that black founders need to be asked about their businesses like anyone else, not just their identity, and that until more black VCs achieve exits, progress will be slow.
Data Points: Rent decrease in San Francisco: 12-20% - Zumper data shows 12% lower rents, but actual renegotiation offers are 20% off. Blavity ad revenue drop during pandemic: 30% - Advertising revenue dropped 30% during the first phase of the pandemic, with a second wave when campaigns paused out of respect for protests. TikTok quarterly downloads Q1 2020: 315 million - Sensor Tower Analytics reported 315 million downloads in Q1 2020, with 2 billion total. 60% of users are aged 16-24. Percentage of venture funding going to black women: < 1% - DeBaun states that less than 2% of VC funding goes to women, and black women receive a fraction of that, making it less than 1%. Number of relevant applications in 4 days via LinkedIn: 110 - Aaron Mason, founder of Emma AI, received 110 relevant applications for a machine learning engineer role in 4 days using LinkedIn Jobs.
Pivotal Quotes: "I'm not waiting for white people to solve my problems. So we got to get going on our end too. My friends who are founders need to exit so they can just go be billionaires. And like, let's just be the PayPal mafia and like do our own thing." — Morgan DeBaun: Morgan DeBaun emphasizes the need for black founders to build their own ecosystem and achieve exits to create generational wealth, rather than waiting for systemic change. "I would pay $1,500 or $1,500 if they demanded me to pay it because I can't not have that." — Alex Wilhelm: On the question of how much he would pay for a Twitter subscription, Alex Wilhelm indicates his extreme dependency on the platform as a journalist and power user. "If we did a series of TikToks featuring Tiananmen Square and the history of Tiananmen Square. And let's see how long it lasts. And then I would like you to inspire everybody to use the hashtag Tiananmen Square. And let's see if we can trend it." — Jason Calacanis: Calacanis proposes a real-world test to determine whether TikTok truly censors content related to politically sensitive topics, challenging the company's claims of independent operation from ByteDance.
Implications: The podcast highlights a critical inflection point in tech: platform power dynamics are shifting, diversity is becoming a business imperative, and the remote work revolution is reshaping geography and education. VCs and founders must move beyond performative gestures to structural changes in funding and media coverage.
About This Week in Startups
Jason Calacanis covers startups, tech, markets, media, and all the hottest topics in business and technology. He also interviews the world’s greatest founders, operators, investors, and innovators.