StoneAlgo’s Devin Jones on “Zillow for diamonds” + Mar Hershenson on the art of picking | E1766

This Week in Startups is presented by: iConnections is a platform to connect and meet with elite capital allocators through their online platform and bespoke events. The first 25 VC funds to sign up for iConnections Miami 2024 event in January of next year will receive a 20% discount! Head to iConnections.io/twist to sign up today! Crowdbotics. Great ideas can change the world, and Crowdbotics is the fastest way to turn those ideas into code. Get a free scoping session for your next big app idea at crowdbotics.com/twist. Vanta. Compliance and security shouldn't be a deal-breaker for startups to win new business. Vanta makes it easy for companies to get a SOC 2 report fast. TWiST listeners can get $1,000 off for a limited time at vanta.com/twist. * Today’s show: First, StoneAlgo CEO Devin Jones joins Jason for a jam session on scaling his startup, which is building “Zillow for diamonds” (4:38). Then, Mar Hershenson gives a presentation on “The Art of Picking.” (38:19) Mar’s talk was recorded live at LAUNCH Angel Summit. * Follow StoneAlgo: https://twitter.com/stonealgo Follow Mar: https://twitter.com/MarHershenson * Time stamps: (0:00) Cold intros DO work! (1:30) Jason explains what LAUNCH looks for in startup investments (4:38) Jason intros StoneAlgo CEO Devin Jones, who breaks down his startup: “Zillow for Diamonds” (14:27) iConnections - Get 20% off iConnections Miami 2024 event at http://iconnections.io/twist (15:58) Bootstrapping StoneAlgo as a side project, never underestimating categories, understanding the diamond market (26:10) Crowdbotics - Get a free scoping session for your next big app idea at crowdbotics.com/twist (27:37) Capital efficiency, frugality, how Devin scored an investment off of a cold email (37:13) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist (38:19) Pear VC’s Mar Hershenson gives a talk on “The Art of Picking” live from LAUNCH Angel Summit * Read LAUNCH Fund 4 Deal Memo: https://www.launch.co/four Apply for Funding: https://www.launch.co/apply Buy ANGEL: https://www.angelthebook.com Great recent interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland, PrayingForExits, Jenny Lefcourt Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis * Follow Jason: Twitter: https://twitter.com/jason Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis * Follow TWiST: Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin * Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.founder.university/podcast