Jason Calacanis says The Wing seemed to serve the founder's ego rather than customers, despite a 35,000-person waiting list and a $365m valuation.
Molly Wood says every founder should weigh worst-case scenarios and side effects, and Jason Calacanis says VCs should press founders on how competitors, the press or disgruntled employees would attack the business.
Alan Chang says Tesseract Energy will sell renewable power about 10% cheaper than utilities, after raising roughly $30m from VCs and $48m through a private token sale.
The Wing shuts down despite $365m valuation
Funding and deals
Tesseract Energy. Renewable power seller raised about $78m, split between $30m in VC equity and a $48m private token sale.
Guest interviews
Alan Chang, co-founder and CEO of Fuse Energy, also called Tesseract Energy. Renewable power is about four times cheaper than gas, he says, and Tesseract will sell it directly to consumers roughly 10 percent below utility prices. Customers can also buy tokens, each worth one watt of virtual solar capacity, from $1, which he says beats rooftop solar economics by about 50 percent. Replacing global power supply of 10 terawatts would cost about $10tn, and permitting and reliance on China for batteries and panels are the biggest obstacles.
Dorena Kuya, founder of OpenPhone. OpenPhone lets a team share one business number, routing calls round robin or ringing every phone so the first person to answer takes it. Teammates can also privately tag each other on customer texts to get help replying.
News
The Wing shuts down despite $365m valuation. Fortune reports the women-focused club closed despite billionaire backers and a 35,000 person waiting list. Jason Calacanis calls the product strong, but says it was sued over women-first membership. Molly Wood cites accusations of racism.
Hosts say founders should plan for worst cases. Calacanis says VCs should ask how a competitor or a disgruntled employee would attack the business, and that he writes policies assuming they will leak. Wood says founders should head off bad outcomes early.
Calacanis says sudden money breeds founder entitlement. Jason Calacanis says money works as a scorecard, and some founders who raise $25m or $50m go off the rails. His accelerator is adding basic accounting lessons, since many founders lack it.
Runway leaves founders little room for error. Jason Calacanis says founders with six months of runway have little room for error, unlike those with eighteen. He adds that founders carrying investor money and employees owe them a higher responsibility, like a driver with passengers.
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