E1042: Balaji Srinivasan (@balajis) shares insights on Recode incident, need for decentralized citizen journalism, techlash through the years, potential COVID-19 endgames: bull, bear & base case scenarios
04/03/20 • 112 min
3 Listeners
4:28 Balaji shares his experience with the story and his issues with corporate journalism
15:16 Balaji explains why he reacted the way he did to Shirin Ghaffary's request for an interview
19:52 History of techlash: 1995-2020, when things turned from positivity to overwhelming negativity
26:26 Balaji brings up a sentiment analysis chart published by Recode
31:25 Did both sides of the political spectrum fail in their coverage of the virus? Is citizen journalism the answer?
39:40 Balaji envisions for a new kind of journalism
41:43 Are corporate journalists too like-minded in their approach because of not being representative of the demographics of the US?
48:16 What is modern journalism's biggest blind spot?
51:22 Tips on how to start decentralizing media
54:34 Are modern journalists uncomfortable with subjects playing an active role in the reporting of the story? Did Recode & other outlets fail their readers?
1:01:55 Will the US "let it rip" strategy of dealing with COVID prove catastrophic?
1:05:53 Endgame scenarios: Bull, Bear & Base
1:10:08 Should we be experimenting with "Challenge Trials"?
1:18:52 How culpable is China for the spread of COVID-19? Should wet markets be shut down for good?
1:23:39 Why is the US still behind on mass testing? More on endgame scenarios
1:31:03 Possibility of COVID-19 being a biological weapon?
1:36:27 What should we learn from this crisis? What societal changes will happen?
4:28 Balaji shares his experience with the story and his issues with corporate journalism
15:16 Balaji explains why he reacted the way he did to Shirin Ghaffary's request for an interview
19:52 History of techlash: 1995-2020, when things turned from positivity to overwhelming negativity
26:26 Balaji brings up a sentiment analysis chart published by Recode
31:25 Did both sides of the political spectrum fail in their coverage of the virus? Is citizen journalism the answer?
39:40 Balaji envisions for a new kind of journalism
41:43 Are corporate journalists too like-minded in their approach because of not being representative of the demographics of the US?
48:16 What is modern journalism's biggest blind spot?
51:22 Tips on how to start decentralizing media
54:34 Are modern journalists uncomfortable with subjects playing an active role in the reporting of the story? Did Recode & other outlets fail their readers?
1:01:55 Will the US "let it rip" strategy of dealing with COVID prove catastrophic?
1:05:53 Endgame scenarios: Bull, Bear & Base
1:10:08 Should we be experimenting with "Challenge Trials"?
1:18:52 How culpable is China for the spread of COVID-19? Should wet markets be shut down for good?
1:23:39 Why is the US still behind on mass testing? More on endgame scenarios
1:31:03 Possibility of COVID-19 being a biological weapon?
1:36:27 What should we learn from this crisis? What societal changes will happen?
Previous Episode
E40: “Angel” Podcast: Jeff Richards, Managing Partner at GGV Capital shares lessons for founders & investors from 2008 recession & Dot-com bust, criteria for taking on venture debt, valuing companies in a down market & more
0:51 Jason gives some thoughts on quarantine & intros GGV's Jeff Richards
5:11 What will this crisis look like on the other side? Benefits of having a levelheaded approach
11:38 What has Jeff seen from his seasoned portfolio founders who went through the 2008 crisis?
16:21 What advice does Jeff give to first-time founders in his portfolio?
22:22 Investor panic & differences in opinion between independent & investor board members
25:50 What could inexperienced board advice be in a time like this?
30:45 What is GGV's typical check size, how many startups do they invest in per year, and how are their funds divvied up between early-stage & growth
33:26 Chances that current deals could be renegotiated? How can founders price themselves properly?
38:05 Jeff explains liquidation preferences
42:52 How should companies approach taking venture debt in a time like this? What is Jeff's criteria for taking venture debt?
51:11 If things are going poorly, what are some things founders can do to right the ship? Examples of great pivots that saved companies
57:58 What is Airbnb's roadmap from here on out?
1:02:12 Why Jeff doesn't get enamored with IPO valuations & why he is long tech
1:08:18 Thoughts on Zoom, anti-trust laws & more
Next Episode
E1043: News Roundtable! Bloomberg Beta’s Roy Bahat & Coelius Capital’s Zach Coelius on how tech is helping during the crisis, how startups should approach SMB loans, when VC funding will bounce back, Notion’s $50M raise, Zoom’s security issues, Luckin coffee & more!
0:54 Jason intros Roy Bahat & Zach Coelius, and they discuss their current quarantine situations
6:04 What is the timeline looking like for going back to work? What needs to happen before we can get back to normal?
14:51 Has government & media failed the public? How is tech (both big tech & startups) helping during the crisis?
28:33 How should startups approach taking PPP, EIDL & other SMB loans? Should startups begin working more closely with the government?
37:14 When should companies plan on being able to raise capital again?
41:37 Why Jason believes the VC market will bounce back strong & how he is planning on deploying capital?
46:12 Are we going through a generational change & witnessing the creation of "Generation V"?
55:06 Jason's thoughts on what the crisis will actually change
1:04:36 What should permanently change after the crisis: government reliance, UBI, listening to experts
1:11:45 Notion's $50M raise & $2B valuation
1:15:29 Is Zoom trustworthy? Is any software trustworthy?
1:19:13 Luckin Coffee fabricates sales and loses $5B of value in 5 minutes
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