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The whole community is buzzing. Everyone is excited for the week itself, but we have added a cherry on top.
The keynote speaker for Startup Week 2017 is none other than legendary investor Jason Calacanis!
If you have followed the startup community even remotely it is quite possible that you have heard of this storied and sometimes controversial gentleman. To get you excited for his keynote we have put together 6 reasons why Jason is awesome:
He’s Good At What He Does
Having started Weblog, Inc., a network of blogs in various subject which was acquired by AOL and later , also known as Mahalo (investors including Elon Musk, News Corp, CBS, Sequoia, and Mark Cuban), he has created two companies that have generated millions in monthly subscriptions and viewers.
With a keen sense of what to do in this space, he has created two runaway successes and continues to do more in the way of his podcast (more on that later!)
He Is A Super Early Adopter
No surprise being an Angel, but he likes to be a very early adopter of modern tech. For example, Calacanis had dinner with Elon Musk one night where Musk described the concept of what we now know as the Model S.
Calacanis wrote two checks, sight unseen, and two years later received two Model S vehicles, one of them being the very first with serial number 00001.
He Can Spot A Winner
Jason has invested in the likes of Uber, Tumblr, Thumbtack, and Evernote amongst 65 total investments! In addition to his personal investments, he has raised a fund that helps fund many of the companies that come out of the LAUNCH Festival.
Speaking of LAUNCH Festival…
LAUNCH Festival happens every year and is a place where all those interested in the supporting startups and inspiring innovation. There are three stages at the Festival for different stages of startups. During this conference there is a launch stage for those interested in starting a company and startups in general, a scale stage for those interested in scaling their company, and an Angel Summit amongst others.
The best thing about this? If you are a founder you can get in for free if you apply with their easy application which is a significant savings!
Podcast Gold
Having 700+ podcasts under the title This Week in Startups, Jason has discussed hundreds of topics around the startup space and what is happening in the future. With millions of downloads, some of his more notable podcasts are:
- Episode 523 with Fred Wilson
- Episode 291 with Chris Sacca
- Episode 429 with Mark Suster
His Twitter handle is @Jason. #Dropsmic.
The keynote will take place Tuesday evening, starting at 7:00pm (location TBD).
Tickets available here.
