This Week in Startups

Where are your friends right this minute? Whether you're looking to surf a couch in Europe or kill some time at your neighborhood cafe, Connect will hook you up. The platform syncs your contacts from Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, iPhone, and Foursquare, maps them around the globe, and lets you communicate in real time. Jason talks to Ryan Allis, CEO and Co-founder of Connect -- and also the winner of LAUNCH Festival 2014.

Keeping track of your kids, pets, bikes, and other essential tangibles is about to become a lot easier -- and a lot less expensive. Iotera is introducing the Iota, the nation's first free, crowdsourced Internet-of-Things wireless network in tandem with the world's smallest GPS tracking device. Jason sits down with Founder & CEO Ben Wild to discuss this cyber-breaking product and what it's like to launch via Kickstarter. (Campaign ends 8/13! Check it out: http://getiota.com)

The Basis watch is one of the most advanced health trackers on the market. It not only logs your movements, heart rate, sweat, and sleep, but the band also analyzes these stats and suggests exactly how to improve your data -- and your health. CEO Jef Holove is in the studio with Jason, your host and dedicated daily user of the stylish device. They show us the watch's wonders, discuss where wearables are going, and decode Jason's perspiration patterns.

If you are creating video for your business (and who isn't these days?), your content should serve the needs of your company, not the needs of the video hosting platform. The simple and elegant solution? Wistia. We use it here at TWIST, and absolutely love it. And this week, Jason sits down with CEO Chris Savage who reveals how he steered his company through early struggles to smashing success. (Hint: Listen to your customers!)

What if your car could control steering, braking, and acceleration, all while staying perfectly in lane and stopping at exactly the right time, eliminating fender benders forever? And yes, we do mean YOUR car -- not a futuristic, expensive one you'll need to wait 10 years to buy. In just six months, Cruise Automation developed an add-on autopilot for your auto, and today CEO Kyle Vogt sits down with Jason to discuss its nuts and bolts, along with the charms and challenges of autonomous cars.

You want press for your product, right? It makes you feel good. It can bring customers and drive investment. But you must navigate these waters carefully, for email blasts and spam services will get you exactly nowhere. You need a goal, a plan, a presence, and a relationship. Want details? Then watch Jason lay it all out in this Startup Basics.

What happens when you build a vehicle that is part car, part motorcycle, and part spacecraft? You get convenience, safety, and 100% cool. Introducing the C-1, an electric two-wheeler that is all-weather, entirely enclosed, and totally untippable. This week Jason talks with Lit Motors Founder & CEO Daniel Kim about his incredible invention, what it's like to create a new class of vehicle -- and what he's got waiting in the wings.

How can the cloud optimize your home? At Launch Beacon Jason sits down with two entrepreneurs offering innovative cloud solutions to common household challenges. First up is Marco Zappacosta with Thumbtack, a product that flips exhaustive searches for services by bringing the professionals to you. Next is Sam Rosen with MakeSpace, providing storage of physical items in the cloud, with easy deposit and redelivery on demand.

So you're interested in a job at Uber. How do you know what it's REALLY like to work there? (Or at Zappos? Or at the Chicago Cubs?) Or maybe you're hiring: how can you show the world your awesomeness and attract the very best candidates? The Muse offers a solution in both scenarios, with a library of career resources for job seekers that includes behind-the-scenes content at 100+ companies and video interviews with current employees. Jason sits down with CEO Kathryn Minshew to discuss a variety of topics important to today's workforce, including how organizations can attract & retain millennials, what are realistic expectations in the workplace, and Kathryn's experiences as a female founder and entrepreneur.

You created a product that you believe is awesome. Your next big hurdle? Convincing everyone else. Crushing your product demo is both an art and a science, and Jason breaks it all down for you here, step by step.

What if every single social media comment, story, blog, forum, and news article about your product could be tracked and analyzed through one platform? Data is King, and making sense of it all could be the key to your success. Jason talks with DataSift CEO Rob Bailey about how his company processes and delivers data that not only can reveal the whole picture now, but also predict what's coming next.

Want to learn about the coolest start-ups? Discover an awesome app and eager to tell the world? Product Hunt's got you covered as the hot new place to find and share products and companies. Jason sits down with Ryan Hoover, PH's Founder (and die-hard TWIST fan!) to chat about what's buzzing in tech, the key to making a great product, and what it's like when your site goes viral.

TWIST is on the move! In this transpo-themed two-parter, Jason first talks with Sanjay Dastoor of Boosted Boards about his new electric longboard, and then with Snir Kodesh, whose company Hitch provides to riders a social carpooling service. Both of these start-ups want to revolutionize our commutes so that the future is fast, cheap, and cool.

Brick & mortar retail dead? Not so fast! At LAUNCH Beacon, Ryan Craver of Lord & Taylor sits down with Jason to show us how we shop -- "are you brick or are you click?" -- and predicts how technology will enhance our purchasing power and rock the in-store experience.

In the last two years, CircleUp has helped 40 companies raise $40m. The hook? A crowdsourcing platform that matches investors with retailers. Backers don't get a product, app, or software. They get actual equity in the business -- and a significant return on investment. Founder Ryan Caldbeck sat down with Jason at LAUNCH Beacon, a summit on the future of retail.