How to Raise a Seed Round in 2026: Ask Jason | E2294

This Week In Startups is made possible by: Grasshopper Bank https://grasshopper.bank/twistLinkedIn Jobs https://LinkedIn.com/twistNorthwest Registered Agent https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist Today's show: Jason breaks down the real math behind raising a seed round. Here's the funnel: contact 150 firms, get 50 first meetings, convert 2o into second meetings, and close 2 term sheets. PLUS Jason responds to viewer questions about why hardware is no longer a dirty word for investors, how to differentiate your startup from frontier-model companies like OpenAI, even when they're in your niche. Plus a pitch for "Founder Community College," and anecdotes from Lon's European odyssey. Thanks for the Questions: Richard Corral: CEO of Quanto: https://quanto.co/ ØnProtons on X: https://x.com/0nProtons SergeDawg on X: https://x.com/sergedawg Mahika Golani Peridot: https://www.tryperidot.com/ Shawn Sully on X: https://x.com/aroogle Programs and Accelerators Mentioned: Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/ Techstars: https://www.techstars.com/ Antler: https://www.antler.co/ PearX: https://pear.vc/pearx/ Sequoia ARC: https://www.sequoiacap.com/arc/ Kauffman Fellows: https://www.kauffmanfellows.org/ Companies and Startups Referenced: Whoop: https://www.whoop.com/ Knightscope: https://knightscope.com/ Eight Sleep: https://www.eightsleep.com/ Cafe X: https://www.cafexapp.com/ Media Referenced: New Yorker Sam Altman profile: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may-control-our-future-can-he-be-trusted Off-Duty Recommendations Terra Kaffe Demi compact automatic espresso machine: https://www.terrakaffe.com/products/tk-demi Osteria Pastella (Florence, Italy): https://www.osteriapastella.it/ Timestamps: 0:00 Inside the TWiST private group chat 3:25 How to react when an investor says your "too early." 6:50 The ultimate seed round funnel 8:48 Jason's new Associate in Training program 10:09 Grasshopper Bank - Time is money. Don't waste either. Go to https://grasshopper.bank/twist and get an exclusive $500 cash bonus just for opening an account. 18:28 How have the metrics for early-stage companies changed? 20:20 LinkedIn Jobs - Hire right, the first time. Post your first job and get $100 off towards your job post at https://LinkedIn.com/twist 22:34 TWiST Bounties update 23:43 Competing against frontier labs 30:03 What signals real investor-founder alignment? 30:14 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://northwestregisteredagent.com/twist 36:07 A crash course in Bay Area startup culture 40:15 Automatons-as-a-Service (AaaS) 42:29 Who in Silicon Valley does Jason really not like? 49:59 Museum Etiquette with Lon Harris Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp Follow Lon: X: https://x.com/lons Follow Alex: X: https://x.com/alex LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/ Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com