Manufacturing in the US, Building in Open Source… and more | E2154

Today’s show: TWiST is back with a trio of can’t miss interviews with some of our favorite TWiST 500 founders. First up, John Harris of Harbinger Motors tells us about making his EV batteries right here in the USA, and why the loss of EV tax credits might not hurt the business as much as you’d think… THEN, we’re talking to James Hawkins of PostHog about how keeping his burn rate low opened up a wealth of new opportunities for his company… THEN Yoshi Yokokawa from Alpaca HQ stops by to talk about working in a category that’s no longer the hottest thing in the Valley (like fintech) and the importance of stable coins to his business model. You won’t want to miss this one! Tons of fresh and important insights for founders. Timestamps: (0:00) INTRO, The market’s hit an ALL TIME HIGH… what does it mean for founders and smaller companies? (2:19) Figma’s going IPO… how its success could impact other the entire landscape for the rest of the year. (10:12) Netsuite - Download the ebook Navigating Global Trade: 3 Insights for Leaders for free at https://www.netsuite.com/twist (11:29) Harbinger co-founder/CEO John Harris tells us about building EVs for commercial fleet, live FROM the factory (19:58) Retool - Visit https://www.retool.com/twist and try it out today. (21:15) Harbinger co-founder/CEO John Harris tells us about building EVs for commercial fleet, live FROM the factory (cont…) (30:07) .TECH: Say it without saying it. Head to www.get.tech/twist or your favorite registrar to get a clean, sharp .tech domain today. (31:07) How much of Harbinger’s product is actually manufactured in the US (and why that’s a more complex question than it sounds) (31:39) Why the rollback of EV tax credits might NOT have a huge impact on Harbinger’s business. (36:53) James Hawkins of PostHog explains how and why Stripe funded their most recent round. (40:23) Will it soon be easier to build a virtual product manager than hire the right human person? MAYBE! (42:11) Why building PostHog as open source was so vital for boosting adoption among developers (47:45) Why James credits a low burn rate and being “multi-product” with PostHog’s success and traction (01:00:02) Alpaca CEO and co-founder Yoshi Yokokawa explains to us how the API brokerage infrastructure co. actually makes money (01:00:41) Why it matters that Alpaca is a “self-clearing market maker”: Yoshi unpacks how trades actually get executed (01:07:46) The massive impact of Robinhood on the entire fintech business and how this benefits Alpaca (01:18:06) Yoshi’s tips for founders working in categories that aren’t THE HOTTEST IN THE WORLD right now 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 Thank you to our partners: (10:12) Netsuite - Download the ebook Navigating Global Trade: 3 Insights for Leaders for free at https://www.netsuite.com/twist (19:58) Retool - Visit https://www.retool.com/twist and try it out today. (30:07) .TECH: Say it without saying it. Head to www.get.tech/twist or your favorite registrar to get a clean, sharp .tech domain today. 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 Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916