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

This Week In Startups is made possible by:

Grasshopper Bank grasshopper.bank/twistLinkedIn Jobs LinkedIn.com/twistNorthwest Registered Agent 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: quanto.co
ØnProtons on X: x.com/0nProtons
SergeDawg on X: x.com/sergedawg
Mahika Golani
Peridot: tryperidot.com
Shawn Sully on X: x.com/aroogle
Programs and Accelerators Mentioned:
Y Combinator: ycombinator.com
Techstars: techstars.com
Antler: antler.co
PearX: pear.vc/pearx
Sequoia ARC: sequoiacap.com/arc
Kauffman Fellows: kauffmanfellows.org
Companies and Startups Referenced:
Whoop: whoop.com
Knightscope: knightscope.com
Eight Sleep: eightsleep.com
Cafe X: cafexapp.com

Media Referenced:

New Yorker Sam Altman profile: newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-m…
Off-Duty Recommendations
Terra Kaffe Demi compact automatic espresso machine: terrakaffe.com/products/tk-demi
Osteria Pastella (Florence, Italy): 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 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 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 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

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Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, (youtu.be/pvJa2pzuXWQ) Eoghan McCabe (youtu.be/9dHN4YFkgv4), Steve Huffman (podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reddit-ceo-steve…), Brian Chesky (podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/airbnb-ceo-brian…), Bob Moesta, (youtu.be/y2UMzSqX94Q) Aaron Levie (podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/box-ceo-aaron-le…), Sophia Amoruso (podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/sophia-amoruso-o…), Reid Hoffman (podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/reid-hoffman-on-…), Frank Slootman (podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/snowflake-ceo-fr…), Billy McFarland (podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/billy-mcfarland-…)
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