Why the Future of Video Games is Moving Back to the Dinner Table

This Week In Startups is made possible by:

Deel - deel.com/twist

Northwest Registered Agent - northwestregisteredagent.com/twist

LinkedIn - linkedIn.com/twist

Today’s show:

Jason sits down with Brynn Putnam, CEO and founder of Board, to learn more about her company’s tabletop gaming console. The pair talks about how to raise capital for yet-to-launch hardware projects, the screen-time debate, and how Board is approaching building or buying IP for its family-friendly games. Next, Alex got Heremus’s AJ Piplica on the horn to chat hypersonic, autonomous jets. The startup’s technology bridges the gap between rockets and airplanes, and may represent the future of warfare, yes, but also fast freight!

Guest Links:

Brynn Putnam https://x.com/BrynnPutnam

Board https://board.fun/

Board Series A announcement https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/02/board-the-new-game-startup-from-mirror-founder-brynn-putnam-raises-20m-has-already-sold-thousands/

Mirror https://www.lululemonstudio.com/

AJ Piplica https://x.com/AJ_Piplica

Heremus https://www.hermeus.com/

Heremus Series C announcement https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hermeus-reaches-1-billion-valuation-with-350-million-raise-to-build-todays-fastest-aircraft-for-the-american-warfighter-302735273.html

Timestamps:

0:00 Board's Brynn Putnam joins the show

2:54 Board's proprietary AI software stack

6:43 Why Board manufactures in Mexico (not China)

9:21 LinkedIn: Thanks to our partners at LinkedIn! Post your job for free at https://linkedIn.com/twist then promote it to get access to LinkedIn Jobs' new AI assistant.

9:42 How to raise a Seed round for hardware without a finished product

15:26 Brynn's daughter and the mermaid example

17:09 Can Board limit screen time fears?

18:47 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

22:54 Selling the first 10,000 units

28:38 Deel - Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, get visas handled fast, and get back to building. Visit https://deel.com/twist to learn more.

29:42 Why Board is steering away from simple ports toward native IP experiences

35:32 Hermeus's AJ Piplica joins the show

35:32 What is Dark Horse?

43:48 Commercial applications: Cargo, organs, flowers, and trans-Atlantic in 90 minutes

47:47 Commercial applications: Cargo, organs, flowers, and trans-Atlantic in 90 minutes

57:00 Dark Horse range and the "reusable first stage" analogy

58:42 Dark Horse range and the "reusable first stage" analogy

1:02:42 $350M Series C led by Khosla; total funding now exceeds $500M

1:03:39 The SpaceX model: get customers to fund your R&D

1:07:47 Closing: the American Dynamism pitch

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