Jason Calacanis is ready for reality TV: just don't call him Silicon Valley's Snooki

The loud-mouthed investor has won over movie mogul Harvey Weinstein for a new reality series - yet says his tech industry success is down to dumb luck

Jason Calacanis is having his makeup done backstage at his annual Launch Festival, a huge gathering of entrepreneurs in San Francisco and, claims his website, "the largest startup event in the world".

Calacanis, a battle-scarred veteran of the tech world, is Silicon Valley's belligerent comedian. Now a wealthy man thanks to his early investment in the ride-hailing firm Uber, he is quick to remind people that his investments are mostly dumb luck. That kind of bawdy, bellicose, self-deprecating persona puts him in stark contrast with most Silicon Valley investors like Paul Graham or Marc Andreessen - two very serious men who recently argued in favor of inequality and British colonialism of India, respectively.