Equity

This week Natasha, Mary Ann, and Becca Szkutak were joined by the returning Alex Wilhelm, back from paternity leave. Yes, we had the whole gang back together today to dig through the week's pile of news -- and you can definitely tell how exciting it was by how fast we all talked through news (sorry to our dear producers!)Now, the news. Here's what we got into:Amazon has invested heavily in an Indian meat delivery company. No, not lab grown meat or plant-based meat. Just meat, delivered. Also in our Deals of the Week category was news form a former WeWork denizen that wants to help you plan a tiny home, and notes on how Klarna has wound up finding a huge market in the United States.Then it was time to talk money. Reddit could go public later this year though we have heard that story before, Lime is apparently standing on its own two wheels and could pursue an IPO at some point, while Coinbase is at once doing poorly and better than expected.Then we chatted how layoffs could lead to a founder boom, and the resu

Hello, and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single person, think about their work and unpack the rest. This week, Natasha interviewed Kaisa Snellman, an economic sociologist and an associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Academic Director of the INSEAD Gender Initiative. We know, we know, it's a flex.We’re going to talk about: Kaisa’s recent Harvard Business Review piece with Isabelle Solal: For Female Founders, Fundraising Only from Female VCs Comes at a Cost. The duo's research asserts that women-led startups whose first round was raised exclusively from female VCs were 2x less likely to raise a second round regardless of initial funding round size, industry, geographic location, or prestige of the investor.Listen to the whole conversation before you jump to conclusions, but let's just say that this conversation really got into the numbers and nuance be

Inside Startup Battlefield is back in our feed with episode two. In the second episode of Inside Startup Battlefield, we take a trip to TechCrunch Disrupt 2022 to hear pitches from the top five companies: Aaron Hall from Intropic Materials, Elizabeth Lawler from App Map, Chad Mason from Advanced Ionics, Sheeba Dawood from Minerva Lithium, Tim Lichti from Swap Robotics. We get to know the companies and the unique problems they’re solving through their pitches and the judges’ follow-up questions. Plus we hear from our host and Battlefield Editor, Neesha Tambe, about what working with each company was like.New episodes of Inside Startup Battlefield drop every Monday. Be sure to check out all of the other podcasts in the TechCrunch Podcast Network: Found, Equity, The TechCrunch Podcast, Chain Reaction and The TechCrunch Live Podcast. Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who

Natasha, Mary Ann and Becca got on the mic to talk startups, pet peeves and focaccia. What else did you expect?Here's what we got into:Descope landed a $53 million (!) seed round, a Phenomenal new venture fund and a neobank out to make credit more accessible to young people in Mexico.Then we pivoted to talk about buy now, pay later (BNPL), which included some chatter about Affirm's recent woes and which areas of BNPL that do seem to be growing despite questions around whether this is the end of the BNPL boom as we know it.Tech layoffs are as widespread as ever so we talked about what advice some VCs have for those laid off workers considering launching their own startups, and what we thought of that advice.Finally, we ended with a jump over the pond to talk about EU's tech scene. Mostly about the fact that it is far more put together than the U.S., and all that jazz.With that, we'll be skipping the upcoming week's Equity Monday due to the holiday and back with more on Wednesday, led by Becca!For episode trans

This week, Natasha interviewed Elana Berkowitz, founding partner at Springbank Collective and an early-stage investor working to close the gender gap.Following with our theme of covering the silent changemakers in tech, Berkowitz has done much more than invest: she’s an advisor at Eric Shmidt’s office, a social entrepreneur who was a former innovator in residence at CARE, former Obama Administration technology policy official across the Obama-Biden Transition Team.We spoke about:Building a venture firm that wants to disrupt the way the world thinks about careWhat people are missing when they talk about women's healthThe big opportunities out there to keep women in the workforce (and the low hanging fruit that we should all be thinking about)As always, the full Equity crew will be back on Friday, but you can keep up with us in the meantime on Twitter @EquityPod.For more on Plume, check out Found's interview with the company's co-founders Jerrica Kirkley and Matthew Wetschler!Equity drops at 10:00 a.m. PT every

Check out the newest podcast from the TechCrunch Podcast Network: Inside Startup Battlefield, the four-part series that takes you behind TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield competition. In this episode, our host and Startup Battlefield Editor Neesha Tambe breaks down how the Battlefield companies are selected for the TechCrunch Disrupt stage. Then we take a deep dive into what makes a pitch perfect with pitch coach and TechCrunch writer Haje Jan Kamps and Startup Battlefield judge and VC Nisha Dua. You’ll also hear from: Julia Somerdin from Labby, Young-Jae Kim and Tara Peters from Anthill, Quddus Pativada from Digest AI, Blessing Adesiyan from Mother honestly, Hikari Senju from Omneky, Mitch Tolson from Ally robotics, Elizabeth Lawler from App map, Aaron Hall from Intropic materials. Sheeba Dawood from Minerva.New episodes of Inside Startup Battlefield drop every Monday. Be sure to check out all of the other podcasts in the TechCrunch Podcast Network: Found, Equity, The TechCrunch Podcast, Chain Reaction, and T

This week, Natasha, Mary Ann, and Becca got on the mic about:Our deals of the week included a look at a large new fund focused on Africa, a startup raising big bucks to address the nursing shortage and Rebellyous raising in a crowded and struggling space toward its effort to 'rethink the nugget.'We took a few to chat through the latest around FTX, which is attempting to take back its political donations at the same time Robinhood is trying to buy back the 7.6% stake that an SBF entity acquired last year. We also marveled at how low Twitter Blue numbers really are.To throw it back for a second, Mary Ann walks us through the latest with Stripe AND all of our questions around its financial backing at the current moment. Becca reminds us that secondaries, dear friends, may be quiet but are livelier than ever.We end with notes on AI and inclusion, based on Dom's recent piece looking at the data behind the disparities. Reminder to use code EQUITY for 50% off annual TC+ memberships!Equity drops at 10:00 a.m. PT ever

This week, Natasha interviewed Cleo’s former CEO and current chief business officer, SJ Sacchetti. We spoke about nearly every theme most founders and chief executives are too scared to talk about: ego, setting boundaries, stepping down and becoming a "statistic" and why a company needs to succeed without you. We talk about failure - or the fear of it, at least - and really, where things go wrong when we talk about how success is celebrated in tech.As always, the full Equity crew will be back on Friday, but you can keep up with us in the meantime on Twitter @EquityPod!Equity drops at 10:00 a.m. PT every Monday and at 7:00 a.m. PT on Wednesdays and Fridays, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together and more! Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience developme

Here's what Natasha got into:Big tech: SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son will be skipping the Japanese conglomerates' earnings call, reports the Economic Times. We knew the flashy presentations were going away, but the silence may signal just how seriously SoftBank wants to shift its external perception. Speaking of perception, there's nothing quite like a delisting warning to get people talking about you. I talk about Getaround's less than $1 trend, and why it may be off the public markets if it doesn't get its act together in the next six months. Big idea: It's time to gamify benefits, and then think about wellness in more than just silo'd ways. At least that's how I imagine Minu's founding story to have played out - the startup is an HR tech meets edtech meets fintech meets health tech tool. Interesting stuff.Big innovation: The serial entrepreneur spree, in which notorious founders return to the early stage stomping grounds with fresher ideas, is a tried and true part of the tech world. Still, it surprises me to

This week Natasha Mascarenhas and Becca Szkutak took to their mics to sing a duet about this week's startup news. Just kidding! But we did highlight some fun companies raising capital and talked through some VC themes that look likely to be relevant throughout 2023.Here's what we got into:For our deals of the week we talked about Artifact, the new startup from the previous co-founders of Instagram, Spill, a new Twitter alternative that raised pre-seed funding, and Disclo, a startup looking to make it easier for individuals to seek accommodations for their disabilities at work.Then we chatted about the recent flurry of new venture funds and what the timing of these announcements says about where the VC market is at right now.Last, we talked climate tech and how the recent wave of startups in the sector is a promising sign.Equity drops at 10:00 a.m. PT every Monday and at 7:00 a.m. PT on Wednesdays and Fridays, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a grea

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single person, think about their work and unpack the rest. This week, Mary Ann interviewed Hans Tung, prolific investor and managing partner of GGV, a venture firm with more than $9 billion in assets under management.The pair had a great conversation on:How Hans is advising portfolio companies to weather this downturnWhat he’s looking for in new investmentsHow startups can stay relevant no matter the economic environmentWhat he’d be if he weren’t a VC (hint: Mark Cuban follows a similar playbook)His new initiative around embedded fintechWith two decades of experience in investing in companies such as Affirm and Airbnb, Hans has been through more than one cycle and his calm, steady approach to handling challenging macro environments comes through. We're excited to share this conversation with you, but please note: there were

Here's what Natasha got into on today's Equity Monday:Big tech: Marqeta's nine-figure acquisition of a two-year-old fintech, and which bucket of deals I think it falls into. Plus, Stripe's whole 12-month timeline thing and my edit for your incoming thought pieces. Big idea: Natasha's latest Startups Weekly column is all about the latecomer advantage. She talks about the idea, and its nuance, in the context of building startup rivals.Big innovation: We end with a look at Atomos, which landed $16 million to tug vehicles through space, and a bright spot of an analysis, coming from the TC+ world, on Black Web3 founders. As always, follow us on Twitter for more @equitypod!Equity drops at 10:00 a.m. PT every Monday and at 7:00 a.m. PT on Wednesdays and Fridays, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotifyand all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together, and more! Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo

This week, Natasha, Mary and Becca got into:For our deals of the week, we talked about why tracking app Strava's purchase of Fatmap, a high-resolution 3D global map platform for the great outdoors, seems like a smart move, how Wasted wants to make port-a-potties less gross and more useful and All Raise CEO's decision to step down after less than one year in the role.Then we got into how the feds are scrutinizing Google's alleged ad tech monopoly and the implications for startups, before moving into different ways the downturn is impacting the way companies are hiring.And lastly, we discussed femtech's very good 2022 (even though we all agreed we don't love the term 'femtech').Equity drops at 10:00 a.m. PT every Monday and at 7:00 a.m. PT on Wednesdays and Fridays, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together, and more! Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa

This week, Natasha interviewed Sarah Oh, the co-founder of T2, a Twitter rival, and Twitter's former Human Rights advisor. We get into a lot, not limited to but including:What her job title really encompassesThe danger of going viralRe-building a cloneGenerative AIWe also talk about what moderation 3.0 looks like and T2 daring to dream when building a Twitter-like company with safety at its core. Oh is clearly is a change maker, considering that the 30 minutes Natasha spent with her already expanded our understanding of how platforms think about - and invest in - trust at scale.Equity drops at 10:00 a.m. PT every Monday and at 7:00 a.m. PT on Wednesdays and Fridays, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together and more! Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience

Here's what Natasha got into now that she's back in The Bay:Big tech: Real quick, you should know that Elliott Management took a multi-billion stake in Salesforce, while Thoma Bravo scooped up a digital forensics company for $1.34 billion. Beyond that, the big tech news this week is Microsoft's multi-billion dollar, multi-year investment in Open AI. The extended partnership comes with lots of resources, quirks and legal headaches. Big idea: we're still thinking about this Anna Heim analysis, "The mirage of dry powder."  Natasha talks about wet capital and failed capital calls, as to contextualize (not shut down!) some of the optimism in the market right now. (Use code "EQUITY" for 50% an annual TC+ membership).Big innovation (or in this case, reductions): Google's in-house incubator, Area 120, was severely impacted by Alphabet layoffs and Spotify cut 6% of staff, two layoff stories that had us thinking all about the fact that tech seems to have forgotten its umbrella. We end with tongue-twister note on Quordl

 Natasha Mascarenhas, Mary Ann Azevedo and Rebecca Szkutak had fun on this week's recording:Deals of the week included a new Trust Fund, a $29M raise from a proptech started by the co-founders of cloud computing company DigitalOcean and a $27M bet by some U.S.-based VCs on an African gaming startup, Carry1st.Then we got into the state of fintech funding in 2022. Spoiler alert: It wasn't pretty. We compared fintech's year to that of global startups as a whole, and Becca gave us a lesson on the difference between structured rounds and down rounds.We had a blast discussing a new trend of compliment-based teen social media apps, including Gas, which recently got acquired by Discord, and Slay, a German startup that just raised $2.63 million.And finally, we discussed Microsoft's latest round of layoffs, which we found both unfortunate and a bit perplexing.On that note, we appreciate you all and thank you for the refreshing flood of feedback and compliments to start off the year. It always makes our days, and we hop

This week, Natasha interviewed Roger Lee, an entrepreneur who's spent the better part of a decade building tools for employees and employers alike. Lee is the creator of Layoffs.FYI and co-founder of Comprehensive and Human Interest.Here's what we got into:Roger's introduction to entrepreneurship during the dot-com bubbleHow the pandemic de-stigmatized layoffsHow Comprehensive - described as the inverse of Layoffs.FYI - is helping employees level-upThe importance of crowdsourcing and to monetize, or not to monetize...transparencyWe ended, as usual, with a lightning round and learned where Lee's career could have gone if he didn't take the founder path (hint: it's not VC).Equity drops at 10:00 a.m. PT every Monday and at 7:00 a.m. PT on Wednesdays and Fridays, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together, and more! Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Locon

Here's what Natasha chatted about today:Big tech: Good news for Bitcoin and Ethereum, even as late-stage companies in the space cut to stay afloat.Big idea: I had two ones to get through. First, Africa had no new unicorns last year, despite record fundraising raising. What's that all about? Second, I want to talk about Stripe's internal valuation cut, yet again, and what that news means on the outside.Big innovation: I talk about yet another Clearco executive shake up and yet another Clearco round of layoffs, as well as the energy for the fintech moving forward. We end with a look at freshly-backed T2, which is opening up its game plan in a spreadsheet format. We love to see a Twitter rival, love even more to see one utilize the beauty of read-only spreadsheet featuresAs always, you can support me by following me on Twitter and Instagram. The show also tweets from @equitypod, so follow us there and turn on notifications to never miss a new update from your favorite podcast team in tech (ugh, you shouldn't hav

This week, Natasha was joined by Mary Ann Azevedo and Rebecca Szkutak to talk about the latest and greatest in tech:Deals of the week include Inflow, which has developed a self-help app designed to help people manage their ADHD, Cartograph Ventures, a new venture fund run by an ex-Juul operator, and the latest lawsuit and layoffs happening over at CartaThe plethora of fintech M&A that took place this week, including Fidelity's acquisition of a startup called Shoobx (we couldn't pronounce its name either) and Deel's buyout of Capbase.Microsoft's deal with ChatGPT OpenAI which, we'll admit, has a structure that stumps even us. Plus, we talk about how Pittsburgh's expertise in AI may help give its startup scene a boost.There's Sam Altman, and then there's Sam Bankman-Fried, which brings us to our last theme. We talk about SBF's new Substack, the Kardashian method of distraction and why the legal world isn't a fan of levity. As Becca said so aptly, maybe billionaires (or former billionaires) should stop tryin

This week, Natasha chatted with Haje Kamps and Brian Heater about CES which took place last week over in the ever-exciting Las Vegas area. All of our fantastic CES coverage can be found on the site, but for the purposes of today's show, we tried to keep it analytical, chatty and, at times, even a bit robotic. (You'll see what we mean).Here's what we got into:Post-CES feelings and why the show has stayed relevant after all these yearsHow expectations of the show compared to the reality, robot pillows and allWho did and didn't show upBrian's new suggestion for what the conference should be called The energy of innovation on the showroom floor, from sustainability to big swings to over-engineered blendersBatteries! And finally, how the downturn and COVID-19 may have impacted the way startups are pitching themselves to the public. Selection bias, it's a thing!You can follow Haje through his work on the Daily Crunch, Brian through his work on Actuator and as always, catch up with us on Twitter @EquityPod.Equity dr