Equity

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.Want to save some dosh on TechCrunch+? Use the code 'EQUITY' at checkout for a big discount on annual subscriptions!Alex, Natasha and Mary Ann are back and as a three were in good spirits with more than a bit of news to parse. Grace, Theresa, and Kell made the magic happen, for which we're thankful. Here's what we got into:Just what OrangeDAO is, and why it matters. Our deals of the week this time 'round had a particular flavor. See if you can spot it!Next up was Spectral's $23 million raise (web3 credit scores), and Mural's latest, a $6.5 million round for DAO treasury management.Scooting along, we looked into Alex's reporting on shrinking late-stage rounds, a surprisingly strong seed market, and what's good with the unicorn crew.Then it was time to talk Stripe layoffs before pivoting over to the latest issues stemming from Adam Neumann's latest startup, and the Musk-Twitter

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 topic, think about a question and unpack the rest. This week, Natasha asked: What happens when a Black founder was ousted? Alex was back on the mic after a week away, and we brought on Dominic-Madori Davis (follow her on Twitter and Instagram) to talk us through the topic. After all, the core question was inspired by her latest TC+ column.Here's what we got into:The growing tensions at Black Girls Code, which began last December with Bryant's "indefinite suspension."Bryant's eventual ouster, which happened earlier this month, and the outpouring of public support for the leader. That conversation brought us into the reality of who gets to speak up publicly, and who can only do so off the record and without attribution.Davis piece about the symbolism of a Black founder being removed from a position of leadershipInheren

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.This week Alex was back with Grace and our new producer to kick off the week. Now that we are through earnings season, things are a little quieter on the forecast front, but that didn't mean that we were short on material:Stocks are down around the world, while crypto prices remain depressed in the last week; NFT volume continues its negative drift.CNBC got FTX revenue numbers! Only through the first quarter of 2022, sadly, meaning that we have a good idea of what the company did through March of this year. That is good, but not great. Why not? Q2 is really the turning point for crypto exchanges, Coinbase data indicates. So we got the stuff that makes FTX look good. We need more.The Socar IPO was kinda meh, in the end. While we welcome any and all IPOs at this point, hopes may have been for a stronger welcome on the South Korean stock market for the SoftBank-backed company. T

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.This week, Natasha was joined by TC+ reporter Rebecca Szkutak to wade through the news of the week. It was frantic, it was full, and forgettable it was not!Here's what we got into:Quick note from Becca on Neumann's return and if follow-on funding will be a possibility for Flow -- given some investors reactions. Our two deals of the week include an innovative step for hearing aid startups and a new take on international money transfer.For hearing loss tech, a new FDA ruling allows hearing aids to be sold over the counter. We dove in to how this regulatory change helps open the door for startups to innovate in the category.Speaking of regulatory pains, we spoke about how employee-benefits startups might escape cost cuts as companies seek to retain talent. Don't know about you but I'd prefer to lose free food over mental health support.We ended with notes on two geographies.Look

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 topic, think about a question and unpack the rest. And, I mean, are you surprised what we're working with this week? Of course we're talking about Flow, Adam Neumann's a16z-fueled return to real estate that is already reportedly valued above $1 billion.This week, Natasha asked: Is the return is a result of vision, track record, or Adam Neumann-privilege? She's joined by Anita Ramaswamy, the co-host of TechCrunch's crypto-focused podcast Chain Reaction. The duo wrote a piece about the tech community's reaction to Neumann's new startup, so consider this episode a mic'd up follow-up:The news, what we know, and what we still don't - including how much of that $350 million check is cashThe reporter's notebook take on how to cover news that is sensationalist in nature. Do we give oxygen to something that is meant for a rea

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.Natasha took over Equity Monday this week alongside Grace, as Alex enjoys some always-deserved vacation. Thankfully, there was way too much to get into. So much so that I recommend you listening to this podcast immediately before a whole news cycle breaks.Here's what we got into:Morning markets update, which is somewhat a story about reaction to China's slowing economyFor our big tech news item to start the week, Amanda Silberling dropped in to talk to us about Unity saying 'thank you, next' to a $20B merger offer from Applovin. I'll add in that it's not the only billion-dollar+ merger that fell through recently. How's that for Unity?I talked about Adam Neumann's new startup, which just landed Andreessen Horowitz's largest check to date at a billion dollar valuation. Deep breaths, friends, the reaction is part of the point. https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/15/a16z-andreessen-ho

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.Alex, Natasha and Mary Ann worked with Grace to record yet another weekly round up on all the tech news that may have flown past your radar. Or bumped into it so hard that you're still dizzy and looking for more information. Regardless of where you're at, here's what we got into:For our deals of the week, we spoke about QED making its first African investment, backing Nigerian fintech TeamApt in $50M+ deal and why Muon Space's custom Earth observation satellites remind us of Build-a-Bear. Plus, Founderpath secured $145M in debt and equity to help B2B SaaS startup founders avoid dilution - a reminder that non-dilutive capital is always in vogue.Then we got to a big theme all about bets. Yep, we're talking Axios gets scooped, Haus gets put up for sale and ByteDance gets... hospitals?We end with chatter about SoftBank's losses and redemption arc, as well as Coinbase's earnings.Y

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 topic, think about a question and unpack the rest. This week, Natasha and Alex asked: Despite all the dollars and deals out there, does a drop in activation energy change how many entrepreneurs we'll see in the early-stage market?But, we're not alone! Found co-hosts Jordan Crook and Darrell Etherington hopped on the mics to do a rare cross-over episode with us. They spend every week on Found talking to early-stage founders about everything from origin stories, to pivots, to some of the hardest decisions that leaders need to make these days. Big thanks to the duo for joining us, and without further ado, here's what us four got to:Who is succeeding right now, and what are the types of founders that we're seeing more often?Is there anything that can be done differently when it comes to activating unlikely founders?How d

Alex and Grace are back to cover the biggest and most interesting technology, startup and markets news. This morning was a fun mix of stuff that we don't always get to, so strap in for the following:Stocks and cryptos are mostly higher today, meaning that most listeners of the show are now richer than they were Friday. Congratulations!Coinbase earnings on the horizon, but we got word today from Palantir and SoftBank. Palantir's stock is off due to a guidance miss, while SoftBank reported massive losses from its Vision Fund efforts.Also, it turns out that SoftBank is of the perspective that startup founders are not yet willing to accept valuation cuts to bring the value of their startups in line with market conditions. That's not good.And there was a huge PE deal today, Avalara being taken over by Vista Equity Partners in a $8.4 billion deal.What else? Self-driving cars from Baidu are now taking passengers in China, Lyft is building a media business, and India is cutting back on buying Chinese smartphones.We a

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.Alex, Natasha and Mary Ann got together with Maggie and Grace this week for our weekly roundup show, and per usual, there was a lot to talk about, including the fact that there were even more topics than usual to pick from as the summer slowdown seems to be fading away. What else did we get into? The following:To kick off our Deals of the Week, we discussed the fact that a startup which focuses on depression, suicidality and related mental health conditions is buying a company called KetaMD in an effort to extend its telehealth prowess and, in particular, to expand its tech-facilitated ketamine-based treatments. Don’t know what ketamine is? You’re not alone.From there, it was time to talk about a new $100 million fund, which boasts some high-profile LPs and partners, that is out to invest exclusively in Latino(a) startup founders. We then dug into the hows and whys of a finte

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 topic, think about a question and unpack the rest. This week, Natasha and Alex asked: Is it the bootstrapper’s time to jump on the venture treadmill?The episode was inspired by Natasha's recent Startups Weekly column, "The bootstrapped are coming, the bootstrapped are coming" and the companion TechCrunch+ piece, "Will once-bootstrapped startups turn to venture during a watershed moment?" But, of course in classic Equity style, we continued the conversation with nuance and numbers as a focus.Here's what we got into:The definition of bootstrapping, and our own additions and subtractionsThe trend of more bootstrapped companies taking on venture, or at least more venture capitalists being interested in bootstrapped companiesWhat the heck is a venture treadmill, and what to drugs have to do with it?We ended by both agreei

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.Last week we said that you needed to pay attention to the public markets, and we weren't kidding. It was a huge week for earnings -- with notes from all over including the ad market and cloud spend. But this week's Monday show was more than just another entry in the series, it was an experimental live show! Natasha joined Alex for the fun, and this is what they got into:Stocks up, crypto mostly flat after a solid week of gains.Will Alibaba delist, or not? That question matters more than just what happens to the singular Chinese tech giant. The question really belies a larger query regarding the ability of Chinese tech companies to access foreign markets more generally, places where the capital can flow at a high clip. Given China's economic woes, cutting off that particular liquidity pipe might be risky.From there we went to Clearco layoffs, UiPath buying Refiner, and Oui's f

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.Alex, Natasha and Mary Ann got together with Grace once again this week for our weekly roundup show, and hot dang was there a lot to talk about. So much so that we actually had to cut one topic from our notes, any guesses what that may have been?Regardless, here's the rundown:We had a big fintech theme this week, kicking off with the huge news that Jack Ma is giving up control of Ant Financial. Two specific tidbits stood out around Ant's origin story and Ma's flex of an ownership hold.From there, it was time to talk Guava, Pogo, and TomoCredit, our Deals of the Week. The focus here was around just how inclusive certain fintechs can be, so thank you to founders who remind us to raise the bar constantly.Next up? A new solo fund that broke out of a16z. Why leave to do a scary thing when risk is high? We talk about that, fintech innovation, and Rex Salisbury's LP base. (Plus, mor

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 topic, think about a question and unpack the rest. This week, Natasha and Anita asked:When is a company taking internal valuation cut a good thing?Normally, when we hear about valuations going down, that's a red flag that things aren't going well at a given company or in the market at large. We wrote about Stripe's 28% internal valuation cut earlier this month and as we listened to different reactions to the news, we noticed some people had an unexpected take -- that this downward revision was actually a positive for the company's employees.That's because the cut came from an internal 409A valuation appraisal, which is totally different from the investor-led valuations we normally hear reported on in the news. So we brought on two experts -- Phil Haslett of EquityZen and Sumukh Sridhara of AngelList -- to help us unp

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.Alex and Grace are back to cover the biggest and most interesting technology, startup and markets news. Sitting as we are on the precipice of a huge data dump, we had lots to chat through!Stocks are mixed around the world, while crypto selloff modestly after some recovery gains. In general, the value of securities are down in recent weeks and months, and now, frankly, quarters.This is Earnings Week: Yes, friends, get ready to hear from Alphabet and Amazon and Meta and Microsoft and Apple. The Big Five are reporting this week, providing us a glimpse into the health of a host of businesses. Recall that we have seen the major slow hiring lately, perhaps a harbinger of the (meager) feast to come?Cartona is building something neat in Egypt, TechCrunch reports. And there is still venture capital money flowing in China, despite, you know, all the stuff going on there.Zomato is sinki

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.Alex, Natasha and Mary Ann got together with Grace once again this week for our weekly roundup show, and as often happens, news broke as we were gearing up to record. So we had to touch on the huge Amazon-One Medical deal to get started. Naturally we all had thoughts.What else did we get into? The following:Crunchbase raised $50 million! Yes, our former employer has raised a new, large round that had us all thinking about its health, our history thereof, and our love for its news team and other parts of the company we remember fondly.Just what is Arkive building, and are we in favor of its work to build a sort of NFT-powered, decentralized IRL library. There is a DAO involved as well.ForSight is building eye-surgery robots, just raised a stack itself, and we are hype about it. It reinforces a key learning from Natasha's recent robotics panel, which was part bullish, part bear

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 topic, think about a question and unpack the rest. This week, Natasha and Alex asked: How do founders hold two ideas in their heads: both that there is an economic downturn, but also that things are looking up for many industries?After a series of episodes about the tensions within the downturn, this is a "good news, despite" episode.We started with a vibe check based on recent interviews with recently venture-backed founders, before getting into the bright spots from Q2 2022 data. Then we spent some time talking about specific sectors enjoying fresh cash right now, including climate and European edtech.Geographically, Africa continues to be one to watch. The continent is set to have its best year yet.In the second half of the show, lean back and enjoy the riffing: we talk VC vacation homes, good news, and somehow en

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.Alex and Grace are back to cover the biggest, and most interesting technology, startup, and markets news. Today was a fun day in that we didn't start off with just bad news -- what a change!Stocks are up around the world, and cryptos have rallied in the last week. The positive price movement in crypto-land, however, doesn't appear to be lighting a fire underneath the NFT market, for example.Robots! Yes, our robotics-themed event -- Free! And online! -- is this week, which means that I have robots on the brain. That made the Syrius round all the more interesting. It appears that ecommerce will remain a key driver of robotic innovation for some time to come.Podcast deals are still happening, kinda. Acast is buying Podchaser, which may or may not mean a lot to you. What does matter in this deal is that Spotify wasn't involved. That's a change!Quick Hits: India may ban crypto, at

Hello and welcome to a special edition of Equity!Today, Alex sat down Brian Heater, a long-tenured TechCrunch denizen, our hardware editor, podcast extraordinaire, and genial chap. He also put together a really neat robotics-focused event that we're hosting next week. The event is online, and free, which means that everyone can come and hang (that means you!)The confab was also a good excuse to snag time with Heater, and have a bit of a natter about robotics, how the self-driving hardware stack has an impact on more than just automobiles, and why we are going to need AGI for robotics to, you know, become the thing we know from the Jetsons.In short, robotics is improving rapidly, but we might continue to see more industrial applications than personal for some time. Still, there's still a lot of activity in the market, including labor policy, e-commerce applications, and a host of other topics.Enjoy! Equity is back Monday morning, and if you want to come hang at the TC Sessions: Robotics 2022, you can sign up h

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.Alex, Natasha and Mary Ann enjoyed yet another edition of Equity Live this week, hopping on Twitter Spaces to chat everything from Musk’s meme suit to a new take on Wordle that landed Spotify’s attention. When we stopped recording the episode, news broke that Stripe is cutting its internal valuation by 28%. Luckily, we do this three times a week to stay tuned for our take soon.In the mean time, here’s what we got to in today’s episode:Spotify acquired Heardle, which felt like a throwback to trivia and of course a nod at its famous predecessor, NY Times-owned Wordle. Only one of us has played the music guessing game so far, so tweet @equitypod your thoughts on if it’s actually fun.We also spoke about a startup that is trying to address male infertility in a personalized, engaging way. It caught investors attention, and ours too.Our last deal of the week, Continuum, gave us a c