Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. Before we get into this week's show notes, some programming notes: First up, use code “EQUITY” for a special listener discount for Disrupt tickets. We’re less than one month away! We also have a special for those impacted by layoffs. If you were laid off, go here to get a free ticket to TechCrunch Disrupt’s Expo. Ok, now to the show. This week, Natasha, Mary An...
Sep 30, 2022•39 min•Ep. 577
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: How does the "build in public" mindset impact the way that startups are built? Alex and Natasha chatted through the difference between building in public, going direct, startup PR, and just straight-up hype. We spoke about the...
Sep 28, 2022•31 min•Ep. 576
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. Don’t forget that the code “EQUITY” can save you money on Disrupt tickets and TechCrunch+ access. And it makes us here on the show look good! Markets: Stocks are mostly down around the world today, taking especially large hits in Asia. U.S. shares are set to fall as well when they begin to trade. Major cryptos are also off in the last 24 hours, but not enough t...
Sep 26, 2022•10 min•Ep. 575
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. Coming to hang with us at Disrupt, where Equity is kicking off the entire event? Use code 'EQUITY' to save 15% on your tickets. Hell yeah, and see you there! Alex, Natasha and Mary Ann jumped on the mic, with Theresa running production, to talk through the biggest headlines from the week! Deals of the Week! This time 'round we had Polywork raising $28 million, ...
Sep 23, 2022•38 min•Ep. 574
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 does breaking into venture capital look like today, and how is it changing? Alex and Becca jumped on the mic to discuss this and start with a refresh on our latest op-ed: "4 views on unpaid venture internships." We talked...
Sep 21, 2022•32 min•Ep. 573
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. Don’t forget that the code “EQUITY” can save you money on Disrupt tickets and TechCrunch+ access. And it makes us here on the show look good! Here's what we got into this Fine Monday Morning: Stocks are down around the world, while crypto-assets are down even more; post-Merge you might have anticipated better performance from tokens, but it has not yet come to ...
Sep 19, 2022•9 min•Ep. 572
If you are into web3, the biggest news of the week in tech was not the massive Figma-Adobe deal. No, the leading story of the last few days -- arguably even the last few weeks -- has been the Ethereum Merge. The Merge, an upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain that moved it from a proof of work (PoW) to a proof of stake (PoS) system of consensus was a long-awaited shift that finally took place this week. And as the change in technology is expected to reduce the carbon footprint of the popular blockc...
Sep 17, 2022•37 min•Ep. 571
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 jumped on the mic, with Theresa on backup, to talk through the biggest headlines. We started with a look at the Figma-Adobe deal, worth some $20 billion. TechCrunch's news coverage is here, and Alex has more notes here. Deals of the Week: Maven, Patreon, and Modulous. We also spoke about the Launch House issue, and what to make of the...
Sep 16, 2022•39 min•Ep. 570
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 is YC evolving to meet a changed market? The question is fresh off of Demo Day last week, where Team TC and TC+ banded forces to cover the twice-a-year event that sees hundreds of startups launch to the public. Th...
Sep 14, 2022•51 min•Ep. 569
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. Don't forget that the code "EQUITY" can save you money on Disrupt ticketsand TechCrunch+ access. And it makes us here on the show look good! Now, what did we get into today? Stocks are higher around the world, while major cryptos have risen sharply in the last week. The Ethereum update known as the 'Merge' is just around the corner. The change in consensus mode...
Sep 12, 2022•8 min•Ep. 568
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. As you can tell by the headline of this episode, this is a bonus episode all about Y Combinator Demo Day (and the terms we heard most often during the two-day affair). Natasha and Alex jumped on Twitter Spaces to talk through our favorites of the batch, geography changes, and diversity shake-up that included less women getting funded batch over batch. Below are...
Sep 10, 2022•32 min•Ep. 567
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. What. A. Week. Alex, Natasha and Mary Ann jumped on the mic, with Theresa on backup, to talk through the biggest headlines. For our Apple coverage, click here. For our YC coverage, click here. All that aside, here's what we got into on today's episode: Kim Kardashian surprised us all -- yet again -- with the news that she is co-founding a private equity firm. W...
Sep 09, 2022•37 min•Ep. 566
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 and unpack the rest. Today we asked: How is the economic downturn and startup slowdown impacting VCs, and the folks who finance venture capital funds? Unlike our usual mid-week episodes, Natasha was not at the helm. Instead, Alex stood in for her and brought along TechCrunch+ venture capital repo...
Sep 07, 2022•30 min•Ep. 565
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. We are back on a Tuesday instead of a Monday thanks to an American holiday, which means we are looking at a compressed week. But don't let the shorter window for news fool you -- it's going to be busy. Stocks are largely higher today, but off the back of some rough trading weeks so don't read too much into the bounce. The world of crypto appears pretty quiet, a...
Sep 06, 2022•8 min•Ep. 564
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This was a Live Week, meaning that Alex, Natasha and Mary Ann recorded the show on Twitter Spaces, hanging out with a bunch of the Equity family. Good times were had! We also disclosed that we are recording live at Disrupt this year! Yes, so come hang out as we tape the show on opening day, full of coffee and enthusiasm. Now, to the show notes. Here's what we h...
Sep 02, 2022•36 min•Ep. 563
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, along with Alex's help, Natasha asked: Who should be raising Party Rounds? The episode was inspired by Natasha’s recent Startups Weekly column, “When the party has confetti but no allergen-friendly appetizers" and the companion TechCrunch+ p...
Aug 31, 2022•26 min•Ep. 562
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 Theresa Loconsolo to kick off the week. This Monday morning we recorded right before Garry Tan announced that he was heading back to Y Combinator as its President. Dang. But we still had a good sheaf of things to talk about! Stocks are not having a good day around the world, after having a pretty tough las...
Aug 29, 2022•8 min•Ep. 561
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 m...
Aug 26, 2022•31 min•Ep. 560
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 ...
Aug 24, 2022•28 min•Ep. 559
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 F...
Aug 22, 2022•9 min•Ep. 558
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 ...
Aug 19, 2022•30 min•Ep. 557
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 resu...
Aug 17, 2022•33 min•Ep. 556
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 slowi...
Aug 15, 2022•12 min•Ep. 555
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,...
Aug 12, 2022•35 min•Ep. 554
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 Etheringto...
Aug 10, 2022•32 min•Ep. 553
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 massi...
Aug 08, 2022•9 min•Ep. 552
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 th...
Aug 05, 2022•33 min•Ep. 551
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 TechCru...
Aug 03, 2022•24 min•Ep. 550
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...
Aug 01, 2022•28 min•Ep. 549
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...
Jul 29, 2022•31 min•Ep. 548
