This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single topic, think about a question and unpack the rest. As the team takes a break this week, we decided to replay an old yet prescient episode from earlier this week. In February, Natasha and Alex asked: What can startups learn from the rise, and now struggles, of Hopin? For companies that grew like weeds, what’s next? Hopin was one of the first tech companies to conduct layoffs in 2022 ; and as we said then , while it is is perhaps a very v...
Jun 08, 2022•29 min•Ep. 525
This was another live week from the Equity crew, meaning that the towering Mary Ann , the inimitable Natasha , and the somewhat fungible Alex were all chatting in real time, thanks to Grace and Julio having the script and tech in place to allow for it. And as we were live, we also wound up taking a little bit more time per story than usual, which was good fun. What did we get into? A lot: The end of an era: Sandberg steps down from Meta COO role. Deals of the Week: Affirm ties up with Stripe, Fe...
Jun 03, 2022•37 min•Ep. 524
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, we're trying something new. Natasha spent a good chunk of last week at the All Raise VC summit, an annual off-the-record event that brings together some of the best and brightest in the investment community. After the summit, she sat down w...
Jun 01, 2022•39 min•Ep. 523
It’s Monday, which means that Alex and Grace were back as a team to cover the biggest, boldest and baddest technology news. We are once again back with your weekly kickoff! Here’s what we got into: More on the potential M&A boom this week, in light of this recent CNBC piece that got my mind turning. Sure, this is kinda like the CVC story we've been tracking but a bit more focused. China's venture capital market is taking body-blows , albeit from recent highs. Still, it is more than easy to t...
May 31, 2022•7 min•Ep. 522
Hello and welcome back to Equity , a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. Happily we were once again at full strength this week, with Alex Wilhelm, Natasha Mascarenhas and Mary Ann Azevedo chatting, and Grace handling production. You can tell from the topic list today that we are in an odd time. There are myriad signals that the startup market is slowing down. And there are some counter-narrative data points that paint a more comple...
May 27, 2022•33 min•Ep. 521
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 are early-stage founders thinking about this downturn? The inimitable Alex teamed up with her to interview Joshua Ogundu , the founder and CEO of Heart to Heart about this timely topic. The question comes after Natasha’s ...
May 25, 2022•35 min•Ep. 520
Hello and welcome back to Equity , a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. It's Monday, which means that Alex and Grace were back as a team to cover the biggest, boldest, and baddest technology news. We are once again back with your weekly kickoff! Here's what we got into: The stock market may not vomit all over itself today, which would be a nice break from recent weeks. Broadcom is working on buying VMware in what would prove to be...
May 23, 2022•9 min•Ep. 519
The whole team was back together this week, which was pretty darn good as there was a lot to get through. Alex Wilhelm, Natasha Mascarenhas and Mary Ann Azevedo were on the mic, with Grace handling production. What did we get into? A better question might be what did we not get into: We started with an update from the TechCrunch Mobility event, thanks to Natasha who is on-site and up in the air. From there it was time to talk deals, with the crew parsing Arrived's latest round , and why Kolkata ...
May 20, 2022•38 min•Ep. 518
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 do digital health startups build in a post-Roe world? The question comes after Natasha’s recent Startups Weekly column, "When your startup’s core mission is set to be overturned." The piece explores the ripple effects of the looming Roe v. Wade overturn, specifically in how it impacts startups. But, let's not hypothesize. We brought on Kiki Freedman , the C...
May 18, 2022•24 min•Ep. 517
Hello and welcome back to Equity , a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. Every Monday, Grace and Alex scour the news and record notes on what’s going on to kick off the week. What was on our minds this morning? The following: Global markets are generally down, albeit nothing too terrifying. The American stock market is trying to regain its footing after weeks of selling. What's ahead for crypto startups in the wake of the Terra/Lun...
May 16, 2022•8 min•Ep. 516
This week we recorded live, which is always good fun, meaning that we took some questions from the audience. If you want that version of the show, we have a YouTube archive of it here. For those of you more into audio, we have you covered here. Natasha , Alex , and Grace teamed up with Julio and Yashad to host the shindig, allowing us to cover the following: The end of iPod , a time to reflect on technology trends . The exit of a Modern Fertility co-founder , and the MARA round bringing more mon...
May 13, 2022•41 min•Ep. 515
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: What does the most recent wave of layoffs mean for tech workers? The question comes after Natasha’s recent Startups Weekly column, "The Great Resignation, meet the Great Reset." In the piece, which included a round up of recent tech layoffs , she explored the idea of employee whiplash, and why this moment in pullback is different than what we saw in Ma...
May 11, 2022•27 min•Ep. 514
Hello and welcome back to Equity , a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. Every Monday, Grace and Alex scour the news and record notes on what’s going on to kick off the week. Happily once again we did not start the day by talking about Elon Musk and Twitter, though the news was not really very good: Stocks are down sharply around the world. And crypto prices, which track larger asset prices, are also sharply lower in the last day, ...
May 09, 2022•9 min•Ep. 513
The crew was back at full-speed, and maybe even full excitement meets exhaustion, this week. Alex Wilhelm, Natasha Mascarenhas and Mary Ann Azevedo were on the mic with moral and edit support from the wonderful Grace. If we had to give this episode it's own autobiography we'd call it: "Drama, tech twitter and therapeutic moments in between." We got into a whole ton of news including: Musk's new best friends back his $44 billion bid for Twitter - and why one of them are probably experiencing deja...
May 06, 2022•37 min•Ep. 512
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: What do the crypto-curious need to know to be more savvy about the space? Better than our question, though, was our company: we brought on Anita Ramaswamy and Lucas Matney, the minds behind TechCrunch's newest podcast Chain Reaction. The crypto-focused pod launched a few weeks ago and already has a lot of folks' attention. We highly recommend a listen,...
May 04, 2022•27 min•Ep. 511
Hello and welcome back to Equity , a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. Every Monday, Grace and Alex scour the news and record notes on what’s going on to kick off the week. Thankfully we did not start this episode by talking about Elon Musk and Twitter! You are welcome! Instead we started with bleak Chinese economic news , that segued into falling venture capital totals for a key startup sector in that country . It turns out that...
May 02, 2022•9 min•Ep. 510
This was a live week! Which meant that Mary Ann Azevedo was on the mic with Alex Wilhelm , and Grace Mendenhall, our ever-trusty producer, helped us power through. A big shoutout to Dennis, Julio, and Yashad for getting all the tech working well. Right, what did we dive into during our live taping? A lot! The latest from the Elon Musk-Twitter saga, including the social media company's earnings and how it is somewhat sensitive to market sentiment ; Musk won't have infinite room with which to mane...
Apr 29, 2022•29 min•Ep. 509
This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single topic, think about a question and unpack the rest. This week, Natasha was out due to a family matter, so Alex and Amanda came together to chat through the larger Elon Musk-Twitter saga . Yes, the TechCrunch crew got together on Tuesday for a very long, fun, and relaxed Twitter Space when the news broke. However, instead of going back through all that audio to just pull out the key bits, we decided to focus ourselves down to the core ele...
Apr 27, 2022•19 min•Ep. 508
Every Monday, Grace and Alex scour the news and record notes on what’s going on to kick off the week. Stocks are down, and cryptos not looking too impressive as the world gears up for a packed week of mega-tech earnings. The Twitter-Elon Musk deal could happen soon ? As soon as today? It appears that after Musk dropped a filing indicating that he actually had the funds to buy the deal, talks shook loose. What's ahead? I have precisely and exactly no idea. Hopin is perhaps enduring some turbulenc...
Apr 25, 2022•9 min•Ep. 507
This week was a good week because we had the full team back together. Natasha Mascarenhas was on hand, Mary Ann Azevedo was on the mic, and Alex Wilhelm was around as well. Grace, our ever-trusty producer and lead on the Friday show, was on the dials. As with nearly every week this year, we had to cut and cut to make the show fit into its allotted time. This is what we got into: Brief updates on SoftBank , Better.com, and Elon's quest to buy Twitter. On the deals front, we talked about Mary Ann'...
Apr 22, 2022•33 min•Ep. 506
This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single topic, think about a question and unpack the rest. This week, fresh off of a reunion that included pasta and green rooms, Natasha and Alex asked: What are some startup assumptions that get it wrong? The question comes after one of Natasha’s recent Startups Weekly column, "Let’s stop pretending there are silos in startup land." In the piece, which was teased out in her newsletter , she talked about how separations between late-stage and ...
Apr 20, 2022•26 min•Ep. 505
Every Monday, Grace and Alex scour the news and record notes on what’s going on to kick off the week. We are sitting on the precipice of a very busy few weeks, so let's get right to work! Stocks are mixed around the world to start the day, cryptos are off a little more but nothing too scary. Didi will vote on leaving the US public markets this May , and has promised to not list anywhere else in the interim. This saga is nearly behind us, but what a mess it will leave in its wake. The Beanstalk e...
Apr 18, 2022•9 min•Ep. 504
This week was TechCrunch Early Stage, so Natasha and Alex got together - in person - to record the episode for the very first time. Shout out to Grace for somehow helping us figure out a tech set up in the middle of a sold out event. We started with a recap of TechCrunch Early Stage so far, but check out TechCrunch+ for posts about every single panel next week. Pro listener tip: use code "EQUITY" for a solid discount, for your TechCrunch+ subscription. Then we of course pivoted to Elon, who is s...
Apr 15, 2022•26 min•Ep. 503
This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single topic, think about a question and unpack the rest. This week, given a parade of headlines and news that Fast shut down, Natasha and Alex brought on our new senior TechCrunch+ reporter Jacquelyn Melinek to ask: How is ‘Web3’ blowing up venture’s traditional playbook? The question comes after Jacquelyn and Natasha looked into how crypto companies are altering the investing landscape for even the most disciplined VCs. Use code "EQUITY" for...
Apr 13, 2022•26 min•Ep. 502
Every Monday, Grace and Alex scour the news and record notes on what’s going on to kick off the week. This week was big-tech heavy, as the startup market had a slow start to the week. Sign of the times or one day fluke? We'll see in time, I suppose. Here's what we got into on the show today: Stocks are down today, and cryptos are doing even worse in recent days. Elon Musk's flirtation with becoming a Twitter board member is over, the company said . Precisely why Musk backed out is not entirely c...
Apr 11, 2022•8 min•Ep. 501
This was our live show week! Yes, Mary Ann and Natasha and Alex got together with Grace for our Friday recording on Thursday, meaning that we gathered on Hopin and Twitter Spaces to yammer through the week's news. It was a very busy week, with breaking news up to the minute before we recorded -- including this piece from the Better.com saga . Square’s Better.com name Block is Butter-y smooth Failure is a choose-your-own adventure for startups Will rising interest rates decimate startup valuation...
Apr 08, 2022•36 min•Ep. 500
This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single topic, think about a question and unpack the rest. This week, given a parade of headlines and news that Fast shut down, Natasha and Alex asked: What are we missing when we talk about startup failure? The question comes after one of Natasha’s recent Startups Weekly columns, where she looked into the complexity of startup failure , fallacy of takedown stories, and importance of diversity in newsrooms. Here's an excerpt: "There’s the argum...
Apr 06, 2022•27 min•Ep. 499
Every Monday, Grace and Alex scour the news and record notes on what’s going on to kick off the week. After last weeks super startup-heavy show, we were back to our regular Monday grab-bag of news! Here's what we got into: A strong start to the week from global stocks, and a general updraft to crypto prices in recent days. Elon Musk buying a huge stake in Twitter , the popular American social network. The move comes after the Tesla and SpaceX CEO tweeted that Twitter was not allowing enough free...
Apr 04, 2022•10 min•Ep. 498
Welcome to our Friday show! Our regular co-host Natasha was off this time, so Mary Ann and Alex linked arms with our producer Grace to blast our way through the news of the week. As always, we had to pick and choose what seemed to matter the most. Here's what we got into: All Things Y Combinator: Here's our first set of favs , and our second . Here's a rundown of fintech companies from the batch , and our look at the Indian participants , and those hailing from Africa . Instacart as trendsetter:...
Apr 01, 2022•31 min•Ep. 497
This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single topic, think about a question and unpack the rest. This week, in light of Y Combinator's bi-annual demo day, Natasha and Alex asked about the utility of the parade of pitches. Our big question: Are demo days outdated? The question comes after Natasha’s latest Startups Weekly column, where she looked into the trend of everyone constantly trying to re-invent startup accelerators . We've seen everything from in-person events, to virtual pi...
Mar 30, 2022•21 min•Ep. 496
