Equity

By TechCrunch, Rebecca Bellan, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, Sean O'Kane, Theresa LoconsoloBusiness Entrepreneurship News Technology Business News

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Equity episodes

October 12, 2022Sarah Guo isn’t late to the AI party
Sarah Guo isn't late to the AI party, but she did just raise a $101 million fund to bet on the appetizers.
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 and Alex interviewed Guo, who worked at Greylock for nearly a decade, and her launch of Conviction.
We spoke about the self-correcting venture market, what made her leave Greylock, and even rewound to her last episode with us (recorded almost exactly three years ago).
There was also an especially fruitful conversation about the opportunity in artificial intelligence right now, and how she's defining Software 3.0. (Warning: We talk about SaaS!) We also dug into why she started a fund, the LP market, and more. The conversation ran a bit long, but it felt reasonable to keep going given the sheer breadth of stuff that we wanted to get through.
Don't forget that Equity is going to be live at Disrupt next week, on Tuesday morning. It's going to be a blast. And before we go, two programming notes (that help your wallet, too):
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.
Equity drops every Monday at 7 a.m. PT and Wednesday and Friday at 6 a.m. PT, 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, a show 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 development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

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39 min
October 10, 2022It would be nice to not talk about Elon Musk for a bit
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!
We're gearing up to take the show on the road in short order, but don't worry about that this week. Service will continue as usual until we kick off Disrupt next Tuesday!
Today, we got into the weeds about:
Markets: Stocks are down in most of the world, albeit somewhat mixed in Europe. Crypto is mostly flat, with the XRP breaking the trend by being interesting. The Block reports that crypto volumes ticked higher in September, which could bode well.
Startups: Clerkenwell Health just raised a couple million pounds for testing alternative medications for mental health conditions. We're excited about that. And Trendsi raised a $25 million Series A, which is no small deal, as we had expected to see smaller early-stage rounds this year. Good on Trendsi!
Quick Hits: Kanye West and Elon Musk once again took over the news cycle, this time after the former got into trouble for anti-Semitic posts on Instagram and Twitter. In between, Musk welcomed Ye back to Twitter. Also Tizen is not dead, and PayPal is having a hellish start to the week.
Don't forget: We are live next week on the first day of Disrupt! Come hang!
More to come Wednesday, and Friday. I can't wait!
Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday and Wednesday, and at 6 a.m. PT on 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 with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

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10 min
October 07, 2022Musk and Kardashian remind us to stop crying for the wealthy
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 mere weeks away, and you should come hang out with us when we record on opening day!
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!
Alright, throat clearing aside, here's what we got into this week:
$700M water? Yeah, the Liquid Death round was a big deal in the news this week because everyone had an opinion on the matter. Us included. While there's good reason to doubt the DTC model today -- cough cough, public markets -- Alex was on hand to stand up for the, er, near unicorn.
How much should you pay your staff? From there it was time to chat about fair compensation, and how a startup called Comprehensive wants to take a crack at the question. It just raised $6 million.
Duolingo goes shopping! Yes, we've covered this company before. And, yes, it is now public. But Duolingo snapping up another company gave us the chance to yammer a bit about edtech more generally, and we're always going to take that chance.
Naver, Poshmark, and Depop: Naver's move to swoop up Poshmark is the story of two major companies finding union. But since the Poshmark deal was similar to the 2021-era Depop deal, it fit into our remit. After all, Poshmark and Depop were both venture darlings once upon a time.
Twitter, Elon, round 472: Since we recorded this podcast, there's been even more Elon-Twitter news. God we're tired of it.
Kim Kardashian's crypto issue: Far be it from us to give advice, but if you are going to take $250,000 to shill a shitcoin, do disclose the payment!
And that is our show. We're on a regular schedule next week, and then live the week after!
Equity drops every Monday at 7 a.m. PT and Wednesday and Friday at 6 a.m. PT, 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, a show 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 development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
31 min
October 05, 2022What's next for creator-focused startups now that the venture boom is over?
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, Alex asked: How are platforms responding to the new creator landscape? (Don't worry, the Wednesday show is still Natasha's to lead, she was just a little under the weather this week!)
Happily, Alex was not running solo, as TechCrunch's own Amanda Silberling was with the show this week -- not for the first time! -- to chat through the key questions we wanted to parse our way through:
What is the new creator landscape?
How did we get to today from the go-go 2020/2021 period of creator-focused venture deals?
What are creator-focused platforms focused on today?
And, finally, what options do creators have today, based on our understanding of the market?
The idea for the episode stems in part from our reporting, including this recent look at the amount of money that creator-targeting startups have raised in recent quarters. (Also in the news? Substack, Patreon, and others!)
Before we say goodbye and come back on Friday, two quick notes from the team:
You can use the code “EQUITY” for a special listener discount for Disrupt tickets. We’re just weeks away!
And 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.
See you there, and chat you Friday!
Equity drops every Monday at 7 a.m. PT and Wednesday and Friday at 6 a.m. PT, 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, a show 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 development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
23 min
October 03, 2022Welcome to Q4, crypto fans and Tesla stans
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 largely down around the world, yet set to rise here on American exchanges. Perhaps the domestic selloff is pausing? Elsewhere in the world of money, cryptocurrencies are boring in the last week.
Startups: Big news from TikTok, including notes on how quickly it has been adding revenue in Europe and the fact that the social network is forging ahead with a new social shopping effort in the United States. And, Talk360 added even more dosh to its recent funding round, which TechCrunch dug into here.
Quick Hits: Kim Kardashian is in trouble for crypto promotions past, to the tune of a seven-figure settlement. That's a lot of capital, frankly, and we're curious who will be next under the SEC's hammer. Oh, and Tesla delivery numbers are in, and the markets are not happy.
Don't Forget: Equity is kicking off Disrupt in just a few weeks. Come hang out!
Woot! We are out of here for now. Catch you soon!
Equity drops every Monday at 7 a.m. PT and Wednesday and Friday at 6 a.m. PT, 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, a show 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 development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
9 min
September 30, 2022We’re all just a Hop, Skip and a Drive away from a better Hustle
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 Ann and Rebecca took the mic, with Theresa on production duty, to talk through quite a diverse news cycle.
Our deals of the week were Scout, HopSkipDrive and Hustle Fund's new fund (so I think you finally get the headline of this show).
Then we jumped into the human side of the layoff story, as Mary Ann and Christine dug into four stories of those impacted by the Better.com layoff spree.
https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/28/better-com-employees-detail-their-experiences/
After that, we debated whether or not the Adobe/Figma deal will spur more M&A considering the lack of companies going public and the state of the venture market.
Speaking of the venture market, we ended with a discussion about how VCs are funding again, but focusing on certain stages, and then looked ahead at what Q4 might look like.

Equity drops every Monday at 7 a.m. PT and Wednesday and Friday at 6 a.m. PT, 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, a show 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 development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
40 min
September 28, 2022Building startups in public has an end date
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 challenges in community and recent examples that show the difficulty of building in public (and then clamming up).
The conversation included Launch House, Copy.ai, On Deck, Egnyte, and even Databricks. While we have very biased reasons for more companies to build in public -- we love to learn things! -- we tried to expand the conversation to include more perspectives.
We'll be back on Friday with our regular news roundup, an episode that may include a voice that you'll hear more frequently in the coming months!
Before we go, two programming notes (that help your wallet, too):
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.
Equity drops every Monday at 7 a.m. PT and Wednesday and Friday at 6 a.m. PT, 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, a show 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 development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
32 min
September 26, 2022Hey, look, some startups are still raising money
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 to make a fuss about.
Startups: Today we took a look at new fundraises at Vendease, an African logistics company in the food space, and Disperse, a U.K-based construction tech company that wants to map building sites. That market, it turns out, is huge.
Quick Hits: Do Kwon has been hit with a red notice, which means that he will likely soon be in custody. However, some are irked that he's in trouble for causing a financial meltdown and losing a lot of folks' money. What's the argument there? That he wasn't being malicious, and instead was merely, we presume, stupid. Not a great argument in terms of making Do Kwon look good, but that's where we are. Also in the mix: The new iPhone is being built in India and TikTok may find regulatory reprieve.
Closing Riff: Goodbye Q3 2022, hello Q4 2022. This is the last Equity Monday of the third quarter, a period that few of us are going to look back on and miss.
That's our show! We are back Wednesday and Friday!
Equity drops every Monday at 7 a.m. PT and Wednesday and Friday at 6 a.m. PT, 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, a show 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 development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
10 min
September 23, 2022When VCs fund the thing you didn't think they'd ever fund
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, Block Party raising $4.8 million, and Remofirst and its own recent fundraise. Naturally we had to leave 234 deals on the cutting room floor, but these were the ones we could not wait to chat more about. Also, don't Polywork, Block Party and Remofirst sound like fun people to get dinner with? Just us?
Insurtech goes Niche: From there it was time to riff on a series of stories from Mary Ann, focused on specialized insurtech companies, and the fact that Pie just proved that it is still possible to raise nine-figures as an insurance-focused startup.
The Great Delivery Wars: Next up was News From Instacart, including the fact that its IPO is still underway, and that it is busy launching products as it meanders towards the public markets. It turns out as well that a bunch of companies would love more than a slice of its business. Doordash, for one.
Layoffs and more: And then layoffs. Layoffs at Metafy, layoffs at Sundae, and layoffs at Ola. We, however, found a silver lining and ran with that.
Equity drops every Monday at 7 a.m. PDT and Wednesday and Friday at 6 a.m. PDT, 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, a show 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 development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
39 min
September 21, 2022Network isn't a dirty word
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 through three buckets of venture onramps: the traditional route, the new wave and the tourist strategy. Each has their own pros and cons, and includes everything from rolling funds to the real definition of partner.
We also covered more on the value of certain on ramps, and if network is the right thing to disrupt (or if its more track record based)
We tried not to gang up on Dorm Room Fund too much, but did chat about why their $12.5 million fund that's run by unpaid students irked us and other initiatives we thought were better for those trying to break into VC.
For more stories on this topic, read our bevy of coverage:
7 first-time fund managers detail how they’re preparing to thrive during the downturn
Emerging managers should take advantage of the slower fundraising market by courting LPs
VC fundraising gets weird as autumn nears
Some institutional LPs have started pulling back from VC, but most won’t
Equity drops every Monday at 7 a.m. PDT and Wednesday and Friday at 6 a.m. PDT, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotifyand all the casts.
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 manages TechCrunch audio products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
32 min

About Equity

From the publisher's feed

The intersection of technology, startups, and venture capital touches everything now. That’s why Equity, TechCrunch's flagship podcast, digs into the business of startups for entrepreneurs and…