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 Friday show, when we take a look at the week’s biggest startup and tech news, and have a little fun at the same time. This week, Alex and Mary Ann were joined by the excellent Rebecca Szkutak, a senior venture capital reporter on the TechCrunch+ team.
Here’s what we got into today:
- Deals of the Week: Layoffs at Cameo, where fintech valuations are today and where they are going, and Egnyte’s slow-burn path to an IPO.
- The end of VanMoof: Raising a lot of money doesn’t necessitate a startup’s success. Such is the case with VanMoof, which raised nine-figures and built and sold e-bikes. Now it is no more, and we have questions.
- CEO turnover: As the CEO of OnlyFans steps down, the gang dug into when a CEO can or should step down. Certainly some companies do best, for example, with long-term leadership by a founder. But not all.
- Generative AI and the writer’s strike: It turns out that we’re bigger South Park fans than we knew as a group, but that’s not really the point. What matters is that a recently released “AI-generated” episode of the show is driving a conversation today concerning how critical — or not — humans are to the creative process. Google is also busy here.
And that’s the end of the week! Equity is back on Monday! Chat soon!
For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website.
Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 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 and more!