Natasha Mascarenhas
Reporter
The Latest from Natasha Mascarenhas
Dorm Room Fund returns to campus with new $10.4 million fund
Dorm Room Fund, a venture capital operation that launched to invest in student-led startups, has raised a new $10.4 million fund, per SEC filings. The filing marks Dorm Room Fund’s largest fund to d
Would you marry your investors?
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 to
Harry’s files paperwork for fresh $139.9M financing
Harry’s goal since birth was to target incumbents in the global shave market, which is forecasted to reach $22.5 billion by 2030.
Career Karma lands $40M to evolve into an edtech employee benefit
Career Karma raised its first millions off of a pitch that resonates with anyone who has ever googled coding bootcamps: a navigation tool for aspiring students and working professionals. Instead of cr
The end of the demo day, dilution and other startup accelerator resolutions
Welcome to Startups Weekly, a fresh human-first take on this week’s startup news and trends. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here. In April 2020, NextView VC launched its debut accelerator in t
Startup accelerators’ definition of ‘value add’ is due for a refresh
Much has changed about the way launch pads for startups look, feel and show value today. The earliest investors are rethinking signaling risk, dilution and even the worth of a traditional demo day.
VC Joe Lonsdale’s tweets about ‘woke’ tech diversity spark investor pushback
Last week, in response to a Black entrepreneur who said VCs are racist, venture capitalist and entrepreneur Joe Lonsdale attributed disparities in venture capital investing to “average black culture
3 views: Pay attention to these startup theses in 2022
Natasha Mascarenhas, Alex Wilhelm and Anna Heim explain their perspectives on the startup models we can expect to see in 2022.
The Equity team’s 2022 predictions
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. As is tradition on the show, we used the last episode of the ye
3 views: How due diligence will change in 2022
TechCrunch’s Alex Wilhelm, Natasha Mascarenhas and Mary Ann Azevedo, the trio behind the Equity podcast, dive into what's in store for startup due diligence.
Kimberly Bryant’s suspension surfaces ongoing tensions at Black Girls Code
On the morning of December 21st, Kimberly Bryant, CEO and co-founder of nonprofit organization Black Girls Code, learned that she could no longer access her work e-mail. The board of directors at the
Remembering the startups we lost in 2021
When we penned the intro for this piece last year, little did we know that — in many ways — we’d still be deep in it by the time 2021’s feature rolled around. Amid another holiday seas
Memes, money and madness: 2021 in tech
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 just about Christmas, which means you may be stuck w
Codecademy sends it with Skillsoft in a $525M deal
Coding class platform Codecademy has sold to Skillsoft for $525 million, in a mix of stock and cash, marking yet another instance of consolidation in the educational technology sector. The sale comes
AngelList just closed a $25M fund to back startups based on hiring velocity
Over the past year, AngelList has grown from a platform that connects angel investors with startups to an end-to-end suite of tools, working on everything from fund operations to founder cap table man
Via files confidentially to go public
On-demand shuttle service and software company Via has confidentially filed to go public, the company said in a statement. The company has not yet determined how many shares will be offered or what th
Array Ventures raises $56M to back tech-heavy enterprise software
Shruti Gandhi wants to clear up a misconception in first-check fundraising: Every founder doesn’t need their early-stage investors to be a shoulder for them, they just need their investor to underst
The big startup question on my mind for 2022
Welcome to Startups Weekly, a fresh human-first take on this week’s startup news and trends.
Gift Guide: 6 entrepreneurs tell us what they really want this year
Welcome to TechCrunch’s 2021 Holiday Gift Guide! Need help with gift ideas? We’ve got lots of them. Looking for our other guides? Find them here! 2021 was largely defined by the great resignation
More than another check, founders need activation energy
If there’s one lesson learned amid the pandemic, it’s that we can’t take anything for granted -- whether it’s continued growth or another flood of funding.