Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week was one of our strongest shows yet, with a wide diversity of news items that were genuinely fun (and complicated) to chew through. And even though we started off kind of grumpy, we laughed through […]
TechCrunch+ roundup: VCs rate pitch decks, IPO analysis, Techstars’ expansion plans
No one’s going to tell you when your startup has reached product-market fit — there are no flashing lights, no siren, no balloons falling from the ceiling. “Especially for first-time founders, assessing product-market fit at a stage where it’s mostly anticipation can be as much art as science,” writes News Editor Darrell Etherington, who interviewed […]
Fintech founders can learn a lesson about frugality from these industry leaders
Venture-backed fintechs raised a record $30.8 billion in the second quarter of this year, up 30% over the same quarter last year. But how are fintech founders spending it all?
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong might not be having fun at work, you guys
Aside from billions in personal wealth and impressive levels of corporate control, what’s the point of being a successful tech CEO these days? I’m not asking in the abstract. There are tweets.
Forta launches with $23M to bring better security to smart contracts
Blockchain cybersecurity startup OpenZeppelin this morning announced a $23 million investment in Forta, a security service aimed at smart contracts. Andreessen Horowitz led the round, which OpenZeppelin CEO and co-founder Demian Brener described as 3x oversubscribed. The investment also attracted capital from Coinbase Ventures, True Ventures and Blockchain Capital, among others. Per Brener, OpenZeppelin will […]
Mark Cuban and Coinbase back Eternal, an NFT marketplace for trading Twitch streamer clips
The NFT world collectively seems to be trying to turn internet memories into one big game — with a lot of cash involved of course. The original “Doge” image sold for $4 million back in June, the original “Pepe” comic image sold for $1 million in April, in short, people are becoming meme millionaires. Buying […]
Coinbase to let you deposit part of your paycheck into your Coinbase account
Cryptocurrency company Coinbase is announcing a handful of new features. While the company is better known for its exchange that lets you convert USD into various cryptocurrencies, Coinbase wants to expand its consumer services so that you use the platform for different use cases with more financial services. First, the company will soon launch direct […]
Can direct listings really fix the IPO pricing problem?
Even if you are tired of IPOs, the direct listings from Amplitude and Warby Parker warrant your attention.
SEC Regional Director Erin Schneider talks SPACs, Coinbase and what startups could do better
Schneider shares insight into her personal thinking about a range of issues including crypto lending, SPACs, NFTs and what startups can do to stay out of regulators’ cross hairs.
Robinhood muscles deeper into Coinbase’s territory with new crypto wallet feature
The fervor around Dogecoin delivered big revenues for stock-trading app Robinhood, and the company announced Wednesday that it’s wandering deeper down the crypto rabbit hole, sharing that it will soon begin testing crypto wallets for its users. The crypto wallets, which Robinhood says it will begin rolling out next month over time to users on […]