Equity

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 brought on the Most OnlineTM reporter at TechCrunch, Amanda Silberling to talk about one of her recent pieces, "maybe creator funds are bad."

The column, mixed with the recent saga between Spotify and Joe Rogan, helped us ask a bigger question for this week's episode:

What makes a platform economically viable for creators?

It's no small question. Creators are a key plank in every platform's success, from TikTok to YouTube to Instagram to, well, wherever you watch or listen to stuff made outside of major studios. But the financial relationship between platform and provider -- creator, in other words -- is often fraught and broken.

Creator funds are some proposed fix to the situation, but we find the to be more band-aid than holistic solution. Rev splits are good, and seemingly more sustainable, but with YouTube's ad load reaching truly epic proportions, they may not be a fix-all. So we sat down to chew the fat and try to work towards a solution.

Which we mostly did, except for Alex, who decided that a return to feudalism is the only way forward. We're back Friday! Talk soon!

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.

This is our Monday show, in which we take a look back at the weekend and what’s ahead in the week. We’re coming to the end of earnings season, which means that there are just a few weeks left in the first quarter.

With spring in the air, here’s what we got into this morning:

• Apple may tap Google for AI: Sure, Apple is working on its own AI tech, but Google’s Gemini model could be headed for an iPhone near you. Bloomberg broke the news.
• Grok goes open source: As promised, xAI’s LLM Grok is out for people to play with. Most importantly, startup founders seem excited.
• Reddit’s IPO makes progress: Oversubscription is always a good signal, but is also no promise of IPO riches to come.
• Gumroad says ‘no thanks’ to NSFW content: Another year, another platform booting adult creators. It’s a tale as old as time!
• Gaming is coming to LinkedIn: Look I don’t know what to tell you other than that all platforms eventually become one.

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!

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.

This week, Natasha, Mary and Becca got into:

• For our deals of the week, we talked about why tracking app Strava's purchase of Fatmap, a high-resolution 3D global map platform for the great outdoors, seems like a smart move, how Wasted wants to make port-a-potties less gross and more useful and All Raise CEO's decision to step down after less than one year in the role.
• Then we got into how the feds are scrutinizing Google's alleged ad tech monopoly and the implications for startups, before moving into different ways the downturn is impacting the way companies are hiring.
• And lastly, we discussed femtech's very good 2022 (even though we all agreed we don't love the term 'femtech').

Equity drops at 10:00 a.m. PT every Monday and at 7:00 a.m. PT on Wednesdays and Fridays, 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, 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.

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.

We thought that last week was a lot. It was, but this week was somehow more. More chaotic, rapid-fire change at a number of massive tech companies kept us on our toes. So, while our beloved co-host Natasha was out, we couldn't do the recording down a set of hands, so we brought Becca aboard with Mary Ann and Alex.

The list of news was so long that we were cutting entire sections up until we hit record, and even still we went over time. If you like longer episodes, this one is for you.

• Deals of the Week: What's going on with the former Peloton CEO's new rug startup? And how is Tellus going to offer much better consumer savings rates? And, finally, how wrong can Alex get the Harmonic business model until he figures it out live on the show?
• Mega-layoffs: From there, we had to sit down and discuss the massive Meta layoffs. Our read is that the company is doing right by the folks it is cutting, which is not as much as we can say about some other companies in the world also undergoing massive staffing cuts. Naturally, this brought up Twitter to a degree, the smaller social network being the Main Character in tech news up until, well:
• WTF FTX? Ah, FTX. Last week it was worth $32 billion and its founder was arguably the face of crypto around the world. And now Sequoia has pulled its on-site hagiography, SBF is a pariah, and FTX may be going to zero. There's going to be a mini-series about this, isn't there?

We are back Monday! Have a lovely weekend!

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.

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 items:

• First up, use code “EQUITY” for a special listener discount for Disrupt tickets. We’re mere days 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!

That behind us, what did Mary Ann, Natasha and Alex get into today? A whole host of things. Here's the rundown:

• Getaway and Pacaso: What happens if you mix Airbnb, vacation homes, timeshares, and REITs? A very interesting startup cluster, it turns out. These two companies brought Mary Ann and Natasha into the same reporting space and gave us a good chance to discuss the luxury market.
• The Muse gets acquisitive: One of the most interesting deals we saw in the last week was The Muse buying Fairygodboss, a recruiting platform aimed at working mothers. The deal got us thinking about roll-ups in various sectors of the startup market, and where we might first see more activity. As Natasha recently put it in Startups Weekly, here's three words to consider about the market right now: Toil, Trouble, Startup Acquisitions.
• Party/Hangover: Mary Ann's weekly column, The Interchange, is a brill focused look at the latest (and sometimes the not-so-greatest) in fintech. We talk about her recent interview with Index's Mark Goldberg, and why he's talking about the party being over and crypto a side character.
• Q3 VC: Alex is digging through Q3 venture capital data as quickly as possible, working to get an understanding of where things are. It appears that United States-based venture activity is hanging in there, while the picture is a bit more dire globally. Elsewhere, fintech investment is falling, as is dealmaking in crypto-land.
• Ownership for all: We end with a look at some recent efforts to challenge venture's traditional structure. Shout out to Chattanooga's Brickyard, which recently raised a $17 million fund, on giving founders 10% of the GP's carried interest in the new fund. Sharing is caring. And really, it's just fair.

OK! That's it! It's time to pack up and make the trip to San Francisco, where we cannot wait to see your pretty faces. Chat 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, 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.