Science & Technology

Edtech is the new SaaS

Full episode: Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast (now on Twitter!), where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. The whole crew was back, with Natasha Mascarenhas and Danny Crichton and myself chattering with Chris Gates behind the scenes making it all work. An extra shoutout to Natasha this week as we spent a lot of…

Published

6 years ago

September 4, 2020

CYBER TECH TV

Full episode:

Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast (now on Twitter!), where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines.

The whole crew was back, with Natasha Mascarenhas and Danny Crichton and myself chattering with Chris Gates behind the scenes making it all work. An extra shoutout to Natasha this week as we spent a lot of time talking about edtech, a category that she spearheads for us and has brought to the show. It’s a big deal!

We’re on YouTube now, don’t forget, and with that, let’s get into the news:

Climax Foods raised $7.5 million to help fuel its work to develop alt-foods that are not animal-based. The Equity crew votes that this is a tasty deal. And, Capchase has raised $4.6 million to help cash-out SaaS contracts ahead of their real revenue accrual. Our read is that more financing options for SaaS companies will lead to lower costs of capital for those startups that want it. And, the Envision Accelerator made it through batch one and is on to batch two.
Then we chatted about edtech, with Natasha talking us through Owl Ventures raising huge new funds, Course Hero extending its Series B, Juni hitting $10M ARR and raising about as much, and Unacademy raising tons of cash from Vision Fund 2.
Next up, Patreon also got a new check, which means that it eventually has to go public at some point given that it is now a fancy unicorn.
And speaking of IPOs, Bumble is thinking about going public in 2021, Wish has filed, albeit privately, and GoodRX is going public as well. And it makes money.
What else? This a16z post on IPOs that we fangirl/fanboy’d over as it is good. And we forgot to mention this Fred Wilson post, but it is also good.

And with that, we are nearly at the weekend which is a long one thanks to a holiday, so expect Equity Monday to be, in fact, Equity Tuesday next week. Hugs and good vibes from the Equity Crew!

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4 Comments

Techie Science

September 4, 2020 at 12:15 pm

Your Website and Youtube channe! Is great, I follow it daily ????????

Greetings from ” Techie Science” Youtube Channe! ????????????????????????

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Alyssa Russell

September 4, 2020 at 12:24 pm

Very happy ???????? ????????♥️❤️

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I & N

September 4, 2020 at 12:52 pm

Good stuff

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Jack Ladd

September 4, 2020 at 1:31 pm

Unsubscribed. Boring.

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Science & Technology

When it Comes to Pitching, Don’t be Nice, Just Slay │ Build Mode Podcast

For women entering the founding and startup ecosystem, Taskrabbit founder Leah Solivan has a wealth of insights, especially on why you shouldn’t hold yourself back. Listen in on the latest episode of Build Mode for our full interview with her:

Published

11 hours ago

April 2, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

For women entering the founding and startup ecosystem, Taskrabbit founder Leah Solivan has a wealth of insights, especially on why you shouldn’t hold yourself back.

Listen in on the latest episode of Build Mode for our full interview with her:

CNET

The ‘Camera’ That Can Do Anything | What The Future

I visited Lightstorm Entertainment for a behind-the-scenes look at how Avatar: Fire and Ash was filmed. Performance capture technology films every possible angle at once, then a virtual camera captures specific shots, and finally, the VFX team completes all the effects. 0:00 Inside the Avatar: Fire and Ash Production 0:29 Phase 1: The Volume &…

Published

22 hours ago

April 2, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

0:00 Inside the Avatar: Fire and Ash Production
0:29 Phase 1: The Volume & Performance Capture
1:10 Introduction to the Virtual Camera
1:43 How the Virtual Camera Works
2:40 Establishing Creative Rules for Virtual Cinematography
3:07 Phase 3: Final VFX & Polishing the World
3:15 Where to Learn More & Viewer Discussion

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#movie #film #jamescameron #movies #avatar #camera #futuretech

Science & Technology

A diverse team will make your startup more successful with Leah Solivan, Taskrabbit l Build Mode

If one thing has become clear this season, finding the right talent for your team isn’t as easy as picking from a pile of resumes This week’s guest is Leah Solivan, the founder of Taskrabbit and now an early-stage investor who has seen that the power to change a homogenous startup exosystem comes from empowering…

Published

24 hours ago

April 2, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

From bootstrapping TaskRabbit on credit cards to scaling it into one of the defining companies of the gig economy, Leah learned firsthand that the hardest part of building a company isn’t the product, it’s selecting the right people to build it.

In this episode, Isabelle Johannessen and Leah unpack what it really takes to build diverse teams from day one and why most companies get it wrong by waiting too long. They also explore how the lack of diversity in venture capital directly shapes who gets funded, and ultimately, who gets hired.

Apply to Startup Battlefield: We are looking for early-stage companies that have an MVP. So nominate a founder (or yourself): techcrunch.com/apply. Be sure to say you heard about Startup Battlefield from the Build Mode podcast.

TechCrunch Disrupt: If you’re thinking about applying to Startup Battlefield, then October 13 to 15 in San Francisco, we’re back for TechCrunch Disrupt, where the Startup Battlefield 200 takes the stage. So if you want to cheer them on, or just network with 1000s of founders, VCs, and tech enthusiasts, then grab your tickets.

Use code buildmode15 for 15% off any ticket type.

Chapters:
00:00 The hard way to hire diverse talent
01:20 From engineer to Taskrabbit founder
03:39 The moment that sparked Taskrabbit
07:39 Why building teams is the hardest part
12:06 Learning how to hire from scratch
17:36 Why venture capital lacks diversity
27:25 How to build diverse teams from day one
39:42 What founders get wrong about competition

New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday. Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.