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Forget ‘Founder Mode,’ what about Customer Mode? | Equity Podcast

You might have noticed in your time online that a lot of the services and the websites that you’re using are kind of getting…worse. The good news, though, is that this means that there are different sectors that are ripe for disruption.  On today’s episode of Equity () , Rebecca’s joined by Ed Zitron ()…

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1 year ago

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You might have noticed in your time online that a lot of the services and the websites that you’re using are kind of getting…worse. The good news, though, is that this means that there are different sectors that are ripe for disruption. 

On today’s episode of Equity () , Rebecca’s joined by Ed Zitron () —CEO of EZPR, host of the Better Offline podcast, and author of Why Everything Stopped Working—to dig into why this shift is happening and what it means for startups.

Listen to the full episode to hear the pair discuss:

• Why it’s time to ditch ‘founder mode’ for what Ed calls ‘customer mode’ – a more sustainable, customer-first approach that beats the growth-at-all-costs mentality.

• The opportunities Ed sees for startups in what he sees as a declining market

• The long-term outlook for generative AI companies like OpenAI. (Note: this interview was recorded before the DeepSeek () news broke, but don’t worry – Equity will have that update for you later in the week.)

Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. 

Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts () , Overcast () , Spotify () and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X () and Threads () , at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here () .

Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we’ll talk to you next time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices ()

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1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. @pushon-paint

    January 29, 2025 at 1:30 pm

    hello Rebecca

    Reply

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Science & Technology

The F1 Paddock Has Become a Leading Place for Startups to Land a Deal

Founders and investors — the rich and the richer — increasingly mingle within a scene in search of deals. But we’re not talking about AI conferences, a Silicon Valley hub, nor a spot beside DC power brokers. It’s F1 races, and all the celebration and excess that surround them.

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May 13, 2026

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Founders and investors — the rich and the richer — increasingly mingle within a scene in search of deals. But we’re not talking about AI conferences, a Silicon Valley hub, nor a spot beside DC power brokers.

It’s F1 races, and all the celebration and excess that surround them.

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Science & Technology

Amazon’s Steve Schmidt on AI agents gone rogue (Live at HumanX) | Equity Podcast

AI may be changing how companies build, but it’s also changing how they get attacked, often by their own tools. Amazon Chief Security Officer Steve Schmidt has watched threat actors at every skill level get sharper, faster, and harder to contain. The risk he’s most focused on, however, isn’t coming from outside the firewall. On…

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May 13, 2026

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AI may be changing how companies build, but it’s also changing how they get attacked, often by their own tools. Amazon Chief Security Officer Steve Schmidt has watched threat actors at every skill level get sharper, faster, and harder to contain. The risk he’s most focused on, however, isn’t coming from outside the firewall.

On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, we’re bringing you a conversation Rebecca Bellan had with Schmidt at the HumanX conference in San Francisco. The two dug into what AI is already doing to the threat landscape and how Amazon is rethinking identity, containment, and human oversight to keep agents in check.

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:05 How AI is leveling up threat actors at every skill level
02:16 The internal risk: shadow AI and the “open Claude on your laptop” problem
04:44 Agentic identity and why Amazon traces every action back to a human
07:18 Guardrails as an attack surface
09:50 Containment architecture: why agents should never run free
12:42 Human-in-the-loop and contingent authorization at Amazon
14:58 Security advice for startups: know what you have, label it early
18:35 Do startups actually need a CISO?
19:29 Outro

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CNET

Your Phone’s Battery Sucks. Here’s How to Fix It | All Things Mobile

Are you constantly anxious about your phone’s battery percentage? We sit down with CNET experts to discuss the latest in smartphone battery testing, why your lithium-ion battery naturally degrades over time, and simple tips to keep it healthier for longer. 0:00 The Battery Anxiety Problem 0:53 Which Phones Have the Best Battery Life? 3:52 Why…

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16 hours ago

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May 13, 2026

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Are you constantly anxious about your phone’s battery percentage? We sit down with CNET experts to discuss the latest in smartphone battery testing, why your lithium-ion battery naturally degrades over time, and simple tips to keep it healthier for longer.

0:00 The Battery Anxiety Problem
0:53 Which Phones Have the Best Battery Life?
3:52 Why Phone Batteries Degrade
5:18 Tips to Extend Your Phone’s Battery Life
6:00 The Future of Batteries: Silicon Carbon
7:34 Conclusion

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