Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we dig into the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. Before we get into this week’s show notes, some programming items:
- First use the code “EQUITY” for a special listener discount on Disrupt tickets. We’re only a few days away, and you should join us when we record on opening day!
- We also have a special for people affected by layoffs. If you’re fired, go here to get a free ticket to businesskinda.com Disrupt’s Expo!
That behind us, what did Mary Ann, Natasha and Alex get up to today? A whole host of things. Here’s the overview:
- Outing and Pacaso: What happens when you combine Airbnb, vacation homes, timeshares, and REITs? A very interesting startup cluster, as it turns out. These two companies brought Mary Ann and Natasha into the same reporting space and gave us a great opportunity to discuss the luxury market.
- The muse becomes possessive: One of the most interesting deals we saw in the past week was for The Muse to buy Fairygodboss, a recruiting platform aimed at working moms. The deal got us thinking about roll-ups in different sectors of the startup market, and where we might see more activity first. As Natasha recently put it in Startups Weekly, here are three words to think about the market right now: Toil, trouble, startup acquisitions.
- Party/hangover: Mary Ann’s weekly column, The Interchange, is a brilliant take on the latest (and sometimes not-so-great) fintech. We talk about her recent interview with Mark Goldberg of Indexand why he talks about the party being over and crypto a side character.
- Q3 VC: Alex is digging through the third quarter venture capital data as quickly as possible to understand where things stand. It seems that US-based corporate activity is lingering there, while the picture globally is a bit more dire. Elsewhere, investment in fintech is declining, as is the closing of deals in crypto land.
- Property for everyone: We end with a look at some recent attempts to challenge the traditional structure of the company. Shout out to Chattanooga’s Brickyard, which recently raised a $17 million fund by giving the founders 10% of the GPs contributed into the new fund. Sharing is caring. And really, it’s just fair.
OKAY! That is it! It’s time to pack up and make the trip to San Francisco, where we can’t wait to see your beautiful faces. Chatting soon!
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Janice has been with businesskinda for 5 years, writing copy for client websites, blog posts, EDMs and other mediums to engage readers and encourage action. By collaborating with clients, our SEO manager and the wider businesskinda team, Janice seeks to understand an audience before creating memorable, persuasive copy.