Outsized seed rounds, neobanks and spicy M&A? Well hello, 2023

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

This week, Natasha Mascarenhas, Mary Ann Azevedo and Rebecca Szkutak got on the mic to talk startups, pet peeves and focaccia. What else did you expect?

Here’s what we got into:

• Descope landed a $53 million (!) toptechtrends.com/2023/02/15/passwordless-authentication-startup-descope-lands-whopping-53m-seed-round/”>seed round, a Phenomenal toptechtrends.com/2023/02/13/phenomenal-ventures-meena-harris-helen-min-vc-fund/”>new venture fund and a toptechtrends.com/2023/02/16/fintech-neobank-vexi-raises-millions-to-offer-young-mexicans-lower-interst-rate-credit-cards/”>neobank out to make credit more accessible to young people in Mexico.
• Then we pivoted to talk about buy now, pay later (BNPL), which included some chatter about toptechtrends.com/2023/02/08/affirms-stock-plunges-as-it-misses-earnings-cuts-500-jobs-and-shutters-crypto-unit/”>Affirm’s recent woes and which areas of BNPL that do seem to be growing despite questions around toptechtrends.com/2023/02/13/is-this-the-end-of-the-bnpl-boom/”>whether this is the end of the BNPL boom as we know it.
• Tech layoffs are as toptechtrends.com/2023/02/16/tech-industry-layoffs/”>widespread as ever so we talked about what toptechtrends.com/2023/02/14/6-vcs-share-advice-for-laid-off-tech-workers-planning-to-launch-startups/”>advice some VCs have for those laid off workers considering launching their own startups, and what we thought of that advice.
• Finally, we ended with a jump over the pond to talk about toptechtrends.com/2023/02/15/wefunders-equity-crowdfunding-platform-has-officially-expanded-to-the-eu/”>EU’s tech scene. Mostly about the fact that it is far more put together than the U.S., and all that jazz.

With that, we’ll be skipping the upcoming week’s Equity Monday due to the holiday and back with more on Wednesday, led by Becca!

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!

toptechtrends.com/2023/02/17/outsized-seed-rounds-neobanks-and-spicy-ma-well-hello-2023/”>Outsized seed rounds, neobanks and spicy M&A? Well hello, 2023 by toptechtrends.com/author/natasha-mascarenhas/”>Natasha Mascarenhas originally published on toptechtrends.com/”>TechCrunch