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Axios’ Dan Primack on ‘the most polarizing startup that exists’

Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines.




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Tumblr’s next step forward with Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg

After months of rumors, Verizon finally sold off Tumblr for a reported $3 million — a fraction of what Yahoo paid for the once mighty blogging service back in 2013. The media conglomerate (which also owns TechCrunch) was clearly never quite sure what to do with the property after gobbling it up as part of […]




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Don’t wait to plan your exit, even if it’s years away

Startup founders have a million things to worry about every day. Finding product-market fit, great talent and and a sustainable plan for constant growth are top of mind, but perhaps most importantly, they need to keep the lights on, whether it’s by raising venture capital or managing cash flows while bootstrapping. The flip side to […]




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How startups close their first big sales

Your chances of closing your first big sale are going to be directly related to how well you’re targeting prospective customers.




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Tree planting search engine Ecosia is getting a visibility boost in Chrome

Ecosia, a not-for-profit search engine which uses ad generated revenue to fund planting trees, is set to get a visibility boost in Chrome. A change Google is making to its chromium engine will see it added as a default search engine choice in up to 47 markets for the version 81 release of Google’s web […]




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Extra Crunch Live: Join Mark Cuban for a Q&A on April 30 at 11am ET/8am PT

Billionaire. Entrepreneur. Investor. Shark. Mark Cuban is one of tech’s best-known entrepreneurs, so we are amped to have him join us for an upcoming Extra Crunch Live, our virtual speaker series that connects the brightest minds in tech directly with our Extra Crunch audience. Starting out as a salesman for one of Dallas’s earliest PC […]




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Lyft shares rally 14% after it reports Q1 revenue growth of 23% to $955.7M

Fresh off of a large round of layoffs, Lyft reported its Q1 results this afternoon. The ride-hailing company disclosed that it generated revenue of $955.7 million in the first three months of 2020, up 23% from its year-ago Q1 revenue result of $776 million. The company’s net loss of $398.1 million was also an improvement […]




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How will coronavirus change the world? — Parlia launches to help you find out

“Is Greta Thunberg a hypocrite?” Google that phrase and you will get thousands of results. It just goes to show that, to a large extent, the “Q&A” model is broken on the internet. Where once Yahoo Answers and Quora were considered the bright young things of Web 2.0’s “Read/Write Web,” today there is only the […]





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Treasury Prime raises $9M to bring its banking APIs to market

Treasury Prime, a startup that built software tooling to help banks automate and accelerate routine tasks, announced today that it has closed a $9 million Series A. The new capital was sourced from Amias Gerety of QED, Jason Lemkin of SaaStr, and Hans Morris of NYCA Partners. The capital event is yet another funding round […]




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Citing revenue declines, Airbnb cuts 1,900 jobs, or around 25% of its global workforce

This afternoon Airbnb, a well-known private company that connects travelers with places to stay, announced that it was laying off around a quarter of its workforce. The company cited revenue declines and a need to curtail costs in a memo that TechCrunch viewed. In the note, written by Airbnb CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky, the […]




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Estonian fintech askRobin scores $1.7M to bring ‘fair credit’ to emerging markets

AskRobin, an Estonia-founded fintech that operates a financial services marketplace for “underbanked” customers in Latin America, has picked up $1.7 million in funding. The seed round is backed by VC funds Change Ventures, Vereeni Early Stage Fund, BENE Asia Capital, and Lemonade Stand. In addition, a number of tech entrepreneurs from Estonia participated, such as […]




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Goldman Sachs backs electric toothbrush startup Burst Oral Care

Burst Oral Care, a startup that sells an electric toothbrush boasting charcoal bristles and 33,000 sonic vibrations per minute, has raised a Series C of undisclosed size. Although we don’t know the amount of the round, the Series C was led by Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, and Burst says it more than doubled the valuation […]




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More debt, improving margins: How startups are retooling in the COVID-19 era

A new data set from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) details how startups are reacting to the post-unicorn era as COVID-19-related disruptions upset the global economy and remake the risk tolerance of private investors. What SVB’s new report shows is unsurprising: venture capital deal volumes are falling, startups are tapping existing debt capacities to add cash […]




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Daily Crunch: Zoom acquires security startup Keybase

Zoom acquires some encryption expertise, Uber makes a big investment in scooters and we review the new 13-inch Macbook Pro. Here’s your Daily Crunch for May 7, 2020. 1. Zoom acquires Keybase to get end-to-end encryption expertise Keybase, whose encryption products include secure file sharing and collaboration tools, should give Zoom some security credibility as […]




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Target to acquire same-day delivery tech from Deliv

Target, which already owns on-demand delivery service Shipt, is in the process of acquiring technology assets from same-day delivery service Deliv. The retailer is characterizing the deal as more of an R&D type of acquisition and not one that will have an immediate consumer-facing impact. Deal terms were not disclosed, but we understand the deal […]




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As private investment cools, enterprise startups may try tapping corporate dollars

Founders hunting down capital in the middle of this pandemic may feel like they’re on a fool’s errand, but some investors are still offering financing, even if the terms might not be as good as they once were. One avenue that appears to remain open: corporate venture capital. The corporate route offers its own set […]




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How One Entrepreneur's Bamboo Bikes Are Changing Lives (and the Environment) in Ghana

Jessica Abo sits down with the CEO and founder of Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative.




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The 5:30 A.M. Warrior Call: The FDA Approves Phase 2 Testing of Coronavirus Vaccine (5/8/2020)

Biotech company Moderna said it plans to start phase 2 trials with 600 participants shortly.




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Skip a Trip to the Market. Get 18 Bottles of Wine Delivered for Less Than $10 Each.

Taste your way around the world's finest wine regions with this sampler pack.




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Apple and CMU researchers demo a low friction learn-by-listening system for smarter home devices

A team of researchers from Apple and Carnegie Mellon University’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute have presented a system for embedded AIs to learn by listening to noises in their environment without the need for up-front training data or without placing a huge burden on the user to supervise the learning process. The overarching goal is for […]




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UK’s coronavirus contacts tracing app could ask users to share location data

More details have emerged about a coronavirus contacts tracing app being developed by UK authorities. NHSX CEO, Matthew Gould, said today that future versions of the app could ask users to share location data to help authorities learn more about how the virus propagates. Gould, who heads up the digital transformation unit of the UK’s […]




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UK privacy and security experts warn over coronavirus app mission creep

A number of UK computer security and privacy experts have signed an open letter raising transparency and mission creep concerns about the national approach to develop a coronavirus contacts tracing app. The letter, signed by 177 academics, follows a similar letter earlier this month signed by around 300 academics from across the world, who urged […]




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Google under fire for squeezing travel startups hit by coronavirus refunds

Google is facing anger from the German startup ecosystem for refusing to restructure ad payments linked to travel and transport bookings that were subsequently wiped out by the coronavirus crisis. TechCrunch has seen a letter addressed to Google that’s co-signed by eight travel industry startups in which the tech giant is asked for flexibility in […]




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Cliqz pulls the plug on a European anti-tracking alternative to Google search

Cliqz, a Munch-based anti-tracking browser with private search baked in that has sought to offer a local alternative to Google powered by its own search index, is shutting down — claiming this arm of its business has been blindsided by the coronavirus crisis. Today was not great. We closed parts of @cliqz & our dream […]




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Uber Eats exits seven markets, transfers one as part of competitive retooling

Uber Eats is pulling out of a clutch of markets — shuttering its on-demand food offering in the Czech Republic, Egypt, Honduras, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay and Ukraine. It’s also transferring its Uber Eats business operations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Careem, its wholly owned ride-hailing subsidiary that’s mostly focused on the Middle […]




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UK’s coronavirus tracing app strategy faces fresh questions over transparency and interoperability

The UK’s data protection watchdog confirmed today the government still hasn’t given it sight of a key legal document attached to the coronavirus contacts tracing app which is being developed by the NHSX, the digital transformation branch of the country’s National Health Service . Under UK and EU law, a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) […]




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UK’s NHS COVID-19 app lacks robust legal safeguards against data misuse, warns committee

A UK parliamentary committee that focuses on human rights issues has called for primary legislation to be put in place to ensure that legal protections wrap around the national coronavirus contact tracing app. The app, called NHS COVID-19, is being fast tracked for public use — with a test ongoing this week in the Isle […]




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Need Help Telling Your Startup Story? This Illustration Kit Is on Sale for $100 Off.

Make your web content pop with beautiful illustrations.




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Free Webinar | June 8: Simple Marketing Techniques to Re-Engage With Customers and Make Them Feel Safe

Franchise Bible author Rick Grossmann discusses how marketing is changing and new ways and platforms for sending your marketing messages to your customers.



  • Franchise Crisis Management Series

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Free Webinar | May 12: How to Get More Clients and Followers by Tomorrow

Join our expert Neil Gordon as he discusses providing customers incredible value and building trust.



  • Crisis Management Series

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Free Webinar | May 13: How to Create Massive Leads and Sales in an Ever-Changing World

Join author and entrepreneur Kim Walsh Phillips as she discusses best practices for driving leads in today's world.



  • recovery planning series

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Make Your Branding and Marketing Content Pop with This Easy-to-Use $30 Digital Illustrator

You don't have to be an artist to make great digital art.




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3 Tips for Marketing a Service Business

Get exposure, offer stellar customer service and be nimble.




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This Smart, AI-Powered Stock Photo Library Helps You Find the Perfect Image

Regardless of your industry, JumpStory has assets for you.




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5 Ways Brands Can Reinvent Their Digital Marketing Strategy

Surefire methods any business can adopt to help them thrive.




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4 Creative Ideas to Supercharge Your Digital Launch

When every new business is launching digitally, you need these things to stand out.




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U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide fell by 2.8% in 2019, slightly below 2017 levels

U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions declined by 2.8% in 2019 to 5,130 million metric tons (MMmt), according to data in the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Monthly Energy Review. CO2 emissions had increased by 2.9% in 2018, the only annual increase in the past five years. Because of continuing trends in how much energy the U.S economy uses and how much CO2 that energy use generates, energy-related CO2 emissions in 2019 fell more than energy consumption, which declined by 0.9% in 2019, and gross domestic product, which increased by 2.3% in 2019.




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Smart Tips for Successfully Navigating the Initial Franchisor-Franchisee Interview

Once you have a few franchises in mind, you'll be talking to a franchise rep from each company. Here's the skinny on how that phone call should go.



  • Buying a Franchise

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Why These 3 Advisors Paid to Say 'No' Are Your Best Allies When Buying a Franchise

Talk to these three people -- who are more likely to tell you 'no' -- before handing over your hard-earned cash for a franchise business.



  • Franchise Buying Guide

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Laid Off? Here Are 8 of the Best Cleaning and House-Maintenance Franchises You Can Buy Now.

The time to start a cleaning company is now.




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Why Marketing Activities and Tracking Will Help Your Ageless Startup Succeed

Find out how to let the world know what you're doing with these easy-to-follow tips.