Clubhouse will create billions in value and capture none of it

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

Natasha and Danny and Alex and Grace were all here to chat through the week’s biggest tech happenings. It was a busy week on the IPO front, Danny was buried in getting the Tonal EC-1 out, and Natasha took some time off. But the host trio managed to prep and record a show that was honestly a kick to record, and we think, a pleasure to listen to!

So, for your morning walk, here’s what we have for you:

• The Substack conversation: Does the new $65 million check make sense? What is Substack? Does it have a moat? Why is Natasha’s URL so much better than Alex’s?
• Cameo raised $100 million and none of us really have a bone to pick with that. Danny actually argues in favor of it.
• The Clubhouse conversation: Does every single product need to feature live audio? The answer appears to be yes, oddly enough. Discord comes up along with Spotify, as does LinkedIn. And somehow, Microsoft Excel and Miami?
• TechCrunch scooped that Pipe is raising more money at a huge new valuation, and we argue about what a derivative really is.
• Harlem Capital raises $134 million for its new fund.
• MaC VC raises $103 million for its new fund.

It was a mix of laughs, ‘aha’ moments and honest conversations about how complex ambition in startups should be. One listener the other day mentioned to us that the pandemic made it harder to carve out time for podcasts, since listening was often reserved for commutes. We get it, and in true scrappy fashion, we’re curious how you’ve adapted to remote work and podcasts. Let us know how you tune into Equity via Twitter and remember that we’re thankful for your ears!