Natasha Mascarenhas
Reporter
The Latest from Natasha Mascarenhas
Executive coaching for employees is complicated and emotional
BetterUp, a reskilling and coaching platform for employees before and beyond the C-suite, is getting in touch with its emotions. This week, the richly funded unicorn startup announced a pair of acquis
A knock against bootstrapping
Natasha and Mary Ann and Alex were all aboard this week under the guidance of Chris and Grace, which meant we had the full team. And speaking of teams, Mary Ann is joining the Friday show on a
Reid Hoffman is returning to Disrupt
You’ve probably learned from Reid Hoffman before, either through his inventions, investments or inspirational words. The entrepreneur is the co-founder of LinkedIn, a partner at Greylock and the
Inside Reach Capital’s edtech-powered returns
Reach Capital, a San Francisco-based venture firm co-founded by Jennifer Carolan and Shauntel Garvey, focused exclusively on edtech for years before the sector ballooned with unicorns. The rare, femal
Casper cuts its CMO, CTO and COO amid further layoffs
Casper has laid off dozens of employees, including three C-Level executives: its chief marketing officer, chief technology officer and chief operating officer, sources say. The mattress company declin
The next big startup may just help venture back more startups
Welcome to Startups Weekly, a fresh human-first take on this week’s startup news and trends. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here. Oper8r, built by Winter Mead and Welly Sculley, wants to hel
Quizlet plans for IPO over a year after hitting unicorn status
Quizlet, a flashcard tool turned artificial intelligence-powered tutoring platform, is planning an initial public offering nearly a year after it was valued at $1 billion. According to people familiar
BNPL is not a winner-takes-all game
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. Natasha and Mary Ann took over this week’s show with Chris an
Edtech leans into the creator economy with cohort-based classes
Edtech's boom is rivaled by that of the creator economy, which promises to help creators monetize and democratize their passions, all while maintaining their identity.
Reid Hoffman’s latest book gives us 10 ways to rethink entrepreneurship
When you’re in the mood for a pep talk, who better to turn to than a well-networked, optimistic mentor who is naturally in your corner? That friendly shoulder is the role that “Masters of Scal
Equity Monday: Women’s employment drops, as Delta’s drama continues
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This is Equity Monday, our weekly kickoff to catch up on weekend new
What 377 Y Combinator pitches will teach you about startups
Along with a cadre of other TechCrunch folks, I spent this week extremely focused on one event: Y Combinator. The elite accelerator announced a staggering 377 startups as its Summer 2021 cohort. We co
Private equity giveth, and private equity taketh away
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture-capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. Natasha and Alex and Grace and Chris gathered to dig through
Our favorite startups from YC’s Summer 21 Demo Day, Part 2
From beaming actors into the class room to plucking things out of space, the second day of Y Combinator’s S21 Demo Day was a fresh snapshot of what nearly 200 startup teams believe is the future of
Here are all the companies from Day 2 of Y Combinator’s Summer 2021 Demo Day
Welcome back to TechCrunch’s continuing coverage of Y Combinator’s Summer 2021 Demo Day! This is Day Two. If you haven’t caught up yet on what happened during the first day, you can read our rec
Reframe your Metaphors, and other lessons from Y Combinator S21 Day 1
After a 17-hour marathon through nearly 200 startup pitches, the Equity team was fired up to get back on Twitter and chat through some early trends and favorites from the first day of Y CombinatorR
Our favorite startups from YC’s Summer 21 Demo Day, Part 1
These startups made us do a double take, be it due to the size of the market opportunity, the ambition exhibited by the founding team or an idea that was just too clever to pass up.
Here are all the companies from Y Combinator’s Summer 2021 Demo Day, Part 1
Today Y Combinator kicked off the Demo Day cycle for its Summer 2021 cohort. The collection of early-stage startups on day one-of-two alone numbered in the hundreds, meaning that we had to assemble a
Hum Capital thinks the future of funding is a return to old-school Wall Street
Hum Capital CEO Blair Silverberg thinks that the future of fundraising requires a return to old-school Wall Street — sans the fraud. Back in the day, he explained, people would go to Wall Street
Want to be a more holistic healthcare company? Add some Ginger
When Headspace merged with on-demand mental healthcare platform Ginger, I was surprised. After all, Ginger raised $100 million in Series E funding just a few months ago — and last time I spoke to CE