Natasha Mascarenhas
The Latest from Natasha Mascarenhas
Let’s talk about gaslighting and fundraising
“Most of the startups I give advice to about how to raise venture capital shouldn’t be raising venture capital,” an investor recently told me. While the idea that every startup isn’t venture-b
Cleo Capital is targeting $20 million for Fund II
Cleo Capital, a venture capital firm founded in 2018 by Sarah Kunst, is raising up to $20 million for its second fund, according to a source familiar with the matter. A recent SEC filing shows that Cl
Creator economy’s slow burn
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. Natasha and Danny and Grace were all here to chat through the we
So you want to raise a Series A
Bucky Moore, a partner at Kleiner Perkins, gives founders tactical advice on the process of raising a Series A round.
Discover how Duolingo started with CEO Luis von Ahn at Disrupt 2021
Before Luis von Ahn co-founded Duolingo, a gamified language-learning app used by hundreds of millions around the world, he was fixated on squiggly letters. The entrepreneur was a co-inventor of CAPTC
Walnut wants to crack open flexibility for healthcare bills
Healthcare insurance, if you’re lucky to have it, only covers a subset of conditions in the United States. As a result, patients can often get burdened with horror story charges, like huge deductibl
Saying hello to TechCrunch’s newest podcast: Found
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. For this week’s deep dive, the Equity team sat down not with exte
Clubhouse launches payments so creators can make money
Clubhouse, a one-year-old social audio app reportedly valued at $1 billion, will now allow users to send money to their favorite creators — or speakers — on the platform. In a blog post, t
Nonobvious acquisitions are on my 2021 bingo board
At the end of 2020, I argued that edtech needs to think bigger in order to stay relevant after the pandemic. I urged founders to think less about how to bundle and unbundle lecture experience, and mor
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 th
How is edtech spending its extra capital?
Edtech unicorns have boatloads of cash to spend following the capital boost to the sector in 2020. As a result, edtech M&A activity has continued to swell.
The disconnect between Y Combinator Demo Day and due diligence
Within 48 hours, the startup world experienced two momentous events: Y Combinator’s largest Demo Day ever, and the early investor exodus of Dispo, a photo-sharing app. Both events, while seemingly u
You can only invest if you promise not to read the fine print, OK?
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 th
Veera Health wants to help women in India navigate polycystic ovary syndrome
Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, is a common disorder that can cause irregular periods, infertility or gestational diabetes in women. And the condition is far from rare: PCOS impacts one in 10 wome
Plaid accelerator announces inaugural cohort of fintech startups
Plaid, the fintech giant, has announced the inaugural cohort of startups in its new accelerator program, FinRise. The equity-free and capital-free program has chosen five early-stage fintech startups
Equity crowdfunding is making the private markets public
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. For this week’s deep dive, the Equity team brought on Gumroad CEO
Our favorite companies from Y Combinator’s W21 Demo Day: Part 2
We've reached the end of Y Combinator's biggest Demo Day, which saw more than 300 companies pitching back-to-back over eight hours.
Y Combinator widens its bet in edtech in latest batch
Y Combinator is slowly growing its stake in education companies, as the sector balloons with newfound demand from remote learners. In its latest batch, the famed accelerator had its highest number of
Our favorite companies from Y Combinator’s W21 Demo Day: Part 1
If you don't have time to skim through 300+ startups, we've aggregated some of the companies that really managed to catch our eye. This is part one of two, covering our favorites from the companies th
Do we need so many virtual HQ platforms?
Teamflow, founded by ex-Uber manager Flo Crivello, has raised an $11 million Series A just three months after raising a $3.9 million seed for its virtual HQ platform. The latest round in the startup w