That’s capitalism, baby

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

This is our Friday show, when we take a look at the week’s biggest startup and tech news, and have a little fun at the same time. This week, Alex and Mary Ann were joined by the excellent Rebecca Szkutak, a senior venture capital reporter on the TechCrunch+ team.

Here’s what we got into today:

Deals of the Week: Layoffs at Cameo, where fintech valuations are today and where they are going, and Egnyte’s slow-burn path to an IPO.
The end of VanMoof: Raising a lot of money doesn’t necessitate a startup’s success. Such is the case with VanMoof, which raised nine-figures and built and sold e-bikes. Now it is no more, and we have questions.
CEO turnover: As the CEO of OnlyFans steps down, the gang dug into when a CEO can or should step down. Certainly some companies do best, for example, with long-term leadership by a founder. But not all.
Generative AI and the writer’s strike: It turns out that we’re bigger South Park fans than we knew as a group, but that’s not really the point. What matters is that a recently released ‘AI-generated’ episode of the show is driving a conversation today concerning how critical — or not — humans are to the creative process. Google is also busy here.

And that’s the end of the week! Equity is back on Monday! Chat soon!