Rebecca Szkutak, Author at TechCrunch

VCs will get liquidity in 2024 from the secondary market, not IPOs

Rebecca Szkutak — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 17:15:03 +0000

If you asked a bunch of VCs at the end of 2023 if the IPO market would finally open again in 2024, most of them would have said yes. We know because TechCrunch surveyed more than 40 of them in December and that’s what they said. Yet, there are two weeks left in Q1, still […]

Glacier is training AI-powered recycling robots

Rebecca Szkutak — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 20:00:00 +0000

This week, Glacier co-founder Rebecca Hu chats with Found about wish-cycling and robots.

NFT fantasy sports startup Sorare lays off 13% of staff as web3 gaming continues to sputter

Rebecca Szkutak — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 18:23:37 +0000

Web3-enabled fantasy sports platform Sorare laid off 22 employees based in its New York office in February. The move comes as the startup wants certain teams to be concentrated at the company’s Paris headquarters to improve communication and efficiency, a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. “As we plan for our next stage of […]

AI could be the solution for bureaucracy, with Emilie Poteat from Advocate

Rebecca Szkutak — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 00:30:01 +0000

Founders have spent a lot of time over the past few years trying to build practical consumer use cases for AI and machine learning. AI startup Advocate thinks that the tech could help people apply for federal government benefits more easily. The New York–based startup was founded by Emilie Poteat, who got the idea after […]

Reddit should go public at $5B, according to secondary data

Rebecca Szkutak — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 20:23:12 +0000

If secondary buyers aren't buying shares at more than a $5 billion valuation, it wouldn't be wise for Reddit to price its IPO above that.

Black Tech Nation Ventures’ diversity thesis undeterred by growing DEI backlash

Rebecca Szkutak — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 13:00:44 +0000

Black Tech Nation Ventures launched in 2021 to address the funding gap for Black founders amid a wave of venture diversity initiatives after the murder of George Floyd in 2020. Three years later, amongst growing backlash against DEI and diversity-focused investments, the firm’s mission may be more important now than when it started. The Pittsburgh-based […]

Europe remains hard to crack for North American GPs

Rebecca Szkutak — Sun, 25 Feb 2024 15:00:14 +0000

While North American VCs can see the potential value in backing European startups, it hasn't been easy for firms to launch strategies.

Zola wants to bring the wedding industry into the 21st century

Rebecca Szkutak — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 22:30:06 +0000

Welcome back to Found, where we get the stories behind the startups. This week Becca and Dom are joined by Shan-Lyn Ma, the co-founder and CEO of Zola, an online platform for wedding planning and gift registries. Ma talked about why she decided to launch the business after trying to buy a gift for a […]

Groover connects artists with tastemakers to help them find their audience

Rebecca Szkutak — Sat, 17 Feb 2024 17:00:30 +0000

Groover offers a platform for independent musicians to connect with music curators and be able to better promote themselves.

Video game startups could be a bright spot for VC in 2024

Rebecca Szkutak — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 20:30:52 +0000

Video game startups weren't immune to recent market pressures, but the industry heads into 2024 on better footing than some sectors.

Tigran Sloyan from CodeSignal talks closing the talent gap and mitigating bias in hiring

Rebecca Szkutak — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 16:01:28 +0000

This week Becca and Dom are joined by Tigran Sloyan, the co-founder and CEO of skills assessment platform CodeSignal.

Deal Dive: VCs are no longer gunshy about firearm startups

Rebecca Szkutak — Sat, 10 Feb 2024 17:00:08 +0000

Kai Kloepfer started biometric “smart” gun startup Biofire as a science fair project after the Aurora, Colorado, mass shooting in 2012 brought the U.S.’s gun violence problem close to home. Kloepfer began thinking of ways to solve the problem using what he knows: technology. Twelve years later, that project has turned into Biofire, a firearms […]

Why a B2B startup is placing a bet on a $7M Super Bowl ad

Rebecca Szkutak — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:54:01 +0000

Papaya Global bought a Super Bowl ad slot with the hope of the commercial driving brand recognition for the software company.

How Beatrice Dixon bootstrapped until The Honey Pot found a home

Rebecca Szkutak — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 21:30:03 +0000

This week Becca and Dom are joined by Beatrice Dixon, the CEO and co-founder of The Honey Pot.

Deal Dive: It’s time for VCs to break up with fast fashion

Rebecca Szkutak — Sat, 03 Feb 2024 15:30:11 +0000

VCs have long supported fast-fashion companies but the controversies and lawsuits they draw makes them riskier investments.

Pitch competitions help level the playing field for underrepresented founders, but it isn’t enough

Rebecca Szkutak — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 15:00:31 +0000

Pitch competitions are a bright spot for underrepresented founders but not without burdens that regular funding doesn't have.

Navigating media’s ups and downs with theSkimm co-founders

Rebecca Szkutak — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 22:26:09 +0000

Welcome back to Found, where we get the stories behind the startups.

Deal Dive: Can AI fix lost and found?

Rebecca Szkutak — Sat, 27 Jan 2024 17:00:14 +0000

Boomerang thinks so. It uses machine learning to match photos and descriptions of lost items to streamline the lost and found process.

Where gut health meets hypergrowth with Ben Goodwin from Olipop

Rebecca Szkutak — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 18:31:29 +0000

Welcome back to Found, where we get the stories behind the startups. This week Becca and Dom are joined by Ben Goodwin, the co-founder and CEO of Olipop, a soda startup making low-sugar pop with probiotics. Goodwin talked about his foray into the soda space after working in kombucha and discovering the positive impacts of […]

How Magic Spoon CEO knew it was time to transition from DTC to in-store retail

Rebecca Szkutak — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 19:29:39 +0000

This week Becca and Dom are joined by Gabi Lewis, the co-founder and CEO of the cereal company Magic Spoon.