TechCrunch Podcasts this week: Scaling web3, bulls and bears, falling tech valuations, and UFOs

The site is more than just words. The most critical topics relating to the startup and venture capital worlds are the focus of a growing stable of podcasts. We compiled our audio output from the week to help you find the right show.

The latest from Chain Reaction is below. Found is a long-form piece of work that goes deep on the real saga of company formation from Jordan and Darrell. There is an audio-only version of TechCrunch Live hosted by Matt that features founders and investors discussing successful pitch decks. Equity is a long-running, Webby-award-winning show that focuses on venture capital and the latest startup news.

If you like the newsletters written over the spoken word, we have on the above topics as well.

TechCrunch Podcast

Don't call them ufos and other news from TechCrunch.

In the first episode of TheTechCrunch, you will hear everything you need to know about the top stories in tech from the people who wrote them. Darrell Etherington, Managing Editor, talks with Taylor Hatmaker about the congressional hearing about unexplained flying objects in which experts say they are real and that reports are way up. The news that came out of the sessions was called Mobility. There is a rundown of the week's top news on the site.

There are articles from the episode.

There were other news from the week.

Chain Reaction

Grace Isford talks about the startups securing and scaling web3.

This week, Lucas andAnita dive into the latest mega-fund from venture giant, and some interesting bets that they are making, including one in disgraced WeWork founder Adam Neumann. FTX's big entry into stock trading comes just a week after the firm's young CEO made a huge bet on Robinhood.

In their interview with Grace Isford, Lucas and Anita talk about their lives. Isford is an investor at Lux Capital, which focuses on the infrastructure and security opportunities for blockchain startups. Some of the recent big hacks and whether consumers can feel safe betting oncryptocurrencies are discussed.

You can subscribe to the Chain Reaction newsletter.

Links that are helpful.

Found

There is an anniversary bonus in this episode.

Happy one year of Found! We welcomed back four founding fathers whose stories stuck with us since we talked to them. Earl Cole from the SMART Tire Company was on our second episode. They talk about perspective shifts they have experienced in the past year, their different takes on fundraising, and how they stay true to their core missions.

Let us know what you think of FOUND by taking our survey.

You can connect with us.

• On Twitter
• On Instagram
• Via email: found@techcrunch.com
• Call us and leave a voicemail at (510) 936-1618

Equity

A ping-pong match between bulls and bears.

In Equity, we unpack the numbers behind the headlines, where we discuss the business of startups.

We were once again at full strength this week, with Alex Wilhelm,Natasha Mascarenhas, and Mary Ann Azevedo.

We are in an odd time, that's what you can tell from the topic list. There are many signals that the startup market is slowing down. There are counter-narrative data points that show a more complex picture. Where do you stand? For some data to consider, read on.

• Natasha gave us a brief update on All Raise’s annual VC summit, but she’ll get into more on an upcoming Wednesday show (stay tuned!)
• Monte Carlo just raised a unicorn round, worth $135 million at a $1.6 billion valuation. On the other hand, Bolt is laying off staff amidst a correction in the larger startup market, and perhaps its own space.
• If startup news is pointing in two directions, so too are data from the venture capital world. While Sequoia is warning founders about a downturn, a16z just raised a king’s ransom to pour into the web3 market. Parse that as you will.
• There were other bits of news to consider as we work to understand where the startup world truly is today, including news from Zip and Nowports — two newly-minted unicorns that Mary Ann recently profiled.
• And we closed on, what else, drama in fintech. As Stripe and Plaid gear up to battle, Finix is either in the fray, or about to jump in, depending on your perspective. What’s clear is that increasingly overlapping fintech giants are going to rub up against one another. You can read more about that in The Interchange, out on Sunday.

We will talk to you next week.

We think the market needs a quick Heart to Heart.

We focus on a single topic, think about a question, and unpack the rest of the show. How are early-stage founders thinking about this downturn?

The question comes after the recent column byNatasha, "Everyone is drafting their own startup Black Swan memo." Can you tell us your ARR and cash-burn in writing? It's pretty please?

To flip the script, as we do here on Equity, we're bringing in the founder perspective to fact check the memos and tell us what it's really like to be a founder. The importance of honesty, as well as what to do before considering a layoff, were given to us by Ogundu. When we have guests on the show, you know it will be a good one.

Will falling tech valuations kick off a M&A boom?

In Equity, we unpack the numbers behind the headlines, where we discuss the business of startups.

Alex and Grace were back as a team to cover the biggest, boldest, and baddest technology news. We are back with your weekly kick off! Here is what we got into.

• The stock market may not vomit all over itself today, which would be a nice break from recent weeks.
• Broadcom is working on buying VMware in what would prove to be a mega-deal. Shares of Broadcom are off on the news, while VMware stock is up sharply. The transaction would be worth tens and tens of billions of dollars, if consummated.
• Paytm earnings had lots to like, and some elements that were less salubrious. Shares of the Indian unicorn have recovered somewhat in recent days, but remains sharply depressed from its IPO price.
• In the startup world: BUD raised $36.8 million, SyIndr raised $12.6 million, and 1K Kirana put $25 million onto its balance sheet.
• And we closed out with the fact that there is no free lunch, even in the crypto world.