Looking at how GenZ has changed fundraising

Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast (now on Twitter!), where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines.

This week we had the full crew around once again, Natasha Mascarenhas, Danny Crichton, Chris Gates, and myself. And as always, it was key to have the full crew as there was an ocean of news to get through. Before we get into the show, make sure you’ve checked out Danny’s latest work on the TechCrunch List and let’s get into it:

• The TikTok saga continues: This week we spent a few minutes discussing why bankers are incentivized to make the proposed TikTok-Microsoft deal as competitive as possible. Or at least make it look as competitive as possible. And, there’s some data from inside Microsoft about how the deal is being viewed.
• Airbnb could file to go public this month! It might go public before the year is out! That’s way better than we expected. (Bloomberg got its Q2 finances.)
• Palantir could file for a direct listing next month! That’s great. We wanted to know what Palantir really is, namely a consultancy or a tech company. And then we played valuation bingo so that we can look back later and mock ourselves.
• I was very excited about the Duck Creek IPO. Few of my friends joined me in being excited.
• The three of us also took a minute to riff on the latest Pinterest news, namely that it’s poorly run and is sexist per its now-former COO. We’d love to stop covering these stories, but they keep happening so, on we go.
• Danny had some neat SPAC data to share, helping illustrate that SPACs are not merely a meme, they are a real, driving force of public company action this year. As was Tesla’s announced stock split, which led us to ask why a few times.
• Next up, Natasha walked us through her latest work digging into how GenZ is shaking up the funding world. We framed the changes in some historical context, and decided that really in the end the kids are alright.
• Danny brought us to a close, with a note on Conduit (connecting founders and early-stage investors) and Circle (creator software). Both are worth your time.

And that was our show! We are back Monday morning. Stay cool!