Robinhood

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

When do layoffs matter? Trick question — always

Why would a crypto exchange be even interested in buying Robinhood? Let’s talk about it.

Why a crypto exchange might want to buy Robinhood

The House Committee on Financial Services released a report late last week offering a harrowing glimpse inside Robinhood during the frenzy around Gamestop stock early last year. The stock trading…

Robinhood almost imploded during the GameStop meme stock chaos
Crypto

Coinbase’s lost momentum

Hey everyone, and welcome back to Chain Reaction. In our Chain Reaction podcast this week, Anita and I chatted with Mercedes Bent of Lightspeed Venture…

Coinbase’s lost momentum

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX is launching stock trading capabilities for its customers through its U.S. division. The company, helmed by co-founder and billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, said in an announcement that its…

Second-largest crypto exchange FTX expands its empire with launch of stock trading feature
Crypto

A blockchain billionaire’s big bet

Hello and welcome back to the Chain Reaction podcast, where we unpack and explain the latest crypto news, drama and trends, breaking it down block by block…

A blockchain billionaire’s big bet

After a difficult first quarter, investing app Robinhood is doubling down on new product launches, particularly in its crypto unit, in hopes they will help buoy the business. CEO Vlad…

Robinhood lets users manage their own crypto wallets in push to spur trading

Would Coinbase be better off with a less fundamentalist stance and more diversified revenue streams? Yes? That would be the standard business advice?

As FTX’s CEO eyes Robinhood, will we see crypto exchanges move into equities trading?

Tech layoffs don’t happen to companies, they happen to people

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 Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single topic, think about a question and unpack the rest. This week, Natasha and Alex asked: What does the most recent wave of layoffs mean…

Tech layoffs don’t happen to companies, they happen to people

Investing app Robinhood is on a roll with announcing new features as it looks to appeal to more customers amid dwindling transaction revenue. Less than a week after unveiling plans…

Robinhood aims to court users by offering attractive 1% interest rate on cash

Featured Article

Post-pandemic reset leads to wave of layoffs in tech

OK, maybe it is a reckoning. Over the past week, we’ve witnessed an alarming amount of layoffs across the startup ecosystem, from buzzy, big names like Cameo, On Deck and Robinhood, to B2B platforms like Workrise and Thrasio. The common thread between most of these layoffs, according to founders, is…

Post-pandemic reset leads to wave of layoffs in tech

Unusual Ventures, a now 30-person outfit founded nearly five years ago by former Lightspeed Ventures investor John Vrionis and serial entrepreneur Jyoti Bansal, has closed its third fund with $485…

Unusual Ventures just closed a $485M fund by promising hands-on (full-time) help

Trading platform Robinhood is launching a feature that will allow its users to lend out their stocks in hopes of earning passive, recurring income from borrowers, the company announced today.…

Robinhood to let users lend out their shares in its attempt to diversify revenue

As it turns out, not charging for what was once a paid service is a great way to accrete customers, but it’s also an at-times tricky way of making money.

Robinhood’s sinking value is proof that ‘free’ can often be very costly

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

Does it smell like teen spirit, or teen bankruptcy?

Featured Article

Consumer fintech trading revenues don’t measure up to SaaS ARR

Many things want to be considered SaaS. Few are.

Consumer fintech trading revenues don’t measure up to SaaS ARR

Robinhood’s layoff announcement comes days before the company is expected to report its Q1 2022 financial performance.

Robinhood to lay off 9% of full-time employees

Could it be that companies that fell out of favor due to COVID-induced shifts in the economy are best prepared to excel this year?

Pandemic-fueled companies are finding the new reality hard to swallow

Lightning Labs is building infrastructure that would enable users to send money across the world almost instantaneously and at a low cost through the Bitcoin network. The company just raised…

Lightning Labs raises funding to enable stablecoin transfers through Bitcoin network

As more banking, e-commerce and insurance startups work to improve the way business is done in emerging countries, it should come as no surprise that this winter’s Y Combinator batch…

A look at all 35 international fintech startups at YC’s winter 2022 Demo Day

Robinhood, the popular investing app for consumers, announced on Tuesday it would extend its stock trading hours in the morning and in the evening as it works toward its goal…

Robinhood’s stock pops 25% on news of extended trading hours

The exclusive club of family offices just got one comma shorter. For the paltry sum of $350,000, or just over five times the median U.S. household income, individuals can invest…

Equi is building a family office for non-billionaires

The MENA region has about 400 million people with $500 billion in annual savings. But as a relatively young population, most of them have minimal equity market and investment exposure.…

Egyptian investment app Thndr nabs $20M from Tiger Global, Prosus Ventures and others

To buy a share in Amazon, you’d have to fork out almost $3,000. It’s a luxury very few can afford and despite the prospects of the trillion-dollar company or returns…

Tiger Global and Greycroft back Nigerian investment app Bamboo in $15M round

As of this morning, Robinhood stock was worth around $10.85 per share, 71.5% off its IPO price, and 87.2% off its all-time highs. What happened?

Why Robinhood is getting hammered today

Justworks’ IPO delay indicates that the enthusiasm gap between private markets and their public analog is wide.

Unicorn exits augur poorly as Justworks delays IPO, citing ‘market conditions’

This morning, Public, an investment app for the U.S. market, announced the appointment of two new board members. The startup also provided some details regarding its growth in the COVID…

Public appoints first independent board members, details 2021 user growth

Following a COVID-driven boost, the popular AllTrails resource for hikers, bikers, climbers and anyone else who enjoys the outdoors, announced today it’s raised $150 million from the growth fund of…

AllTrails raises $150M after COVID accelerates people’s interest in exploring the outdoors
Startups

Wall Street still doesn’t get crypto

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

Wall Street still doesn’t get crypto

Public-market investors continued to underestimate how volatile the crypto market is, leaving them to over-index on gains, and over-despair on less impressive results.

Crypto volatility continues to flummox Wall Street