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The rise of retail investors in secondaries, and why delayed IPOs will become the norm
Retail investors are increasingly shaping the secondary market. In Q4 2024, platforms like EquityZenreportedthat 86% of total transaction volume came from retail participants—an eye-catching shift as tools like Forge and EquityZen promise broader access to private shares. But does more access mean more opportunity, or more risk? Today onEquity, Rebecca Bellan is joined byJared Carmelof Manhattan Venture Partners to dig into what he calls a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” in secondaries, why he’s not crazy about the increase of retail investors, and how secondaries provide a “pressure relief valve” that could keep startups private well past their startup years. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: How MVP has worked to “institutionalize” secondaries out of the Wild West of investing.Why “informational asymmetry” makes some secondary offerings a raw deal for retail investors.How a sluggish IPO market is catalyzing a robust secondaries market that creates a liquidity flywheel for VC.And Jared’s prediction that in a few years, the secondaries feedback loop will delay IPOs up to 20 years. How MVP has worked to “institutionalize” secondaries out of the Wild West of investing. Why “informational asymmetry” makes some secondary offerings a raw deal for retail investors. How a sluggish IPO market is catalyzing a robust secondaries market that creates a liquidity flywheel for VC. And Jared’s prediction that in a few years, the secondaries feedback loop will delay IPOs up to 20 years. Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us onApple Podcasts,Overcast,Spotifyand all the casts. You also can follow Equity onXandThreads, at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodeshere.
Cast your vote: Help shape the TechCrunch All Stage agenda
TechCrunch All Stageis just around the corner — and you get to help shape the agenda. From a competitive pool of applicants, two of the six visionary finalists are one step away from leading a roundtable session on July 15 at SoWa Power Station in Boston. Your vote determines who makes it. Audience Choice voting closes May 2 at 11:59 p.m. PT.Choose wisely — you only get one shot. While you’re at it,grab your ticket now to save up to $210and lock in your spot for the winning sessions — some of the most tactical, founder-focused conversations of the day. Don’t miss your chance to connect, learn, and scale smarter. Finalist sessions Building team intelligence: How product-led innovation transforms collaborative problem-solvingJeff Chow, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Miro AI can automate, but it can’t replace the magic of a well-connected team.Jeff Chow, Miro’s CPTO, shares how to design products that don’t just streamline tasks but also supercharge collaboration. From boardroom strategies to product blueprints, he’ll show how inclusive, human-first design turns communication chaos into high-performance teamwork. What venture investors are looking for in AI investment targets in enterprise startups in 2025Darrell Etherington, Head of Network and Sourcing, OMERS Ventures AI hype is everywhere — but enterprise buyers want more than just buzzwords.Darrell Etheringtonof OMERS Ventures offers a rare insider’s take on what actually gets enterprise-focused AI startups funded in 2025. Discover what today’s investors demand, and how your pitch can rise above the noise. How I created a $40 million business from my kitchenMike Kurtz, Founder, Mike’s Hot Honey From pizza slice to pantry staple,Mike Kurtztook a homemade recipe and turned it into a $40 million cult brand. In this spicy session, he’ll break down how he sparked a movement with zero marketing budget, proving that great taste and word-of-mouth hustle can go a long way. From fundraising to IPO: How to build a PR & marketing engine that drives growthNikki Parker, EVP, Marketing and Communications, Insight Partners Great products don’t sell themselves — especially when you’re chasing growth and an IPO.Nikki Parkerfrom Insight Partners reveals how to architect a high-impact PR and marketing machine that commands attention, earns trust, and drives exponential value. If you’re ready to scale, this session is your playbook. Thriving with anxiety: How startup founders can turn fear, pressure, and self-doubt into their greatest advantageDr. David H. Rosmarin, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School Startups are pressure cookers — and anxiety comes with the territory. But what if it could be your edge?Dr. David Rosmarin, a leading Harvard psychiatrist, shares how founders can reframe fear and stress into clarity, confidence, and decisive action. Come for the science, stay for the mindset shift. Mistakes startups make and hacks when raising money from VCsHyuk-Jeen Suh, General Partner, SkyRiver Ventures Pitching VCs? There’s a fine line between a compelling story and a costly misstep.Hyuk-Jeen Suhof SkyRiver Ventures pulls back the curtain on the mistakes that stall fundraising — and the smart, scrappy hacks that actually work. If you want to land your next round, don’t miss this one.
Troubled startup CaaStle is now facing two new lawsuits and more allegations
CaaStle, the embattled fashion startup whose board of directors accused its founder, Christine Hunsicker, of financial misconduct, is starting to face lawsuits from a partner and a supplier over missed payments and more allegations of fraud. Asfirst reported by Axiosand by suits seen by TechCrunch, CaaStle is being sued by P180, a vehicle it launched to invest in companies that used CaaStle technology, and by EXP Topco, an apparel company that says CaaStle never paid it after reaching a settlement for copyright infringement. A representative for CaaStle did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment. TheP180 suitalleges, “Nothing about CaaStle was true.” The lawsuit claims that CaaStle tried to hide details of its income and financial stability from P180. “It then fraudulently induced P180, among other things, to raise capital and take out multiple loans in the expectation that P180 would acquire viable assets, which P180 ultimately did,” the suit alleges, adding that CaaStle also tried to force the two to merge. The suit goes on to say that because P180 believed it was misled, its “investors took full control of the board,” the suit continues. “P180 has been harmed in excess of $58 million and seeks recovery of those proceeds, rescission of contract, and unwinding of corporate ties between itself and CaaStle.” Meanwhile, EXP Topco is also suing. Italleges that CaaStle breacheda settlement agreement by not paying fines after reaching the settlement over alleged copyright infringement. And Axios is alsoreporting on rumors of a possible class-action lawsuitagainst an investment firm that brought CaaStle retail investors, although it didn’t report the name of the investor. Axios first reported the news of CaaStle’s financial troubles a month ago. Hunsicker, the company’s founder, resigned from the board and stepped down from her role as CEO when the company said it was investigating allegations of financial misconduct. The company is exploring bankruptcy and secured $2.7 million in financing to help that process, Axios further reported. CaaStle raised over $530 million total, with its last round raised in 2019 at $43 million, PitchBook estimates. In April, the board confirmed to TechCrunch that its financial circumstances were so dire at that time that it had to furlough employees. Should that whole $530 million be gone, this would be one of the largest startup fraud cases in recent history. In comparison, Frank, the student loan application startup, was purchased by JPMorgan for $175 million. Frank’s founder, Charlie Javice,was found guilty of fraud last month. TechCrunch spoke to two former employees who said they were not surprised to hear that the company had financial troubles, though they didn’t witness any of the alleged fraud. One former employee, who asked to remain anonymous, doesn’t recall the company holding updates about its financial health or how well it was doing. “I think everyone laughed it off and was like, ‘Oh, we probably don’t make any money,” the employee told TechCrunch. When asked for a reaction to the fraud allegations, this person said, “I don’t think anyone expected it.”
Deel officially agrees to be served legal papers in Rippling’s lawsuit
HR tech giant Deel says it has formally accepted to be served legal documents in its ongoing court battle with rival Rippling in Ireland. This ends weeks of suspense afterRippling’s bailiffs couldn’t find Deel’s execsto serve them — only for Deel’s CEO and top lawyerto turn up in Dubai. Deel CEO Alex Bouaziz, along with Deel lawyers Asif Malik and Andrea David Mieli, all agreed to accept service through Deel’s Irish law firm today, Deel confirmed to TechCrunch. Deel Inc., which is Deel’s U.S. entity, was already served on April 16, an affidavit filed by Rippling this morning in Irish court shows. “Today in court in Dublin Hayes Solicitors agreed to accept service on behalf of all four parties,” a Deel spokesperson told TechCrunch. In the affidavit filed this morning, Rippling repeated that it hadn’t been able to serve Bouaziz, Malik, and Mieli, detailing its efforts to do so in France and Italy. For example, Rippling hired French bailiffs to serve Bouaziz at a listed address in Paris on April 10, but only stumbled upon a relative who told them Bouaziz was in Dubai. On April 15, TechCrunch reported Bouaziz was in Dubai, with Deel not responding to requests for comment at the time. However, 10 days later,Deel told TechCrunchthat Bouaziz “lives in Israel” and was only in Dubai for a few days to celebrate Passover. TechCrunch asked Deel if it can clarify where Bouaziz is currently located, but Deel declined, citing privacy reasons. Deel slammed the idea that its executives have been avoiding getting served, despite Rippling’s failed attempts to do so through various process servers. “It’s a misrepresentation that anyone was avoiding service and that narrative was clearly being used as a public smear tactic,” Deel’s spokesperson said. Deel told TechCrunch that Malik’s move to Dubai had been planned for over a year, well before Rippling’s lawsuit. Regarding Andrea David Mieli, whom Rippling said in their affidavit they had been unable to serve in Italy, Deel said he lives and works from home in Italy and was available. The lawsuit centers on Rippling’s claims that Deel bribed one of its employees in Ireland, Keith O’Brien, to spy on its internal affairs on behalf of Deel. And O’Brien himself testified that he had been spyingin a lengthy affidavit. After weeks of silence, Deel is very publicly fighting back, filing a countersuit in the U.S. last week, making various accusations against Rippling, including that it cultivated its own insider inside Deel. In response, Rippling CEO Parker Conradtook to Xto post, “Nowhere does Deel dispute our central allegation — that@Bouazizalexpersonally recruited a spy to steal rippling’s trade secrets, and personally directed the theft.” Rippling did not respond to a request for comment.
Vote for the session you want to see at TechCrunch All Stage on July 15
We’ve been blown away by the overwhelming response to speak atTechCrunch All Stageon July 15 at SoWa Power Station in Boston. After thorough consideration, we’ve selected six standout finalists. The power to choose who will take the stage and share their startup scaling expertise is now in your hands! This Audience Choice voting will be open until May 2 at 11:59 p.m. PT. You get one vote, one speaker — make it count! Meet the finalists Get to know the six exceptional Audience Choice finalists and their proposed sessions, and vote for the speaker you think should take the lead in their own roundtable session. Building team intelligence: How product-led innovation transforms collaborative problem-solvingJeff Chow, Chief Product and Technology Officer, MiroWhat venture investors are looking for in AI investment targets in enterprise startups in 2025Darrell Etherington, Head of Network and Sourcing, OMERS VenturesHow I created a $40 million business from my kitchenMike Kurtz, Founder, Mike’s Hot HoneyFrom fundraising to IPO: How to build a PR & marketing engine that drives growthNikki Parker, EVP, Marketing and Communications, Insight PartnersThriving with anxiety: How startup founders can turn fear, pressure, and self-doubt into their greatest advantageDr. David H. Rosmarin, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical SchoolMistakes startups make and hacks when raising money from VCsHyuk-Jeen Suh, General Partner, SkyRiver Ventures Building team intelligence: How product-led innovation transforms collaborative problem-solvingJeff Chow, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Miro What venture investors are looking for in AI investment targets in enterprise startups in 2025Darrell Etherington, Head of Network and Sourcing, OMERS Ventures How I created a $40 million business from my kitchenMike Kurtz, Founder, Mike’s Hot Honey From fundraising to IPO: How to build a PR & marketing engine that drives growthNikki Parker, EVP, Marketing and Communications, Insight Partners Thriving with anxiety: How startup founders can turn fear, pressure, and self-doubt into their greatest advantageDr. David H. Rosmarin, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School Mistakes startups make and hacks when raising money from VCsHyuk-Jeen Suh, General Partner, SkyRiver Ventures
StrictlyVC heads to London and Athens this May: Featuring prime minister of Greece and Europe’s leading tech and VC voices
It’s been a busy year for TechCrunch events — and it’s about to get even bigger. StrictlyVC, our boutique, highly exclusive event series for VCs and startups, is crossing the Atlantic this May with stops inLondonandAthens! We’re bringing StrictlyVC’s insider conversations to Europe. On May 8, we’ll dive into Athens’ booming tech momentum with a special appearance by the prime minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Then, on May 13, we’ll head to London to explore the investment and financial strategies shaping Europe’s tech ecosystem. If you’re thinking about expanding globally — or wondering how to start — these StrictlyVC events in Europe are ones you won’t want to miss. StrictlyVC Athens on May 8 Venue:Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center We’re thrilled to welcome theprime minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to the stageas he shares how Greece is positioning itself as a rising hub for innovation and investment. From policy reforms to global partnerships, hear firsthand what’s fueling Greece’s tech momentum — and what’s ahead for startups scaling within and beyond its borders. We’ll also sit down with other leading voices across the tech and startup ecosystem to dive deeper into Europe’s evolving innovation landscape. Get all the details and reserve your spot —visit the StrictlyVC Greece event page. Myrto PapathanouPartner, Metavallon VC Apostolos ApostolakisFounding Partner, Venture Friends Panos PapadopoulosPartner, Marathon Venture Capital Dimitrios KottasCo-founder and CEO, Delian Alliance Industries Konstantina PsomaFounder and CEO, Kaedim Haris PylarinosCo-founder and CEO, Hack the Box Simon SchaeferFounder / Co-initiator, Factory / EU Inc. petition Coen JonkerCo-founder of Tyme John TsiorisFounder and CEO, Revotech StrictlyVC London on May 13 Venue:MidCity Place From cybersecurity and AI to global banking innovation, hear how top leaders are scaling companies that define their categories.Nazo Moosaof Paladin Capital Group shares how she’s investing in a resilient digital future;Sonali De Ryckerof Accel reveals how to spot tomorrow’s global winners; andTS Anilof Monzo dives into how bold strategy fueled one of fintech’s biggest success stories. Lean in for a dynamic evening on VC’s and Europe’s startup scene —find out more about these sessions and save your spot on the StrictlyVC London event page. Nazo Moosa, Managing Director, Paladin Capital Group Sonali De Rycker, Partner, Accel TS Anil, Global CEO, Monzo Join us before seats run out Join us in Europe! It’s a once-in-a-blue-moon chance to access exclusive VC and startup conversations with some of Europe’s top tech and VC voices. Dive into Athens’ tech boom at StrictlyVC— May 8 Explore Europe’s investment future at StrictlyVC London— May 13
Amazon-backed Glacier gets $16M to expand its robot recycling fleet
The world has a trash problem. The amount of stuff we throw away is expected to nearly double, to3.8 billion metric tons, by 2050. Reducing what we use would go a long way to addressing the issue, but let’s face it, we’re not very good at buying less either. That leaves recycling, which has its own problems. People routinely try to recycle dirty yogurt cups or toss plastic in the aluminum bin. It all makes recycling more expensive because, ultimately, someone has to manually pick out the unwanted stuff. In response, several companies have been building automated systems to sort recyclables, includingGlacier, a 6-year-old company that has developedinexpensive robotic armscontrolled by computer vision to identify over 30 different types of materials. The startup has deployed its robots in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Phoenix, and now Seattle. As Glacier looks to expand its robot fleet to more municipalities, it recently raised a $16 million Series A, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. The round was led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund with participation from AlleyCorp, Alumni Ventures, Amazon Climate Pledge Fund, Cox Exponential, Elysium, New Enterprise Associates, One Small Planet, Overlap Holdings, Overture, VSC Ventures, and Working Capital Fund. Materials recovery facilities — or MRFs, as sorting facilities are called — are getting squeezed on both ends, Rebecca Hu-Thrams, Glacier’s co-founder and CEO, told TechCrunch. Governments want more waste to be recycled, but MRFs are having a hard time finding enough people to staff the sorting line. Industry-wide, turnover is extremely high. A typical MRF will have to hire five times per year for a single sorting position. The job is so undesirable that one MRF operator told Hu-Thrams that, even though his wages were higher, he was concerned about losing workers to a new warehouse set to open nearby. “Would you rather stand at a conveyor belt and sort through people’s trash, or would you rather be lifting boxes in an air-conditioned warehouse?” Hu-Thrams said. “That kind of underscores the dilemma that a lot of our customers are facing.” Glacier offers its robots to customers as outright purchases or on a lease-to-own model. It encourages MRFs to make repairs they feel comfortable with, supplying them with training and spare parts. For those that would rather not, the startup offers maintenance packages. Glacier is also offering a data product, in which MRFs and other stakeholders like consumer products companies and government agencies can pay for access to insights about the waste stream. For an MRF, that might mean identifying where on a line it’s losing valuable aluminum cans to the landfill. For a company or regulator, it might mean auditing the waste stream to determine whether packaging that’s designed to be recycled is actually getting recycled. With enough robots, recycling rates should improve, if only because robots are faster and better at distinguishing between recyclables and trash. “Every time we send people to audit our AI systems, the people just do so much worse,” said Areeb Malik, Glacier’s CTO and second co-founder. “AI is getting really powerful, being able to distinguish beyond what people can even notice.”
Lately’s new gamified app helps people arrive on time
A new app calledLatelylaunched on the App Store a few weeks ago, targeting people with ADHD to help them arrive on time and rewarding them for doing so. The service is designed to help users manage their travel plans by notifying them when it’s time to leave for a trip, sending reminders 30 minutes, 10 minutes, and 5 minutes before departure. It also features Live Activities on iPhone and Apple Watch that display a countdown to leave. To encourage timely departures, Lately employs a point reward system with four difficulty levels. The easiest level, “Goldfish,” awards users 3 points for being early, 2 points for being on time, and 0 for being late, while the other levels — “Coffee,” “Grown Up,” and “Yoda” — become progressively less forgiving. Yoda, for instance, deducts 2 points for being late. As users accumulate points, they level up and unlock various virtual characters within the app that serve as achievement badges. While the reward may appear simple, it may provide users with a sense of progress and accomplishment. Lately was created by indie developer Erik MacInnis to address challenges faced by individuals with ADHD, particularly related to time management. “I’ve always been the ‘late one’ in my friend group,” MacInnis told TechCrunch. “For many of us, our toughest challenges to leaving on time are time blindness and poor time estimation. Lately addresses both of these problems by keeping the user constantly aware of when to leave, and it’s gamified, so you get points when you arrive on time, which honestly feels good.” While other similar apps exist — such as an Android app calledTime to Leave— MacInnis believes they’re outdated. ADHD apps likeStructuredandTickTickare mainly for task management and don’t specifically address time blindness for commuting. During our testing, we found Lately to be helpful, but we wish it could provide time estimations for commuters in large cities who use public transportation or biking. Currently, the app only offers options for driving or walking. Despite this small limitation, we believe the app can be successful among its target demographic. Individuals with ADHD frequently feel unmotivated, and specialists often suggest utilizing a reward system to help with self-discipline. Another gamified app,Finch, has gained attention for its point system. The self-care app encourages users to complete daily chores at home or engage in other healthy habits by rewarding them with points that can be used to customize their virtual pet. MacInnis revealed future plans for Lately, which include a social feature that automatically notifies friends when users leave, when they are five minutes away, and when they arrive. An Android version is also part of the long-term roadmap. Lately is available for free, but there is also a premium subscription ($3 per month or $10 per year) that offers features like customizing difficulty levels and scheduling recurring trips.