Making more mammoths with Ben Lamm from Colossal

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

This week Darrell and Becca are joined by Ben Lamm, the founder and CEO of Colossal, a genetics startup that looks to bring extinct species back to life to help with environmental conservation efforts. Ben talked about how he got to this point in his career after starting numerous other companies in the AI, gaming and space sectors. He talked about why Colossal chose to start its de-extinction efforts with the mammoth and why de-extinction is about way more than just bringing the species back. Plus, he talks about why they structured the experimental startup like a software company.

Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each week.

Connect with us:

1. On Twitter
2. On Instagram
3. Via email: [email protected]

Making more mammoths with Ben Lamm from Colossal by Rebecca Szkutak originally published on TechCrunch

Talking trash with Matt Rogers from Mill

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

This week Darrell and Becca are joined by Matt Rogers, the founder and CEO of Mill, a startup that helps its customers turn their food scraps into farm feed. The former founder of Nest talked about what compelled him to jump back into entrepreneurship after years of investing, why he decided to focus on food waste and how they built the startup’s closed-loop system. Plus, Matt talks about how his days designing the original iPhone influenced his design choices now.

Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each week.

Connect with us:

1. On Twitter
2. On Instagram
3. Via email: [email protected]

Talking trash with Matt Rogers from Mill by Rebecca Szkutak originally published on TechCrunch

Turning waste water into water that works with Alex Rappaport from ZwitterCo

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

This week Darrell and Becca are joined by Alex Rappaport, the CEO and co-founder of ZwitterCo, a startup that develops technology that filters waste water. Alex talked about how his childhood on the Potomac River inspired his future career in clean water. He also talked about what it was like to build a commercial business off of existing lab research. Lastly, he talks about his fundraising journey and how amateur boxing injuries may have helped his pitch.

Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each week.

Connect with us:

1. On Twitter
2. On Instagram
3. Via email: [email protected]

Turning waste water into water that works with Alex Rappaport from ZwitterCo by Rebecca Szkutak originally published on TechCrunch

The impact investor and climate correspondent walk into a bar

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

This week Natasha Mascarenhas and Becca Szkutak took to their mics to sing a duet about this week’s startup news. Just kidding! But we did highlight some fun companies raising capital and talked through some VC themes that look likely to be relevant throughout 2023.

Here’s what we got into:

• For our deals of the week we talked about Artifact, the new startup from the previous co-founders of Instagram; Spill, a new Twitter alternative that raised pre-seed funding; and Disclo, a startup looking to make it easier for individuals to seek accommodations for their disabilities at work.
• Then we chatted about the recent flurry of new venture funds and what the timing of these announcements says about where the VC market is right now.
• Last, we talked climate tech and how the recent wave of startups in the sector is a promising sign.

Equity drops at 10:00 a.m. PT every Monday and 7:00 a.m. PT on Wednesdays and Fridays, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together and more!

The impact investor and climate correspondent walk into a bar by Rebecca Szkutak originally published on TechCrunch