If, and only if, McDonald’s had an appetite for acquisitions

Welcome back to Equity, the podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. I’m back, I’m drinking an iced Americano maybe because I miss Alex, maybe because I just feel different today, and I’m ready to start our week together.

Here’s what I got into on today’s Equity Monday:

Big tech: Marqeta’s nine-figure acquisition of a two-year-old fintech, and which bucket of deals I think it falls into – complete with a comparison of this deal and a hypothetical McDonald’s acquisition. Plus, Stripe’s whole 12-month timeline thing and my edit for your incoming thought pieces. 
Big idea: My latest Startups Weekly column is all about the latecomer advantage. I talk about the idea, and its nuance, in the context of building startup rivals.
Big innovation: We end with a look at Atomos, which landed $16 million to tug vehicles through space, and a bright spot of an analysis, coming from the TC+ world, on Black Web3 founders. 

As always, thanks for listening. Let’s end our start to the year strong! You can support me by following me on Twitter and Instagram. The show also tweets from @equitypod, so follow us there!

Equity drops at 10:00 a.m. PT every Monday and at 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!

If, and only if, McDonald’s had an appetite for acquisitions by Natasha Mascarenhas originally published on TechCrunch