TC+ Roundup: Breaking up is hard to do

Good morning, everyone! It’s Friday!

Today I’m thinking about planning for the future. We plan for rain, we plan our meals for the week, and we even make long-term plans, like putting money into a 401(k). But sometimes things that should be planned for fall by the wayside.

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Like founder breakups: You don’t go into a relationship thinking it’s going to end, but that doesn’t mean co-founders shouldn’t have a plan for going their separate ways if they need to. Having a strategy early on can help alleviate any issues down the road.

It’s also a good idea to create a succession plan. When the time comes for you to step down, it’s essential that everyone is on the same page about what your successor should be like. That starts with defining what the role is now and what it should be in the future.

Thanks for reading, and see you Tuesday!

— Karyne

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Join 10k+ tech and VC leaders for growth and connections at Disrupt 2025

Netflix, Box, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital, Elad Gil — just some of the 250+ heavy hitters leading 200+ sessions designed to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech. Grab your ticket before Sept 26 to save up to $668.

@karynelevy

Founders: It’s never too early to start planning for your succession

For VCs and founders, building in public is about filling the top of the funnel

Getting LPs to invest in your fund is a numbers game: The more meetings you have, the more chances you get. Check out what three VCs had to say about using social media and how it opened the doors for tons of meetings. That advice applies to founders, too.

For VCs and founders, building in public is about filling the top of the funnel

AirLoom has a plan to halve the cost of wind power

Wind turbines are huge, and running them is expensive. AirLoom thinks it has a solution for both: Its wind farms use a smaller, more modular approach, with the goal of lowering the price of wind power to $13 per megawatt-hour. That could undercut traditional onshore wind by at least 50%. Sounds promising, right?

AirLoom has a plan to halve the cost of wind power

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10 years since the term ‘unicorn’ was coined, we’ve almost come full circle

Investor Aileen Lee coined the term “unicorn” 10 years ago in a column on TechCrunch. Little did we know what lay ahead: During 2020 and 2021, the pace at which unicorns were born shot up; there are 1,483 unicorns that are worth $5 trillion combined, according to Crunchbase. But the markets are different today.

10 years since the term ‘unicorn’ was coined, we’ve almost come full circle

SBF said nothing and everything in his testimony, all at the same time

We’ve been closely following the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, who is being accused of money laundering and defrauding customers during his time at the helm of FTX.

During his time on the stand, the former CEO said some version of “I don’t remember” more than 300 times and “yup” almost 400 times. It’s a good lesson in sidestepping questions if you’re ever on the stand for defrauding customers.

SBF said nothing and everything in his testimony, all at the same time