HBO Max is pulling 36 shows this week — Here's the list

G’day, crunch bunch! We’re both starting to get a little bit excited about TechCrunch Disrupt coming up in October. Would you believe that, even though we’ve been working together for a long time, this will be the first time that your trusty Daily Crunch co-writers will meet in person? There will be high fives, terrible puns and perhaps a shared beverage or two. Good times.

We’d love to see you there, too. Did you know that you can volunteer at TechCrunch Disrupt to attend for free? There’s a few opportunities left, so get your applications in pronto. — Christine and Haje

The TechCrunch Top 3

Startups and VC

New York–based Life Extension Ventures is a new $100 million fund that claims it will focus on “longevity for people and planet.” In practice, that will mean backing founders who are accelerating the science around longevity, Mike reports.

Every aspect of a startup is about storytelling. Hiring your first employees into a startup is storytelling: You are spinning a story that contrasts with their steady, reliable job at an established company, pitching it against taking a chance on your startup. Acquiring early customers falls in the same category. Marketing? Same. Advertising? Same. Raising investment? Oh boy: Same. Haje explores why your startup needs a solid lead storyteller in place.

S’mores:

Why do startup valuations go down when interest rates go up?

The U.S. Federal Reserve has hiked interest rates to tamp down inflation. This is just one of several factors that are driving down startup valuations these days. But why?

Higher inflation directly impacts access to capital, your customers’ ability to pay, and not incidentally, the service you’ll receive from providers (which includes your own employees).

“If your customers benefit from inflation, then there’s a good chance that your company will too,” says Equidam founder Daniel Faloppa.

“In most cases, though, when your customers benefit, your service providers suffer.”

(TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.)

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Big Tech Inc.

Yesterday was all about TikTok, and today it’s Google. First, one-person businesses in Europe now have the ability to subscribe to Google’s Workspace Individual plan, Paul writes. You know, the artist formerly known as G Suite. Next, Taylor outlines a plan by some Google workers who are asking the company to expand its worker health benefits, particularly by adding abortion and privacy protections following the repeal of Roe v. Wade. Then, Frederic sat down with James Ward, Google’s product manager for Kotlin, to discuss why the company is still all in on using Kotlin as its preferred language for writing Android apps. And finally, Google rolls out its new search updates so users can find higher-quality information, Aisha writes.

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