Speakers
VP, Security Engineering Google
General Partner Battery Ventures
Founder Alcorn Immigration Law
Co-Founder & CEO OpenAI
Regional Head Africa Venture Capital International Finance Corporation
Hardware Engineer Buildink
Venture Partner, The Frontier Long Journey Ventures
CEO & Co-Founder Harness
President SC30 Inc.
SVP of Corporate Development & Head Verizon Ventures
Co-founder & Chief Health Officer Collective Health
Chair & CEO Salesforce
Founder SB Projects
Co-founder, Chairman and CTO OpenAI
Co-Founder & CEO Impossible Foods
Founder & CEO Girlgaze
VP & GM, Commercial Civil Space Lockheed Martin Space
Founder & CEO Drift
General Partner Andreessen Horowitz
Co-founder & CEO Mailchimp
Founder & CEO Block Party Studios
Founder & CEO Olho do Dono
Co-founder Foursquare
Founder SC30 Inc.
Chief Executive Officer StockX
Founder & Co-Chairman, Co-CIO, best-selling author of Principles Bridgewater Associates
Investment Manager Orange Ventures
Founder & Managing Partner a16z crypto
Co-founder & Managing Partner BBG Ventures
Co-founder & Co-CEO Brex
Founding Partner Female Founders Fund
CEO Zoox
Contributor
Partner Lux Capital
Co-Founder & CEO SnapTravel
Managing Partner Breakout Ventures
General Partner NFX
Co-Founder LOLA
Co-Founder & CTO Fitbit
Co-Founder & CEO Brooklinen
Founder & CEO MakeLoveNotPorn
CEO This is an Adventure Inc.
Founding Partner Acrew Capital
Co-founder & Managing Partner Construct Capital
Partner Mayfield Fund
Chief Product Officer Uber
Founder & CEO Lora DiCarlo
Partner Kleiner Perkins
Founder, BrewPR The New New Thing
Partner Bessemer Venture Partners
Co-founder, President & CEO Caribou Biosciences
Co-founder & CEO DocSend
Co-Founder and CTO Slack
Co-founder & Managing Partner Tribeca Venture Partners
Managing Partner Precursor Ventures
General Partner Canaan Partners
CTO Buildink
Co-Founder & Team Lead M-SCAN
President and CEO The Aerospace Corporation
Chief Product Officer Okta
Partner Redpoint
Co-founder Fractal
General Partner Forerunner Ventures
CEO & Managing Partner GV
Co-Founder and General Partner Sound Ventures
Co-founder & Impact Lead M-SCAN
Founder & Managing Partner Cowboy Ventures
Producer & Director Gemini Man
General Partner Battery Ventures
CEO & Founder Tiptop
Co-Founder & CEO Box
CTO and Co-Founder Zoox
Co-founder & CEO HitRecord
Senior Vice President & Global Head Qualcomm Ventures
Partner Sequoia Capital
Founder & CEO KiwiCo
Co-Founder & CEO Zola
VP of Marketing Bumble
CEO HTC
Assistant Director for Cybersecurity U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Co-Founder Code Advisors
Co-founder & CEO Sunshine
Founder & CEO WAYV
Managing Director Verizon Ventures
Executive Director Working Partnerships USA
Chief Product Officer Tinder
Partner Y Combinator
Co-founding Partner Floodgate
Chief Product Officer YouTube
Co-founder & General Partner Better Tomorrow Ventures
General Partner Trinity Ventures
Co-founder & CEO Forethought
Co-Founder & Managing General Partner MaC Venture Capital
Partner Upfront Ventures
Co-Founder & CEO Project Include
Co-founder, President & CEO Fitbit
Founder & Managing Partner Gradient Ventures
CEO and Founder Nothing
Co-Founder & President Kabbage
Co-founder & Creative Director Character
General Partner Spark Capital
Partner Lightspeed Venture Partners
Co-Founder and Managing Director Renegade Partners
Vice President & General Manager Procter & Gamble Ventures Studio
CEO ThredUp
Former Director National Security Agency
Co-Founder & President Clearco
CEO YC Continuity Y Combinator
Founder & Managing General Partner Mithril Capital Management
Partner & Startup Accelerator CEO Y Combinator
Chairman & Co-founder Resilience
CEO Blue Origin
Actor, Producer & Musician Gemini Man
CEO & Co-Founder Duo Security
CEO Swarm Technologies
Co-Founder and CEO Snap
CEO OneWeb
General Partner Andreessen Horowitz
CEO IOActive
Partner Atomico
CEO PagerDuty
Co-Founder and President Udacity
Founder & CEO Tusk Venture Partners
Founder & CEO Framebridge
Chief Executive Officer Bird
Group CEO Prosus & Naspers
Chairman & CEO Verizon Communications
Co-Founder & CEO WayUp
Co-Founder & CEO Team8
Secretary of Energy U.S. Department of Energy
Founder & CEO 100 Thieves
Founder Got Users
Partner Sequoia
Partner Sonder Capital
Heather Adkins is a cybersecurity expert with over 20 years of industry experience. As a founding member of the Google Security Team, Heather has built a global organization responsible for maintaining the safety and security of the company’s infrastructure. She developed Google’s first programs for security assurance, which have evolved to address an ever-changing threat landscape. She helps set Google-wide strategy for protecting its infrastructure and users, and has led the response to significant security incidents such as Operation Aurora. Heather has spent her career uplifting security for the world beyond her role at Google. In 2016 she volunteered to respond to threats facing the US Presidential election. In 2017 she joined the Harvard Belfer Center’s bi-partisan Defending Digital Democracy initiative, focusing on security playbooks and training for campaigns and election officials. She is currently a strategic advisor for the Silverado Policy Accelerator and is also a co-author of Building Secure and Reliable Systems (O’Reilly, 2020), which reflects her mantra that we need to have security-by-default, for everyone.
Heather's Sessions
How to Build a Secure Startup without Slowing Growth with Heather Adkins (Google), Dug Song (Duo), and Jennifer Sunshine Steffens (IOActive)
Leading security experts from Google, Duo, and IOActive discuss some of the challenges startups and enterprises face in security. How do companies navigate the litany of issues and threats without hampering growth?
Neeraj Agrawal is a general partner at Battery Ventures.
Neeraj's Sessions
How to Build a Billion Dollar SaaS Company with Neeraj Agrawal (Battery Ventures), Jyoti Bansal (Harness) and Whitney Bouck (HelloSign)
Growing your SaaS company to a billion dollars in revenue is no easy task. It takes patience, perseverance and a strong team. Often it doesn’t happen until well after a company has gone public. We will talk to three people who have experience working with SaaS startups and understand the unique challenges they face getting to a billion dollars and beyond.
Sophie Alcorn is the founder of Alcorn Immigration Law in Silicon Valley and 2019 Global Law Experts Awards’ “Law Firm of the Year in California for Entrepreneur Immigration Services.” She connects people with the businesses and opportunities that expand their lives.
Sophie's Sessions
How to Make Immigration Work for You with Sophie Alcorn (Alcorn Immigration Law)
Dealing with a tricky visa situation? Troubleshoot the many snags that can affect early-stage startups who are trying to bring talent into the country, with top Silicon Valley immigration expert Sophie Alcorn.
Sam Altman is the co-founder and CEO of OpenAI. Sam is also the Chairman of Y Combinator, a leading silicon valley startup accelerator.
Sam's Sessions
Beyond AI with Sam Altman (OpenAI) and Greg Brockman (OpenAI)
Fresh off a $1B cash commitment from Microsoft, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Greg Brockman are joining us to talk about the company’s plans to bring about the age of artificial general intelligence. We’ll talk about whether that’s a good idea or not.
Wale Ayeni leads the IFC’s Venture Capital practice focused on Africa, South of the Sahara – the International Finance Organization is part of the World Bank Group. The IFC’s Venture capital team invests in technology companies in frontier markets, and has deployed over ~$800MM in early/growth stage tech investments over the past decade. IFC’s early/growth stage tech portfolio in Africa includes Andela(Edtech); Africa’s talking(APIs), Fawry (Fintech), Interswitch(Fintech), Mobisol(Cleantech), TwigaFoods(mCommerce), Zoona(Fintech), etc. Wale has a global technology experience spanning several roles including Venture Capital, Investment Banking, Corporate Development, and Microprocessor & ASIC chip design. Prior to the IFC, Wale led venture capital early-stage investments in disruptive start-ups across various technology sectors for Orange in Silicon Valley with representative investments in the US including PayJoy(FinTech), Veniam(Mesh Networks), Chain (Blockchain, acquired), WEVR (Virtual Reality). Wale started his finance career with J.P. Morgan’s Technology Investment Banking group in San Francisco where he successfully executed over $12 Billion worth of closed transactions spanning mergers & acquisitions to IPOs for large-cap technology clients including Facebook, Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, Intel Corp., AMD, Shutterfly, etc. Wale started his career as an Engineer, and in his previous technology career Wale was a microprocessor design Engineer with Intel Corp. where he led critical aspects of Intel’s “CSI” chip architecture – the biggest micro-architecture change in Intel’s history. He also led aspects of the very first “Snapdragon” chipsets working at Qualcomm Inc.’s chip design center enabling the initial smartphone designs. Wale has an MBA from Tuck, Dartmouth College, and his Bachelor’s degree with distinguished “Red diploma” from Moscow University. He is a Kauffman Venture Capital Fellow and a recipient of the top global 100 Rising Stars award in Corporate Venture.
Wale's Sessions
Investing in Africa with Wale Ayeni (IFC), Marième Diop (Orange Digital Ventures), and Sheel Mohnot (500 Startups)
Mohamad Bakri
Hardware Engineer, BuildinkMasters in Computer and Communications Engineering with an experience of more than 5 years in hardware/electronics design and in developing/enhancing several 3D printing methods.
Mohamad's Sessions
Startup Battlefield Alumni Update
Battlefield startups from the past return to the stage to tell us what they’ve been up to since they competed for the Disrupt Cup. With Moalla Ilani and Mohamad Bakri (Buildlink), Phyllis Kyomuhendo and Menyo Innocent (M-SCAN), and Pedro Coutinho (Olho do Dono)
Cyan Banister is a partner at Founders Fund, where she invests across sectors and stages with a particular interest in augmented reality, fertility, heavily regulated industries and businesses that help people with basic skills find meaningful work.
Cyan's Sessions
How to Build a Sex Tech Startup with Cyan Banister (Founders Fund), Cindy Gallop (MakeLoveNotPorn), and Lora Haddock (Lora DiCarlo)
As the old adage goes, sex sells. A panel of investors and founders will discuss the opportunities — and challenges — of building a successful sex tech startup, and how to capitalize on a market that’s projected to be worth more than $123 billion by 2026.
Jyoti Bansal is a serial entrepreneur who believes passionately in software’s ability to change the world for the better. He co-founded Harness in 2017 to automate and simplify all software delivery processes, and serves as CEO. In 2018, he co-founded Traceable, the leading API security platform, and venture capital firm Unusual Ventures. In 2008, Jyoti founded application intelligence company AppDynamics, which he led to a $3.7B acquisition by Cisco in 2017. The recipient of multiple leadership awards, Jyoti has been named Forbes’ “Best Cloud Computing CEO to Work for,” San Francisco Business Times’ “Best CEO,” Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year™ for Northern California,” and more. Jyoti received his B.S. in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Prior to founding AppDynamics, he worked at several Silicon Valley startups as a software engineer and architect. Jyoti is the lead inventor on over 20 U.S. patents.
Jyoti's Sessions
How to Build a Billion Dollar SaaS Company with Neeraj Agrawal (Battery Ventures), Jyoti Bansal (Harness) and Whitney Bouck (HelloSign)
Growing your SaaS company to a billion dollars in revenue is no easy task. It takes patience, perseverance and a strong team. Often it doesn’t happen until well after a company has gone public. We will talk to three people who have experience working with SaaS startups and understand the unique challenges they face getting to a billion dollars and beyond.
Bryant Barr
President, SC30 Inc.Bryant Barr is the President of SC30 Inc., the company responsible for Stephen Curry’s complete off-court business portfolio. Spearheading all brand partnership, media, investment and philanthropic endeavors for the fast-growing entity, Barr also assumes the role of providing overall strategic counsel and identifying promising early stage companies. Prior to SC30 Inc. Bryant founded Slyce, an end-to-end workflow and analytics platform that empowered brands like Red Bull and Under Amour to seamlessly manage the branded content shared and created by the brand’s ambassadors, and previously worked at Nike across multiple finance, strategy and brand management roles. A Maine native currently in the Bay Area, Barr holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Economics from Davidson College.
Bryant's Sessions
Landing Stephen Curry’s SC30 Inc. as an Investor with Stephen Curry (SC30 Inc./Golden State Warriors), Bryant Barr (SC30 Inc.), and Hussein Fazal (SnapTravel)
Startup founders are hard-pressed to find the right investors — not only to fund their businesses, but to help their businesses grow. Listen as two-time MVP Stephen Curry and SC30 Inc President Bryant Barr introduce SC30 Inc. Investments, featuring SnapTravel CEO Hussein Fazal as he discusses how he determined SC30 Inc. would make a good strategic investor.
Christopher Bartlett is Verizon’s senior vice president of corporate development and head of Verizon Ventures. He is responsible for joint ventures, strategic investment activity, M&A and divestitures. Before Verizon, he was managing director at Morgan Stanley, where he led North America media and communications mergers and acquisitions. Bartlett also worked at Bear, Stearns & Co. in media and communications mergers and acquisitions. He holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Texas at Austin.
Christopher's Sessions
Collaborating with Corporates with Chris Bartlett (Verizon Ventures), Quinn Li (Qualcomm) and Leigh Radford (Procter & Gamble Ventures)
Dr. Rajaie Batniji is Collective Health’s Co-Founder and Chief Health Officer. Dr. Batniji oversees Collective Health’s partnerships with healthcare networks and providers, analytics teams, and Collective Health’s employee health management programs. Collective Health brings together Dr. Batniji’s academic and professional careers as both a physician and as a political economist, and his aspiration to create a better and more efficient health insurance experience.
Rajaie's Sessions
The Cutting Edge of Healthtech with Dr. Rajaie Batniji (Collective Health), Arvind Gupta (IndieBio) and Rachel Haurwitz (Caribou Biosciences)
Marc Benioff is Chair, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Salesforce and a pioneer of cloud computing.
Under Benioff’s leadership, Salesforce is the fastest-growing top-five enterprise software company and the #1 provider of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software globally.
Benioff was named “Innovator of the Decade” by Forbes and is recognized as one of the World’s 25 Greatest Leaders by Fortune and one of the 10 Best-Performing CEOs by Harvard Business Review. For his leadership on equality, Benioff has been honored by GLAAD, the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative and Variety Magazine with its EmPOWerment Award.
A member of the World Economic Forum (“WEF”) Board of Trustees, Benioff serves as the inaugural Chair of WEF’s Forum Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Francisco.
Benioff received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, where he is on its Board of Trustees.
Marc's Sessions
Business as the Greatest Platform for Change with Marc Benioff (Salesforce)
Startup founders often think it’s impossible to achieve financial success while building a socially responsible company, but Marc Benioff and his co-founders built this notion into Salesforce before the company even made a dime. Hear Salesforce Chairman & co-CEO Marc Benioff discuss his new book, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change, and what went into his company where values and giving back are on par with the product.
Scooter Braun is one of the entertainment industry’s biggest entrepreneurs and innovators and the founder of SB Projects, a diversified entertainment and media company with ventures at the intersection of music, film, television, technology, brands, culture, and social good. Braun has a roster of the top pop culture icons under his management, record label, and publishing companies that include Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Zac Brown Band, and Karlie Kloss. Braun has broken more new artists than any other music executive in the last decade and has expanded his reach by establishing a fund, which invests in some of the largest management, media, and rights companies in the industry. SB Projects houses a film and television production division and also continues to impact new verticals under its tech incubator, Silent Labs, which holds investments in Uber, Spotify, Songza, Casper, Waze, and Pinterest. Braun also leads Ithaca Holdings LLC., a fully integrated holding company with interests across multiple verticals. The company has built an elite portfolio of acquisitions and partnerships including the acquisition of Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine Label Group, Mythos Studios with Marvel Founding Chairman David Maisel, the acquisition of Atlas Publishing, and partnerships with management companies. Braun remains committed to SB Projects’ founding philosophy of giving back by serving on the boards of Pencils of Promise and Fuck Cancer, and he, his clients, and his companies have – together – granted more wishes for Make-A-Wish than any other organization in the history of the foundation.
Scooter's Sessions
Trophies, Twitch and T-Shirts with Scooter Braun and Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag (100 Thieves)
100 Thieves is one of the few esports orgs to look to Silicon Valley for investment – and it’s paying off. Hear from former pro gamer and 100 Thieves CEO and founder Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag and 100 Thieves co-owner Scooter Braun on how they built a brand worth more than $160 million that turns fans into ambassadors.
Greg Brockman is co-founder and CTO of OpenAI, a research and deployment company whose mission is to ensure general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity.
Greg's Sessions
Beyond AI with Sam Altman (OpenAI) and Greg Brockman (OpenAI)
Fresh off a $1B cash commitment from Microsoft, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Greg Brockman are joining us to talk about the company’s plans to bring about the age of artificial general intelligence. We’ll talk about whether that’s a good idea or not.
Patrick O. Brown is Chief Visionary Officer and founder of Impossible Foods, a company at the forefront of making nutritious, delicious meat and dairy products from plants to satisfy meat lovers and address the environmental impact of animal farming. The idea for Impossible Foods came to Pat while he was on sabbatical from his position as an HHMI investigator and professor of biochemistry at the Stanford University School of Medicine. In reflecting on how he could use his training and experience to make the largest positive impact on the world, he realized there was a way to make delicious, affordable meat and dairy products, directly from plants – that would be better for the environment and for consumers. In 2011, Pat chose to devote himself full time to Impossible Foods. After receiving his BA, MD and PhD (in Biochemistry) at the University of Chicago, Pat completed a residency in pediatrics at Chicago’s Children’s Memorial Hospital. As a fellow with Mike Bishop and Harold Varmus, he defined the mechanism by which HIV and other retroviruses incorporate their genes into the genomes of the cells they infect. At Stanford, Pat and colleagues developed DNA microarrays – a new technology that made it possible to monitor the activity of all the genes in a genome – along with the first methods for analyzing, visualizing and interpreting global gene expression programs. He pioneered the use of gene expression patterns to classify cancers and improve prediction of their clinical course. He has also been a leader in making scientific and medical research results freely available to scientists, physicians and the public. With Harold Varmus, then Director of the National Institutes of Health, and Berkeley professor Michael Eisen, he founded the Public Library of Science, a nonprofit scientific publisher that has transformed the publishing industry by making scientific and medical research results freely available to the public. Pat is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine and recipient of the American Cancer Society Medal of Honor.
Patrick's Sessions
Beefing Up with Patrick Brown (Impossible Foods)
Protein replacement for human consumption is going to be an $85 billion industry by 2030, according to UBS. Impossible Foods’ Patrick Brown will discuss how to build a business around removing animals from humanity’s food chain.
Amanda de Cadenet is an entrepreneur, journalist, author, photographer and activist who advocates for equal rights by ensuring that diverse female identifying creatives are equally employed. She has had a lifelong career in the media, starting at age 15 in the UK, where she became only one of two women who hosted their own TV show. For more than 25 years, Amanda has used her platform in the spotlight to advocate for female representation, an issue that she, herself, still continues to face and overcome. Amanda’s own experience with gender bias inspired her to executive produce and host The Conversation, a groundbreaking interview series featuring female thought-leaders and innovators, such as Hillary Clinton, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Zoe Saldana, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Silverman, Alicia Keys, and Lady Gaga. Amanda’s most recent endeavor is the creation of Girlgaze, a global online jobs platform and creative community that aims to close the gender gap one job at a time by providing paid jobs for a network of female-identifying and non-binary creatives. Considered “one of the most influential feminists of our time,” Amanda frequently collaborates with the likes of #MeToo and the Times Up organization around initiatives focused on ending sexual violence towards women. Amanda is the host of Spotify podcast The Conversation with Amanda de Cadenet, and author of It’s Messy: On Boys, Boobs and Bad Ass Women.
Amanda's Sessions
How to be a Positive Force in the Gig Economy with Amanda de Cadenet (Girlgaze) and Derecka Mehrens (Working Partnerships USA)
As gig workers continue to struggle with financial instability, inadequate labor protections and few alternatives, hear from leaders and companies that are now trying to figure out how to create an equitable, just, and sustainable economic system for gig workers.
Lisa B. Callahan is Vice President and General Manager of Commercial Civil Space at Lockheed Martin Space and has one of the coolest jobs in and out of this world! In this role, she leads the team building Orion, the spacecraft which will return humans to the Moon and eventually take them to Mars and beyond. Her team also develops and operates robotic spacecraft that are exploring and unlocking secrets of the solar system including asteroids, Mars, the Moon and our planet, Earth. If you check the weather, your forecast likely includes inputs from the GOES weather satellites which Lisa also oversees. These satellites work to protect life and property by predicting storms and tornadic activity and increasing public safety warnings. Her team is connecting people across the globe with satellite communication systems benefitting all humanity.
Lisa's Sessions
Returning Americans to the Moon with Lisa Callahan (Lockheed Martin)
Lockheed Martin has had roots in Silicon Valley going back decades. Today the aerospace giant has its hands in AI, autonomy, space exploration, and more. Vice President of Commercial Civil Space Lisa Callahan is laser-focused on one of the company’s biggest immediate challenges: Bringing the first American woman and the next American man to the surface of the Moon in Lockheed’s Orion crew capsule.
David Cancel, a five-time entrepreneur and author of the book “Conversational Marketing,” is CEO and founder of Drift.
David's Sessions
How to be a Serial Founder with David Cancel (Drift)
So your first company worked out well. Let’s say you have the burning desire to do another one — what’s the right way to do it the next time around? Hear from frequent founder David Cancel (formerly Performable/Hubspot, Lookery, Ghostery, Compete) on what he’s done.
Andrew Chen is a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, focusing on consumer technology. Previously, he led the the Rider Growth teams at Uber. For the past decade, he’s written about mobile, metrics, and growth at http://andrewchen.co. He is an advisor/investor for tech startups including AngelList, Barkbox, Boba Guys, Dropbox, Front, Gusto, Kiva, Product Hunt, Tinder, Workato and others. Previously, he was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Mohr Davidow Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based firm with $2B under management. He holds a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Washington.
Andrew's Sessions
What's Growing on the Consumer Internet with Andrew Chen (Andreesen Horowitz)
You may know Andrew Chen as a widely read startup growth strategist, but today he’s investing in his expertise. As a partner at top venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, he is focused on consumer internet companies, seeking out the new growth in this maturing tech sector. Come hear the latest on what he’s seeing in the industry both from the growth and investing perspective.
Ben Chestnut is co-founder and CEO of Mailchimp, the leading marketing platform for small businesses. Headquartered in Ben’s hometown of Atlanta since 2001, Mailchimp is privately held and profitable, with over 1,000 employees and millions of global users. In 2017, Mailchimp was named Company of the Year by Inc. Magazine and recognized as one of the world’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company. Ben is a dedicated leader whose mantra for employees is “listen hard, change fast.” He has a bachelor’s degree in industrial design from Georgia Tech and was named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year in 2016.
Ben's Sessions
How to Decide Between Bootstrapping and Raising Venture Capital with Ben Chestnut (Mailchimp) and Kathryn Petralia (Kabbage)
In this panel, we host two founders who have each grown their respective startups to stratospheric levels, but with very different funding approaches. Kathryn Petralia, co-founder and president of SMB FinTech Kabbage, has raised prodigious venture capital, including $500 million in equity from the likes of the SoftBank Vision Fund. Meanwhile, Ben Chestnut, co-founder and CEO of Mailchimp, has built a massive and well-known marketing platform entirely by bootstrapping. Why did they choose their different financing strategies? Come hear from two leading founders about how they thought through their fundraises and the lessons we can all learn from their experiences.
Tracy Chou is an entrepreneur, software engineer, and diversity advocate. She spent five years at Pinterest as an engineer and tech lead and was an early engineer at Quora prior to that. She is a co-founder of Project Include, a non-profit working with tech startups on diversity and inclusion, and #MovingForward, a movement working with VC firms to establish and publish anti-harassment policies; and an investment scout and advisor for several Bay Area VC firms. In her latest venture she is CEO of Block Party, with a mission to solve online harassment and abuse.
Tracy's Sessions
Ethical tech with Tracy Chou (Block Party) and Ellen Pao (Project Include)
Running an ethical tech company is underrated. From fostering a diverse and inclusive company, to examining your technology’s impact on society it all comes down to ethics. Hear from Project Include’s Ellen Pao and Block Party’s Tracy Chou about how they grapple with ethics, and how focusing on diversity can positively impact a company’s bottom line.
Empowering a Diverse Workforce with Tracy Chou (Block Party) and Melanie Tantingco (Sisense)
Masters in Computer Science. Founder and CEO of the startup Olho do Dono, winner of the 1st TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Latin America (2018), and winner as the best Agtech in Brazil in a specialized cattle event (Intercorte 2018). Former president and former chairman of Líderes do Amanhã Institute, an institute for the development of young entrepreneurs leadership, where he could learn from Ceo´s and Chairman´s from great Brazillian companies.
Pedro Henrique's Sessions
Startup Battlefield Alumni Update
Battlefield startups from the past return to the stage to tell us what they’ve been up to since they competed for the Disrupt Cup. With Moalla Ilani and Mohamad Bakri (Buildlink), Phyllis Kyomuhendo and Menyo Innocent (M-SCAN), and Pedro Coutinho (Olho do Dono)
Dennis is the co-founder and executive chairman of Foursquare. Dennis has been a pioneer in imagining ways to help people discover the world around them using data and social encouragement. Today, he oversees Foursquare Labs, the R&D arm of the company that’s focused on leveraging location technology in new and innovative ways. He previously founded Dodgeball, one of the first mobile social services, which was acquired by Google in 2005. He holds degrees from New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. He is also a winner of the “Fast Money” bonus round on the TV game show Family Feud and the Founder and Chairman of Kingston Stockade FC, a semi-professional soccer team in the Hudson Valley.
Dennis's Sessions
Foursquare: Special Announcement
How to Locate the Value with Dennis Crowley (Foursquare)
Foursquare has pulled off a monumental pivot over the last decade, going from a silly location-based social network to an integral enterprise business with the chops to take on Google and Facebook. Hear founder Dennis Crowley discuss the journey the company has taken over the past ten years and what the next ten years looks like for New York’s tech sweetheart.
Stephen Curry’s on and off court legacy is marked by transformation and innovation. With a following of over 13M on twitter and 26M on Instagram, Curry is one of the most influential stars both on and off the basketball court. His nine-year career in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors is marked by many firsts; he was the first person to be named Most Valuable Player by unanimous vote in NBA History and one of a select few to win MVP awards two years in a row. He holds six NBA all-star selections and three NBA Championships. Off the court, he is also an emerging figure in the tech space with direct investments in companies like Pinterest and eSports organization TSM. This past July, Stephen and Ayesha Curry launched the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, whose mission is to unlock the potential of every child by ending childhood hunger, ensuring universal access to education, and enabling active lifestyles. The family foundation is dedicated to providing underprivileged children the fundamental resources they need to thrive in life, with an emphasis on the Bay Area and Oakland communities. He is also the founder of the Film & Television company Unanimous Media specializing in Faith, Family and Sports content in tandem with Sony Studios, and is the Executive Producer for ABC’s no. 1 primetime show, Holey Moley.
Stephen's Sessions
Landing Stephen Curry’s SC30 Inc. as an Investor with Stephen Curry (SC30 Inc./Golden State Warriors), Bryant Barr (SC30 Inc.), and Hussein Fazal (SnapTravel)
Startup founders are hard-pressed to find the right investors — not only to fund their businesses, but to help their businesses grow. Listen as two-time MVP Stephen Curry and SC30 Inc President Bryant Barr introduce SC30 Inc. Investments, featuring SnapTravel CEO Hussein Fazal as he discusses how he determined SC30 Inc. would make a good strategic investor.
Scott Cutler is the CEO of StockX, an online marketplace that enables the buying and selling of high-demand consumer products, including sneakers, streetwear, watches, and handbags. Prior to joining StockX, Cutler served as senior vice president of the Americas at eBay, Inc., from 2017- 2019. From 2015-2017, Scott served as president of StubHub. There, he led the reinvention of the global StubHub brand, expanding the company’s international presence from four to more than 48 countries and launching strategic partnerships across sports and music. Before joining StubHub, Cutler spent nine years as the executive vice president at the New York Stock Exchange, overseeing listings, capital markets, trading, services, and corporate governance. During his tenure there, he helped transform the NYSE into the number one global exchange, leading in tech IPOs, and helping take some of the world’s most iconic brands public. He was responsible for more than $1 trillion in capital market financings. Cutler holds a Bachelor of Science in economics from Brigham Young University and a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Hastings College of Law. He currently serves on the boards of Brookfield Property Partners and Brookfield Property REIT (NASDAQ: BPY and BPR), Vibrant Emotional Health, and is a trustee on the National Advisory Committee for his alma mater BYU. Cutler is also a longtime sneaker collector with a penchant for Jordan 1s.
Scott's Sessions
How to Hire at Breakneck Speed with Scott Cutler (StockX), Harjeet Taggar (TripleByte) and Liz Wessel (WayUp)
Nothing is better than striking product-market fit and suddenly finding a path to rapid, venture-scale growth. But as that growth accelerates, how do you create the conditions to rapidly find, attract, and hire the talent you need to reach unicorn status? Hear from some of the leading recruiters and services on how they have successfully scaled recruiting and avoided key pitfalls.
Ray Dalio is the Founder, Chairman and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Bridgewater Associates. He started Bridgewater out of his two-bedroom apartment in New York in 1975 and under his leadership, the firm has grown it into the fifth most important private company in the U.S. according to Fortune Magazine. For his and Bridgewater’s industry-changing innovations as well as his work advising policymakers around the world, Ray has been called the “Steve Jobs of Investing” by aiCIO Magazine and Wired Magazine, and named one of the 100 Most Influential People by TIME Magazine He is also the author of The New York Times #1 Bestseller Principles, which outlines his work and life principles, the foundation of Bridgewater’s distinctive culture and the cornerstone of his and Bridgewater’s success. Ray and Bridgewater also recently published Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises, the first public dissemination of their research on these economic events, which enabled them to anticipate the 2008 Financial Crisis. Ray is currently working on his third book, which will outline his investment principles.
Ray's Sessions
How to Evaluate Talent and Make Decisions with Ray Dalio (Bridgewater)
Ray Dalio knows a thing or two about building successful startups. As founder of the firm, Bridgewater, he helped build it into one of the most successful investment companies ever, managing a whopping $150 billion in assets. Author of the bestseller Principles, Dalio will discuss the book and companion mobile app on how building a strong culture can lead to a flourishing startup.
Book Signing: Principles with Ray Dalio
Ray Dalio, the Founder and CEO of Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund in the world will be signing copies of his #1 New York Times Bestseller, Principles. Pick up a copy and learn more on how building a strong culture can lead to a flourishing startup.
Marième Diop currently serves as an Investment Manager at Orange Digital Ventures Africa – Orange Group’s 50m€ VC fund dedicated to African startups. Through this role, she’s actively involved in launching and scaling investment vehicles and direct investments targeted at technology startups across Africa. In 2018, Marieme also founded an angel network for francophone Africa startups called the Dakar Network Angels (DNA). Marieme is passionate about supporting founder teams of early stage technology companies in building Africa’s next business champions. Her focus over 9 years has been technology and innovation and she has occupied different roles of responsibility with a team leadership role and an international exposure. Marieme is a Fellow of the President’s Obama flagship program ‘Young African Leaders Initiative‘, World Economic Forum Global Shaper, and member of the GSMA Programme Leadership Group “PLG”. Marieme graduated from one of France’s top engineering schools, Telecom ParisTech, with an intensive master’s degree in data analysis and computing.
Marieme's Sessions
Investing in Africa with Wale Ayeni (IFC), Marième Diop (Orange Digital Ventures), and Sheel Mohnot (500 Startups)
Chris's Sessions
'The Fourth Big Wave': Talking Crypto with Chris Dixon (Andreessen Horowitz)
If you care about understanding crypto and the ways it may well impact you sooner than you might imagine, you won’t want to miss this fireside chat with Andreessen Horowitz general partner Chris Dixon.
Nisha Dua is a Managing Partner at BBG Ventures, which she co-founded in 2014. BBGV is an NYC-based, early-stage fund leading investments in companies built by female and diverse founders that are solving the needs of consumers, workers and employers. BBGV invests in big categories that require new thinking such as Health & Wellbeing; The Future of Work & Ed; FinTech; Climate; and solutions for Overlooked Consumers. At BBGV Nisha has invested in over 100 female-led start-ups including Spring Health, Real, Fiveable, KiwiCo, Blueland and The Mom Project. Nisha has spent over a decade working in media, tech, strategy and law. She was the General Manager of AOL’s millennial site, Cambio, which she grew 4X in less than a year. She founded BUILT BY GIRLS, a software platform which has connected over 20,000 girls or non-binary talent with professionals in technology. Nisha was previously Chief of Staff for the AOL Brand Group, working on strategy, operations and special projects. She cut her teeth as a management consultant for Bain & Company and an M&A lawyer at Australian law firm Blake Dawson.
Nisha's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Session 4
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
Henrique Dubugras is the founder Brex, the billion-dollar corporate credit provider for startups.
Henrique's Sessions
Brex: Special Announcement
Serving Startups with Henrique Dubugras (Brex) and Michele Romanow (Clearbanc)
CEOs of two of the most fast-growing startups, Brex co-founder Henrique Dubugras and Clearbanc founder Michele Romanow, come together to unpack new solutions for startups looking to raise capital and scale — quick.
Getting into Fintech with Henrique Dubugras (Brex), Michele Romanow (Clearbanc) and Angela Strange (Andreessen Horowitz)
Anu Duggal is the founding partner of Female Founders Fund, the pre-eminent early-stage fund investing in female-founded technology companies. Since its founding in 2014, Female Founders Fund has raised two funds (Fund I: $6 million and Fund II: $25 million) and invested in over 40 of the fastest growing female-led technology companies nationwide. These include category leaders like Zola, Tala, ELOQUII, Primary Kids, Bento Box, Kin Euphorics, Billie, Co–Star, Peanut, Thrive Global, WinkyLux, Rent The Runway and more. Anu has been honored in Fortune’s “40 Under 40” list in 2018 and Crain’s “Notable Women in Tech” list in 2019, as well as praised for her efforts in starting a movement to diversify venture capital with additional distinctions, such as Business Insider’s “Ultimate List of Female Startup Investors” and “Top 4 Venture Firms Investing in Women.” Anu and Female Founders Fund have been featured in leading media outlets including “TODAY”, TIME, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC Squawk Alley and Inc., and she is a regular co-host on Yahoo!’s digital finance show, Midday Movers. Anu is a board observer for Maven Clinic, Landit, Billie, RadSwan and Co–Star, and a board member for WinkyLux. She holds an MBA from London Business School and a BA from Vassar College. Prior to starting Female Founders Fund, Anu co-founded Exclusively.in, a private-sale e-commerce company backed by Accel Partners and Tiger Global, which was acquired by Indian fashion e-commerce company Myntra in 2011.
Anu's Sessions
Pitch Teardown with Anu Duggal (Female Founders Fund), Russ Heddleston (DocSend) and Charles Hudson (Precursor Ventures)
Talk through the nuts and bolts of what makes a great deck (or not) with top early-stage investors Anu Duggal and Charles Hudson, plus insights from Docsend’s Russ Heddleston, as they go through submitted pitches live on stage.
Startup Battlefield: Session 4
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
Aicha Evans, Chief Executive Officer at Zoox, is reimagining mobility in dense urban environments and redefining the customer experience through the creation of the first purpose-built, fully autonomous, electric vehicle. Prior to joining Zoox, Aicha served as Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Intel Corporation, driving the company’s strategy to transform from a PC-centric to a data-centric company. She is a member of the Supervisory Board of SAP and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from The George Washington University.
Aicha's Sessions
The Future of Cities with Aicha Evans (Zoox) and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm
Aicha Evans, the CEO of self-driving vehicle startup Zoox, and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm will talk about how innovative technologies support smart city infrastructure and provide new and sustainable ways for people to live and work in these urban areas.
Caterina Fake is an investor at Yes VC. Previously she was cofounder of Flickr, Chairman of Etsy, and one of Time Magazine’s Most Influential People in the World.
Shahin Farshchi is a partner at Lux Capital.
Shahin's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Session 2
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
Hussein is a repeat tech entrepreneur.Previously co-founded AdParlor – a Facebook ad optimization company.Bootstrapped to $100MM+ revenue and sold in 2011.Currently co-founder & CEO at SnapTravel.We use AI to help customers find and book the perfect hotel room over a conversational interface (SMS, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Alexa…) We are 3 years old, $20MM+ raised, 100+ employees, and have driven over $100MM+ in sales exclusively over messaging.
Hussein's Sessions
Landing Stephen Curry’s SC30 Inc. as an Investor with Stephen Curry (SC30 Inc./Golden State Warriors), Bryant Barr (SC30 Inc.), and Hussein Fazal (SnapTravel)
Startup founders are hard-pressed to find the right investors — not only to fund their businesses, but to help their businesses grow. Listen as two-time MVP Stephen Curry and SC30 Inc President Bryant Barr introduce SC30 Inc. Investments, featuring SnapTravel CEO Hussein Fazal as he discusses how he determined SC30 Inc. would make a good strategic investor.
Lindy Fishburne is a Managing Partner of Breakout Ventures and the Founder of Breakout Labs, at the Thiel Foundation. For the last 10 years she has been investing at the intersection of technology and biology.
Lindy's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Session 2
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
Pete Flint is a Managing Partner of NFX, an early stage Bay Area based Venture Capital fund, focused on Network Effects. Prior to NFX, Pete founded Trulia, a leading online real estate company. He was its CEO and Chairman from inception to acquisition by Zillow for $3.5B. Prior to Trulia, Pete was part of the founding team at lastminute.com, a leading European online travel company that was acquired for over $1Bn. He is a founding Board member of New Story Charity, a technology platform focused on building sustainable communities globally, and also a founding board member of GBx, the leading British technology community in Silicon Valley. He received a Master’s and First Class Degree from the University of Oxford, and MBA from Stanford GSB.
Pete's Sessions
Winning Investors with Pete Flint (NFX), Brian Hirsch (Tribeca Venture Partners) and Patricia Nakache (Trinity Ventures)
Startup Battlefield: Session 2
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
Alexandra Friedman is the co-founder of LOLA, the first lifelong brand for a woman’s body. LOLA aims to address every reproductive life stage with a commitment to product transparency and a community built on candid dialogue about all of the things we don’t openly talk about. Before founding LOLA with her co-founder Jordana in 2015, Alex led analytics at Flurry Analytics (acquired by Yahoo in August 2014) and was a consultant at Boston Consulting Group in New York. She has an MBA from Wharton Business School and received her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College. Over the years, she has been actively involved in the Young Women’s Leadership Network, an education non-profit.
Alexandra's Sessions
How to Build a Subscription Product with Alexandra Friedman (LOLA), Eurie Kim (Forerunner Ventures) and Sandra Oh Lin (KiwiCo)
The direct-to-consumer landscape has exploded in the past year but the keys to making a subscription product indispensable are still up in the air as few have discovered a path to success. This chat with LOLA’s Alexandra Friedman, Forerunner partner Eurie Kim and KiwiCo’s Sandra Oh Lin will address the constant struggles of getting a subscription service off the ground and retaining customers.
Eric is our Co-Founder and has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2007, and most recently as our CTO. Previously, Eric served as an Engineer Manager at CNET Networks, as a Co-Founder of Wind-Up Labs, a founding engineer of Epesi Technologies, and a technical member of the Real-Time Collaboration Group at Microsoft Corporation. Eric holds a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science from Yale University. He was selected to serve as a member of our board of directors due to the perspective and experience he brings as our Co-Founder and CTO.
Eric's Sessions
How to Take a Hardware Company Public with Eric Friedman (Fitbit) and James Park (Fitbit)
Ten years after launching their product at TechCrunch 50, Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman join us to discuss the company’s ups and downs.
Rich is a first-generation American, an avid skier, a huge Arsenal fan, and he just so happens to make the best sheets ever. After graduating from New York University (NYU) in 2003, Rich spent four years working through the ranks in the finance industry until the pesky Recession redirected his path. Rich decided to go back to the drawing board, returning to NYU to hone his entrepreneurial chops within the Stern School of Business — on a full-ride scholarship, no less.
Rich's Sessions
How to Take a Digital Brand Offline with Rich Fulop (Brooklinen), James Reinhart (thredUP), and Susan Tynan (Framebridge)
E-commerce has fundamentally changed the way we browse and buy physical goods. But even though online sales have taken a huge bite out of brick-and-mortar, it doesn’t mean that digital brands aren’t interested in the prospect of offline channels. Hear from three founders who have taken their own unique approach to launching a store.
Cindy Gallop is the Founder and CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn and IfWeRanTheWorld. She is a former Board Advisor at Danoo and The Talent Business. Ms. Gallop received a master of arts in English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford.
Cindy's Sessions
How to Make Your Media Strategy with Cindy Gallop (MakeLoveNotPorn) and Brooke Hammerling (Brew Media Relations)
How to Build a Sex Tech Startup with Cyan Banister (Founders Fund), Cindy Gallop (MakeLoveNotPorn), and Lora Haddock (Lora DiCarlo)
As the old adage goes, sex sells. A panel of investors and founders will discuss the opportunities — and challenges — of building a successful sex tech startup, and how to capitalize on a market that’s projected to be worth more than $123 billion by 2026.
Simone Giertz is a Swedish inventor, YouTuber and robotics enthusiast. She is world-renowned for her useless machines and has risen to the very top of the field, mainly because the field is very tiny and not of interest of the general populous.
Simone's Sessions
Making Sh** with Simone Giertz (This is an Adventure Inc.)
Simone Giertz has amassed a major YouTube following courtesy of her “sh*** robots” and other highly entertaining projects. She’ll join us to discuss her work and show off her crowdfunded Every Day Calendar project.
Theresia Gouw is a founding Partner of aCrew Capital, an early stage venture capital firm that recently spun out from Aspect Ventures. In 2014, Theresia co-founded Aspect Ventures where she served as a Partner and led early investments in Cato Networks, Deserve, Exabeam, The Muse, Crew, ShieldX and PredictHQ. Prior to Aspect, Theresia was a Managing General Partner at Accel. Theresia been fortunate to work with many successful companies through IPOs or acquisitions including: Forescout (FSCT), Imperva (IMPV), Trulia (TRLA), Hotel Tonight (Airbnb), Astro (Slack; WORK), LearnVest (Northwestern Mutual), Jasper Design (CDNS) and Kosmix (WMT). As an entrepreneur, Theresia was founding VP of Business Development and Sales at Release Software, a venture-backed company that provided SaaS to enable digital rights management and payment technologies for the software industry. Earlier, she worked at Bain & Company and as a product manager at Silicon Graphics. Theresia graduated magna cum laude from Brown University and received her MBA from Stanford University. Theresia is a first generation immigrant and a passionate supporter of educational causes and increasing diversity in the tech industry. Theresia was named to Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women list, has been recognized 8 times on the Forbes Midas List, including 2019, was named one of the 40 most influential minds in tech by Time Magazine, as well as being named to the Carnegie Corporation’s annual Distinguished Immigrants list.
Theresia's Sessions
Venture Capital in 2019 with Theresia Gouw (Aspect Ventures) and Ann Miura-Ko (Floodgate)
Floodgate co-founding partner Ann Miura-Ko and Aspect Ventures co-founder Theresia Gouw have risen to the ranks of top VCs, thanks in part to two of 2019’s most defining IPOs, in Lyft and TheRealReal. At Disrupt, they’ll unpack the trends in venture capital that have dominated headlines this year, and dive deeper into what’s coming.
Dayna Grayson is Co-founder and General Partner of Construct Capital, an early stage venture firm that invests in extraordinary founders building technology to transform the most foundational industries of our economy from manufacturing to mobility. Dayna was one of the first venture capitalists to turn her attention to transforming these sectors of our economy through software based models. She backed companies creating new advances in manufacturing, automation, and vertically integrated consumer brands. During her time as a partner at NEA (2012-2020), she was the lead investor from the earliest stages and was on the board of companies including Desktop Metal (2015 – today), Tulip (2017 – 2020), Onshape (acqd by PTC) (2013-2019), and Framebridge (acqd by Graham Holdings) (2014-2020) among others. She also led investments in Guideline, Formlabs, Evenly and Neuralmagic. At Construct, along with her co-founder Rachel Holt, Dayna is exclusively focused on early stage investments and investing behind the accelerating changes in foundational industries that together make up half our economy’s GDP are failing to meet customer expectations. Some of their investments include Copia, Veho, Hadrian, The Rounds, and Verve Motion. Dayna started her career in product development and led design efforts at Blackbaud [BLKB], the leading global provider of software to nonprofit organizations, as the company grew to over $130 million in revenue and completed a successful public offering and was an investor at North Bridge Venture Partners from 2007-2012. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia (Systems Engineering) and Harvard Business School, where she serves as a venture partner today
Dayna's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Session 3
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
Arvind Gupta co-leads Mayfield’s engineering biology practice and is founder and venture adviser at IndieBio. He is the co-author of “Decoding the World,” published by Hachette.
Arvind's Sessions
The Cutting Edge of Healthtech with Dr. Rajaie Batniji (Collective Health), Arvind Gupta (IndieBio) and Rachel Haurwitz (Caribou Biosciences)
Manik Gupta is the Chief Product Officer at Uber. Prior to taking on this role, Manik ran Uber’s Marketplace and Maps product teams, where he was responsible for creating best-in-class mapping solutions and marketplace technologies. Throughout his career, Manik has focused on the problems around “helping move X from point A to point B.” Prior to Uber, Manik worked on Google Maps for over 7 years. He led the creation and curation of all the maps and business data to make Google Maps the most accurate, comprehensive, and useful map of the world. Manik grew up in India and spent many years in Singapore, where he founded an e-commerce startup, BuyItTogether.com, right out of college. The company was successfully acquired by a Norwegian company, CoShopper.com, and Manik subsequently managed Hewlett Packard’s e-commerce initiatives in Asia-Pacific and Japan. He studied computer engineering at Nanyang Technological University and received an MBA from Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, India.
Manik's Sessions
Remaking Mobility with Manik Gupta (Uber), Jesse Levinson (Zoox) and Sebastian Thrun (Kitty Hawk)
How to Iterate Your Product with Manik Gupta (Uber), Diya Jolly (Okta), Ravi Mehta (Tinder) and Robby Stein (Instagram)
Launching an MVP and finding early product-market fit are just the first steps in the journey to build a great startup. Learn from leading product thinkers from Instagram, Okta, Tinder and Uber on how they expand, grow, and refine their products to increase their value without alienating existing users.
Lora Haddock has over a decade of experience in healthcare, and after an honorable discharge from the US Navy she enrolled in a pre-med program. As a self-described “anatomy geek”, Lora became fascinated with the psychological, physiological, and anatomical aspects of the female orgasm. She left med school to design functional product specifications determined to produce the perfect orgasm, drawing on years of research and anatomical data she had gathered from hundreds of women. She founded Lora DiCarlo in 2017 and began her journey towards launching new physiologically appropriate vagina-focused health and wellness products.
Lora's Sessions
How to Build a Sex Tech Startup with Cyan Banister (Founders Fund), Cindy Gallop (MakeLoveNotPorn), and Lora Haddock (Lora DiCarlo)
As the old adage goes, sex sells. A panel of investors and founders will discuss the opportunities — and challenges — of building a successful sex tech startup, and how to capitalize on a market that’s projected to be worth more than $123 billion by 2026.
Getting a Hardware Company off the Ground with Lora Haddock (Lora DiCarlo) and Eric Migicovsky (Y Combinator)
Mamoon's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Final
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.Judges: Mamoon Hamid (Kleiner Perkins), Ashton Kutcher (Sound Ventures), Alfred Lin (Sequoia), Marissa Mayer (Lumi Labs), Ann Miura-Ko (Floodgate Ventures)
Brooke Hammerling
Founder, BrewPR, The New New ThingBrooke is the founder of The New New Thing, a strategic communications advisory working with a select group of founder-driven companies. She’s also the founder of Brew Media Relations, which was acquired by Freuds in 2016. With over 20 years of experience in technology PR, strategy and communications, Brooke has worked with some of the most known brands in tech and media . Her focus on authenticity and relationships is at the core of her business. Some of the companies Brooke has worked with over the years include Live Nation, Framebridge, Refinery29, Sonos, Splice, GroupMe, Eko and Oracle.
Brooke's Sessions
How to Make Your Media Strategy with Cindy Gallop (MakeLoveNotPorn) and Brooke Hammerling (Brew Media Relations)
How to Build a Brand that Gets Attention with Brooke Hammerling (Media Relations), Chelsea Maclin (Bumble), and Ben Pham (Character)
Brooke Hammerling is the founder of one of the most iconic tech startup PR firms of the past decade, Brew PR, which was sold for $15 million in 2016. Chelsea Maclin is VP of Marketing at Bumble, one of the most recognizable brands in the app world today. And Ben Pham is the founder of Character, a brand design firm that’s worked with the likes of Oculus, Nike, DoorDash and Peets Coffee. The three will discuss how to think about brand design and what gets and keeps the attention of users.
Tess Hatch hopes to travel to space. In the meantime, she is a venture investor at Bessemer Venture Partners who invests in frontier tech.
Tess's Sessions
How to Build a Space Economy with Tess Hatch (Bessemer Venture Partners), Sara Spangelo (Swarm), and Adrian Steckel (OneWeb)
From thousand-satellite constellations to space tourism, orbit is a fresh and inspiring source of new startup ideas and evolutions of established ones. Swarm’s Sara Spangelo and OneWeb’s Adrian Steckel are taking on global connectivity and Bessemer Ventures’ Tess Hatch provides the perspective of investors looking to make bets like these happen.
Blasting into Space with Tess Hatch (Bessemer Venture Partners) and Adrian Steckel (OneWeb)
Rachel is a co-founder of Caribou Biosciences and has been President and CEO since its inception. She has a research background in CRISPR-Cas biology, and is also a co-founder of Intellia Therapeutics. Rachel is an inventor on several patents and patent applications covering multiple CRISPR-derived technologies, and she has co-authored scientific papers in high impact journals characterizing CRISPR-Cas systems. In 2014, she was named by Forbes Magazine to the “30 Under 30” list in Science and Healthcare, and in 2016, Fortune Magazine named her to the “40 Under 40” list of the most influential young people in business. Rachel earned an A.B. in Biological Sciences from Harvard College, and received a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Rachel E.'s Sessions
The Cutting Edge of Healthtech with Dr. Rajaie Batniji (Collective Health), Arvind Gupta (IndieBio) and Rachel Haurwitz (Caribou Biosciences)
The Ethics of Snipping DNA with CRISPR with Rachel Haurwitz (Caribou Biosciences)
Rachel Haurwitz is the founder of Caribou Biosciences, a startup on the cutting edge of gene editing technologies — including animal and human DNA. She will chat with us about the ethical and scientific questions surrounding CRISPRing human embryos and what that could mean for the future of humanity.
Russ Heddleston is co-founder and former CEO of DocSend at Dropbox.
Russ's Sessions
How to Raise My First Dollars with Russ Heddleston (DocSend), Charles Hudson (Precursor Ventures) and Annie Kadavy (Redpoint Ventures)
Venture funding may have boomed over the last decade, but the decisions around your initial funding are as tricky as ever. Hear how to take advantage of the current landscape from top Silicon Valley early-stage thinkers including pre-seed investor Charles Hudson of Precursor Ventures, early-stage investor Annie Kadavy of Redpoint Ventures, and Russ Heddleston, CEO of Docsend.
Pitch Teardown with Anu Duggal (Female Founders Fund), Russ Heddleston (DocSend) and Charles Hudson (Precursor Ventures)
Talk through the nuts and bolts of what makes a great deck (or not) with top early-stage investors Anu Duggal and Charles Hudson, plus insights from Docsend’s Russ Heddleston, as they go through submitted pitches live on stage.
Cal Henderson is the co-founder and CTO of Slack. He is an experienced technology leader, having previously built and led the engineering team at Flickr, through its acquisition by Yahoo. As a popular speaker on engineering scalability, he authored the best-selling O’Reilly Media book “Building Scalable Websites”. He was a pioneer in the use of web APIs, and created the basis for oAuth and oEmbed, now used by YouTube, Twitter, and many others. Cal has a Bachelor of Computer Science from the University of Central England, and was involved in London’s early online community through his work with the early digital community B3ta and his personal blog iamcal.com, which he has ran for over 15 years. Cal now resides in San Francisco.
Cal's Sessions
Building Sticky Products with Cal Henderson (Slack) and Megan Quinn (Spark Capital)
Slack co-founder Cal Henderson and Spark Capital general partner Megan Quinn will discuss what it takes to create a billion-dollar business and, in Slack’s case, list on the New York Stock Exchange in one of 2019’s most highly-anticipated exits.
Brian is a co-founder and Managing Partner of Tribeca Venture Partners. Prior to starting Tribeca Venture Partners in 2011, Brian was the founder and Managing Director of the venture arm of Greenhill & Co (NYSE: GHL), a Principal at Sterling Partners and a Vice President at ABN AMRO’s U.S. venture fund. In total, Brian has spent more than 20 years in the venture business. He has invested across a broad number of sectors during his career including fintech, enterprise and SMB SaaS, marketplaces, healthcare, martech and real estate tech. Brian currently is responsible for the following TVP investments: ACV Auctions, AiCure, AlphaSense, CommonBond, Cuebiq, Honeybook, Lendio, Mighty, Ozobot, ShopKeep, Suzy, Thinkful, Truveris, Visibly and Zibby. Brian serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Venture Capital Association (NYVCA). Brian holds a BA in economics and American studies from Brandeis University.
Brian's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Session 1
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
Winning Investors with Pete Flint (NFX), Brian Hirsch (Tribeca Venture Partners) and Patricia Nakache (Trinity Ventures)
Charles Hudson is the Managing Partner and Founder of Precursor Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm focused on investing in the first institutional round of investment for the most promising software and hardware companies. He invests in people over product at the earliest stage of their entrepreneurial journey. Under his leadership, Precursor has raised four funds and has $250+ million under management. He has invested in 400+ companies and has supported 450+ founders, including the teams behind Bobbie Baby, Carrot, Incredible Health, Juniper Square, Modern Health, Pair Eyewear, Rad AI, and The Athletic (sold to the NY Times for $525 million in 2022). Prior to founding Precursor, Charles was a Partner at Uncork Capital where he focused on identifying investment opportunities in mobile infrastructure, applications, and marketplaces and supported their portfolio companies on business and corporate development matters. He was also the Co-founder and CEO of Bionic Panda Games, an Android-focused mobile games startup. Charles is an active member of the VC community. He was the 2023-2024 Chair of the NVCA Board of Directors, a board member at Venture Forward, on the investment committee for Screendoor, and is on the Path Ahead Ventures Advisory Board. He is also an advisor and mentor to a number of emerging managers. Charles holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.A. in Economics and Spanish from Stanford. He maintains close connections with his alma mater and was awarded the 2021-22 Governors’ Award in honor of his volunteer service to the university as a board member and volunteer. Charles is also a co-instructor for the Entrepreneurship from Diverse Perspectives course in the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Charles's Sessions
How to Raise My First Dollars with Russ Heddleston (DocSend), Charles Hudson (Precursor Ventures) and Annie Kadavy (Redpoint Ventures)
Venture funding may have boomed over the last decade, but the decisions around your initial funding are as tricky as ever. Hear how to take advantage of the current landscape from top Silicon Valley early-stage thinkers including pre-seed investor Charles Hudson of Precursor Ventures, early-stage investor Annie Kadavy of Redpoint Ventures, and Russ Heddleston, CEO of Docsend.
Pitch Teardown with Anu Duggal (Female Founders Fund), Russ Heddleston (DocSend) and Charles Hudson (Precursor Ventures)
Talk through the nuts and bolts of what makes a great deck (or not) with top early-stage investors Anu Duggal and Charles Hudson, plus insights from Docsend’s Russ Heddleston, as they go through submitted pitches live on stage.
Equity Podcast: Live with Charles Hudson (Precursor Ventures)
Join Kate Clark and Alex Wilhelm, hosts of TechCrunch’s wildly popular venture capital-focused podcast, as they unpack the numbers behind the week’s headlines with Charles Hudson of Precursor Ventures live from Disrupt.
General Partner at Canaan Partners. Board Member of Deckers Brands, Lily AI & Forte.
Maha's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Session 1
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
My technology profession has evolved from being a technical consultant & blogger since the age of 14, where I applied my skills in several projects and worked for international corporates. The experience gave me exposure to many industries not limited to software & hardware development, project management, product design, business & market strategy development, UI/UX. Academically I hold a Masters in Computer and Telecom Engineering, I am a self-starter, an excellent team worker, trouble maker, forever learner.
Moalla's Sessions
Startup Battlefield Alumni Update
Battlefield startups from the past return to the stage to tell us what they’ve been up to since they competed for the Disrupt Cup. With Moalla Ilani and Mohamad Bakri (Buildlink), Phyllis Kyomuhendo and Menyo Innocent (M-SCAN), and Pedro Coutinho (Olho do Dono)
Menyo's Sessions
Startup Battlefield Alumni Update
Battlefield startups from the past return to the stage to tell us what they’ve been up to since they competed for the Disrupt Cup. With Moalla Ilani and Mohamad Bakri (Buildlink), Phyllis Kyomuhendo and Menyo Innocent (M-SCAN), and Pedro Coutinho (Olho do Dono)
Steve Isakowitz is a recognized leader across the government, commercial, space and technology sectors, who has worked tirelessly throughout his career on behalf of the public good in space. He currently serves as the President and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation, a leading architect for the nation’s space programs, where he heads up efforts to outpace threats to the country’s national security while nurturing the innovative technologies needed to further a new era of space commercialization and exploration. With his guidance, Aerospace’s national workforce of more than 4,600 employees provides objective technical expertise and thought leadership to solve the hardest problems in space and assure mission success for space systems and space vehicles. He is also a driving force behind Space Workforce 2030, a collaborative effort launched in 2022 bringing together nearly 30 companies to advance diversity and representation across the space industry. Over the course of his more than 30-year career, Isakowitz has made impactful contributions across a number of prominent roles, including at Virgin Galactic, NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Steve's Sessions
Could the U.S. Government Be Your Next Investor with Steve Isakowitz (The Aerospace Corporation) and Raj Shah (Arceo.ai)
No founder likes dilution, which is why the US government is becoming an increasingly popular source for early-stage, ambitious venture capital. Hear from VC leaders and founders who have navigated the process to discover your next source of non-dilutive capital.
Diya Jolly is Chief Product Officer at Okta. As CPO, Diya leads product innovation for both workforce and customer identity. She plays an instrumental role in furthering Okta’s product leadership, enabling any organization to use any technology. Diya joined Okta from Google, where she was Vice President of Product Management, driving large-scale adoption for some of the company’s most critical products including Google Home, Nest, YouTube monetization and Gmail monetization. She served in those roles from 2011 until 2019. Previously, Diya was Vice President of Product at FreeWheel and held various product roles at Microsoft and Motorola. Diya received her MBA from Harvard Business School and attended the University of Michigan as an undergraduate.
Diya's Sessions
How to Iterate Your Product with Manik Gupta (Uber), Diya Jolly (Okta), Ravi Mehta (Tinder) and Robby Stein (Instagram)
Launching an MVP and finding early product-market fit are just the first steps in the journey to build a great startup. Learn from leading product thinkers from Instagram, Okta, Tinder and Uber on how they expand, grow, and refine their products to increase their value without alienating existing users.
Annie is a Managing Director at Redpoint where she focuses on early stage investments, primarily in the consumer space. Some of Annie’s previous Seed/Series A investments include ClassPass, DoorDash, and Patreon as well as more recent investments in Atrium, Modern Fertility and Tonal. Prior to joining Redpoint in 2018, Annie worked at Charles River Ventures, Bain & Company, and, most recently, Uber Freight where she helped to build a team of several hundred people and scaled the business from zero to $200M+ run rate. She has been named on both the Forbes 30 Under 30 and Midas Brink lists. Annie holds a B.A. and M.A. from Stanford University in Biology and Organizational Business, respectively, and an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and daughter.
Annie's Sessions
How to Raise My First Dollars with Russ Heddleston (DocSend), Charles Hudson (Precursor Ventures) and Annie Kadavy (Redpoint Ventures)
Venture funding may have boomed over the last decade, but the decisions around your initial funding are as tricky as ever. Hear how to take advantage of the current landscape from top Silicon Valley early-stage thinkers including pre-seed investor Charles Hudson of Precursor Ventures, early-stage investor Annie Kadavy of Redpoint Ventures, and Russ Heddleston, CEO of Docsend.
Startup Battlefield: Session 4
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
JJustin Kan is an American web3 entrepreneur and investor. He is a cofounder of Fractal, a marketplace for gamers to discover, buy and sell durable game assets and NFTs. He’s also a General Partner at Goat Capital, a seed fund that backs entrepreneurs with over $100M in assets under management.
Previously, Justin was a cofounder of Twitch, the internet live video streaming platform. In 2006, Justin launched the live video service Justin.tv, a company that started when he strapped a camera to his head and streamed his life to the internet 24/7. Over the next 8 years, through twists and turns, he and his cofounders turned the business into Twitch, ultimately selling to Amazon in 2014 for $970 million. Over the years, he has founded half a dozen companies which have raised over $500 million in venture capital and invested in some of the fastest growing startups around, including Reddit, Cruise Automation, Bird, Rippling, SendBird, Scale AI and many more.
Justin's Sessions
How Do I Exit and What Happens Next with Justin Kan (Atrium), Jess Lee (Sequoia Capital) and Mike Marquez (CodeAdvisors)
Most good startup outcomes are acquisitions, and most good acquisitions happen because a buyer needs your company for a specific reason. Hear from Justin Kan (sold Twitch) and Jess Lee (sold Polyvore) plus top Silicon Valley banker Mike Marquez of Code Advisors about how to make them happen the right way.
Over the past 15+ years, Eurie has evaluated, invested in, and advised a breadth of companies in their quest to define business models, identify target markets, understand consumer behavior, and overcome operational and competitive challenges to drive growth. Since joining Forerunner in May 2012 before the close of the firm’s inaugural institutional fund, Eurie has led and supported investments in 40+ early-stage companies and supported the firm’s efforts to raise $1.2B+ from leading institutional investors. Eurie currently serves on the Board of Directors of several Forerunner portfolio companies including Curology, Oura, ShopShops, and The Farmer’s Dog, among others. Eurie is also a founding member of female investor/founder mentorship and advancement focused nonprofit All Raise, which aims to increase the number of female general partners and female founders in the tech industry over the next ten years. Prior to Forerunner, Eurie was a management consultant at Bain and Company, where she advised large retail and e-commerce clients on strategy, identifying acquisition opportunities, and harnessing consumer insights to drive growth. Before that, Eurie was an investor at Castanea Partners where she invested in growth-stage consumer and retail businesses. Eurie earned an MBA with honors at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and holds a B.S. with honors in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley.
Eurie's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Session 1
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
How to Build a Subscription Product with Alexandra Friedman (LOLA), Eurie Kim (Forerunner Ventures) and Sandra Oh Lin (KiwiCo)
The direct-to-consumer landscape has exploded in the past year but the keys to making a subscription product indispensable are still up in the air as few have discovered a path to success. This chat with LOLA’s Alexandra Friedman, Forerunner partner Eurie Kim and KiwiCo’s Sandra Oh Lin will address the constant struggles of getting a subscription service off the ground and retaining customers.
As GV’s CEO and Managing Partner, David Krane has built his life and work around the art of investing — not only in capital, but in deep and long-standing relationships. After early career stops at Qualcomm and Apple, David joined Google in 2000 (as employee number 84) and is recognized as a key architect of the early culture and brand. Within a few fast-paced years, he had risen to lead Google’s global communications and public affairs group and was part of the senior leadership team that guided the company’s growth into a multibillion-dollar global enterprise. David balances his time between directing GV’s global activities and leading investments. His investments include early checks into Uber, StockX, Nothing, Nest, The Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Blue Bottle Coffee. David is a Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) member and a long-time advisor to the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He received his Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Indiana University-Bloomington and has held board roles at MGM Studios (recently sold to Amazon) and the Dean’s advisory board for the IU School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. David is widely recognized for his philanthropic and business leadership and was named The Center for Conscientious Leadership’s 2024 “Leader of the Year.” He also received the Ellis Island Honor Society’s 2024 Ellis Island Medal of Honor award, recognizing acclaimed Americans of immigrant descent for distinguished character and contributions to business and society.
David's Sessions
Inside GV with David Krane (GV)
Gain insight into the inner workings of GV, the firm’s bold bets (Lime, Impossible Foods), recent wins (Uber, Slack) and how Krane views SoftBank in an exclusive interview with David Krane, Google’s former director of global communications and public affairs and current CEO and managing partner of GV.
Ashton is an entrepreneur, technology investor, actor, and philanthropist. Ashton has been investing in tech for nearly two decades and has co-founded two VC firms, A-Grade Investments in 2010 and Sound Ventures in 2015 alongside Guy Oseary. Ashton’s overarching investment philosophy is to invest in “enduring happiness,” a strategy that has proven to be highly successful. With more than $1 billion under management and 300 portfolio companies, Ashton and his partners have been at the helm of six top quartile venture funds. A-Grade and Sound Ventures’ investments include Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM), Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB), Airtable, Anthropic, Brex, Duolingo (NASDAQ: DUOL), Gitlab (NASDAQ: GTLB), Hugging Face, OpenAI, SentinelOne (NYSE: S), and Uber (NYSE: UBER). He is an active and sought-after technology investor with proven expertise in product and user experience. Ashton was named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World and was on the cover of Forbes’ Midas List issue for Tech’s Top Investors. He was also included in Vanity Fair’s “New Establishment List,” which identifies the top 50 of an innovative new breed of buccaneering visionaries, engineering prodigies and entrepreneurs. Ashton studied biochemical engineering at the University of Iowa.
Ashton's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Final
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.Judges: Mamoon Hamid (Kleiner Perkins), Ashton Kutcher (Sound Ventures), Alfred Lin (Sequoia), Marissa Mayer (Lumi Labs), Ann Miura-Ko (Floodgate Ventures)
Phyllis Kyomuhendo is a passionate Ugandan social entrepreneur and innovator with two years of experience in the social-innovations sector. Phyllis is a master´s degree in Public Health candidate and a medical radiographer by profession. She is also a director and co-founder at M-SCAN Uganda. Through M-SCAN Uganda, she and her team develop low-cost mobile ultrasound devices to combat maternal and neonatal mortality in low resource settings. Phyllis is a 2019 Mandela Washington Fellow. She also mentors young girls under the STEM Queens program in Uganda.
Phyllis's Sessions
Startup Battlefield Alumni Update
Battlefield startups from the past return to the stage to tell us what they’ve been up to since they competed for the Disrupt Cup. With Moalla Ilani and Mohamad Bakri (Buildlink), Phyllis Kyomuhendo and Menyo Innocent (M-SCAN), and Pedro Coutinho (Olho do Dono)
Aileen is the founder of Cowboy Ventures, a leading seed-stage focused venture firm investing in enterprise and consumer software including companies like Dollar Shave Club, Drata Security, Guild and Ironclad Software. Prior to Cowboy, Aileen was a partner at Kleiner Perkins for over a decade, founding CEO of digital media company RMG Networks and worked at Gap Inc in operating roles. Aileen is also known for coining the business term “unicorn” and is a co-founder of All-Raise, a non-profit to accelerate success for women in the tech ecosystem. She has been included on the Forbes Midas List, Fortune’s Most Powerful Women, Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people. She has degrees from MIT and HBS, is a mom of 3 and wife to a startup founder. Aileen is also known for coining the business term “unicorn” and co-founding All-Raise, a non-profit to accelerate success for women in the tech ecosystem. She has been included on the Forbes Midas List, Fortune’s Most Powerful Women, Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people. Prior to Cowboy, Aileen was a partner at Kleiner Perkins for over a decade, founding CEO of digital media company RMG Networks and worked at Gap Inc in operating roles. She has degrees from MIT and HBS, and is mom of 3 and wife to a startup founder.
Aileen's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Session 3
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
Ang Lee
Producer & Director, Gemini ManAng Lee (Director/Producer) is a three-time Academy Award winner and one of the world’s most revered and honored directors. His film LIFE OF PI, which he directed and produced, was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, winning prizes for Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and Best Original Score. In addition, the film received nine BAFTA nominations, three Golden Globe nominations and was named one of AFI’s Top Ten Movies of 2012. The film grossed more than 600 million dollars worldwide. Lee’s critically-acclaimed and groundbreaking film BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning three including Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score. Lee also won the Directors Guild of America, BAFTA, Independent Spirit, and Golden Globe Awards for Best Director, among other industry accolades. His film CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won four trophies including Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score and Best Art Direction/Set Decoration. Lee also won the Directors Guild of America, BAFTA, and Golden Globe Awards for Best Director, among other honors. The film is the highest grossing foreign language film in US history. Lee’s other acclaimed titles include the Oscar-winning SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, THE WEDDING BANQUET, EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN, PUSHING HANDS, LUST, CAUTION, TAKING WOODSTOCK, HULK, RIDE WITH THE DEVIL, THE ICE STORM, and most recently BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK. Lee’s next directorial project GEMINI MAN will be released in October 2019 by Paramount Pictures. The film stars Will Smith as an elite assassin targeted and pursued by a mysterious young operative who seemingly can predict his every move.
Ang's Sessions
The Future of Action Cinema with Ang Lee and Will Smith
“Gemini Man” from Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee has not one, but two characters played by Will Smith — assassin Henry Brogen, and a younger clone of Brogen who’s been sent to kill him. Lee and Smith will discuss the process of making the film, how they used CGI to create a younger version of the movie star and how they think the theatrical experience is changing. In addition, we’ll ask Smith for the latest on his VC firm Dreamers Fund
Roger Lee is a general partner at Battery Ventures, based in Menlo Park, CA, who focuses on investments in software and consumer tech, including online marketplaces.
Roger's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Session 2
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
Bastian Lehmann Founder & CEO of Tiptop Bastian is the co-founder and CEO of Tiptop, a company building a better way to pay using the power of trade in. Bastian previously co-founded on-demand delivery company Postmates in 2011. After he turned it into a household name, Uber purchased the company for $2.65B in 2020.
Bastian's Sessions
Postmates' Path Forward with Bastian Lehmann (Postmates)
Postmates co-founder and CEO Bastian Lehmann talks about the on-demand delivery company’s uncertain future, the challenges of eventually navigating the public markets, and how robotics will change the landscape of the on-demand world.
Aaron Levie is Chief Executive Officer, Cofounder at Box, which he launched in 2005 with CFO and cofounder Dylan Smith. He is the visionary behind the Box product and platform strategy, incorporating the best of secure content collaboration with an intuitive user experience suited to the way people work today. Aaron leads the company in its mission to transform the way people and businesses work so they can achieve their greatest ambitions. He has served on the Board of Directors since April 2005. Aaron attended the University of Southern California from 2003 to 2005 before leaving to found Box.
Aaron's Sessions
Getting to IPO with Aaron Levie (Box) and Jennifer Tejada (PagerDuty)
PagerDuty CEO Jennifer Tejada led the company to a successful IPO earlier this year. She’ll join Box CEO Aaron Levie to talk about how these two companies charted their path to an IPO, the pros and cons of doing so, and life after ringing the bell on Wall Street.
Jesse Levinson co-founded Zoox in 2014 and is the company’s Chief Technical Officer (CTO). He graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University and completed his Computer Science Ph.D. and Postdoc under Sebastian Thrun at Stanford University, where he developed algorithms for the $1M-winning entry in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge and went on to lead the self-driving car team for five years. Levinson also co-created Pro HDR, the first HDR photography app for smartphones, which sold more than a million copies.
Jesse's Sessions
Remaking Mobility with Manik Gupta (Uber), Jesse Levinson (Zoox) and Sebastian Thrun (Kitty Hawk)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s acting career spans the last three decades, and ranges from television (3rd Rock From The Sun) to arthouse (Mysterious Skin, Brick) to multiplex (Inception, 500 Days Of Summer, Snowden). He made his feature screenwriting and directorial debut with Don Jon (Independent Spirit Award nomination, Best First Screenplay). He also serves as the CEO of HITRECORD, a “community-sourced”, online creative platform for collaborative art and media projects of all kinds. HITRECORD’s online community of over 750,000 artists emphasizes creative collaboration over self-promotion, producing content for partners ranging from LG to Ubisoft to the ACLU, and winning an Emmy for its variety show HITRECORD ON TV.
Joseph's Sessions
Creating the Means of Production with Joseph Gordon-Levitt (HitRecord)
For far too long, creators have been users of platforms rather than running those platforms. With HitRecord, Joseph Gordon-Levitt changed that. JGL has been head down and hands-on with HitRecord, and we’ll hear from him about how to put the power back in creators’ hands.
Quinn oversees Qualcomm’s $1B global venture investment portfolio of 150+ companies across seven regions. Quinn and his team invest in key areas such as 5G, AI, Automotive, IoT and Networking to help expand Qualcomm’s ecosystem and customers. He currently serves as a board member or observer in AMEC, Airspan, Cohesity, Innovium, OneWeb, RetailNext and Verve. Quinn has led over a dozen investments with successful exits in A123 Systems, Eero, InvenSense, Powercloud Systems and Zoom. Prior to joining Qualcomm Ventures, Quinn held various roles in the wireless industry. He worked in product management and business development at IBM Systems and Technology Group, and spent several years in Broadcom and the wireless infrastructure group at Lucent Technologies. Quinn received his MBA from Cornell University, and his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis.
Quinn's Sessions
Collaborating with Corporates with Chris Bartlett (Verizon Ventures), Quinn Li (Qualcomm) and Leigh Radford (Procter & Gamble Ventures)
Alfred Lin is a Partner at Sequoia Capital and works with inspiring founders focused on disrupting the mobile, marketplace, commerce, consumer services, and online-to-offline sectors. He currently represents Sequoia on the Boards of Airbnb, Cobalt Robotics, Dia & Co., DoorDash, Houzz, and Zipline.
Alfred's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Final
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.Judges: Mamoon Hamid (Kleiner Perkins), Ashton Kutcher (Sound Ventures), Alfred Lin (Sequoia), Marissa Mayer (Lumi Labs), Ann Miura-Ko (Floodgate Ventures)
Sandra Oh Lin is the Founder and CEO of KiwiCo. KiwiCo is inspiring the next generation of innovators by designing and delivering seriously fun and enriching hands-on experiences that build creative confidence and problem solving skills. Before starting KiwiCo, Sandra was the GM for eBay Fashion, a founding member of PayPal Mobile, and part of the early team at an online content management startup and a payments startup. Sandra’s career began in R&D at Procter & Gamble. She’s also a mom of 3 kids who are a constant source of inspiration. Sandra graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University and has an MBA from Harvard Business School. Before starting KiwiCo, Sandra was the GM for eBay Fashion and a founding member of PayPal Mobile. Additionally, she led product management, marketing, and technology at an online content management startup and a payments startup. Sandra’s early career began in R&D at Procter & Gamble. Sandra graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University and has an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Sandra's Sessions
How to Build a Subscription Product with Alexandra Friedman (LOLA), Eurie Kim (Forerunner Ventures) and Sandra Oh Lin (KiwiCo)
The direct-to-consumer landscape has exploded in the past year but the keys to making a subscription product indispensable are still up in the air as few have discovered a path to success. This chat with LOLA’s Alexandra Friedman, Forerunner partner Eurie Kim and KiwiCo’s Sandra Oh Lin will address the constant struggles of getting a subscription service off the ground and retaining customers.
Shan-Lyn Ma is co-founder and CEO of Zola.
Shan-Lyn's Sessions
Modernizing Matrimony with Shan-Lyn Ma (Zola)
In just over five years, Zola has managed to become the go-to service provider for couples planning their wedding. Hear from Zola founder Shan-Lyn Ma on raising upwards of $140 million and how to capitalize on the most important day of her users’ lives.
In her role, Chelsea leads Bumble’s global marketing strategies and initiatives, focusing on international campaigns, brand marketing, experiential marketing, and integrated partnerships. Her growing team works cross-functionally to test, develop and implement innovative marketing strategies for the brand across the globe. She helped the company launch its newest vertical, Bumble Bizz. Chelsea has spent her career helping technology-based B2C and B2B businesses grow. She’s passionate about driving exponential yet sustainable, high-quality growth, and believes marketing is a vehicle to build impactful relationships with customers, create digital and physical communities, and ultimately solve societal problems. Chelsea has a passion for women’s equality and supporting women-led businesses, both personally and professionally. Chelsea began her career at rewardStyle, a startup technology company that provides monetization tools and marketing consulting to premier B2C digital publishers and influencers. She led the Publisher Development team, maintaining responsibility for company P&L, and managing a team of consultants serving 8,000 clients like Vogue, InStyle, influential individuals and celebrities. These publishers were primarily female business owners, and Chelsea’s team helped teach them how to utilize technology to market, analyze, and optimize their businesses to build revenue, which resulted in consecutive years of +100% YoY growth in rewardStyle’s revenue. She later moved into private consulting for startup technology companies, advising on marketing and business development with founders and executive team members.
Chelsea Cain's Sessions
How to Build a Brand that Gets Attention with Brooke Hammerling (Media Relations), Chelsea Maclin (Bumble), and Ben Pham (Character)
Brooke Hammerling is the founder of one of the most iconic tech startup PR firms of the past decade, Brew PR, which was sold for $15 million in 2016. Chelsea Maclin is VP of Marketing at Bumble, one of the most recognizable brands in the app world today. And Ben Pham is the founder of Character, a brand design firm that’s worked with the likes of Oculus, Nike, DoorDash and Peets Coffee. The three will discuss how to think about brand design and what gets and keeps the attention of users.
Yves Maitre
CEO, HTCYves Maitre is CEO of HTC where he oversees operations, product strategy and service development across the company’s 5G and XR portfolio. Mr. Maitre joins HTC from Orange, one of the world’s largest telecommunications firms, where he held senior executive positions for over 14 years. Most recently, he served as Executive Vice President of Consumer Equipment and Partnerships, overseeing Orange’s connected technology strategy and business across all Orange markets. Maitre’s background includes deployment of the world’s largest consumer electronic brands as well as ownership of an entire portfolio of connected and mobile services. His expertise includes consumer electronics, services and B2B technology development. Maitre is recognized as a creative visionary with strong leadership. Maitre first started working with HTC upon his appointment as Senior Vice President for Devices in 2005; a collaboration that has continued over his career. Throughout his tenure, he consistently delivered innovative services and devices in a growing range of responsibilities across the business and was the first to negotiate and deploy Android smartphones in Europe. He also served as a member of Orange’s innovation technology group, charged with developing disruptive revenue opportunities. Prior to joining Orange, Maitre spent six years working for consumer electronics company Thomson Multimedia, where he served in senior positions in the US and Singapore. He has also held roles across supply chain and product management. Today Yves sits on the board of several listed and non-listed companies. He holds an Engineering graduate master degree in Nuclear Physics and has spent his professional life in roles in Asia, the USA and Europe.
Yves's Sessions
Surviving the Smartphone with Yves Maitre (HTC)
No one knows the pain of slowing smartphone sales better than HTC. Join the new CEO Yves Maitre in his first public appearance as we discuss how the company has maintained an industry-wide slow down and how technologies like blockchain and VR could hold the keys to the future.
Jeanette Manfra serves as the Assistant Director for Cybersecurity for the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Ms. Manfra leads the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) mission of protecting and strengthening the nation’s critical infrastructure against cyber threats. Previously, Ms. Manfra served as Assistant Secretary for the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications (CS&C) for the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) before the agency became CISA on November 16, 2018. Prior to this position, Ms. Manfra served as Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity and Director for Strategy, Policy, and Plans for NPPD. Ms. Manfra also served as Senior Counselor for Cybersecurity to the Secretary of Homeland Security and Director for Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity on the National Security Council staff at the White House. At DHS, she held multiple positions in the Cybersecurity Division, including advisor for the Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity and Communications and Deputy Director, Office of Emergency Communications, during which time she led the Department’s efforts in establishing the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network. Before joining DHS, Jeanette served in the U.S. Army as a communications specialist and a Military Intelligence Officer.
Jeanette's Sessions
State of the Security Union with Jeanette Manfra (DHS)
In an ever-evolving cyber world, from election security to the supply chain, Homeland Security assistant director Jeanette Manfra discusses the threats we face today — and tomorrow.
Mike Marquez is the co-founder of CODE Advisors, an independent full-service merchant bank and Morado, a seed-stage fund focused on early stage investments in hard core technology companies. Mike has a track record of launching successful ventures, and he enjoys playing a role in building strong teams. He brings a broad range of experience with business development, investments, M&A transactions, new media and Internet strategy development and corporate innovation. Prior to co-founding Morado and CODE Advisors, Mike served as Executive Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development for CBS Interactive, where he was responsible for all business and corporate development globally. Prior to CBS Interactive, he was a senior executive in the corporate development team at Yahoo!, where he worked closely with senior executives throughout the company on numerous acquisitions and new initiatives. Mike earned a B.S. in Managerial Economics from the University of California at Davis, and an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Michael's Sessions
How Do I Exit and What Happens Next with Justin Kan (Atrium), Jess Lee (Sequoia Capital) and Mike Marquez (CodeAdvisors)
Most good startup outcomes are acquisitions, and most good acquisitions happen because a buyer needs your company for a specific reason. Hear from Justin Kan (sold Twitch) and Jess Lee (sold Polyvore) plus top Silicon Valley banker Mike Marquez of Code Advisors about how to make them happen the right way.
Co-Founder at Sunshine. Board of Director at Walmart.
Marissa's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Final
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.Judges: Mamoon Hamid (Kleiner Perkins), Ashton Kutcher (Sound Ventures), Alfred Lin (Sequoia), Marissa Mayer (Lumi Labs), Ann Miura-Ko (Floodgate Ventures)
Keith McCarty is the CEO and founder of WAYV. His leadership defines the overall vision and direction of the company and he touches all aspects of strategy, operations, marketing, product development, investor relations and company culture. Prior to WAYV, McCarty was a founding team member at the social enterprise platform Yammer, where he grew sales and marketing from one person to over 350 employees globally and contributed to the white-hot investor interest in workplace productivity software. In 2012, Microsoft acquired Yammer for $1.2 billion. In 2013, Keith founded a technology that allowed consumers to safely order home delivery of cannabis (Eaze). He lead the company to become one of the top funded cannabis companies in the U.S. market with $51.5M in funding to-date. As California legalized adult use, Keith turned his attention to challenges upstream in the cannabis supply chain. In early 2017, Keith began developing a technical solution for the complex logistics required to get product to market. WAYV is the answer – a B2B platform that helps businesses move product quickly, safely, tracked in real-time, from producers to market, within a day. McCarty is a proven expert in the on-demand economy, entrepreneurship, software applications and business automation. He has successfully navigated complex, highly regulated spaces, balancing growth with compliance while deploying game-changing technology. McCarty has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in finance and marketing from Chapman University, The George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics in Orange, California where he grew up. He currently lives in Los Angeles.
Keith's Sessions
The Grass Is Greener with Keith McCarty (WAYV) and Bharat Vasan
The cannabis industry is projected to reach $50 billion in ten years. Keith McCarty and Bharat Vasan represent two of the biggest names in the market. Hear the duo talk about an industry with undeniable potential, but plenty of red tape to deal with, too.
Michelle McCarthy makes strategic investments for Verizon’s venture capital group focused principally in the consumer space, in addition to overseeing the venture team’s operations and events. She was recognized as a Global Corporate Venturing Rising Star in 2016 and has been a board observer for select portfolio companies in the areas of advertising technology, media, fin tech, and IoT. Before joining Verizon Ventures, Michelle headed acquisitions and asset management of a large portfolio of affordable housing tax credit investments at Verizon Capital and, prior to that, was involved in Verizon’s corporate strategy formulation and domestic and international M&A. Michelle earned an MBA in finance from Georgetown University and a B.A. in International Studies from American University.
Michelle Russey's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Session 1
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
Derecka Mehrens is the executive director of Working Partnerships USA, a community organization building democracy in our government, our communities, and our workplaces. Under Derecka’s leadership, Working Partnerships has won groundbreaking campaigns with working families and communities of color, including a regional $15 minimum wage, nearly $1 billion in funding for affordable homes and $500 million for transportation equity, and new protections for renters against unfair evictions and rent increases. In 2015, Derecka co-founded the Silicon Valley Rising campaign that’s shaping a more inclusive tech economy. Through Silicon Valley Rising, over 5,000 tech service workers have organized together to win better jobs and a voice at work. Most recently, Derecka helped launch Gig Workers Rising, a new campaign supporting people working in the gig economy as they fight for fair wages, benefits and democracy in their jobs.
Derecka's Sessions
How to be a Positive Force in the Gig Economy with Amanda de Cadenet (Girlgaze) and Derecka Mehrens (Working Partnerships USA)
As gig workers continue to struggle with financial instability, inadequate labor protections and few alternatives, hear from leaders and companies that are now trying to figure out how to create an equitable, just, and sustainable economic system for gig workers.
Ravi is a consumer tech leader who was most recently Chief Product Officer at Tinder. Previously, he was a product leader at Facebook, TripAdvisor and Xbox. He writes about scaling products and teams at http://ravi-mehta.com.
Ravi's Sessions
How to Iterate Your Product with Manik Gupta (Uber), Diya Jolly (Okta), Ravi Mehta (Tinder) and Robby Stein (Instagram)
Launching an MVP and finding early product-market fit are just the first steps in the journey to build a great startup. Learn from leading product thinkers from Instagram, Okta, Tinder and Uber on how they expand, grow, and refine their products to increase their value without alienating existing users.
Eric Migicovsky was the founder and CEO of Pebble Technology and is a visiting partner at Y Combinator. He is a contributor to Hardware Studio, a new resource for hardware creators from Kickstarter, Avnet, and Dragon Innovation that launches today.
Eric's Sessions
Getting a Hardware Company off the Ground with Lora Haddock (Lora DiCarlo) and Eric Migicovsky (Y Combinator)
Known for her inception stage investments that range from marketplaces to highly technical companies, Ms. Miura-Ko’s investments have earned her repeat appearances on the Forbes Midas List and The New York Times list of top twenty venture capitalists worldwide. At Stanford University—where she received her Ph.D. for her work on mathematical modeling of cybersecurity—she is a lecturer in engineering, teaching on topics from blockchain to intelligent growth for startups. In addition, she is a co-director of the Stanford Mayfield Fellows Program, which helps train undergraduates to become technology leaders. Ms. Miura-Ko is a co-founding member of AllRaise, an organization dedicated to increasing the success and prevalence of female funders and founders. Ms. Miura-Ko received a B.S. in electrical engineering from Yale. As an alumna, she has served on the School of Engineering & Applied Science Leadership Council and as a non-trustee member of the Corporation Committee on Investments. She was elected an alumni fellow in 2019.
Ann's Sessions
Venture Capital in 2019 with Theresia Gouw (Aspect Ventures) and Ann Miura-Ko (Floodgate)
Floodgate co-founding partner Ann Miura-Ko and Aspect Ventures co-founder Theresia Gouw have risen to the ranks of top VCs, thanks in part to two of 2019’s most defining IPOs, in Lyft and TheRealReal. At Disrupt, they’ll unpack the trends in venture capital that have dominated headlines this year, and dive deeper into what’s coming.
Startup Battlefield: Final
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.Judges: Mamoon Hamid (Kleiner Perkins), Ashton Kutcher (Sound Ventures), Alfred Lin (Sequoia), Marissa Mayer (Lumi Labs), Ann Miura-Ko (Floodgate Ventures)
Neal Mohan is Chief Product Officer at YouTube. He is responsible for YouTube products and user experience on all platforms and devices globally. This includes YouTube’s core mobile applications, YouTube.com, emerging technologies like VR, vertical experiences such as YouTube Kids and Music, and YouTube’s two subscription services, YouTube Premium and YouTube TV. Products for media partners, content creators and musicians are also part of Neal’s portfolio. Previously, Neal was Senior Vice President of Display and Video Ads at Google. In this role he was responsible for the company’s advertising offerings on YouTube, the Google Display Network, AdSense, AdMob, and the DoubleClick family of programmatic ad platform products. Prior to joining Google, Neal was Senior Vice President of Strategy and Product Development at DoubleClick where he built the company’s strategic plan, led the product management team, and rapidly grew the business. He played a critical role in the sale of DoubleClick to Google, and subsequently led the integration. Neal serves on the Board of Directors for 23andMe and the New America Foundation’s California Advisory Council. He has also served as a member of the Management Board for the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Neal has been a member of the Board of Directors for the Internet Advertising Bureau and the Mobile Marketing Association.
Neal's Sessions
The Evolution of Online Video with Neal Mohan (YouTube)
YouTube remains the most popular destination for online video, and the platform for the next generation of stars. At the same time, it faces challenges around its original content strategy, competition, hate speech, misinformation and more. Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan will join us to discuss where YouTube goes from here.
Sheel is a co-founder of Better Tomorrow Ventures, a seed-stage venture capital fund investing in fintech companies globally. His own startup experience includes 2 successful fintech exits — a payments company and a high-stakes auction company — and he’s GP of the 500 Fintech fund. He formerly worked as a financial services consultant at BCG and started his fintech career at the non-profit p2p lender, Kiva.
Sheel's Sessions
Investing in Africa with Wale Ayeni (IFC), Marième Diop (Orange Digital Ventures), and Sheel Mohnot (500 Startups)
Patricia Nakache is a general partner at Trinity Ventures.
Patricia's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Session 1
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
Winning Investors with Pete Flint (NFX), Brian Hirsch (Tribeca Venture Partners) and Patricia Nakache (Trinity Ventures)
Deon Nicholas is the CEO and Co-Founder of Forethought, the Generative AI for Customer Support company. Forethought has raised $90M+ in venture capital, was recognized as one of G2’s Best Software Products for 2023, was named to CNBC’s 25 Top Startups for the Enterprise in 2022, and won TechCrunch Disrupt in 2018. Before starting Forethought, Deon built products and infrastructure at Facebook, Palantir, Dropbox, and Pure Storage.
Deon's Sessions
Startup Battlefield Alumni Update
Battlefield startups from the past return to the stage to tell us what they’ve been up to since they competed for the Disrupt Cup. With Moalla Ilani and Mohamad Bakri (Buildlink), Phyllis Kyomuhendo and Menyo Innocent (M-SCAN), and Pedro Coutinho (Olho do Dono)
Marlon Nichols is the co-founder and managing general partner of MaC Venture Capital, a leading seed-stage firm renowned for backing visionary founders who redefine industries. Under his leadership, MaC has grown into one of North America’s largest seed-stage venture firms, surpassing $600 million in assets under management (AUM). In October 2024, the firm announced the closing of its third fund ($150 million), further solidifying its influence in the early-stage investment landscape. Marlon’s portfolio includes industry-defining companies such as Airspace, Blavity, FINESSE, Gimlet Media, MongoDB, Pipe, Purestream, Thrive Market, and Shekel Mobility, among others. His keen eye for transformative opportunities has earned him widespread recognition, including consecutive placements on Los Angeles Business Journal’s LA500 (2022–2024) and Business Insider’s Seed 100 (Top Early-Stage Investors) for three years. Additionally, he ranks 25th on the Kauffman Fellows Fund Returners Index and has been featured in PitchBook’s 25 Black Founders and VCs to Watch for six years. His expertise is frequently sought by top media outlets such as Axios, CNBC, Fortune, and more. A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, Marlon serves on the board of Kauffman Fellows, working to expand representation for underrepresented minorities in venture capital. With a unique blend of technology acumen and leadership principles shaped by his athletic background, he actively mentors CEOs, fosters strategic partnerships, and helps founders scale their businesses into market leaders.
Marlon's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Session 4
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
Kara Nortman is a partner at Upfront Ventures.
Kara's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Session 2
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
One of Silicon Valley’s leading advocates for diversity and inclusion, Ellen K. Pao is not only a long-time entrepreneur and tech investor, but her landmark gender discrimination case against venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, propelled her to the front of the fight — years before the Times Up movement. Her 2012 lawsuit helped encourage other women, people of color and especially women of color to stand-up against harassment and discrimination in tech in what has been called the “Pao Effect.” Currently, Ellen serves as CEO and co-founder of nonprofit Project Include, where she works closely with tech leaders to bring fairness to all tech workers, using data-based, practical solutions and recommendations. As interim CEO of reddit, she was the first leader of a large social media company to ban revenge porn and unauthorized nude photos as part of her broader efforts to curtail harassment on the site. Before reddit, she spent seven years as a investment partner at Kleiner Perkins. During her two decades in Silicon Valley, she has also served as a board member, engineering manager, software programmer, and business development executive. She received her BSE in electrical engineering and public policy certificate from Princeton University, her JD from Harvard Law School, and her MBA from Harvard Business School.
Ellen's Sessions
Ethical tech with Tracy Chou (Block Party) and Ellen Pao (Project Include)
Running an ethical tech company is underrated. From fostering a diverse and inclusive company, to examining your technology’s impact on society it all comes down to ethics. Hear from Project Include’s Ellen Pao and Block Party’s Tracy Chou about how they grapple with ethics, and how focusing on diversity can positively impact a company’s bottom line.
James is our Co-founder and has served as our Chairman since May 2015, as a member of our board of directors since March 2007, and as our President and CEO since September 2007. Previously, James served as a Director of Product Development at CNET Networks, as the President and a Co-founder of Wind-Up Labs, Inc. (an online photo-sharing company acquired by CNET Networks in April 2005). He was also CTO and Co-Founder of Epesi Technologies, Inc., a software company. James attended Harvard College where he studied Computer Science. He was selected to serve as a member of our board of directors due to the perspective and experience he brings as our Co-Founder, President, and CEO.
James's Sessions
How to Take a Hardware Company Public with Eric Friedman (Fitbit) and James Park (Fitbit)
Ten years after launching their product at TechCrunch 50, Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman join us to discuss the company’s ups and downs.
Board Member at Dyndrite, Labelbox & Algorithmia. Founder and Managing Partner at Google.
Anna's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Session 3
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
Carl Pei is a prominent tech entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of OnePlus and the current CEO and co-founder of Nothing, a consumer technology company focused on minimalist design and innovative hardware products. Born in China and raised in Sweden, Pei has been recognized for his strategic thinking and consumer-focused approach to product development. Pei is known for his forward-thinking approach to product design, emphasizing the importance of user experience, community engagement, and transparency. His leadership at Nothing reflects his mission to challenge the status quo in consumer technology and push the boundaries of how hardware can blend seamlessly into people’s lives.
Carl's Sessions
Bucking Smartphone Stagnation with Carl Pei (OnePlus)
OnePlus has maintained impressive growth even as global numbers smartphone sales have faltered. Co-founder Carl Pei will discuss how the company has managed to buck industry trends by catering to a devoted fanbase and offering an innovative alternative to Apple and Samsung.
Kathryn Petralia is the president and co-founder of Kabbage, an American Express Company providing small businesses cash flow solutions.
Kathryn's Sessions
How to Decide Between Bootstrapping and Raising Venture Capital with Ben Chestnut (Mailchimp) and Kathryn Petralia (Kabbage)
In this panel, we host two founders who have each grown their respective startups to stratospheric levels, but with very different funding approaches. Kathryn Petralia, co-founder and president of SMB FinTech Kabbage, has raised prodigious venture capital, including $500 million in equity from the likes of the SoftBank Vision Fund. Meanwhile, Ben Chestnut, co-founder and CEO of Mailchimp, has built a massive and well-known marketing platform entirely by bootstrapping. Why did they choose their different financing strategies? Come hear from two leading founders about how they thought through their fundraises and the lessons we can all learn from their experiences.
Ben Pham
Co-founder & Creative Director, Characteren Pham a self-starter would be a considerable understatement. Before finishing his graphic design degree, he maintained prestigious clients like San Francisco Ballet, San Francisco Symphony and Stanford to pay his tuition, and was even offered a design position a year prior to graduation. A perpetual early riser (4:30am!) with infinite energy we wish we could bottle, Ben looks at every day as an opportunity to do great things. As a leader of the design and strategy teams, Ben likes to draw inspiration from unexpected places, relying on his personal motto of “look in the wrong place to find the right answer.” While at Character, Ben has worked with numerous brands including Adobe, Uber, Facebook, Google, Samsung, Nike, Fitbit and Amazon. When he’s not in the studio in search of the next big idea, he can be found advising young entrepreneurs, snowboarding in Tahoe, cooking for friends at his home in Oakland or relaxing with his wife Tish (Character co-founder) and their adorable Yorkie, Wally.
Ben's Sessions
How to Build a Brand that Gets Attention with Brooke Hammerling (Media Relations), Chelsea Maclin (Bumble), and Ben Pham (Character)
Brooke Hammerling is the founder of one of the most iconic tech startup PR firms of the past decade, Brew PR, which was sold for $15 million in 2016. Chelsea Maclin is VP of Marketing at Bumble, one of the most recognizable brands in the app world today. And Ben Pham is the founder of Character, a brand design firm that’s worked with the likes of Oculus, Nike, DoorDash and Peets Coffee. The three will discuss how to think about brand design and what gets and keeps the attention of users.
Megan is a General Partner at Spark Capital, focusing on growth investments. She specializes in working with world-changing entrepreneurs to design, build and scale transformative consumer products and companies. Prior to joining Spark in 2015, Megan was a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers where she led a number of the firm’s early-stage and growth consumer investments. Megan joined KPCB from Square, the company revolutionizing payments for buyers and sellers. She led strategy and development of the company’s products across merchant and consumer audiences. Before her tenure at Square, Megan spent seven years at Google where she held various leadership positions in marketing, business development and product management. She oversaw the development and launch of some of the company’s most successful products, including Google Maps. Her team’s work continues to serve as the foundation for Google’s location-based consumer and advertising products. Megan received her degree in Political Science and History from Stanford University. Megan lives in San Francisco with her husband.
Megan's Sessions
Building Sticky Products with Cal Henderson (Slack) and Megan Quinn (Spark Capital)
Slack co-founder Cal Henderson and Spark Capital general partner Megan Quinn will discuss what it takes to create a billion-dollar business and, in Slack’s case, list on the New York Stock Exchange in one of 2019’s most highly-anticipated exits.
Whether it’s discovering tomorrow’s platforms, marketplaces, games, fintech, social, or ecommerce companies, founder insights and company brand are at the forefront of Lightspeed Venture Partners’ Nicole Quinn’s mind. Quinn brings a wealth of experience, having spent eight years on the equity sales and research side of Morgan Stanley, working on Facebook, Groupon, and Pandora’s IPOs, before eventually working on branding and marketing at the London-based fintech startup Nutmeg. She began working with brands in the mid 2000s, specializing in consumer behavior; the retail landscape, both in the US and Europe; and taking brands to the public market.
Nicole's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Session 3
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
Renata is a venture capitalist, futurist, and co-founder of Renegade Partners. Over the past 15 years, she has invested in founding teams transforming the trajectory of humanity through technology. Prior to launching Renegade with Roseanne Wincek in 2020, Renata specialized in early-stage deep technology investments as a Partner at Lux Capital. She previously served as General Partner at Felicis Ventures, where she worked closely with companies unlocking new markets and business models, including Dollar Shave Club ($1B acquisition by Unilever), Bonobos (acquired by Walmart), Planet (micro satellites), and Cruise Automation ($1B acquisition by GM). Before becoming a venture capitalist, Renata helped manage Stanford University’s endowment, investing in both private equity and venture capital funds. She earned her MBA and LL.M (Master of Law in Law, Science, and Technology) degrees from Stanford University, and her JD law degree from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. She is a CFA charterholder. Renata is also a three-time state champion black belt in karate, Bossa Nova guitar player, and Brazilian immigrant.
Renata's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Session 4
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
Leigh Radford, is the Vice President of P&G Ventures – the in-house startup studio of Procter & Gamble. Leigh has over 20+ years of experience within P&G. She is an experienced business leader who has led the strategic and creative development of brands across multiple categories, including Skin Care, Personal Cleansing, Health Care, and Oral Care. Leigh has a talent for taking small ideas with promise and turning them into proven global brand success. Brands under her leadership have delivered significant and sustained business growth (i.e. Olay became the #1 Global Skincare Brand, and Vicks achieved $1 Billion+ status). Leigh’s passion for growing businesses, delighting consumers, and proven track record, resulted in her dream job, leading the P&G Ventures group. Within P&G Ventures she leads some of the world’s most innovative thinkers, scientists and entrepreneurs.
Leigh's Sessions
Collaborating with Corporates with Chris Bartlett (Verizon Ventures), Quinn Li (Qualcomm) and Leigh Radford (Procter & Gamble Ventures)
James is the co-founder and CEO of thredUP.com, the world’s largest online marketplace for secondhand clothing. thredUP’s mission is to “inspire a new generation of consumers to think secondhand first.”James is passionate about public education and the role it plays in our communities. Prior to thredUP, he helped develop one of the nation’s premier public schools, Pacific Collegiate School. James is a graduate of the Harvard Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School where he earned a joint degree in public policy and business. In his free time, he is an avid golfer, cyclist and whiskey drinker – just not all at the same time. While a proud New Jersey native and diehard Bruce Springsteen fan, he lives with his wife Michele and three children in Oakland, California.
James's Sessions
How to Take a Digital Brand Offline with Rich Fulop (Brooklinen), James Reinhart (thredUP), and Susan Tynan (Framebridge)
E-commerce has fundamentally changed the way we browse and buy physical goods. But even though online sales have taken a huge bite out of brick-and-mortar, it doesn’t mean that digital brands aren’t interested in the prospect of offline channels. Hear from three founders who have taken their own unique approach to launching a store.
Mike Rogers retired from the U.S. Navy in 2018 after nearly 37 years of naval service rising to the rank of four-star admiral. He culminated his career with a four-year tour as Commander, U.S. Cyber Command and Director, National Security Agency – creating the DoD’s newest combatant command and running the U.S. government’s largest intelligence organization . In those roles he worked with the leadership of the U.S. government, the DoD and the U.S. Intelligence community as well as their international counterparts in the conduct of cyber and intelligence activity across the globe. He also assisted in the development of national and international policy with respect to cyber, intelligence and technology – including extensive work with corporate leadership in the Finance, IT, Telecommunications and Technology sectors. Admiral Rogers is currently supporting companies in the private sector, serving as a member of various Boards or acting as a Senior Advisor. He also speaks globally to various business and academic groups and is working internationally in the cyber and national security arenas. He is a Senior Fellow and Adjunct Professor with Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Managements’ Public Private Initiative and a member of the advisory board of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue and NATO’s Cooperative Cyber Defence Center of Excellence. He is also a member of the United States Naval Institute Board of Directors.
Admiral Mike's Sessions
When Spies Meet Startups with Admiral Mike Rogers and Nadav Zafrir (Team8)
Since leaving the world of intelligence, former NSA director Adm. Mike Rogers and ex-Israeli cyber-intelligence chief Nadav Zafrir talk shop about what startups need learn about security.
Tech titan Michele Romanow is a serial entrepreneur who started six companies before her 35th birthday. A “Dragon” on the Canadian hit TV show Dragons’ Den (Canada’s Shark Tank), Michele is the co-founder of Clearco, the largest e-commerce investor in the world that’s invested $2 billion into 5500+ ecommerce and SaaS companies to date. She previously co-founded SnapSaves, acquired by Groupon and was Co-Founder of Buytopia.ca. A prolific investor, Michele was recently named Fortune’s 40 under 40, a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women and Canada’s Angel Investor of the Year. Michele is a director for Vail Resorts, BBTV and Queen’s School of Business. Previously she was a director for Freshii, Whistler Blackcomb, SHAD International and League of Innovators.
Michele's Sessions
Serving Startups with Henrique Dubugras (Brex) and Michele Romanow (Clearbanc)
CEOs of two of the most fast-growing startups, Brex co-founder Henrique Dubugras and Clearbanc founder Michele Romanow, come together to unpack new solutions for startups looking to raise capital and scale — quick.
Getting into Fintech with Henrique Dubugras (Brex), Michele Romanow (Clearbanc) and Angela Strange (Andreessen Horowitz)
Ali Rowghani is the CEO of YC Continuity. Previously, he served as the Chief Operating Officer of Twitter, Inc. from 2012 to 2014, where he was in charge of Twitter’s product, design, business development, developer platform, and media teams. He was hired as Twitter’s first Chief Financial Officer and served in that role from 2010 to 2012. For the 9 years prior to his time at Twitter, Ali served in several roles at Pixar Animation Studios, Inc., including as Chief Financial Officer and as Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning. Ali holds a BA and MBA, both from Stanford University. Ali is on the Board at Checkr, Lob and Restoration Hardware (NYSE: RH), and is a Board observer at LendUp.
Ali's Sessions
How to get into Y Combinator with Ali Rowghani and Michael Seibel (Y Combinator)
The seed-stage venture firm has come to form its own startup economy over the years, with its network of companies and founders interconnecting across the tech industry and beyond. Find out how Y Combinator works today, and how you can become a part of it, in this discussion with CEO of YC Continuity Ali Rowghani and CEO and partner Michael Seibel.
Ajay Royan co-founded and leads Mithril Capital, a firm that makes long-term investments in transformative and durable enterprises. At Mithril, Ajay has led investments in innovative companies across multiple industries, such as robotics, healthcare, enterprise software, bio- technology, nuclear energy, and finance. He serves on the boards of many of Mithril’s portfolio companies, including Auris, Adimab, C2FO, GreyOrange, Fractyl, and AppDirect, helping them to navigate the rocky road of growth by working with founders on competitive and organizational strategies as well as addressing macro trends. Before forming Mithril, Ajay was a managing director at Clarium Capital Management, where he focused on unlevered growth investments. Ajay began his career at Braxton Associates, formerly Deloitte Consulting. Ajay serves on the Science Advisory Board of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and was elected to the Presidents’ Circle of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. He is a charter member and board director of C100 and serves on the board of directors of Fulbright Canada. Ajay grew up in India, Abu Dhabi, and Canada. He is a graduate of Yale University.
Ajay's Sessions
Robots and Returns with Frederic Moll (Johnson & Johnson) and Ajay Royan (Mithril Capital)
Frederic Moll is a pioneer in robotic surgical applications. Backed by Ajay Royan’s Mithril Capital he sold his last business to JNJ for $3 billion. Hear from these two industry leaders on the opportunities available in medical robotic field.
Michael Seibel is a Partner at YC and CEO of YC’s startup accelerator. He was the cofounder and CEO Justin.tv and Socialcam. Socialcam sold to Autodesk in 2012 and under the leadership of Emmett Shear, Justin.tv became Twitch.tv and sold to Amazon in 2014. Before getting into startups, he spent a year as the finance director for a US Senate campaign and in 2005, Michael graduated from Yale University with a BA in political science.
Michael's Sessions
How to get into Y Combinator with Ali Rowghani and Michael Seibel (Y Combinator)
The seed-stage venture firm has come to form its own startup economy over the years, with its network of companies and founders interconnecting across the tech industry and beyond. Find out how Y Combinator works today, and how you can become a part of it, in this discussion with CEO of YC Continuity Ali Rowghani and CEO and partner Michael Seibel.
Raj Shah is a founding faculty at the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, a technology entrepreneur and investor, adjunct professor at Stanford, and former managing partner of the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit Experimental.
Raj's Sessions
Could the U.S. Government Be Your Next Investor with Steve Isakowitz (The Aerospace Corporation) and Raj Shah (Arceo.ai)
No founder likes dilution, which is why the US government is becoming an increasingly popular source for early-stage, ambitious venture capital. Hear from VC leaders and founders who have navigated the process to discover your next source of non-dilutive capital.
Bob Smith is Chief Executive Officer for Blue Origin, a private space company developing vehicles and technologies that dramatically improve access to space for people and payloads. He is responsible for the development of Blue Origin’s launch vehicles, engine programs and its growing business operations. He reports directly to Blue Origin’s founder, Jeff Bezos. Bob came to Blue Origin from Honeywell Aerospace. At Honeywell, he was the Vice President of Advanced Technology, the Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Engineering & Technology and, finally, the President of the Mechanical Systems & Components business. In those roles, his responsibilities spanned basic research, major system developments, production and business operations. Prior to these roles, Bob served as Executive Director of the Space Shuttle Upgrades Development Program for United Space Alliance where he managed a variety of projects that ranged from very large efforts, such as major modifications that replaced the Orbiter’s auxiliary power and data handling systems, to smaller efforts, such as the development of new Shuttle tiles and landing systems. Bob also worked at The Aerospace Corporation where he served as a guidance, navigation & control analyst and a program manager for a number of Department of Defense and national security programs. Bob eventually became the leader for all of Aerospace’s NASA business and the site manager for Aerospace’s Houston operations. Bob holds a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from Texas A&M, a Master of Science degree in engineering/applied mathematics from Brown University, a doctorate from the University of Texas in aerospace engineering and a business degree from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.
Bob's Sessions
Reigniting the Space Race with Bob Smith (Blue Origin)
Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith intends to return the U.S. to crewed spaceflight, with a goal of doing so this year with its first suborbital trips. Hopefully, we can also get Smith to tell us the ticket price for a trip, once it begins taking on paying customers.
Will Smith is an actor, producer and musician, two-time Academy Award® nominee four-time Grammy nominee and winner Will Smith has enjoyed a diverse career encompassing films, television and multiplatinum records. Smith’s vast filmography includes transformative portrayals of true-life icons in “Ali,” “The Pursuit of Happyness” and “Concussion.” He has headlined an extraordinary list of films, including “Hitch,” “I am Legend,” “I, Robot,” “Independence Day,” “Men in Black I, II, and III” and “Suicide Squad”. Currently, Smith can be seen in Walt Disney Pictures “Aladdin” in the iconic role of the Genie. The movie was directed by Guy Ritchie and has made over $1 billion worldwide since its release on May 24, 2019. Smith will next be seen staring in Ang Lee’s action/thriller, “Gemini Man” out this fall. Next year, he’ll grace the screen once again in the beloved franchise, Sony’s “Bad Boys for Life,” premiering around the world in January 2020, in which he will once again reprise his iconic role as Detective Mike Lowrey opposite Martin Lawrence. Smith will next go into production on Warner Brother’s “King Richard” where he will star in the titular role of Richard Williams, the father of renounced tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams. Recently, Smith created the daring Facebook Watch series, “Will Smith’s Bucket List” where he challenges himself to a different item from his bucket list each week, including performing standup comedy with Dave Chappelle, skydiving in Dubai, swimming with sharks, and racing a Formula 1 car in Abu Dhabi. The show was a massive success for the platform. He began his career as a musician selling millions of records worldwide before crossing over into television with the beloved “Fresh Prince of Bel Air.” In 1998 he and partner James Lassiter founded production and management company Overbrook Entertainment, which has produced numerous top film and television projects. In addition to his artistic achievements, Smith is a successful business owner. Along with his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, he launched a new media venture, Westbrook Inc. This is a cross-platform holding company formed to execute the Smith Family’s global content and commerce business strategy. Westbrook Inc. will encompass subsidiary companies including the existing Overbrook Entertainment, Red Table Talk Enterprises and the recently formed Westbrook Studios, Westbrook Media, and Good Goods, the latter an elevated merchandise business. Additionally he and Jada founded the Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation. WJSFF is a nonprofit, philanthropic organization committed to improving lives and investing in organizations and initiatives that empower traditionally overlooked communities.
Will's Sessions
The Future of Action Cinema with Ang Lee and Will Smith
“Gemini Man” from Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee has not one, but two characters played by Will Smith — assassin Henry Brogen, and a younger clone of Brogen who’s been sent to kill him. Lee and Smith will discuss the process of making the film, how they used CGI to create a younger version of the movie star and how they think the theatrical experience is changing. In addition, we’ll ask Smith for the latest on his VC firm Dreamers Fund
Dug Song is Co-founder and General Manager of Duo Security, one of the fastest-growing cybersecurity providers in the world. In 2018, Duo was acquired by Cisco for $2.35 billion, making it the largest exit ever for a Michigan-based software company. Founded in 2010, Duo protects more than 15,000 organizations against data breach with its simple and easy two-factor authentication and Zero Trust security products. Dug has a history of leading successful products and companies to solve pressing security problems, and is a renowned hacker and leading voice in the information security industry. Prior to launching Duo, Dug spent seven years as founding Chief Security Architect at Arbor Networks, protecting 80 percent of the world’s Internet service providers. He also built the first commercial network anomaly detection system, acquired by Check Point Software Technologies.
Dug's Sessions
How to Build a Secure Startup without Slowing Growth with Heather Adkins (Google), Dug Song (Duo), and Jennifer Sunshine Steffens (IOActive)
Leading security experts from Google, Duo, and IOActive discuss some of the challenges startups and enterprises face in security. How do companies navigate the litany of issues and threats without hampering growth?
Securing Your Startup with Dug Song (Duo Security), Jennifer Sunshine Steffens (IOActive), and Nadav Zafrir (Team8)
Dr. Sara Spangelo is the co-founder and CEO of Swarm, the company that is developing the world’s lowest-cost global communications network with breakthrough satellite technology and ground hardware for customers in remote locations. Before starting Swarm, Sara worked on small satellites and autonomous aircraft at the University of Michigan and was a lead systems engineer at both NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) and Google X. Her expertise is in modeling and optimizing satellite constellations to maximize impact and business opportunities. Sara holds a PhD in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan and in 2017 was a Top 32 Canadian astronaut candidate.
Sara's Sessions
How to Build a Space Economy with Tess Hatch (Bessemer Venture Partners), Sara Spangelo (Swarm), and Adrian Steckel (OneWeb)
From thousand-satellite constellations to space tourism, orbit is a fresh and inspiring source of new startup ideas and evolutions of established ones. Swarm’s Sara Spangelo and OneWeb’s Adrian Steckel are taking on global connectivity and Bessemer Ventures’ Tess Hatch provides the perspective of investors looking to make bets like these happen.
Evan Spiegel is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Snap Inc. Spiegel graduated from Stanford University with a BS in Product Design. Snap Inc. is a camera company and believes that reinventing the camera represents their greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate. Their products empower people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world and have fun together.
Evan's Sessions
Snap Stays Sticky with Evan Spiegel (Snap)
Snap’s 2018 was rocky and its 2017 wasn’t much better, but in the face of renewed user growth and accelerating revenues, Snap has been mounting a massive comeback on Wall Street this year. Hear from CEO Evan Spiegel about the company’s long-term prospects and its biggest existential threats.
Adrian Steckel is the Chief Executive Officer at OneWeb, where he is responsible for overseeing the company’s growth, long-term strategic development, fundraising, and commercial success. Adrian brings extensive experience and passion for enabling connectivity across the globe to OneWeb. Since 1999, he has been building companies from the ground up and working to enable voice and data communications in countries around the world. Adrian was the CEO of lusacell, a very successful mobile carrier in Mexico, which he sold to AT&T in 2015. He also led the buildout and operations of the fiber backbones in both Colombia and Peru in cooperation with their respective governments and during his time as CFO at TV Azteca, he took the company public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). In addition, Adrian founded and built a cell phone company, Unefon, garnering 1.4 million subscribers and more than US$100 million EBITA annually. He also served as an investment banker at Dillon, Read & Co. Adrian holds a BA in History from Yale University.
Adrian's Sessions
How to Build a Space Economy with Tess Hatch (Bessemer Venture Partners), Sara Spangelo (Swarm), and Adrian Steckel (OneWeb)
From thousand-satellite constellations to space tourism, orbit is a fresh and inspiring source of new startup ideas and evolutions of established ones. Swarm’s Sara Spangelo and OneWeb’s Adrian Steckel are taking on global connectivity and Bessemer Ventures’ Tess Hatch provides the perspective of investors looking to make bets like these happen.
Blasting into Space with Tess Hatch (Bessemer Venture Partners) and Adrian Steckel (OneWeb)
Robby Stein is Product Director at Instagram, where he leads the consumer product team for sharing, which includes Stories, Feed, Live and Direct Messaging.
Robby's Sessions
How to Iterate Your Product with Manik Gupta (Uber), Diya Jolly (Okta), Ravi Mehta (Tinder) and Robby Stein (Instagram)
Launching an MVP and finding early product-market fit are just the first steps in the journey to build a great startup. Learn from leading product thinkers from Instagram, Okta, Tinder and Uber on how they expand, grow, and refine their products to increase their value without alienating existing users.
Angela Strange is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz where she focuses on investments in financial services including insurance, real estate & increasing inclusivity. She is currently a board observer for the following Andreessen Horowitz portfolio companies: Branch, Earnin, HealthIQ, Mayvenn, PeerStreet, and Point. Angela joined the firm in 2014. Prior to joining a16z, Angela was a product manager at Google where she launched and grew Chrome for Android and Chrome for iOS into two of Google’s most successful mobile products. Previously, she was the director of product management and business development at Ruba.com (acquired by Google) and a senior associate partner at Bay Partners where she focused on the consumer internet sector. Prior to that, Angela was a consultant at Mercer Management Consulting in Toronto. Angela is a proud Canadian and served as co-chair of the C100, a non-profit that bridges Canadian entrepreneurs with Silicon Valley, and on the Canadian Finance Minister Morneau’s Economic Growth Council. Angela has a Mechanical Engineering degree from Queen’s University, in Canada, and an MBA from Stanford. Angela is a world-class athlete and spent two years training professionally as a runner; she has won several marathons and achieved a seventh place national ranking in Canada.
Angela's Sessions
Getting into Fintech with Henrique Dubugras (Brex), Michele Romanow (Clearbanc) and Angela Strange (Andreessen Horowitz)
How to Build a Better Banking Startup with Chris Britt (Chime) and Angela Strange (Andreessen Horowitz)
Chris Britt, the chief executive of Chime and Andreessen Horowitz’s Angela Strange know that money is what everyone wants. The problem is how to make it more accessible to everyone in the world. Hear them discuss how to build a better bank for everyone.
As its CEO, Jennifer Steffens spearheads all aspects of IOActive’s global business operations and drives the company’s strategic vision. Jennifer brings a wealth of industry and business experience to the company, having been an early member of several successful startups. Recognized as one of the top leaders in information security, Jennifer is an active member of the Executive Women’s Forum, the Information Security Systems Association and the Open Web Application Security Project. Lauded by Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Information Security Magazine, and many more, she received SC Magazine’s Reboot Leadership Award for Top Management in 2017 and CV Magazine’s IT Security CEO of the Year 2018. She serves as a judge for the TechTrailblazers and DUO Women in Security awards and is a frequent speaker at events around the world. Earlier in her career, she held leadership positions at ground breaking companies such as Sourcefire and NFR Security. Prior to joining IOActive, Jennifer came to Seattle to help startup GraniteEdge reinvent itself. While there, she led initiatives to restructure the company and developed a product strategy that ultimately led to a successful acquisition.
Jennifer's Sessions
How to Build a Secure Startup without Slowing Growth with Heather Adkins (Google), Dug Song (Duo), and Jennifer Sunshine Steffens (IOActive)
Leading security experts from Google, Duo, and IOActive discuss some of the challenges startups and enterprises face in security. How do companies navigate the litany of issues and threats without hampering growth?
Securing Your Startup with Dug Song (Duo Security), Jennifer Sunshine Steffens (IOActive), and Nadav Zafrir (Team8)
Harj Taggar is co-founder and CEO of Triplebyte, a platform for finding and hiring great technical talent. Triplebyte is used by hundreds of companies from large enterprises like Apple, Adobe and American Express through to Series A and later stage startups. They recently closed a $35 million Series B from YC Continuity and Founders Fund. Harj was previously the first partner brought on at Y Combinator since its founding, joining in 2010. He worked on scaling YC from funding tens of companies per year to hundreds. He has also angel invested in a number of startups including Instacart, Coinbase and Opendoor. He first moved to San Francisco from London after starting his first company, Auctomatic, while in college. Auctomatic was funded by Y Combinator in 2007 and acquired by Live Current Media.
Harjeet's Sessions
How to Hire at Breakneck Speed with Scott Cutler (StockX), Harjeet Taggar (TripleByte) and Liz Wessel (WayUp)
Nothing is better than striking product-market fit and suddenly finding a path to rapid, venture-scale growth. But as that growth accelerates, how do you create the conditions to rapidly find, attract, and hire the talent you need to reach unicorn status? Hear from some of the leading recruiters and services on how they have successfully scaled recruiting and avoided key pitfalls.
Hiro Tamura is a Partner at Atomico and part of the firm’s leadership team. He focuses on consumer, FinTech, and software as well as leading Atomico’s investments in late stage venture. He led Atomico’s investment into Compass, Clutter, and Masterclass in the U.S., and MessageBird, Framer, and OneTwoTrip in Europe and sits on the boards of Clutter, MessageBird, Gympass, SmartNews, OneTwoTrip, Framer, and Quid. Hiro has over 20 years experience in founding companies, investing into, and helping fast growth technology companies expand internationally as both an investor and an entrepreneur. Prior to joining Atomico, he worked with the Skype founders to help them grow their business in Asia. He also co-founded and was the chief investment officer at SP&W Co for over 5 years. Hiro is a Japanese national with a BA in Economic and International Studies from Northwestern University. He is the only member of the Atomico team to have made investments in every continent, and finds the lifelong relationships he has built with a diverse group of game changing entrepreneurs from around the world to be his greatest reward.
Hiro's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Session 2
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
Melanie Tantingco
Melanie Tantingco is the Regional VP West of People Operations at Sisense and is focused on culture and talent acquisition. She joined Sisense following its merger with Periscope Data in May 2019. At Periscope Data, Melanie built up the recruiting and talent acquisition pipeline with specific focuses on diversity and inclusion, and has been a driving force behind the implementation of org-wide strategies to educate employees and establish support groups. She previously let recruiting teams at MuleSoft and Pearson Education, and has a bachelor’s degree in organizational sociology from the University of California, Davis.
Melanie's Sessions
Empowering a Diverse Workforce with Tracy Chou (Block Party) and Melanie Tantingco (Sisense)
Jennifer Tejada is the CEO and Chairperson of PagerDuty (NYSE: PD), a leading platform for real-time operations. She is a veteran software industry executive and business leader with over 25 years of experience, spanning mass consumer products to disruptive cloud and software solutions. She has a successful track record in product innovation, optimizing operations and scaling public and private enterprise technology companies. She led PagerDuty through a strong IPO in April 2019. Prior to her role at PagerDuty, Jennifer was the CEO of Keynote Systems where she led the company to strong profitable growth before its acquisition by Dynatrace in 2015. Before Keynote, Jennifer was Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at the enterprise software company Mincom leading its global strategy up to its acquisition in late 2011 by ABB. She has also held senior positions at Procter & Gamble and i2 Technologies (acquired by JDA Software). Jennifer currently serves as a board member of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) and Puppet, Inc. Jennifer holds a B.S. from the University of Michigan.
Jennifer's Sessions
Getting to IPO with Aaron Levie (Box) and Jennifer Tejada (PagerDuty)
PagerDuty CEO Jennifer Tejada led the company to a successful IPO earlier this year. She’ll join Box CEO Aaron Levie to talk about how these two companies charted their path to an IPO, the pros and cons of doing so, and life after ringing the bell on Wall Street.
Sebastian Thrun is a scientist, educator, inventor, and entrepreneur. Sebastian is the CEO of Kitty Hawk, whose vision is to free people from traffic. He is also the founder, chairman, and president of Udacity, whose mission is to democratize education. Sebastian was the founder of X (previously Google X), where he led the development of the self-driving car, Google Glass, and other projects. He spent several years as a professor at Stanford University where he led the Stanford Racing Team, whose “Stanley” won the DARPA Grand Challenge. Stanley is now on display at the Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
Sebastian's Sessions
The Future of Flight with Sebastian Thrun (Kitty Hawk)
Sebastian Thrun — the scientist and inventor, educator and serial entrepreneur, Google moonshot factory chieftain and self-driving car architect — is coming back to Disrupt SF. This time, it’s to talk about his latest passion project: Kitty Hawk, the electric flying car company led by Thrun and backed by Google’s Larry Page. We’ll talk about the future of flight and how this startup aims to free people from traffic.
Remaking Mobility with Manik Gupta (Uber), Jesse Levinson (Zoox) and Sebastian Thrun (Kitty Hawk)
Bradley Tusk is the founder and CEO of Tusk Ventures.
Bradley's Sessions
Startup Battlefield: Session 3
TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition is back, as entrepreneurs from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
A few years ago, Susan Tynan framed four National Parks posters. When they rang up at $1600, she funneled her sticker shock into a revolutionary idea. She felt sure that if someone made high-quality custom framing easy and affordable, people would frame a lot more—and they have. Since 2014, Tynan has grown Framebridge from the ground up. After four years of record growth, the company opened their first retail location in March 2019. Prior to Framebridge, Tynan held product and business development roles at several consumer technology startups including LivingSocial, Taxi Magic, and Revolution Health. She began her career at Accenture and served as a management advisor on technology and customer service for the Obama White House. Tynan is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Harvard Business School.
Susan's Sessions
How to Take a Digital Brand Offline with Rich Fulop (Brooklinen), James Reinhart (thredUP), and Susan Tynan (Framebridge)
E-commerce has fundamentally changed the way we browse and buy physical goods. But even though online sales have taken a huge bite out of brick-and-mortar, it doesn’t mean that digital brands aren’t interested in the prospect of offline channels. Hear from three founders who have taken their own unique approach to launching a store.
Travis VanderZanden is the founder and CEO of Bird.
Travis's Sessions
Scooting to a Multibillion-Dollar Valuation with Travis VanderZanden (Bird)
It’s a jungle out there in the scooter wars, but that didn’t stop Bird from being on an epic tear this year. Hear from Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden about what it took to hit a $2.5 billion valuation and what the company is doing to improve its unit economics.
Bob van Dijk was appointed chief executive of Naspers in April 2014. He joined the group as Allegro Group CEO in August 2013 and was promoted to CEO Global Transaction eCommerce in October 2013. He has over 15 years of general management experience in online growth business, mainly with eBay and Schibsted, spanning the online marketplaces, online classifieds and fashion segments. Most recently he was vice-president and general manager of eBay Germany and Europe Emerging Markets. Prior to his general management career, Bob was an entrepreneur in online financial products. He started his career in McKinsey with a focus on mergers and acquisitions and media. Bob has an MBAHons from INSEAD and an MSc (cum laude) in econometrics from Erasmus University, Rotterdam.
Bob's Sessions
Investing and Operating in Growth Markets with Bob van Dijk (Prosus and Naspers)
Prosus is a global consumer internet company with interests in food delivery, payments and fintech, classifieds, travel, retail, media, social platforms and a dedicated ventures team, not to mention a huge stake in Tencent. Hear from CEO Bob van Dijk about what Prosus believes is around the corner in these growth markets and why Naspers listed Prosus on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange in September, creating Europe’s largest listed consumer internet company in 2019.
Bharat Vasan is an accomplished entrepreneur and investor, having led consumer, connected device startups in both the technology and cannabis spaces. Bharat believes that technology can be an empowering force for millions of adults who are looking to take the guesswork out of cannabis. Bharat was most recently CEO of PAX Labs, where he led the company through its post-split transition. Prior to PAX, Bharat led two venture-backed consumer companies to successful acquisitions as President, August Home, Inc. (acquired by Assa Abloy in 2017) and Co-founder, Basis Science, Inc. (acquired by Intel in 2014). Prior to his startup life, Bharat served as the COO and CFO for Electronic Arts’ Online team, and was a member of EA’s global mergers and acquisitions team from 2002 to 2010.
Bharat's Sessions
The Grass Is Greener with Keith McCarty (WAYV) and Bharat Vasan
The cannabis industry is projected to reach $50 billion in ten years. Keith McCarty and Bharat Vasan represent two of the biggest names in the market. Hear the duo talk about an industry with undeniable potential, but plenty of red tape to deal with, too.
Hans Vestberg is chairman and chief executive officer of Verizon, a leading provider of wireless, fiber-optic and global Internet networks and services. Prior to assuming the role of CEO in August 2018 and the role of Chairman in March 2019, Mr. Vestberg served as Verizon’s chief technology officer and president of Global Networks from 2017, with responsibility for further developing the architecture for Verizon’s fiber-centric networks. At Verizon, he is focused on delivering seamless experiences for customers over network assets consisting of the country’s leading 4G LTE network, the largest 5G test-bed in the U.S., the nation’s biggest residential fiber network, a global internet backbone and undersea cable network carrying much of the world’s internet traffic, and fiber assets in 45 of the top 50 markets in the U.S. https://www.instagram.com/hansvestberg/
Hans's Sessions
The Next Generation of Wireless with Hans Vestberg (Verizon)
Hear us interview our boss’s boss’s boss about the promise (and potential perils) of deploying 5G wireless technology.
Liz Wessel loves helping people get hired. She is the Co-Founder and CEO of WayUp, the go-to platform used by millions of early-career professionals to get hired, and by thousands of employers to scale their early career recruiting without scaling their recruiting teams — all with an emphasis on diversity and candidate experience. Founded in July 2014, WayUp is a venture-backed startup based in NYC that has raised over $30M and was named by CNN as one of the 30 most innovative companies changing the world. WayUp has worked with top companies — including Fortune 500s, startups, and nonprofits — to help them reach, recruit, and engage with the next generation of talent. Liz has been featured as one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30, named one of the “18 Coolest Women in Silicon Valley” by Business Insider, and one of New York Business Journal’s “Most Influential Women.” Liz has been a featured speaker at TedX, the Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit, TechCrunch Disrupt, SXSW, and several other notable events. Before founding WayUp, Liz worked at Google as a Product Marketing Manager in California and India.
Liz's Sessions
How to Hire at Breakneck Speed with Scott Cutler (StockX), Harjeet Taggar (TripleByte) and Liz Wessel (WayUp)
Nothing is better than striking product-market fit and suddenly finding a path to rapid, venture-scale growth. But as that growth accelerates, how do you create the conditions to rapidly find, attract, and hire the talent you need to reach unicorn status? Hear from some of the leading recruiters and services on how they have successfully scaled recruiting and avoided key pitfalls.
Nadav is the co-founder of Team8 and works closely with the Team8 portfolio on growth. Nadav delivers presentations on stages around the world to executives, boards and security professionals on integrating resilience mechanisms into organizations, and on cyber as an enabler of true digital transformation. He has presented at the World Economic Forum, World50, Google’s Zeitgeist, xPrize, FireEye’s Annual Summit and Israel’s CyberTech. Prior to founding Team8, Nadav was the founder of the Israel Defense Forces’ Cyber Command, and the Commander of 8200 Unit – Israel’s elite military technology unit that has become an incubator for Israel’s renowned high-tech sector. Nadav brings 25 years of extensive experience in cyber leadership. Nadav holds an LL.B from the Interdisciplinary Centre Herzliya (IDC) and an MBA from Tel-Aviv University and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Nadav's Sessions
When Spies Meet Startups with Admiral Mike Rogers and Nadav Zafrir (Team8)
Since leaving the world of intelligence, former NSA director Adm. Mike Rogers and ex-Israeli cyber-intelligence chief Nadav Zafrir talk shop about what startups need learn about security.
Securing Your Startup with Dug Song (Duo Security), Jennifer Sunshine Steffens (IOActive), and Nadav Zafrir (Team8)
Jennifer M. Granholm was sworn in as the 16th Secretary of Energy on February 25, 2021, becoming just the second woman to lead the U.S. Department of Energy. Secretary Granholm will lead the Department in helping America achieve President Biden’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 by advancing cutting-edge clean energy technologies, creating millions of good-paying union clean energy jobs, and building an equitable clean energy future. Secretary Granholm will also oversee DOE’s core missions of promoting American leadership in scientific discovery, maintaining the nuclear deterrent and reducing nuclear danger, and remediating the environmental harms caused by legacy defense programs.
Secretary Jennifer's Sessions
The Future of Cities with Aicha Evans (Zoox) and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm
Aicha Evans, the CEO of self-driving vehicle startup Zoox, and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm will talk about how innovative technologies support smart city infrastructure and provide new and sustainable ways for people to live and work in these urban areas.
Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag is the Founder & CEO of 100 Thieves, a gaming lifestyle organization that competes in top professional esports including League of Legends, Call of Duty, and Fortnite. Matt leads the company’s creative, brand, and strategic direction, while also sitting on the company’s Board of Directors. Prior to founding 100 Thieves, Matt was one of the most decorated esports athletes in video game history. Originally a Call of Duty competitor, from 2011 – 2015 Matt was captain of the OpTic Gaming team, which he led to both an X Games Gold Medal and a Call of Duty World Championship. In 2014, Matt was named Esports Athlete of the Year. After retiring from competitive play, Matt built some of the most popular gaming channels on Twitch and YouTube, and was named Forbes 30 under 30 for his success as an entrepreneur and content creator. In 2017, Matt founded 100 Thieves as a creative outlet for his passions in competitive gaming, storytelling, and streetwear. Matt grew up in Chicago, Illinois where he attended college and was working at McDonald’s before leaving both to pursue his career as a professional gamer. His biggest inspiration came from his father who taught him that nothing in life comes easy, contributing to 100 Thieves’ motto: “Take What’s Not Given.” Matt is based in Los Angeles and can be found online @Nadeshot.
Matthew's Sessions
Trophies, Twitch and T-Shirts with Scooter Braun and Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag (100 Thieves)
100 Thieves is one of the few esports orgs to look to Silicon Valley for investment – and it’s paying off. Hear from former pro gamer and 100 Thieves CEO and founder Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag and 100 Thieves co-owner Scooter Braun on how they built a brand worth more than $160 million that turns fans into ambassadors.
Asher King-Abramson is the founder of Got Users, a growth agency working with the fastest-growing companies in Silicon Valley. He has helped drive $100M+ in revenue across 100+ startups and has led sessions on growth at Y Combinator, Village Global, and Google. He previously co-founded Demand Curve (YC S19), a well-known marketing training program.
Asher's Sessions
Growth Marketing Teardown Workshop with Asher King-Abramson (Demand Curve)
Learn about the right ways and wrong ways to create great assets for paid channels, landing pages and more in this teardown workshop with Asher King-Abramson, a top growth marketer who works with dozens of YC companies (and many others).
Jess Lee is Partner at Sequoia Capital. She is a board director at Ironclad, Maven Clinic, Wonolo, Squint, and Flagship. In addition to investing, she is also Chief Product Officer and leads the engineering, product, design, and data science teams at Sequoia. Prior to Sequoia, she was Co-Founder & CEO of fashion app Polyvore (acquired by Yahoo in 2015) and a product manager for Google Maps. Jess is also a founding and board member of All Raise, a non-profit dedicated to improving diversity in the tech industry. Jess has a B.S. from Stanford in Computer Science and loves manga, drawing, and cosplay.
Jess's Sessions
How Do I Exit and What Happens Next with Justin Kan (Atrium), Jess Lee (Sequoia Capital) and Mike Marquez (CodeAdvisors)
Most good startup outcomes are acquisitions, and most good acquisitions happen because a buyer needs your company for a specific reason. Hear from Justin Kan (sold Twitch) and Jess Lee (sold Polyvore) plus top Silicon Valley banker Mike Marquez of Code Advisors about how to make them happen the right way.
Frederic H. Moll, M.D. serves as Chief Development Officer of Johnson & Johnson’s Digital Surgery Group. Prior to Johnson & Johnson, Dr. Moll was CEO of Auris Health, Inc., located in Redwood City, California. Prior to Auris, Dr. Moll founded Hansen Medical and served as the company’s first CEO, and in 1995, founded Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (Nasdaq: ISRG). Dr. Moll earned a M.D. from the University of Washington, School of Medicine, a M.S. degree in Management from Stanford University’s Sloan Program, and a B.A. degree from the University of California at Berkeley.
Fred's Sessions
Robots and Returns with Frederic Moll (Johnson & Johnson) and Ajay Royan (Mithril Capital)
Frederic Moll is a pioneer in robotic surgical applications. Backed by Ajay Royan’s Mithril Capital he sold his last business to JNJ for $3 billion. Hear from these two industry leaders on the opportunities available in medical robotic field.
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