Agenda
September 13th
Managing Tech Talent
Human Capital is both an investment firm and a talent agency for engineers and aspiring entrepreneurs. Hear Human Capital cofounder Baris Akis and investor Michael Ovitz, the founder of CAA, discuss the importance of talent acquisition and retention in the tech world.
September 14th
Welcome: Matthew Panzarino (TechCrunch)
Love in the Time of COVID-19
Whitney Wolfe Herd was on the founding team at Tinder before charting her own course with Bumble. The dating app, which currently has more than 100 million users, puts the brand front and center. In the past year, following a scandal at parent company Badoo, Wolfe Herd has taken the reigns of the entire Magic Lab corporation, which owns Badoo, Bumble, Lumen and Chappy dating apps. Hear from Wolfe Herd about the future of online dating and how she’s stayed down to earth during her meteoric rise to the top of the dating industry.
How to Raise Money in a Dumpster Fire
Garry Tan started his first company, Posterous in 2008, so the Initialized Capital co-founder knows a thing or two about economic crises and how they can effect fundraising. Hans Tung, GGV’s Midas-list dealmaker has seen downturns on three continents in his tenure investing in the US, China, and Latin America for the globe-spanning investment firm, while Anu Hariharan has spent the last decade putting companies through their paces at BCG, A16Z, and most recently, YC. They’ll be delivering the goods on how to get that gelt during this raging dumpster fire of a year.
The Business of Quantum
Quantum computing is having a moment. We now have limited but working hardware available from a number of vendors and there is a growing startup ecosystem that is creating novel hardware approached and a new class of software tools to run these machines and program them. In this panel, we’ll talk about what’s next for quantum computing, the challenges ahead and the roles startups play in fulfilling the promise of this technology.
Planning for Your Startup’s Exit: The How’s and the When’s
When Cloudflare IPO’d last year it certainly wasn’t the end of its 10 year journey, and nor was it PlanGrid’s when it was acquired by Autodesk in 2018. Cloudflare’s Michelle Zatlyn and PlanGrid’s Tracy Young will guide us through both their respective company’s journey and their own as founders.
Breaking The Reel
In 2005, when he was a development executive for Appian Way Productions, Franklin Leonard disrupted a Hollywood ritual and published an industry survey of the best scripts that hadn’t made it to production. That list is now a technology driven enterprise called The Black List. It’s one of the greatest resources out there for an emerging screenwriter, democratizing access to the industry to writers from anywhere. If that’s not disruptive, I don’t know what is.
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.
Pitch Deck Teardown
Talk through the nuts and bolts of what makes a great deck (or not) with top investors as they go through your submitted pitches live on stage.
How to Invest in Infrastructure to Deliver Experience
Gabie Boko, Global VP Digital, Hewlett Packard Enterprise & Adobe VP of Platform Engineering, Anjul Bhambhri discuss digital transformation and experience delivery.
Tech, Test and Treat: Healthcare Startups in the COVID-19 Era
Both Carbon Health and Color have shifted significant portions of their business to focus on addressing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We’ll talk to them about the challenges of making that quick turn, and about how healthcare innovation can address our pandemic needs.
The Black Founder Experience: Tactical Advice for Underrepresented Entrepreneurs
How does the startup experience differ for founders from underrepresented groups? What are the biggest ongoing challenges, and how can they be tackled? We’ll hear from Y Combinator CEO Michael Seibel and the founders of Squire and AptDeco on their experiences starting companies and raising money as Black entrepreneurs.
Disrupt Desk
Hang with us at the Disrupt Desk to catch up on what you’ve missed from across the show and get a sneak peek at new technology, demos, news and more. Paul Budnitz of Superplastic joins us for a special announcement.
Building a Low-Code Unicorn
Low-code/no-code has been a buzzword for years now, but few companies have taken this idea to its logical conclusion the way Airtable has with its spreadsheet-like interface. With a valuation of over $1 billion, the company is now at the forefront of this movement. We’ll talk to Airtable co-founder and CEO Howie Liu about building a user-friendly low-code service, enterprise sales in the age of COVID-19, and what’s next for the no-code/low-code space.
Building Consumer Hardware in 2020
“Hardware is hard,” as the saying goes. But has building a hardware company gotten any easier over the years? Is building a hardware company in 2020 a reasonable endeavor… or is it tougher than ever? Eric Migicovsky (Partner at Y Combinator, and founder of smartwatch pioneer Pebble) and Kate Whitcomb (CEO of Chrysalis Cloud, formerly CEO of Cocoon Health and a Partner at the HAX hardware accelerator) will share their insight on the evolving landscape of consumer hardware and the challenges involved.
Looking Toward the Future of Tech in China and Silicon Valley
Edith Yeung, general partner at Race Capital and the creator of the China Internet Report, has invested in over 50 startups including Lightyear/Stellar, Silk Labs, Chirp and Fleksy. Join us in a conversation about which emerging technology trends in China and the United States will leave an impact.
Decoding Decacorn Byju’s Journey and Future Ambitions
At a time when startups are struggling to raise capital, Indian edtech giant has not only raised hundreds of millions of dollars, it has also bought a startup for $300 million. How did Byju build this startup in a country where very few people are willing to pay? And what does India’s second most valued startup plan to do next?
1:30 PM (HKT) Live Q&A with Edith Yeung
Come to this live Q&A prepared with your questions.
11:30 AM (IST) Live Q&A with Byju Raveendran
Come to this live Q&A prepared with your questions.
September 15th
Entrepreneur to VC: Unpacking Suranga Chandratillake's Journey
Suranga Chandratillake has (almost) seen it all, and predicted much. He was the early CTO for Autonomy. He then founded blinkx in 2004 because he figured there would be a need for a search engine for video and audio content. Blinx shifted from London to San Francisco, became profitable, and even IPO’d for $1Bn. He now invests in many of Europe’s hottest startups. We will be unpacking all that experience and more at this special Disrupt SF session in Europe.
10:30 AM (CET) Live Q&A with Suranga Chandratillake
Come to this live Q&A prepared with your questions for Suranga Chandratillake.
From Fighting Fit to Fighting Waste: Building Big Startups on Big Ideas
Mette Lykke made her name as the founder of Endomondo, an early app in the quantified self fitness rush eventually acquired by UnderArmor to help people track all their physical activities. Now she’s building Too Good To Go to fight food waste. The common theme? Tech for self-improvement. Join us to hear about how she turns big ideas into businesses.
11:00 AM (CET) Live Q&A with Mette Lykke
Come to this live Q&A prepared with your questions.
Taiwan Reception: Innovations and investment opportunities amid COVID19 Pandemics with Christine Tsai (500 Startups), Allan May (Life Science Angels)
Join Christine, Allan, Tico Blumenthal (Life Sciences Angels), and Laura Dietch (BioTrace Medical) to explore the investment and innovation framework in post-COVID19, and to discuss the driver of innovation healthcare amid the pandemic and economic collapse. TTA will also present the key anti-COVID19 innovative measurements in Taiwan to achieve the lowest infection rate around the world. “
Diversity as Disruption: Take action now to create a more diverse ecosystem
Recent events continue to demonstrate that change is not happening fast enough. How can we ensure the current social justice momentum is more than just talk? Guided by SVB’s recent research into the “4th wave of venture capital,” learn how three industry leaders are tackling the problem with real actions. By the close of the session, leave with tangible steps you can take today – whether as an individual or as a firm — to make a meaningful, move-the-needle impact in your organization.
Welcome: Matthew Panzarino (TechCrunch)
Getting to $100M ARR
TechCrunch speaks with three private companies that have reached the $100 million Annual Recurring Revenue mark. We’ll explore what they had to break, and rebuild in their companies as they scaled, and what they learned as they left the early-stages of startup life and built companies that are nearly ready to go public.
Fueling the Future
Public interest in sustainability is higher than its ever been. Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech, has dedicated her life to this cause. Hear Holmgren discuss how LanzaTech is planning for a circular carbon economy, where carbon emissions are transformed into fuel.
Is Triller a TikTok Killer?
“TikTok is for kids,” reads the sign inside Triller’s HQ. The video app has even briefly hit number one on the App Store charts, beating out its rival. And let’s not forget Triller’s relatively high profile new user in the form of President Donald Trump. Obviously, we have plenty to discuss with Triller CEO Mike Lu.
How to Craft Your Pitch Deck for 2020
Today you might be pitching by email, audio, video, VR or IRL to all types of investors across the globe. How do you tell your story in a way that reaches the right people the right way without you diverting too much time from building your company? The traditional deck of powerpoint slides still has a place, but you need to manage many more opportunities for fundraising, too. We’ll talk through the latest tactics that founders are using around the world.
Looking into the Future
Botha is the U.S. head of Sequoia Capital. It’s a powerful position but it also comes with great responsibility, including to help steer the company’s portfolio companies through the pandemic and its ripple effects. Hear how Botha is advising founders and why, even in trying times, he expects startup founders to reshape the world.
Disrupt Desk
Hang with us at the Disrupt Desk to catch up on what you’ve missed from across the show and get a sneak peek at new technology, demos, news and more. Blake Scholl of Boom Supersonic joins us for a special announcement.
Showing Your Work: VCs Investing in Diversity Share Their Secrets
More than 80% of venture capital firms don’t have a single Black investor and 68% of firms don’t have any female partners. As VCs across the country urgently seek to diversify both their investing teams and their portfolios, they could learn a lot from these amazing investors, who have made diversity a central part of their investing thesis from the start. Join us for a candid conversation about the power of investing in underrepresented founders and tapping into over $4.4 trillion in value. This panel will be moderated by Pam Kostka, CEO of All Raise featuring Sarah Kunst, Founder & Managing Director at Cleo Capital and Christie Pitts, General Partner at Backstage Capital who are both leading VCs who focus their investments on founders from underrepresented backgrounds.
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.
Pitch Deck Teardown
Talk through the nuts and bolts of what makes a great deck (or not) with top investors as they go through your submitted pitches live on stage.
Innovating with Fuel Cells
James Kast demonstrates how Toyota continues to navigate the innovation of fuel cells and the implementation across numerous industries.
Thinking Outside the Dropbox
When it comes to being a founder, Drew Houston has pretty much been through it all. From launching a company to raising from some of the prestigious investors in Silicon Valley to taking the company public. Hear about how his company is playing a key role in expediting digital transformation as the pandemic has pushed companies to the cloud faster than they ever imagined.
Disrupt Desk
Hang with us at the Disrupt Desk to catch up on what you’ve missed from across the show and get a sneak peek at new technology, demos, news and more. The Chainsmokers Alex Pall and Drew Taggert join us for a special announcement.
How to Raise Your First Dollars
Deciding how to go about getting your initial funding is always a tricky subject, as the wrong move could adversely impact your young company. In this session we’ll hear from experts who’ve shepherded multiple companies from the earliest to the latest fundraises.
Hitting Send
More than 1 billion messages are sent through Facebook Messenger every single day. Hear from Stan Chudnovsky on how his team has evolved through the pandemic, how he thinks about shipping features for a product used by billions of people, and what’s next for one of the biggest communication platforms in the world.
In the Big Leagues
In a few short years, PlayVS has put eSports leagues in high schools across the country, partnering with gaming giants and school systems. The startup has raised $96 million with founder Delane Parnell at the helm, now they’re looking to expand their ambitions. With traditional high school athletic programs likely to be deeply impacted by COVID-19, will eSports see even greater adoption?
Getting to the Growth Stage
Hear from leading growth stage investors Yasmin Razavi at Spark Capital and Elliott Robinson at Bessemer Venture Partners about what they look for in hyper-scaling startups and the metrics they evaluate before writing a check.
Disrupt Desk
Hang with us at the Disrupt Desk to catch up on what you’ve missed from across the show and get a sneak peek at new technology, demos, news and more. Ade Ajao joins us to talk about his new fund.
Speed of Thought: The First 5G Visionaries
Innovators are using the power of 5G to tackle some of the biggest challenges and opportunities being faced today. See the premiere of Speed of Thought, a documentary about the first wave of 5G visionaries, and hear industry leaders discuss how the need for 5G tech and solutions is more urgent than ever.
TC Include Reception sponsored by Sootchy
PRIVATE EVENT – TC Include kicks off this year’s founder cohort with organizational partners Black Female Founders, Female Founders Alliance, Latinx Startup Alliance and StartOut with remarks by Sootchy.
How Tech Can Help Asia’s Aging Population
Caregiving, especially for elderly people, is one of Southeast Asia’s most pressing social issues. We talk to Gillian Tee, co-founder of Homage, about building a platform that pairs specific, qualified carers with clients, and how startups can do more to address the needs of families.
Facebook’s Play in its Biggest Market
American social giant Facebook already reaches more users in India, the world’s second largest internet market, than any other firm. If that did not make Facebook significant enough, it has also started writing big checks to Indian firms. Remember its $5.7 billion investment in Jio? What makes India, which makes little contribution to any American firm’s bottom line, so attractive to Facebook? And what does the social giant have in store for the country ahead?
1:30 PM (HKT) Live Q&A with Gillian Tee
Come to this live Q&A prepared with your questions for Gillian Tee.
11:30 AM (IST) Live Q&A with Ajit Mohan
Come to this live Q&A prepared with your questions for Ajit Mohan.
September 16th
From Early Stage to Growth: Unpacked by Sophia Bendz and Carolina Brochado
Sophia Bendz left Atomico to pursue her passion of early-stage investing, while Carolina Brochado has joined EQT Ventures to target growth-stage startups. We’ll look at this full spectrum investing with these experienced investors.
10:30 AM (CET) Live Q&A with Sophia Bendz and Carolina Brochado
Come to this live Q&A prepared with your questions for Sophia Bendz and Carolina Brochado.
Cracking the Code in Chat Commerce
With zero stock and a huge global fan base, Threads has turned heads in the luxury ecommerce space. Hear from founder Sophie Hill on building global distribution, the social channels poised to take the market and how Threads is staying ahead of the curve.
11:00 AM (CET) Live Q&A with Sophie Hill
Come to this live Q&A prepared with your questions for Sophie Hill.
Welcome: Matthew Panzarino (TechCrunch)
Little Wires Everywhere
Kerry Washington is perhaps best known for her work in Hollywood, but she’s been making a name for herself in tech over the last few years. An investor in The Wing, Community and teeth-straightening service Byte, Washington’s portfolio consists of products and services that aim to give people a voice or improve their quality of life. In this fireside chat, Washington will discuss what brought her into the tech industry, her investment strategy and the rise of streaming platforms. And, as an activist and someone who has spoken up about the lack of diversity in Hollywood, Washington will share her views on diversity, inclusion and equity in tech.
The Changing Landscape of Property Tech
Connie, Chan, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, Merritt Hummer, partner at Bain Capital Ventures and Brendan Wallace, co-founder and managing partner at Fifth Wall are at the center of these changes. These investors will discuss the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in property tech as well as advice for startups in the industry.
Making Bank
In 2002 Mitchell Elegbe founded digital finance startup Interswitch to connect Nigeria’s banking system. More than a decade later, his company is valued at over $1 billion and supports billions in digital payment activity across Africa. Interswitch is poised to become Africa’s first major fintech firm to list on a major exchange. Elegbe will discuss the future of digital finance in Africa and globally.
Building a Startup During the “Work From Home” Revolution
We’re delighted to bring together a trio of the world’s best expert investors on the topic and explore this critical trend further. Sarah Cannon is a partner at Index Ventures where she has backed such team productivity tools as Notion, focused messaging app Quill, and Pitch. Next we have Sarah Guo, who is a general partner at Greylock where she has invested in Clubhouse, family benefits platform Cleo and several cybersecurity companies. Finally, Dave Munichiello will join. He is a general partner at GV who has backed Slack, GitLab, Plaid, and a whole lot of other well-known enterprise startups.
Disrupt Desk
Hang with us at the Disrupt Desk to catch up on what you’ve missed from across the show and get a sneak peek at new technology, demos, news and more. Join Eric Feigl-Ding from Federation of American Sciences for the latest on COVID-19 research.
CRISPR in the post-COVID Era
What has the global COVID-19 pandemic changed about the biotech industry in general, and CRISPR in particular? Dr. Jennifer Doudna, who co-discovered the revolutionary CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology, joins us to discuss the immediate and lasting implications of the novel coronavirus and transformations in genetic science.
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.
Pitch Deck Teardown
Talk through the nuts and bolts of what makes a great deck (or not) with top investors as they go through your submitted pitches live on stage.
How Voice Computing Conquered the World
Amazon’s Alexa heads Rohit Prasad and Toni Reid will join us to discuss the voice assistant’s rise from curiosity to ubiquitous computing platform. The pair will discuss life beyond the smart speaker and where voice computing goes from here.
How to Build a Service Marketplace
Building service marketplaces require companies to serve all sides of the ecosystem, or at least have an understanding of the ecosystem as a whole. In this panel, we’ll explore how to deliver on the value proposition for your customers, business partners and delivery partners, if you have them. DoorDash and Peloton are perfect examples of running a service marketplace, and their co-founders and CTOs Andy Fang and Yony Feng are here to tell you how.
Making Data Meaningful for the FinTech Ecosystem
Open finance/banking represents a new era of financial data transparency. It brings an unprecedented opportunity for FinTechs to provide personalized guidance consumers need to improve financial wellness. Envestnet | Yodlee experts will discuss empowering the entire FinTech ecosystem with enriched financial data and insights, plus the future of open banking in the U.S.
Disrupt Desk
Hang with us at the Disrupt Desk to catch up on what you’ve missed from across the show and get a sneak peek at new technology, demos, news and more. Phil Libin of All Turtles joins us for a special announcement about his new product mmhmm.
Daphne Koller's Push to Marry Big Data to Big Pharma
Drug discovery and testing is a complex, fraught process that modern computing methods promise to reinvent — but only with the right data, the right tools, and the right people (and a lot of money). Coursera and Calico veteran Daphne Koller thinks she has all the right ingredients in her new company Insitro.
Scaling Good Very Well
You can’t get too far in Silicon Valley without hearing a founder utter the words “we want to change the world.” When it comes to Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, founder of Promise, and Jessica O. Matthews, founder of Uncharted Power, they can actually bring the receipts. Hear from these entrepreneurs about how they’ve managed their businesses not only to scale good, but to scale well.
How to Think Strategically About Growth in 2020
Users in 2020 are split across more and more platforms and splintered by geographies. They’re also jaded about marketing and have less money than before the pandemic. So how do you find the right customers and audience members to build a business with your limited time and budget? Hear from the experts on big growth marketing trends and cutting-edge tactics in key acquisition channels including SEO, social, email and more.
Digitizing Indonesia
As the largest economy in Southeast Asia, Indonesia has attracted both domestic and foreign investors to bet on its burgeoning tech sector. We talk to Melisa Irene, the first female partner at Indonesia-focused East Ventures, about the aspiring startups helping brick-and-mortar businesses to go digital as well as other internet trends in the region.
State of India’s Startup Ecosystem
10 years ago, a $50 million check was unheard of in India. Now several startups are raising more than $1 billion each a year in the country. How did Indian startups get here, and what lies ahead of them? What opportunities do VCs see in the country?
1:30 PM (HKT) Live Q&A with Melisa Irene
Come to this live Q&A prepared with your questions for Melisa Irene.
Changing How We Consume News
SmartNews is tackling some of the media industry’s most complicated issues in two very different markets: Japan (where it was founded) and the United States. Join co-founder and chief operating officer Kaisei Hamamoto to learn how SmartNews gives publishers a larger platform while helping users sort through the noise to find the news they need.
11:30 AM (IST) Live Q&A with Karthik Reddy
Come to this live Q&A prepared with your questions for Karthik Reddy.
2:30 PM (HKT) Live Q&A with Kaisei Hamamoto
Come to this live Q&A prepared with your questions for Kaisei Hamamoto.
September 17th
Finance and the Digital Divide
Fintech and e-commerce have been two of the most interesting and successful categories to emerge out of the African tech ecosystem. Join us as we talk to Tunde Kehinde, once described as the “Jeff Bezos” of Africa, about the ups and downs of building startups in the region, and how his current company, Lidya, is helping a new generation of businesses get off the ground.
10:30 AM (CET) Live Q&A with Tunde Kehinde
Come to this live Q&A prepared with your questions for Tunde Kehinde.
Taming Dragons in Europe
Supercell has not only been one of Europe’s biggest startup success stories; it has been one of the gaming world’s biggest success stories. Join Ilkka Paananen, the founder and CEO, as he talks about his journey building Supercell, how he continues to run it like a startup, and the opportunities — especially now — in Europe to do more.
11:00 AM (CET) Live Q&A with Ilkka Paananen
Come to this live Q&A prepared with your questions for Ilkka Paananen.
Welcome: Matthew Panzarino (TechCrunch)
Retail is in the Details
Fabletics is one of the most tech-forward retail brands of the past decade. Hear from co-CEO Adam Goldenberg and investor (and famed comedian) Kevin Hart on what the future holds for the Athliesure brand and which sectors are catching Hart’s attention.
The Future of SaaS
In 2020 SaaS companies have seen their values drop sharply, and rebound even more quickly. TechCrunch is chatting with a few VCs with deep insight into the SaaS world to talk about which startups are accelerating, lagging, or breaking out. And we’ll explore what’s changed in terms of venture expectations for SaaS companies, and what makes them stand out from their peers when it comes to placing bets.
Greenlighting A New Generation of Storytellers
Legendary producer Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, one of the world’s most successful actors, directors and producers has created some of the most iconic films and television shows of the last 35 years (Apollo 13, Arrested Development, and The Da Vinci Code to name a few). But entertainment — like tech — is all about disruption. So, to tap into how it will be created and delivered in the future, the pair have teamed up with entrepreneur Tyler Mitchell to launch Imagine Impact, a Silicon Valley-style accelerator where promising writers connect with mentors to build their stories and help them take to market. Impact signed a deal in June with Netflix to expand that pipeline, so come hear about what else they have planned, and what the three of them think about the future of features.
How Embedded Finance Represents the Future of FinTech
The fintech industry has had a wild couple of years. Consumer fintech startups have been massively successful and managed to attract millions of customers. At the same time, enterprise companies have created the infrastructure that will make finance truly digital, from payments to API-driven integrations and risk assessment. In this panel, we’ll talk about what’s next for the fintech industry. Will tech companies all become fintech companies at some point with embedded financial products? Will new tech giants thrive by powering those embedded financial products?
Putting Robots to Work
In his first public speaking engagement since becoming the CEO of Boston Dynamics, Robert Playter will discuss the company’s transition from research robotics darlings to commercial production. As an employee for more than 25 years, Playter has unique insight into the company’s growth and plans to help robots become an increasingly important driver of our daily lives.
Advertising Disrupted: What User Privacy Means For Marketers
This TechCrunch Disrupt session offers the unique opportunity to join a live recording of AppsFlyer’s industry podcast, Next in Marketing. Mike Shields, podcast host and former Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, AdWeek and Digiday editor along with guests (Brian Quinn, US President & GM, AppsFlyer and Ana Milicevic, Co-founder and Principal, Sparrow Advisers) will delve into the ecosystem’s pivotal privacy updates, including Apple’s IDFA opt-out and the impact of iOS 14 to measurement and attribution, as well as targeting in a cookieless world. You’ll also hear about the future of personalization post-regulations in this session that is sure to address the most pressing issues and headlines on the mind of marketers globally.
Building a Company from a Bold Idea
When Cloudflare launched at TechCrunch Disrupt in 2010, it aspired to do nothing less than fix the internet. We’ll talk to co-founder Michelle Zatlyn about how she and her co-founders took this audacious idea and built a successful public company.
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.
Pitch Deck Teardown
Talk through the nuts and bolts of what makes a great deck (or not) with top investors as they go through your submitted pitches live on stage.
How Data Can Power the Racial Justice Movement
Insights from data can help us see the shape of the problem — and create solutions for change. Join data scientist and co-founder of Campaign Zero, Samuel Sinyangwe to discuss.
Under the Radar
Sitting on the boards of Airtable, Docker, Cloudera, and New Relic (to name a few), and with investments in Twitter, Yelp, Zendesk, and Hortonworks, Peter Fenton has been a force in Silicon Valley. Catch this very rare interview with the legendary VC, who usually flies under the radar, to hear about the future of startups and VC.
How to Iterate Your Product
If getting insights on product development from current and former product heads at places like Facebook, Zoom, Slack, Hulu and Oculus doesn’t sound like something you’re interested in just get out of tech now. Leave. It’s over. Go work in an insurance company. Get your brokers license. Just do something else.
It Takes An Ecosystem To Innovate: Startups, Corporations and the Connectors that Bring Them Together
We convene top innovation leaders from around the ecosystem — Alice Vilma of Morgan Stanley, Rishi Roongta of Bain & Company and Terry Angelos of Visa — to learn how they discover innovative solutions and get to outcomes faster. Many already know that startups plus large enterprises can fuel each other’s growth and bottom line, whether it’s a partnership, investment or acquisition. But bringing the right ones together needs more than serendipity: it requires a dynamic ecosystem that includes consultants, accelerators and VCs (aka the connectors). Join us for rich insights and actionable advice that will enhance your firm’s approach.
Disrupt Desk
Hang with us at the Disrupt Desk to catch up on what you’ve missed from across the show and get a sneak peek at new technology, demos, news and more. Author David Sanger joins us to talk about the new HBO film, “The Perfect Weapon.”
The Next Generation of Media
Blavity and The Shade Room have both demonstrated that Black audiences are looking for digital publishers who speak to their experiences and interests. We’ll talk to their founders about how they did it, how they’re building scalable businesses and how other publications can do a better job of reaching diverse audiences.
How to Build an Alternative Company
Beyond raising traditional venture capital and beyond the pursuing-growth-at-all-costs strategy, there are people in the startup ecosystem that are finding success through less mainstream avenues. Conductor CEO Seth Besmertnik, Driver’s Seat CEO Hays Witt and Aniyia Williams of Black & Brown Founders and Zebras Unite, are three of these people. These founders have all taken alternative approaches in their entrepreneurial journeys, whether that’s been forming as a cooperative, buying back a startup from a tech giant and then turning it into a majority employee-owned operation or converting into a cooperative fund that invests in startups tackling social issues. In this discussion, you’ll learn how to build a company that puts profits and users first, and VCs last.
Spycraft and Cybersecurity
The NSA is one of the world’s top spy agencies, but its cybersecurity mission has taken a more transparent approach. We’ll hear from Anne Neuberger, who heads NSA’s new Cybersecurity Directorate, about its first year, current cyber threats, and how NSA seeks to disrupt foreign adversaries and enable you to be more cyber secure.
How Things Get Built in the Middle of a Pandemic
How has COVID-19 impacted how and where the stuff we use gets built? We’ll hear from Arevo’s Sonny Vu and Anker CEO Steven Yang to learn more about how the world of manufacturing has had to adapt in 2020 and what might lay ahead.
Grabbing The Market
Hear from Russell Cohen, Group Managing Director of Grab (the region’s first decacorn startup) on how coronavirus has reshaped the ride-sharing industry and what’s next for the transportation giant.
1:30 PM (HKT) Live Q&A with Sonny Vu and Steven Yang
Come to this live Q&A prepared with your questions for Steven Yang and Sonny Vu.
2:00 PM (HKT) Live Q&A with Russell Cohen
Come to this live Q&A prepared with your questions for Russell Cohen.
September 18th
How Checkout.com Reached a $5.5 Billion Valuation in the Crowded Payment Space
Checkout.com has kept a low profile for many years. And yet, within a year, the company raised $380 million and reached an impressive valuation of $5.5 billion. Checkout.com isn’t the first payment startup that tries to cover everything, such as accepting transactions, processing them and detecting fraud. So what is the secret sauce? Founder and CEO Guillaume Pousaz will tell us more about his company’s strategy and the reason why it has experienced explosive growth.
Can VCs Identify New Markets?
Hoxton Ventures, the London-based seed-stage fund, is best known for backing British unicorns Babylon Health, Darktrace and Deliveroo — three companies that helped create the market categories they now compete so fiercely within. Meanwhile, according to Dealroom, Hoxton’s maiden fund has the highest ratio of unicorns to investments. But what does it take to spot a future unicorn in Europe or beyond? And can VCs really identify new markets before they exist? These are just some of the questions we’ll be putting to Hoxton founding partner Hussein Kanji.
10:30 AM (CET) Live Q&A with Guillaume Pousaz
Come to this live Q&A prepared with your questions for Guillaume Pousaz.
11:00 AM (CET) Live Q&A with Hussein Kanji
Come to this live Q&A prepared with your questions for Hussein Kanji.
Welcome: Matthew Panzarino (TechCrunch)
What's Next for Atlassian?
Atlassian’s tools have become ubiquitous for software teams around the world, but in today’s world, its collaboration tools also play a wider role inside of many companies. We’ll talk to the company’s co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes about life after the company’s successful IPO and how he plans to stay ahead of the next set of trends in software development.
Making Cents of Edtech in the Coronavirus Era
Edtech has been thrown into the spotlight during COVID-19. But did a scramble to adopt and surge in usage impact the sector for better or for worse? In this session, we’ll hear from investors who have bets in the biggest edtech companies on how the landscape has changed during the pandemic, and what they’re most excited for ahead.
Catching Dubs
When it comes to esports, perhaps no org commands as much respect as FaZe Clan. The esports organization competes across a wide range of titles, including CoD, Fortnite, PUBG, FIFA, and CounterStrike. With streamers like NateHill, NICKMERCS and Mongraal, and a thriving apparel business, FaZe Clan is a dominant force in gaming. Hear from FaZe Clan CEO Lee Trink, investor Troy Carter, and streamer NICKMERCS about what to expect from the pro gaming scene over the next decade and how the org uses tech to optimize its operations across every department.
How to Reinvent Your Sales Team in 2020
We’re bringing together the smartest leaders on sales in the Valley to discuss tactics and more. Brian Ascher is a partner at Venrock where for more than two decades he has invested in B2B sales-driven companies like 6Sense, Socrates AI, and Dynamic Signal. Next, Pete Kazanjy is one of the leading startup authorities on sales through his written works like “Founding Sales” and community building while also founding sales performance platform Atrium HQ. Finally, we have Jill Rowley, who has spent decades advising startups on sales and was also an early employee at Salesforce and Eloqua.
The State of Venture
All three of these VCs hail from among the most powerful investing firms in the country — NEA, Lux Capital, and GV. Yet each made the bold choice to strike out on their own, adding to a growing and diverse landscape of investment vehicles across the globe. Hear about why they did it, and learn about the trends that they’re funding as they build their businesses.
Startup Battlefield Final
The final round of 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.
Finding the Right Business Leadership Style for Your Startup
Becoming a successful leader isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula. It’s critical for founders to determine what leadership style best suits the needs and culture of their startup as well as the employees who work there. Carolyn Childers, co-founder and CEO of women leadership network Chief, Melissa Bradley co-founder of SMB networking platform Ureeka and Jerry Colonna, co-founder and CEO of executive coaching firm Reboot.io will dig into what makes a successful leader and how to find the right management style to fit you and your startup.
Cuckoo for CoCo
Conan O’Brien is one of the most recognizable faces on television. But his company, Team CoCo Digital, is hoping you recognize his voice just as much. With podcasting on the rise over the past few years, hear from O’Brien on what it takes to dominate the audio landscape.
Keeping Big Tech in Check
Few know Silicon Valley better than one of its longest-serving lawmakers, Rep. Zoe Lofgren. Both as a defender and critic, Lofgren has led the effort to keep Big Tech in check, not just for her electorate but their internet users around the world. We’ll talk policy, privacy, and other hot-button issues affecting Silicon Valley, now and in the future.
THIS WEEK ONLY: Founder & Investor Bundle Deals
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