October 27 – 29, 2025 • Moscone West, San Francisco
Unlock the investor experience at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 — the tech epicenter where tomorrow’s unicorns are discovered. Whether you’re focused on seed, growth, or late stage, this flagship tech conference is where you’ll meet your next portfolio company and gain insider access to the future of tech.
Direct access to 200 pitch-ready, TechCrunch-vetted startups
Stay ahead with a direct line to tomorrow’s innovation and founders
Tackle regulatory hurdles with exclusive investor-only programming
See why thousands of investors join Disrupt every year
Investor-only perks
Make the connections that lead to deals
Meet the vetted Startup Battlefield 200 startups
Meet 200 pre–Series A startups, handpicked by TechCrunch and sharpened through the SB 200 program — the global pitch competition that launches tomorrow’s giants. These founders bring polished pitches and breakthrough tech and are competing for $100,000 in equity-free funding — ready for your attention.
Image Credits:Slava Blazer Photography
Exclusive access to the Deal Flow Cafe
Have impromptu run-ins with founders actively seeking investors in a quiet space meant for only founders and investors. Grab a coffee, explore opportunities, and start meaningful conversations that could turn into your next deal.
Image Credits:TechCrunch
Founder list
Get early access to the full list of Disrupt founders who’ve opted in to connect with investors. Start scouting the next addition to your portfolio before the event even begins.
Image Credits:TechCrunch
Curated meetings
Schedule impactful meetings to connect one-on-one or in small groups with founders who match your investment focus. Browse topics, schedule meetings, and target the startups most aligned with your portfolio strategy.
StrictlyVC, the leading venture capital newsletter and event series, will host a boutique investor-only session — exclusive to Investor Pass holders — featuring an LP track and insider stories from top VCs, LPs, founders, and operators. Forge meaningful connections and walk away with actionable insights you can put to work.
Image Credits:Slava Blazer Photography
StrictlyVC Agenda
More speakers to be added to the lineup. Check back in for updates.
Lara Banks
Managing Director and Head of Private EquityMakena Capital
Dror Bin
CEOIsrael Innovation Authority
Kelli Fontaine
PartnerCendana Capital
Kevin Hartz
General PartnerA*
Matt Hodan
PartnerLexington Partner
Michael Kim
Founder and PartnerCendana Capital
Lara Banks
Managing Director and Head of Private Equity, Makena Capital
Lara Banks, a managing director, is head of Makena’s Private Equity team and is responsible for day-to-day portfolio management and manager selection across private equity investments. Prior to joining Makena in 2012, Lara was an associate at GE Energy Financial Services, a financial division investing across the capital structure of energy assets. Before working at GE, Lara was a power markets analyst at DC Energy, a proprietary energy trading firm. Lara earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in Economics and Government, magna cum laude, from Cornell University.
The LP Lens: Liquidity, Selection, and the Future of Venture
Venture capital starts and ends with LPs — but how are they making decisions in today’s market? In this candid conversation, top allocators share how they’re navigating liquidity crunches, rebalancing portfolios, and leveraging secondaries. We’ll also dig into what makes a GP stand out (or stumble) in a crowded fundraising environment. Expect tactical insights, red flags to avoid, and rapid-fire advice for emerging managers — plus a few “what would you do?” hypotheticals to put our panelists on the spot. ***The StrictlyVC program is dedicated to investor pass holders only.***
Dror Bin is the CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority, an independent public entity that operates for the benefit of the Israeli innovation ecosystem and Israeli economy as a whole. Its role is to nurture and develop Israeli innovation resources, while creating and strengthening the infrastructure and framework needed to support the entire knowledge industry.
Prior to his role at the Authority, Dror served as President and CEO of RAD Data Communications, a leading global telecom network solutions company with hundreds of employees at the company’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, a manufacturing center in Jerusalem and development center in Beer Sheva as well as dozens of corporate branches around the world.
Dror also served in a series of positions for close to a decade at Comverse Technology, the last one as a member of the management team and VP of Global Sales. Following this, Dror served as a venture partner at Carmel Ventures and a chairman at several of its portfolio companies. In addition, Dror served as a partner at Shaldor, a leading management consulting firm in Israel, where he led the development and implementation of business and marketing strategies for major organizations in the financial, consumer, retail, high-tech, banking and other industries.
Global High-Tech at a Crossroads: Trends, Emerging Technologies, and the Role of Deep-Tech
The global high-tech economy is navigating a complex landscape characterized by rapid technological advancements, evolving investment trends, increasing risks, and emerging opportunities. In this shifting environment, venture capitalists face tighter markets and shifting priorities due to global geopolitical headwinds. In this interview, the CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority will discuss global trends and outline how Israel, one of the world’s most dynamic and resilient innovation hubs, balances resilience and excellence with both local and global challenges. The discussion will also highlight how the country is doubling down on supporting bold deep-tech founders and investors, even in the toughest ***The StrictlyVC program is dedicated to investor pass holders only.***
Kelli Fontaine joined Cendana in 2018 and is a Partner on the Investment Committee. She leads the firm’s efforts around data, strategic relationships, and strategic initiatives. Ms. Fontaine joined from Trinity Capital Investment where she was the director for the Bay Area and deployed $75M of loans to growth stage companies in 2017. Prior to Trinity, she was on the operating side of fintech businesses. At RPX Corporation, she led the development, implementation, and execution of new market technology research techniques for the patent litigation insurance business, which served technology companies. RPX was backed by Kleiner Perkins, CRV, and Index; it went public within three years of its founding. Ms. Fontaine co-founded a point-of-sales analytics company focused on restaurants. She started her career at Capital Group on the consultant services team, and Credit Suisse in private wealth management where she worked with a small team responsible for $1.5Bn AUM and assisted the bank with Directed Share Programs and venture distributions. She holds a BA in Journalism and a BS in Business from the University of Colorado.
The LP Lens: Liquidity, Selection, and the Future of Venture
Venture capital starts and ends with LPs — but how are they making decisions in today’s market? In this candid conversation, top allocators share how they’re navigating liquidity crunches, rebalancing portfolios, and leveraging secondaries. We’ll also dig into what makes a GP stand out (or stumble) in a crowded fundraising environment. Expect tactical insights, red flags to avoid, and rapid-fire advice for emerging managers — plus a few “what would you do?” hypotheticals to put our panelists on the spot. ***The StrictlyVC program is dedicated to investor pass holders only.***
Kevin Hartz is a co-founder and general partner at A*, an early stage venture capital firm. He co-founded Eventbrite, a publicly traded company, and served as the CEO for the first 11 years of the company. Prior to Eventbrite, Kevin co-founded Xoom, a money remittance company that was acquired by PayPal in 2015 for over $1b. He is a prolific technology investor having backed companies such as PayPal, Airbnb, Pinterest, Ramp, Trulia, Anduril at the seed stage, and was an early investor in Uber, Palantir, SpaceX, Square, Gusto, Decagon, Ramp and many others.”
The GP–LP dynamic is the quiet engine that drives venture capital. Kevin Hartz of A* shares a founder-turned-investor’s perspective on cultivating lasting LP partnerships, managing expectations through cycles, and aligning on both vision and returns. From first meetings to multi-fund commitments, Hartz offers hard-earned advice on building trust and turning transactional relationships into long-term alliances. ***The StrictlyVC program is dedicated to investor pass holders only.***
Deal Flow Cafe
StrictlyVC
The Startup Battlefield Final
The grand final of TechCrunch’s iconic startup competition. Watch the final 5 teams from around the world pitch expert judges and vie for the Startup Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
Matt is a Partner at Lexington Partners, a leading global manager of private equity secondary and co-investment funds. Matt primarily focuses on technology investing through the acquisition of limited partnership interests in buyout, growth equity and venture capital funds, and direct interests in private companies. Prior to Lexington, Matt was a co-founder at Data Marketplace, a digital marketplace for data that was acquired, and an investor at Genstar Capital, a San Francisco-based middle market buyout firm. Matt began his career at J.P. Morgan’s investment bank and studied finance at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.
The LP Lens: Liquidity, Selection, and the Future of Venture
Venture capital starts and ends with LPs — but how are they making decisions in today’s market? In this candid conversation, top allocators share how they’re navigating liquidity crunches, rebalancing portfolios, and leveraging secondaries. We’ll also dig into what makes a GP stand out (or stumble) in a crowded fundraising environment. Expect tactical insights, red flags to avoid, and rapid-fire advice for emerging managers — plus a few “what would you do?” hypotheticals to put our panelists on the spot. ***The StrictlyVC program is dedicated to investor pass holders only.***
Michael Kim is the founder of Cendana Capital, an investment management firm based in San Francisco. With over $2 billion under management, Cendana Capital focuses on investing in very early-stage venture capital funds globally. Prior to founding Cendana, Mr. Kim was one of the original partners of Rustic Canyon, a VC firm with approximately $1 billion under management through 3 funds.
In March 2004, the Mayor of San Francisco appointed Mr. Kim to a 5-year term as a Trustee of SFERS, a $15 billion pension fund (during that time period). Mr. Kim served as Chairman on several board committees, including the Investment Committee, the Personnel Committee and the Finance Committee. Mr. Kim served as Vice President and later President of the board in fiscal year 2007 and 2008, respectively. While on the SFERS board, Mr. Kim led several successful initiatives including the succession of the Executive Director, increasing the human resources and organizational configuration for the investment staff and the implementation of a risk assessment program.
Prior to joining Rustic Canyon, Mr. Kim worked in the Technology Mergers and Acquisitions Group of Morgan Stanley in Menlo Park, CA, where he was directly involved with 27 announced transactions worth over $77 billion. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. Kim was an associate at The Chase Manhattan Bank in New York, NY, where he completed the credit training program, and also worked at IBM Corporation in Armonk, NY.
Mr. Kim received his AB with honors from the College of Arts & Sciences at Cornell University, where he formerly served on the Cornell Council. He has an MS from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University (1992), where he serves on the Advisory Board for the MSFS program, and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania (1997).
Mr. Kim is currently on the Board of Directors for the Wikimedia Endowment, which is a charitable organization to support the activities of Wikipedia. He is a former Trustee of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, where he served on the Investment Committee, and the former Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Symphonix League of the San Francisco Symphony. Mr. Kim formerly served on the boards of Lead21, an organization that enables entrepreneurs to advocate free market public policy, and the Pacific Research Institute, a San Francisco-based think tank that champions freedom, opportunity and personal responsibility for all individuals by advancing free market policy solutions.
The LP Lens: Liquidity, Selection, and the Future of Venture
Venture capital starts and ends with LPs — but how are they making decisions in today’s market? In this candid conversation, top allocators share how they’re navigating liquidity crunches, rebalancing portfolios, and leveraging secondaries. We’ll also dig into what makes a GP stand out (or stumble) in a crowded fundraising environment. Expect tactical insights, red flags to avoid, and rapid-fire advice for emerging managers — plus a few “what would you do?” hypotheticals to put our panelists on the spot. ***The StrictlyVC program is dedicated to investor pass holders only.***
Deal Flow Cafe
StrictlyVC
Investor reception
An invite-only breakfast reception where investors and founders exchange ideas on scaling companies from seed to unicorn. Share strategies, explore opportunities, and network in an intimate setting.
