Skip to content

Top VCs, including Greylock and Lightspeed Venture Partners, surprised by shocking Startup Battlefield Judges lineup!

TechCrunch 2023 Disruption: The Ultimate Startup Battle With Top-Tier Judges

Introduction:
TechCrunch Disrupt is one of the most highly anticipated events for the startup community. Every year, hundreds of early-stage startups compete for a chance to showcase their innovations and potentially secure funding. TechCrunch 2023 Disruption is just around the corner, and the excitement is palpable. In this article, we will delve into the event, highlighting key details, notable judges, and the valuable experiences it offers to both participants and spectators.

The Event:
TechCrunch 2023 Disruption is set to take place from September 19 to 21 in San Francisco, California. This three-day event will be a gathering of some of the world’s brightest minds, all vying to make their mark in the startup world. From thought-provoking panel discussions to networking opportunities with industry leaders, TechCrunch Disrupt offers an unparalleled platform for startups to gain exposure and access resources that can help propel their ventures to new heights.

The Startup Battlefield:
One of the highlights of TechCrunch Disrupt is the Startup Battlefield competition. This high-stakes contest brings together 20 top early-stage startups to compete for a grand prize of $100,000, without giving up any equity. The startups participating in the Battlefield will face a panel of esteemed judges who will ask tough questions and scrutinize their business models, strategies, and potential for growth.

Meet the Judges:
TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 promises an impressive lineup of judges who bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the table. Let’s take a closer look at some of the notable judges who will be evaluating the startup pitches in the Battlefield:

1. Guru Chahal, Partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners:
Guru Chahal is a visionary investor with a passion for revolutionizing digital landscapes. With his deep insight into industry trends, particularly in areas like DevOps, automation, security, and application development, Chahal offers invaluable experience to the startups in the Battlefield. As a key figure at Lightspeed Venture Partners, he has made astute investments in pioneering companies like Zscaler, Avere Systems, and Avi Networks.

2. Jacob Andreou, Partner, Greylock:
Jacob Andreou is a creator and product executive who supports founders in building the next generation of consumer software. With his extensive experience at Snap, where he played a pivotal role in scaling the company to over 360 million daily active users and $4.5 billion in revenue, Andreou brings a unique perspective to the judging panel. His expertise spans product development, design, growth, data science, and user research.

3. Nikita Shamgunov, Partner at Khosla Ventures:
Nikita Shamgunov is passionate about deep technology, data infrastructure, and systems software. Before joining Khosla Ventures, he co-founded SingleStore, a unicorn data and analytics company valued at over $1.3 billion. Shamgunov’s background as both a technologist and an entrepreneur gives him valuable insights into startups’ potential for success. Currently, he is incubating Neon, a database startup focusing on serverless Postgres.

4. Mar Hershenson, Founding Managing Partner, Pear VC:
Mar Hershenson is a veteran in the startup ecosystem, with a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. As the founding managing partner of Pear VC, she brings operational and technical expertise to the investment team. Hershenson’s experience as a founder of three successful start-ups and her patents add a unique dimension to her role as a judge. Additionally, she is a professor at Stanford University, teaching the esteemed Lean Launchpad course.

The Benefits of Participating:
For the startups fortunate enough to secure a spot in the TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield, the benefits are immense. Beyond the chance to win the $100,000 grand prize and the exposure to top-tier investors, participating in the Battlefield can open doors to invaluable mentorship, networking opportunities, and media coverage. The judges themselves often form lasting relationships with the startups they evaluate, providing guidance and support long after the event concludes.

Attending TechCrunch Disrupt:
While the Startup Battlefield grabs headlines, TechCrunch Disrupt offers much more than just the competition. The event serves as a platform for networking with industry leaders, attending insightful panel discussions, and gaining exposure to cutting-edge technologies and innovative ideas. For attendees, TechCrunch Disrupt provides a unique opportunity to learn from experienced entrepreneurs, investors, and thought leaders who are shaping the future of technology.

Get Your Pass Now and Save:
For those eager to be a part of the excitement at TechCrunch Disrupt, it’s important to secure a pass in advance. By buying a pass early, attendees can save up to $400 and avoid the price increase at the door. With the event just a couple of weeks away, it’s wise to take advantage of this opportunity and secure a place at the forefront of startup innovation.

Summary:
TechCrunch 2023 Disruption is gearing up to be a groundbreaking event for the startup community. With the Startup Battlefield competition at its core, the event brings together top-tier judges who offer their expertise and insights to help shape the future of the participating startups. Beyond the competition, TechCrunch Disrupt provides an invaluable platform for networking, learning, and gaining exposure to cutting-edge technologies and ideas. Whether you’re a founder, investor, or simply interested in the startup ecosystem, TechCrunch Disrupt is an event you won’t want to miss. Get your pass now and become a part of this exciting journey towards innovation and success.

—————————————————-

Article Link
UK Artful Impressions Premiere Etsy Store
Sponsored Content View
90’s Rock Band Review View
Ted Lasso’s MacBook Guide View
Nature’s Secret to More Energy View
Ancient Recipe for Weight Loss View
MacBook Air i3 vs i5 View
You Need a VPN in 2023 – Liberty Shield View

Just a couple more weeks until 20 of the world’s top early-stage startups move to the Disrupt stage in TechCrunch 2023 Disruption to compete for a grand prize of $100,000 with no equity and eternal glory. They’ll face tough questions from our judges and need to stand out in front of a crowd of superstar founders. We are excited to share our final group of judges at this year’s fair!

Being in the room: Buy your pass nowand save up to $400. Avoid the price increase at the door!

Looking the starting battlefield It is an exciting journey and also an opportunity for both investors and founders.

Final Countdown: Startup Battlefield Judges at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023

We’re excited to announce the next trio of top-tier investors who will be judging Startup Battlefield.

Guru Chahal, Partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners

Guru Chahal is a visionary investor with a passion for revolutionizing digital landscapes. Renowned for his insight into industry trends spanning DevOps, automation, security, and application development, Guru offers invaluable experience. Since 2012, he has been a key force at Lightspeed, spearheading early investments in innovative companies such as Zscaler (IPO), Avere Systems (acquired by Microsoft), and Avi Networks (acquired by VMware). As a co-founder of Avi Networks in 2013, he played a key role in growing the company from its infancy to serving an impressive 20% of Fortune 50 giants. Guru’s dynamic journey led him back to Lightspeed in 2019, where continues to make astute investments in cutting-edge companies like ngrok, Hubilo, Noname, Infiot and Pensando.

Jacob Andreou, Partner, Greylock

Jacob Andreou is a creator and product executive supporting founders building the next generation of consumer software.

Prior to joining Greylock, Jacob spent eight years at Snap, where he helped scale the company from its inception to more than 360 million DAUs (daily active users) and $4.5 billion in revenue. For most of his time at the company, he led a team of several hundred people across the product, design, growth, data science and analytics, and user research teams. Under his leadership, he launched some of his biggest initiatives, including Spotlight. Most recently, he launched My AI, Snap’s artificial intelligence chatbot powered by ChatGPT.

Prior to Snap, Jacob co-founded and led products at ThinkAkili, an online retail analytics platform. He has a BS in Biomedical Computing from Queens University.

Nikita Shamgunov, Partner at Khosla Ventures

Nikita is passionate about deep technology, data infrastructure, and systems software. Prior to joining Khosla Ventures, Nikita co-founded SingleStore, a unicorn data and analytics company valued at more than $1.3 billion. He served as founding CTO and later as CEO, successfully scaling the company to over 40M in ARR and near profitability. For the first nine months, Nikita lived in the office coding next to the servers. Before founding SingleStore, he worked as a senior engineer at Facebook and before that he was at Microsoft on the SQL Server product.

At KV, Nikita is incubating Neon, a database startup creating serverless Postgres, which raised $50 million in its seed and Series A rounds.
Nikita has a PhD in computer science from St. Petersburg. During his college years, Nikita received a bronze medal at ACM ICPC and at an international student programming competition.

Mar Hershenson, Founding Managing Partner, Pear VC

Mar is the founding managing partner of Pear. After earning a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, Mar developed an innovative technique for optimizing the design of analog semiconductors. Since then, she has accumulated more than 13 years of experience as a founder, co-founding three start-ups in the e-commerce/mobile, enterprise software, and semiconductor industries, and has registered 14 separate patents.

As the co-founder and managing partner of Pear, Mar brings operational and technical experience to the investment team.

She is currently a professor at Stanford University and teaches Lean Launchpad, one of Stanford’s premier entrepreneurship classes. Prior to that, she was a consulting professor at Stanford teaching the introductory analog circuit design course for nearly a decade.

Mar is a member of the board of trustees of Harvey Mudd College and the advisory board of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. She is a founder of Equity Summit, the premier conference for connecting URM VC GPs with LPs, and an early founding member of All Raise.

She has been recognized by MIT Technology Review as a Top Innovator Under 35, named a Champion of Innovation by Fast Company, a recipient of the Marie R. Pistil Achievement Award from the Digital Automation Conference, and recognized on the Midas List of Forbes in 2021, 2022 and 2023. .

TechCrunch 2023 Disruption will take place from September 19 to 21 in San Francisco. buy your pass now and save $400 before prices go up on September 15.

Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling this form.

Greylock, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Pear VC join Startup Battlefield judges


—————————————————-