Disrupt is just a few short weeks away. Alongside our return to a live, in-person show, we’ve beefed up the Battlefield program. Two hundred companies have been hand selected by the TechCrunch editorial staff to grace the expo hall, 20 of which will launch their company for the first time live on our stage.
The Startup Battlefield is an incredibly unique experience for all involved. Not only do companies pitch their businesses (Y Combinator style), but they also demo their wares live onstage. It’s where legends are made. Plus, we recruit some of the top VCs in the world to prod and poke at these startups in the very best way.
After an initial evaluation, five companies are selected to pitch once again in the Startup Battlefield Finals. For this, we enlist the sharpest, most experienced venture capitalists we can find. So, without further ado, I’m pleased to announce the judges for the TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield Finals.
We’re amped to be joined by Pear VC co-founder and managing partner Mar Hershenson; Cowboy Ventures founder and managing partner Aileen Lee; BoxGroup managing partner David Tisch; and Accel partner Rich Wong.
Learn more about these investors below, and don’t forget, this Friday September 16 is your last day to save $1100 on passes before prices increase.
Mar Hershenson is a co-founder and managing partner at Pear VC, a seed-stage investment firm in Palo Alto that backs companies like Guardant Health (NASDAQ: GH), DoorDash (NYSE:DASH), Gusto, Aurora Solar, and Branch. Prior to Pear, Mar co-founded three companies and held executive positions in product and engineering at Magma Design Automation. Mar holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, where she is currently a lecturer in the Engineering School. Mar also serves on the board of trustees of Harvey Mudd College and is on the advisory council of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Carnegie Mellon University. She is also a founding member of All Raise and the Equity Summit.
Aileen Lee is founding partner at Cowboy Ventures, a team that backs seed-stage technology companies reimagining work and life through technology, what they call “life 2.0.” Cowboy Ventures works with a wide range of startups, from modern enterprise–oriented companies like Guild Education and Lightstep to new consumer digital native brands like Dollar Shave Club and Tally. Aileen periodically writes about technology insights and is known for coining the business term “unicorn.” She has been named to Forbes’ Midas List of best investors and Forbes’ Most Powerful Women, as well as to Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people. Prior to Cowboy, Aileen was a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers for over a decade, was founding CEO of digital media company RMG Networks and worked at Gap Inc. in operating roles. She has degrees from MIT and Harvard Business School and is mom of three and wife to a startup founder. She is also an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow and co-founder of the nonprofit All Raise, aiming to accelerate success for women in the technology ecosystem.
David Tisch is the managing partner of BoxGroup, an NYC-based seed-stage venture capital firm that has invested in over 400 seed-stage startups, including Plaid, Ro, PillPack, Ramp, Amplitude, Airtable, Flatiron Health, Stripe, Warby Parker, Harry’s, Oscar, Flexport, ClassPass, Vine, GroupMe and more. David is the chairman of Good Dog, a marketplace to find pets online. He is the co-founder of TechStars NYC and serves on the board of Hudson River Park Friends. He is a Rock Fellow at Harvard Business School and is on the Entrepreneur Board at New York University. David is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and New York University School of Law. David lives in NYC with his wife, Zara, and their three kids and three dogs.
Rich Wong joined Accel as a partner in 2006. Rich led Accel’s investments and currently serves on the boards of Atlassian (TEAM), UiPath (PATH), Checkr, Instabug, Pyn, Process Street, Middesk, and Qwilt. Rich also served on the National Venture Capital Association board of directors. Rich previously led Accel’s investments in AirWatch (acquired by VMware), Angry Birds/Rovio (ROVIO.HE), MoPub (acquired by Twitter), AdMob (acquired by Google), Dealer.com (acquired by Cox), Osmo (acquired by BYJUs), Parature (acquired by Microsoft), ServiceChannel (acquired by Fortive), Sunrun (RUN), SwiftKey (acquired by Microsoft), and 3LM (acquired by Motorola). Rich previously worked as EVP/GM of products for Openwave Systems and CMO of Covad Communications. Rich started his career as a brand manager at Procter & Gamble and at McKinsey.
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