Startup Battlefield 200 judges named for Disrupt 2026

TechCrunch has announced the five judges who will decide the Startup Battlefield champion at Disrupt 2026, running October 13–15 in San Francisco. Each judge founded or co-founded the investment firm they now lead, according to TechCrunch.

The judges

• **Stacy Brown-Philpot** – founder and managing partner of Cherryrock Capital, which backs Series A and B software companies built by Black and Latinx founders. Her portfolio includes Coactive AI and Vitable Health. She previously served as CEO of TaskRabbit and spent over a decade at Google.

• **Chi-Hua Chien** – co-founder and managing partner of Goodwater Capital, investing in consumer tech across the U.S. and Asia. His portfolio includes Spotify, Chime, Monzo, TikTok/Musical.ly, Coupang, Toss, and Udemy. He was previously a general partner at Kleiner Perkins and a principal at Accel.

• **Dayna Grayson** – co-founder and general partner at Construct Capital, an early-stage fund focused on foundational American industries like manufacturing and logistics. Her portfolio includes Veho, Hadrian, and Desktop Metal (which went public on the NYSE). She holds a systems engineering degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

• **Carter Reum** – co-founder and managing partner of M13, a consumer tech venture firm with $1.9 billion under management. M13 has backed Lyft, Pinterest, Ring, Daily Harvest, and Tonal. Reum also co-founded VEEV Spirit and co-authored "Shortcut Your Startup."

• **Alexa Von Tobel** – founder and managing partner of Inspired Capital, co-founded with former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. Her portfolio includes MosaicML (acquired by Databricks), Chief, Finix, and Dandy. She founded LearnVest and is a certified financial planner.

"They know what separates a great pitch from a potentially great company," TechCrunch noted.

After the final pitch, all five judges will hold a live AMA on the Builders Stage, where the audience can ask about fundraising, company building, and what stood out in the competition.

Startup Battlefield is part of TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, which features over 200 sessions across six stages. More than 10,000 founders, investors, and operators are expected to attend.

• judges
• pitch competition
• Startup Battlefield
• TechCrunch Disrupt
• venture capital