Some of the most consequential companies in tech history didn’t launch with a splashy fundraising announcement. They started with a pitch. Dropbox demoed to a room of skeptics. Cloudflare took the stage before most people understood what edge networking meant. Discord was a scrappy game developer called Hammer & Chisel. Mint, Trello, Forethought, N26 — all of them passed through the same crucible: TechCrunch Startup Battlefield.
That’s not a coincidence. Battlefield isn’t just a competition. It’s a launchpad, and the numbers back it up. More than 1,700 companies have competed on the Battlefield stage. Together, they’ve raised $32 billion in total funding and generated over 250 exits — including acquisitions by Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Salesforce, Twitter, Uber, and Amazon. The Startup Battlefield network runs so deep that alumni have even acquired each other: Dropbox acquired fellow Startup Battlefield alum DocSend in 2021. For thousands of founders, it’s become a defining milestone — not just a pitch competition, but the moment the world started paying attention.
We wanted to show you what happens after the confetti falls. We checked in with some of our recent alumni, many of whom have sat down with us on Build Mode: The Founder Survival Guide, TechCrunch’s podcast for founders at every stage. Here’s what they’ve been building, in their own words.
About Build Mode
Each season goes deep on a different chapter of startup life. Season 1 covered go-to-market. Season 2 — out now — is all about building your team. And mark your calendars: Season 3 drops in June, tackling the most requested topic we’ve ever gotten: fundraising.
Subscribe now so you don’t miss it.
The champions and runners-up
From military logistics to Startup Battlefield 2025 champion
Kevin Damoa, founder of Glīd — 2025 winner
Kevin Damoa didn’t come from Sand Hill Road. He came from military logistics — a background that turned out to be ideal training for building under pressure, with constrained resources and real stakes. Damoa’s path to the Startup Battlefield 2025 championship is the kind of origin story that makes you reconsider where the next generation of great founders is actually coming from.
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→ Listen to Kevin’s Build Mode episode
From the Startup Battlefield stage to the International Space Station
Capella Kerst, founder and CEO of geCKo Materials — 2024 runner-up
Capella Kerst didn’t set out to reinvent adhesion. She set out to solve a problem that has stumped engineers for decades: How do you make things stick — reliably, repeatedly, and without residue — in the most extreme environments imaginable? geCKo Materials, spun out of Stanford, has developed gecko-inspired adhesive technology with applications ranging from manufacturing floors to, quite literally, the International Space Station.
Kerst’s Startup Battlefield moment was a signal to the market that the science was ready for the world. What’s happened since is proof that runner-up isn’t a consolation prize — it’s a credential. Hear how she got there:
→ Listen to Capella’s Build Mode episode
How Forethought AI found product-market fit — before it was obvious
Deon Nicholas, co-founder of Forethought AI — 2018 winner (acquired by Zendesk)
Few Startup Battlefield stories have a more complete arc than Forethought AI. Deon Nicholas took the stage with a conviction that AI could fundamentally transform customer support — before that was an obvious bet. Before the term sheets and the headlines, there was a pitch and a thesis. Forethought was recently acquired by Zendesk — the latest example of what the Startup Battlefield stage can set in motion. His Build Mode episode is essential listening, and a perfect primer for Season 3’s deep dive on fundraising.
→ Listen to Deon’s Build Mode episode
Top 20 finalist stories
The danger of fundraising before finding product-market fit
David Park, founder of Narada
Raising before product-market fit doesn’t speed things up — it speeds up your mistakes. Park doesn’t sugarcoat the lessons.
→ Listen to David’s Build Mode episode
Using AI to hire for compatibility, not just skill
Sarah Lucena, founder and CEO of Mappa
Skills get people in the door. Compatibility determines whether they stay. Lucena is using AI to fix the part of hiring nobody talks about.
→ Listen to Sarah’s Build Mode episode
These founders competed on the Startup Battlefield and sat down with us on Build Mode to tell their story. All worth a listen.
Anna Sun of Nowadays and Hala Jalwan and Alessio Tresanti of Rivio — On what happens when a startup becomes a family business, and the community that forms around Startup Battlefield. → Listen
Kyle Rudolph and Jon Walburg, co-founders of Alltroo — On why your network is your first go-to-market strategy. → Listen
Jas Schembri-Stothart of Luna and Andre Peart of Untapped Solutions — On reaching the markets everyone else ignores and building for underserved communities without the typical growth playbook. → Listen
The milestone is real
Every generation of Startup Battlefield alumni adds a new chapter to the same story. But behind every one of those data points is a founder who made a bet on themselves — publicly, in front of people who were paying attention. The stage matters. The community lasts. The milestone is real.
Applications for Startup Battlefield 2026 are open. If you’re building something that deserves a stage, this is yours.
Know a founder who’s ready for the spotlight? Investors, operators, and fellow founders can nominate companies directly.
Not ready to apply yet? Build Mode is where we meet you. Season 2 is live now. Season 3 — all about fundraising — drops this summer.
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