{"id":603711,"date":"2026-04-24T13:57:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T13:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/603711\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T13:57:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T13:57:21","slug":"from-the-stage-to-the-future-where-are-startup-battlefields-alumni-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/603711\/","title":{"rendered":"From the stage to the future: Where are Startup Battlefield’s alumni now?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some of the most consequential companies in tech history didn\u2019t launch with a splashy fundraising announcement. They started with a pitch. Dropbox<\/a> demoed to a room of skeptics. Cloudflare<\/a> took the stage before most people understood what edge networking meant. Discord<\/a> was a scrappy game developer called Hammer & Chisel. Mint, Trello, Forethought, N26 \u2014 all of them passed through the same crucible: TechCrunch Startup Battlefield<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not a coincidence. Battlefield isn\u2019t just a competition. It\u2019s a launchpad, and the numbers back it up. More than 1,700 companies have competed on the Battlefield stage<\/a>. Together, they\u2019ve raised $32 billion in total funding and generated over 250 exits \u2014 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<\/a>. For thousands of founders, it\u2019s become a defining milestone \u2014 not just a pitch competition, but the moment the world started paying attention.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>, TechCrunch\u2019s podcast for founders at every stage. Here\u2019s what they\u2019ve been building, in their own words.<\/p>\n

About Build Mode<\/p>\n

Each season goes deep on a different chapter of startup life. Season 1 covered go-to-market. Season 2 \u2014 out now \u2014 is all about building your team. And mark your calendars: Season 3 drops in June, tackling the most requested topic we\u2019ve ever gotten: fundraising. <\/p>\n

Subscribe now<\/a> so you don\u2019t miss it.<\/p>\n

The champions and runners-up<\/p>\n

From military logistics to Startup Battlefield 2025 champion<\/p>\n

Kevin Damoa, founder of Gl\u012bd \u2014 2025 winner<\/p>\n

Kevin Damoa didn\u2019t come from Sand Hill Road. He came from military logistics \u2014 a background that turned out to be ideal training for building under pressure, with constrained resources and real stakes. Damoa\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Techcrunch event<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco, CA
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 13-15, 2026\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u2192 Listen to Kevin\u2019s Build Mode episode<\/a><\/p>\n

From the Startup Battlefield stage to the International Space Station<\/p>\n

Capella Kerst, founder and CEO of geCKo Materials \u2014 2024 runner-up<\/p>\n

Capella Kerst didn\u2019t set out to reinvent adhesion. She set out to solve a problem that has stumped engineers for decades: How do you make things stick \u2014 reliably, repeatedly, and without residue \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

Kerst\u2019s Startup Battlefield moment was a signal to the market that the science was ready for the world. What\u2019s happened since is proof that runner-up isn\u2019t a consolation prize \u2014 it\u2019s a credential. Hear how she got there:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u2192 Listen to Capella\u2019s Build Mode episode<\/a><\/p>\n

How Forethought AI found product-market fit \u2014 before it was obvious<\/p>\n

Deon Nicholas, co-founder of Forethought AI \u2014 2018 winner (acquired by Zendesk)\u00a0<\/p>\n

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 \u2014 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 <\/a>\u2014 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\u2019s deep dive on fundraising.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u2192 Listen to Deon\u2019s Build Mode episode<\/a><\/p>\n

Top 20 finalist stories<\/p>\n

The danger of fundraising before finding product-market fit\u00a0<\/p>\n

David Park, founder of Narada<\/p>\n

Raising before product-market fit doesn\u2019t speed things up \u2014 it speeds up your mistakes. Park doesn\u2019t sugarcoat the lessons.<\/p>\n

\u2192 Listen to David\u2019s Build Mode episode<\/a><\/p>\n

Using AI to hire for compatibility, not just skill<\/p>\n

Sarah Lucena, founder and CEO of Mappa<\/p>\n

Skills get people in the door. Compatibility determines whether they stay. Lucena is using AI to fix the part of hiring nobody talks about.<\/p>\n

\u2192 Listen to Sarah\u2019s Build Mode episode<\/a><\/p>\n

These founders competed on the Startup Battlefield and sat down with us on Build Mode to tell their story. All worth a listen.<\/p>\n

Anna Sun of Nowadays and Hala Jalwan and Alessio Tresanti of Rivio \u2014 On what happens when a startup becomes a family business, and the community that forms around Startup Battlefield. \u2192 Listen<\/a><\/p>\n

Kyle Rudolph and Jon Walburg, co-founders of Alltroo \u2014 On why your network is your first go-to-market strategy. \u2192 Listen<\/a><\/p>\n

Jas Schembri-Stothart of Luna and Andre Peart of Untapped Solutions \u2014 On reaching the markets everyone else ignores and building for underserved communities without the typical growth playbook. \u2192 Listen<\/a><\/p>\n

The milestone is real<\/p>\n

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 \u2014 publicly, in front of people who were paying attention. The stage matters. The community lasts. The milestone is real.<\/p>\n

Applications for Startup Battlefield 2026 are open<\/a>. If you\u2019re building something that deserves a stage, this is yours.<\/p>\n

\u2192 Apply now<\/a><\/p>\n

Know a founder who\u2019s ready for the spotlight? Investors, operators, and fellow founders can nominate companies directly.<\/p>\n

\u2192 Nominate a founder<\/a><\/p>\n

Not ready to apply yet? Build Mode is where we meet you. Season 2 is live now. Season 3 \u2014 all about fundraising \u2014 drops this summer.<\/p>\n

\u2192 Subscribe to Build Mode<\/a><\/p>\n

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some of the most consequential companies in tech history didn\u2019t launch with a splashy fundraising announcement. They started…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":417112,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[162868,28,158,58871],"class_list":{"0":"post-603711","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entrepreneurship","8":"tag-build-mode","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-entrepreneurship","11":"tag-startup-battlefield"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=603711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/417112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=603711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=603711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=603711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}