Meet the Startup Battlefield 200 Judges

Thousands of startups applied for a slot in the upcoming pitch competition, but only 200 secured a spot in the Startup Battlefield. Out of that cohort, just 20 finalists will pitch on the Disrupt Stage across three days of competition from October 13 to 15, TechCrunch reported on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. The final victor will be chosen by a five-person panel of venture capitalists who founded or co-founded the firms they currently lead.

Following the final pitches, all five judges will appear on the Builders Stage for a live AMA session. Organizers anticipate attendance exceeding 10,000 founders, investors, operators, and tech enthusiasts for the event, which features more than 250 tech leaders across 200 sessions and six industry stages. As TechCrunch reveals initial venture capital judging roster for Startup Battlefield 200 at Disrupt 2026, ticket promotions include savings of up to $100 with a second pass at 50% off, groups of four or more saving up to 30%, and a $75 Expo+ Pass available for laid-off tech workers.

Cherryrock Capital and Goodwater Capital leadership

Stacy Brown-Philpot serves as founder and managing partner of Cherryrock Capital, a Series A and Series B software fund focused on Black and Latinx founders. Her portfolio features Coactive AI and Vitable Health. Brown-Philpot previously led TaskRabbit as CEO prior to its acquisition by IKEA and spent over ten years in senior roles at Google, holding an MBA from Stanford University. Alongside her on the panel is Chi-Hua Chien, co-founder and managing partner of Goodwater Capital. Chien invests in consumer technology across the United States and Asia, backing more than 17 unicorns including Spotify, Chime, Monzo, TikTok, Coupang, Toss, and Udemy. Prior to Goodwater, Chien served as a general partner at Kleiner Perkins and a principal at Accel.

Construct Capital and M13 investments

Dayna Grayson is co-founder and general partner at Construct Capital, an early-stage Washington, D.C. fund targeting foundational American industries such as manufacturing, logistics, supply chain, and defense. Her investments include Veho, Hadrian, Copia Automation, Arkestro, and Verve Motion. Previously, Grayson was a partner at NEA and led early investments including Desktop Metal before it went public on the NYSE, holding systems engineering and MBA degrees from the University of Virginia and Harvard Business School, respectively. Carter Reum acts as co-founder and managing partner of M13, a consumer technology firm managing $1.9 billion across seed to Series B investments. M13 has backed companies including Lyft, Pinterest, Ring, Daily Harvest, and Tonal, resulting in 15 unicorns within a portfolio exceeding 200 total investments. Reum previously co-founded VEEV Spirit before its 2016 acquisition and co-authored the book “Shortcut Your Startup,” holding a BA from Columbia University.

Inspired Capital and conference scale

Alexa Von Tobel is the founder and managing partner of Inspired Capital, which she launched alongside former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. Her investment career includes backing nine unicorns, featuring MosaicML prior to its acquisition by Databricks, as well as Chief, Finix, and Dandy. Von Tobel previously founded the financial planning platform LearnVest before its acquisition by Northwestern Mutual, and she is a certified financial planner and bestselling author. The panel decisions will culminate on the Disrupt Stage, where Benchmark's full partnership to address breakout startup trends at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 will also be highlighted as part of the broader conference programming.