From the stage to the future: Where are Startup Battlefield alumni now?

Some of the most important companies in the history of technology didn’t launch with a slick fundraising ad. They started with a playground. Dropbox was shown to a room of skeptics. Cloudflare took the stage before most people understood what edge networking meant. Discord was a volatile game developer named Hammer & Chisel. Mint, Trello, Forethought, N26 – they all went through the same crucible: TechCrunch Startup Battlefield.

This is not a coincidence. Battlefield is not just a competition. It’s a launching pad, and the numbers back it up. More than 1,700 companies competed on the Battlefield stage. Together they have raised $32 billion in total funding and have originated more than 250 exits – including acquisitions by Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Salesforce, Twitter, Uber and Amazon. The Startup Battlefield network is so deep that alumni have acquired each other: Dropbox acquired fellow Startup Battlefield alum DocSend in 2021. For thousands of founders, it became a milestone — not just a pitch competition, but the moment the world started paying attention.

We wanted to show you what happens after the cuttings fall. We reached out to some of our recent graduates, many of whom sat down with us Build Mode: A Founder’s Survival Guidea TechCrunch podcast for founders at every stage. This is what they were building, in their own words.

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Each season delves into a different chapter in the life of a startup. The first season covered going to the market. Season 2 — out now — is all about building your team. Mark your calendar: Season 3 launches in June, and tackles our most requested topic ever: fundraising.

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Champions and runners-up

From military logistics to Startup Battlefield 2025 hero

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 perfect training for building under pressure, with limited resources and real risks. Damo’s path to the Startup Battlefield 2025 championship is the kind of original story that makes you reconsider where the next generation of great founders comes from.

→ Listen to Kevin’s Build Mode episode

From Startup Battlefield to the International Space Station

Capella Kirst, Founder and CEO, geCKo Materials – 2024 Runner-up

Capella Kirst did not set out to reinvent adhesion. I set out to solve a problem that has puzzled engineers for decades: How do you make things stick—reliably, repeatedly, and without residue—in the most extreme environments imaginable? Produced at Stanford University, gCKo Materials has developed a 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 science was ready for the world. What has happened since then is proof that second place is not a consolation prize, but rather a credential. Hear how I got there:

→ Listen to Capella’s Build Mode episode

How thoughtful AI found product-market fit – before it became clear

Dion Nicholas, Co-Founder of Forethought AI – 2018 Winner (acquired by Zendesk)

Few Startup Battlefield stories have a more complete story than thoughtful AI. Dion Nicholas took the stage convinced that AI could radically transform customer support – previously an obvious bet. Before term papers and titles, there was the presentation and thesis. Zendesk recently acquired Forethought, the latest example of what the Startup Battlefield phase can be. His Build Mode episode is essential listening, and serves as the perfect primer for diving into season three’s fundraising.

→ Listen to Deon’s build mode episode

Top 20 final stories

The danger of fundraising before finding product-market fit

David Park, founder of Narada

Scaling up 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 fit, not just skill

Sara Lucena, Founder and CEO of Mappa

Skills get people in the door. Compatibility determines whether they stay or not. Lucina uses AI to fix the part of hiring that no one talks about.

→ Listen to Sarah’s Build Mode episode

These founders competed in Startup Battlefield and sat down with us in Build Mode to tell their story. Everything is worth a listen.

Anna Sun from Present and Hala Jalwan and Alessio Trisanti from Review – About what happens when a startup becomes a family business, and the community that forms around Startup Battlefield. → Listen

Kyle Rudolph and John Walburg, co-founders of Alltroo – Why your network is your first go-to-market strategy. → Listen

Luna’s Jas Schembri Stothart and Andre Burt are untapped solutions – When reaching markets, everyone ignores and builds for underserved communities without following typical growth rules. → Listen

The teacher is real

Each generation of Startup Battlefield graduates adds a new chapter to the same story. But behind every one of those data points is a founder who bet on himself — publicly, in front of the people who were paying attention. The stage is important. Society endures. The teacher is real.

Applications for Startup Battlefield 2026 are open. If you’re building something worthy of the stage, this is yours.

→ Apply now

Do you know a founder ready for the spotlight? Investors, operators and fellow founders can nominate companies directly.

→ Nominate a founder

Not ready to apply yet? Build mode is where we meet you. Season 2 is live now. Season 3 — which revolves around fundraising — will drop this summer.

→ Subscribe to build mode