Early Stage Pitch-Off Judges Announced

TechCrunch Early Stage: Pitch Your Startup to Top Investors

TechCrunch Early Stage is rapidly approaching, scheduled for April 1 and 2. There’s still time to submit your startup for consideration and pitch to a distinguished panel of judges on the renowned TC stage.

On April 2nd, TechCrunch will showcase 10 promising startups from across the globe during the Early Stage Pitch-Off. This event will provide companies with valuable exposure to both the press and potential investors. Founders interested in participating can apply by March 9.

Pitch-Off Format and Prizes

The pitch-off will begin with a five-minute presentation from each company, followed by a question-and-answer session with our expert judging panel. The three highest-performing companies will advance to a final round, featuring a more detailed Q&A.

The ultimate winner will receive a featured article on TechCrunch.com, a one-year subscription to Extra Crunch, and a complimentary Founder Pass to TechCrunch Disrupt this fall.

Meet the Judges

We understand you’re eager to learn who will be evaluating your pitch. Here are a few of the judges for the Early Stage Pitch-Off:

Lucy Deland — Inspired Capital

Lucy Deland is a partner at Inspired Capital. Previously, Lucy was a founding team member at Paperless Post, where she served as COO for a decade. She successfully built and led teams responsible for finance, customer insights, operations, strategic planning, and marketing, driving the company’s growth to a network of 100 million users. Lucy also oversaw the raising of $50 million in venture funding and expanded the team to over 100 employees.

Bucky Moore — Kleiner Perkins

Bucky Moore, a partner at Kleiner Perkins, concentrates his investments on developer-focused software and infrastructure. He is an early investor in innovative software companies like Netlify, Materialize, CodeSandbox, Opstrace, and Stackbit, and currently serves on their boards.

Marlon Nichols — MaC Venture Capital

Marlon Nichols is the founding managing partner at MaC Venture Capital, dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs building solutions for a diverse America. He brings extensive experience from roles at Intel Capital and within the technology, private equity, media, and entertainment sectors.

Eghosa Omoigui — EchoVC Partners

Eghosa Omoigui is the founder and managing general partner of EchoVC Partners, a venture capital firm focused on seed and early-stage technology companies serving underrepresented founders and markets. Previously, he served as director of Consumer Internet & Semantic Technologies at Intel Capital and has invested in companies like Lifebank, Migo, and Frontier Car Group.

Neal Sales-Griffin — TechStars

Neal Sáles-Griffin is the managing director of Techstars Chicago and a venture partner for MATH. He is an entrepreneur, investor, and educator, and previously co-founded a beginner-focused coding bootcamp. He is actively involved in civic engagement and previously ran for mayor of Chicago.

Sarah Smith — Bain Capital

Sarah Smith is a partner at Bain Capital Ventures, investing in early- to mid-stage companies across consumer, SaaS, and marketplace sectors. She has experience as an executive and investor at companies like Quora, Facebook, and Graph Ventures, and also studied at Stanford.

Leah Solivan — Fuel Capital

Leah Solivan is a general partner at Fuel Capital, investing in early-stage companies across consumer technology, hardware, marketplaces, and retail. She is passionate about supporting teams with groundbreaking ideas.

Stephanie Zhan — Sequoia Capital

Stephanie Zhan is a partner on the early-stage investing team at Sequoia Capital. She focuses on partnering with companies in the consumer and enterprise spaces, from the seed stage through Series A, and supporting their long-term growth. She currently serves on the boards of companies including Rec Room, Linear, Middesk, Sunday, and Brud.

Early Stage Day 1 Panels

The first day of TechCrunch Early Stage will feature insightful panels led by the judges and other industry experts:

How to Build Your Early Team for Future Growth (Sarah Smith, Bain Capital Ventures)
10 Things NOT to Do When Starting a Company (Leah Solivan, Fuel Capital)
Four Things to Think About Before Raising a Series A (Bucky Moore, Kleiner Perkins)
How to Get An Investor’s Attention (Marlon Nichols, MaC Venture Capital)