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Five investors will choose the 2026 Startup Battlefield champion at TechCrunch Disrupt: Stacy Brown-Philpot, Chi-Hua Chien, Dayna Grayson, Carter Reum, and Alexa von Tobel. TechCrunch says 200 startups were selected for Startup Battlefield, but 20 will pitch live across the event’s three days. The competition is scheduled for October 13–15 in San Francisco.
Who will choose the Startup Battlefield 2026 champion?
TechCrunch named the following five investors as the judges who will evaluate the finalists and select the champion. Their firms span different areas of venture investing, though TechCrunch has not published a formal scoring rubric for this judging panel.
Stacy Brown-Philpot
Brown-Philpot is Founder and Managing Partner of Cherryrock Capital. TechCrunch describes Cherryrock as a fund focused on Series A and Series B software companies built by Black and Latinx founders. The announcement names Coactive AI and Vitable Health among her portfolio companies. Before founding Cherryrock, Brown-Philpot was CEO of TaskRabbit and held senior roles at Google for more than a decade.
Chi-Hua Chien
Chien is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Goodwater Capital. TechCrunch says Goodwater invests exclusively in consumer and prosumer technology, in the United States and internationally, across areas such as fintech, e-commerce, social, healthcare, entertainment, digital utilities, and education. Portfolio examples cited by TechCrunch include Facebook, Spotify, Twitter, Square, Monzo, TikTok/Musical.ly, Fever, and Weee! Chien was previously a general partner at Kleiner Perkins.
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#1 Best Overall
- "Startups" is the updated version of an older Oink Game which came out in 2015 and won the second prize at Game Market Tokyo: "Rights". We upgraded the rules, the design and it is even possible to play with more players now!
- Every player takes the role of an investor and needs to try to invest in at least one of six startup companies to get the biggest shares. Only the player with the most cards of one company can get money in the end, which is why you need to carefully watch the moves of your rival players and thus become the top investor.
- To make the original game even more interesting, we added "the market", the "Anti-Monopoly-Chip" and more. The rules are still as simple as they were, but if you have played "Rights" before you should notice a new depth to it.
- The logos of the six startup companies were designed by Kentaro "ANI" Fujimoto who is a famous typographer in Japan. We recommend talking about the different logos and about what kind of company stands behind it - it's fun!
Dayna Grayson
Grayson is Co-Founder and General Partner of Construct Capital, an early-stage fund based in Washington, D.C. TechCrunch describes its focus as foundational American industries, including manufacturing, logistics, transportation, supply chain, and defense. Its cited portfolio companies include Veho, Hadrian, Copia Automation, Arkestro, and Verve Motion. Grayson previously was a partner at NEA and led early investments including Desktop Metal.
Carter Reum
Reum is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of M13. TechCrunch describes the firm as a consumer-technology venture firm investing from seed to Series B in work, commerce, health, and money. The announcement reports that M13 has $1.9 billion under management and more than 200 investments, naming Lyft, Pinterest, Ring, Daily Harvest, and Tonal as examples. Reum previously co-founded VEEV Spirit and co-authored Shortcut Your Startup.
Rank #2
- 🎓 Educational & Fun for All Ages: Dive into financial freedom with "Paycheck to Billionaire," a strategic board game that imparts skills in cost management and smart investing from startup to empire. Ideal for family game nights and educational play, this game is engaging for adults and kids ages 8 and up. 🌟
- 🎲 Interactive Family Game Time: Bring excitement to your family gatherings and game nights with this engaging board game that offers a fun way to learn about economics without the complexity of bankruptcy or monopoly rules. Ideal for kids, teens, and adults. 🎉
- 🎉 Perfect Party Game: Light up the party with "Paycheck to Billionaire," where young entrepreneurs aged 8-12 and older can strategize and compete to build their business empire. It's a hit at parties, fostering lively interaction and competitive spirit. 🏆
- 🍎 Teacher’s Educational Pick: A must-have for educational environments, this game allows teachers to introduce financial concepts and critical thinking skills in a fun, interactive manner. It's an excellent tool for classrooms and homeschool settings, encouraging students to engage with real-world economic strategies. 📚
- 🎁 Perfect for Building Business Mind: "Paycheck to Billionaire" is the ideal gift for minds keen on entrepreneurship. This engaging board game offers a fun and educational pathway to understanding business and finance, making it a superb choice for nurturing future business leaders during family game nights or as a thoughtful present. 🌐
Alexa von Tobel
Von Tobel is Founder and Managing Partner of Inspired Capital, which she co-founded with Penny Pritzker, a former U.S. Secretary of Commerce. TechCrunch lists MosaicML, Chief, Finix, and Dandy among the firm’s portfolio companies. Von Tobel founded LearnVest, later acquired by Northwestern Mutual, and is a certified financial planner.
How the 200 and the 20 fit together
“Startup Battlefield 200” refers to the selected startup cohort, not the number of companies pitching for the championship. TechCrunch says 20 companies will pitch on the Disrupt Stage over the three-day event. The five judges named above will determine the winner from those finalists. TechCrunch’s September 28 announcement stated that the winner would receive a $100,000 equity-free prize and the Disrupt Cup.
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Rank #3
- Fast paced strategic card game where players build powerful number runs and sets while locked into their original hand order, creating tense turns and clever decisions in every 20 minute round.
- Innovative scout or show system lets you either add a card from the table to improve your hand or reveal your best combination to score, giving every turn meaningful choices and strong replay value.
- Compact small box design and minimal components make Scout an ideal travel game that fits easily in a bag or pocket, ready for family game night, cafes, conventions, or nights away from home.
- Designed for 2-5 players ages 9 and up, Scout scales smoothly from quick duels to full table sessions, working well for casual gamers, seasoned hobby groups, and mixed age gatherings.
- Clean graphic style and simple rules support fast teaching while the award nominated design delivers surprising depth, rewarding timing, risk management, and reading your opponents.
What the pitches and judging are expected to involve
TechCrunch’s September 24 event coverage says each selected founder gets six minutes to pitch. It describes the investor questions that can reveal a company’s strengths: whether the team can execute, whether the market is large enough, why the timing is right, and what makes the business defensible. These are useful lenses for following the pitches, but TechCrunch has not released a formal scoring system for the five finalist judges.
TechCrunch also says the judges plan to reunite for an audience AMA later that afternoon. The October 5 announcement does not include direct comments from any of the five investors, so their published firm descriptions and career histories—not attributed judging philosophies—are the available basis for understanding their backgrounds.
Rank #4
- FUN FOR EVERYONE – Gather your family and friends with word games for adults and kids, and race against each other to build crossword grids. This anagram game that will drive you bananas.
- MAKES A GREAT GIFT – Bananagrams will make a thoughtful gift as family games for adults and children for your friends or family members. It is perfect for both boys and girls.
- GREAT FOR TRAVEL – Bananagrams comes in a fun banana-shaped case. This game doesn’t take much space like other family board games and brings tons of fun while traveling.
- PLEASE NOTE – Contains small parts, not for children under 3 years. Offering family games for kids and adults, or anyone 7 years and up. 1-8 players.
- ENTERTAINING AND EDUCATIONAL – While this game is easy to play, Bananagrams is also educational. Teach your kids how to spell words and have fun at the same time with letter games.
When and where is the competition?
The competition is scheduled for October 13–15, 2026, at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco. TechCrunch’s September 24 announcement identifies Moscone West as the venue. As with any event schedule or venue detail, attendees should check TechCrunch’s current event information for updates.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Package Dimensions: 5.207 cms (L) x 32.791 cms (W) x 32.994 cms (H)
- Product Type: Tabletop Game
- Package Quantity: 1
- Country Of Origin: China
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