Episode 1: The Basics

Startup competitions are a mainstay in Silicon Valley, and there probably isn’t a VC or founder out there who hasn’t heard of Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt.

From the TechCrunch Podcast Network comes Inside Startup Battlefield — a four-episode miniseries that takes you behind the scenes of one of tech’s most anticipated startup competitions. Each episode is a deep dive into a different part of the competition, from the company selection process to crafting a standout pitch to getting to know the winner.

In the first episode, our host and Startup Battlefield Editor Neesha Tambe breaks down how the Startup Battlefield companies are selected for the TechCrunch Disrupt stage. Then we take a deep dive into what makes a pitch perfect with pitch coach and TechCrunch writer Haje Jan Kamps and Startup Battlefield judge and VC Nisha Dua. You’ll also hear from: Julia Somerdin from Labby, Young-Jae Kim and Tara Peters from Anthill, Quddus Pativada from Digest AI, Blessing Adesiyan from Mother Honestly, Hikari Senju from Omneky, Mitch Tolson from Ally Robotics, Elizabeth Lawler from AppMap, Aaron Hall from Intropic Materials and Sheeba Dawood from Minerva Lithium.

New episodes of Inside Startup Battlefield drop every Monday. Be sure to check out all of the other podcasts in the TechCrunch Podcast Network: Found, Equity, The TechCrunch Podcast, Chain Reaction and The TechCrunch Live Podcast.