Disrupt 2025 is just days away, and tickets are still available. There is no better time to announce that alongside our flagship event and the annual Startup Battlefield 200 competition, we are launching a brand-new TechCrunch franchise called Build Mode.
Hosted by Startup Battlefield Editor Isabelle Johannessen, Build Mode is a survival guide for early-stage founders navigating the messy, high-stakes chaos of building a company from scratch. There is no sugarcoating and no hype. It offers just candid conversations and tactical advice from the people who have done it before and have the experience to prove it.
Starting November 13, Isabelle will sit down with founders, venture capitalists, and operators to unpack the real stories behind the build. Each season and its weekly episodes will tackle a theme that keeps founders up at night. These themes include go-to-market chaos, fundraising pressure, runaway runways, hiring misfires, and everything in between.
You can tune in to Build Mode wherever podcasts are found. Bonus content and exclusive clips will be available on TechCrunch’s social channels. If you are not subscribed, the clock is ticking until we officially launch in a few weeks.
Check out the trailer for Build Mode and for Season One right here. Season One kicks off by diving into the good, the bad, and the gritty reality of getting your product into the market. From big splashes to epic fails, we are unpacking what it really takes to move from idea to execution. We are excited to have our Season One sponsor, J.P. Morgan, along with us for the ride.
But that is just the beginning. Disrupt 2025 features over 250 heavy hitters leading more than 200 sessions. These sessions are designed to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Do not miss the over 300 showcasing startups in all sectors.
There is a special two-for-one discount available where you can bring a guest and save sixty percent on their pass. Alternatively, get your pass by October 27 to save up to four hundred and forty-four dollars. The event takes place in San Francisco from October 27 to 29, 2025.
We want Build Mode to be more than a podcast; we want it to be a community of builders helping other builders succeed, just like the over 1700 startups that have come through the Startup Battlefield program. That means we want to hear from you, the founders, operators, and curious listeners, about the questions and themes that actually keep you up at night.
We will be weaving community-sourced stories, tips, and questions into upcoming episodes, so stay tuned for how to get involved. If you were previously subscribed to our Found podcast, welcome back. You are already part of the Build Mode community. We are keeping the Found archive alive so you can revisit founder interviews and insights from past years. There is no gatekeeping, just honest stories and hard-earned lessons, shared freely for anyone bold enough to build a startup.