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How to make the Startup Battlefield Top 20 — and what every company gets regardless
Every founder who applies to Startup Battlefield wants the same thing: the Disrupt Main Stage. Six minutes to pitch and demo live, in front of top-tier Silicon Valley investors. A dedicated TechCrunch article published as you present. A shot at the $100,000 equity-free prize and the Disrupt Cup.
And all of that could be yours, but every path to Startup Battlefield success begins with an application. And we actually have extended the deadline for this year’s cohort to June 8, so you only have a brief window to send yours in.
Head here to start up that application right now, but for a head start, we have some advice based on past competitions, and some detail on why participant perks start well before the main stage at Disrupt kicks off.
What it takes to make the Startup Battlefield Top 20
The Startup Battlefield Top 20 represents the best of the best from the Startup Battlefield 200. Companies with ideas that are meaningfully different, category-defining, and capable of making a major impact in their industry or geography. Selection comes down to which companies are the most compelling, differentiated, and ready for a global stage.
Your product and founder videos are everything. They are the first impression and play the most significant role in identifying which companies are ready for the Disrupt Stage. Show your product in action. Be specific about what makes you different. Let your conviction come through on camera, not just your metrics.
Selected companies work closely with the TechCrunch team on pitch preparation ahead of Disrupt. Each company pitches and demos live for six minutes on the Disrupt Stage, followed by a live Q&A with top-tier investors like Aileen Lee (Cowboy Ventures), Kirsten Green (Forerunner), Navin Chaddha (Mayfield), Chris Farmer (SignalFire), Dayna Grayson (Construct Capital), Ann Miura-Ko (Floodgate), and Hans Tung (Notable Capital).
Of the Top 20, five are selected to pitch again on the final day of Disrupt in front of a new panel of high-profile judges. The winner receives $100,000 in equity-free prize money and the Disrupt Cup.
Check out the Top 20 from 2024 and 2025.
Not selected for the Top 20 initially? You’re still in the running
The list isn’t final until Disrupt is underway. Every year, things change — founders drop out, schedules shift, and standout companies from the 200 rise quickly during the program.
We keep the Top 20 confidential until the event begins and maintain a shortlist of companies ready to step in. It happens every cycle.
And more importantly, being in the 200 is where the real opportunity begins. The stage is one moment. But the access, exposure, and network you gain as part of the cohort extends far beyond it.
What every Startup Battlefield 200 company gets
You don’t have to make the Top 20 for Startup Battlefield to change your trajectory.
Every selected company receives a fully funded demo booth at TechCrunch Disrupt; complimentary event passes for the team; access to a pre-event virtual program with world-class VCs, operators, and founders; dedicated pitch preparation; and an invitation to the private Startup Battlefield reception.
At Disrupt, all 200 companies present. Whether you’re on the Disrupt Stage competing for the $100,000 prize or on the Showcase Stage for Best in Industry, both are real opportunities to stand out in front of the investors, press, and partners who come to Disrupt to find what’s next.
On the editorial side, every company enters the TechCrunch ecosystem. Coverage isn’t guaranteed, but our editors actively track Startup Battlefield companies through articles, the Build Mode podcast, the Equity podcast, and future updates as you grow. Standout companies are often invited to pitch, speak, and return across TechCrunch platforms. It’s an opportunity that compounds over time.
Beyond that, you join the Startup Battlefield alumni community, which includes 1,700+ companies, such as Dropbox, Discord, and Cloudflare, which have collectively raised $32 billion and produced 250+ exits. This isn’t a mailing list — it’s a network of founders who’ve been through the same experience and continue to support each other.
Alumni receive ongoing opportunities to pitch and speak at TechCrunch events, discounted and complimentary access to future events, and exclusive perks from our partner network.
The stage is one moment. The network, visibility, and access are what last.
You get value just for applying to Startup Battlefield
Even if you’re not selected, applying has its upsides. Applicants receive exclusive discounts on Disrupt tickets and exhibit opportunities, along with resources from our partners, so you can stay close to the ecosystem and come back stronger next cycle.
If you’re on the fence about whether you’re ready, apply anyway. It’s free, it takes nothing off the table, and it’s our job to tell you if it’s not the right time. The founders who wait until they feel ready often wait too long.
While you’re preparing, check out Build Mode, TechCrunch’s podcast for early-stage founders featuring past Startup Battlefield companies, breakout founders, and top-tier investors. Consider it the inside track on what it takes to build a Battlefield-ready company.
Applications close June 8, 2026. TechCrunch Disrupt takes place October 13–15 in San Francisco.
Apply for Startup Battlefield 2026 if you think you have what it takes to make the Top 20.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
The Enugu State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has reacted to the controversy that trailed the visit of the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Peter Obi, to the state last week.
DAILY POST reports that less than 24 hours before Obi’s visit for a town hall meeting, the NDC camp alleged that the state government had instructed the owners of the venue booked for the event to deny them access.
However, the event eventually held, with the venue owners categorically stating that the NDC had not booked the facility but had instead used a medical organisation as a front.
In a statement on Sunday, Steve Oruruo, Spokesperson and Director of Public Communications of the Enugu APC Campaign Council, accused the NDC of contriving layers of spurious allegations.
According to Oruruo, “Silence could have been golden, save for the brazen frivolity that characterised the chronicled and dramatised falsehood intentionally deployed to embarrass and impugn the image of the entire state, and invariably validate their next lie in the sequence of street-level mendacities, while an unsuspecting section of the populace may remain confused.”
He called on the people of the state to rise above what he described as barefaced antics, gimmicks and shenanigans from the pit of hell.
He said the explanation by the event centre owners had exposed the NDC's alleged lying machinery, stressing that “one Dr Sabastine Chuks Eze, a disguised client who paraded himself as the Registrar of the Nigeria Institute of Healthcare Givers and Medical Social Work Practitioners, in which he assented to the right of the aforesaid management to halt any activity, meeting, or event not conducted strictly in accordance with the stipulated rules of engagement, eventually metamorphosed into an NDC contract to host a town hall meeting at the behest of former Governor Peter Obi.”
Oruruo stated that, in a fruitless bid to deceive what he described as a highly elitist and intellectually persuaded Enugu electorate, Mrs Ada Ogbu and her dramatis personae threw caution to the wind in what perhaps turned out to be an attempt to muddy the waters through unforced errors.
“Where is the ecclesiastical rectitude, untainted probity, and self-acclaimed morality that former Governor Peter Obi preaches? Have they not been cascaded to Enugu NDC members?” Oruruo queried.
He further stated that “Enugu NDC has failed on arrival. It is almost non-existent in Enugu and perhaps gains its only infinitesimal traction whenever the state government or the name of our erudite Governor is mentioned in its tales of woes.
“Mischievously linking uncharitable words or deeds, without verifiable facts, to a revered state that the NDC purportedly intends to govern is antithetical to the minimum acceptable trust values and the widely acknowledged enviable security profile of Enugu State.”
While urging Mrs Ada Ogbu to apologise to the people of Enugu State, the APC said she would realise the extent to which she had offended the sensibilities and temperament of residents.
Oruruo said the 2027 elections should be about issues, ideas and the definitive capacity to deliver, stressing that the state remained peaceful and accommodating.
Peter Obi’s visit: Enugu NDC dead on arrival, thriving on alarmism – APC
News
“Brazil Must Be Ready for Nigeria” — SSA Adeboye Hails Flamingos, Backs Girls for Historic World Cup Final
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Grassroots Sports Development, Hon. Adeyinka Anthony Adeboye, has congratulated Nigeria’s Flamingos on their dramatic 1-0 victory over Venezuela in the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco, expressing confidence that the team can overcome Brazil and reach a historic final.
An 89th-minute penalty converted by A. Oduntan secured Nigeria’s semi-final ticket, extending the Flamingos’ winning streak to four matches following victories over Puerto Rico, North Korea and Mexico.
Adeboye, who recently travelled to Morocco to personally support the team, described the performance as another demonstration of the remarkable fighting spirit, discipline and determination of Nigeria’s young female footballers.
“These girls are too good! Their fighting spirit is exceptional, and what they have achieved so far deserves national recognition. They have shown that Nigerian football has a very bright future,” Adeboye stated.
Looking ahead to Wednesday’s semi-final against Brazil, the Presidential aide challenged the Flamingos to maintain their confidence and approach the encounter without fear.
“Brazil must be ready for Nigeria. We respect their football pedigree, but our girls have demonstrated that they can compete with the best. They are just one victory away from making history, and I strongly believe they can reach the final,” he added.
Adeboye commended head coach Hakeem Busari and his technical crew for the team’s remarkable recovery following their opening defeat to Poland.
He stressed that the Flamingos’ achievements reinforce the need for sustained investment in grassroots sports, particularly girls’ football, talent identification and structured youth development.
According to him, the forthcoming National Grassroots Sports Development Summit, scheduled for November 18–19 at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, will provide an important platform for strengthening opportunities for emerging Nigerian athletes.
“These girls represent the future we are working to build. We must create an environment where every talented Nigerian child can develop and succeed,” he said.
Adeboye urged Nigerians to rally behind the Flamingos as they pursue their first-ever World Cup final appearance.
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