VCs at Index Ventures, Serena Ventures, NEA and Volition Capital join Startup Battlefield judges • TechCrunch

We’re stoked for what’s shaping up to be a glorious Startup Battlefield competition at TechCrunch Disrupt on October 18–20 in San Francisco. Twenty of the most promising and creative early stage startups — chosen from the elite Startup Battlefield 200 — will go toe-to-toe for bragging rights and $100,000.

This year’s contenders will have to work hard to impress the seasoned VCs who will hear their pitches and follow up with a tough Q&A. We’re excited to announce that we’ve added a fifth tranche of judges — be sure to check out the other Startup Battlefield VCs judges in rounds one, two, three and four.

Wait, did you know? Startup Battlefield isn’t just thrilling to watch; it’s also a masterclass in how investors think. The judges’ feedback provides insight into the criteria they use to determine whether a company is viable or not. Watch and learn what investors look for, what motivates them and what pushes them to schedule a meeting.

Without further ado, here are four more expert VCs ready to help determine the next Startup Battlefield champion:

Ann Bordetsky, a partner at New Enterprise Associates (NEA)

Bordetsky, who joined NEA as a partner in 2021, focuses on consumer and enterprise technologies with particular interest in the future of work, commerce and platforms. She has helped build some of Silicon Valley’s most iconic technology companies in a variety of business, strategy and operating executive roles, and she’s a leading force in catalyzing diversity in tech as an operator, angel investor and advisor to January Ventures.

Prior to NEA, Bordetsky served as COO at Rival, a modern enterprise platform for live event commerce (acquired by Live Nation) and an active operator angel investing in early-stage SaaS, marketplace and consumer digital startups. Previously, as director of business development and strategic initiatives at Uber, she led growth initiatives, strategic partnerships and new vertical formation.

Before joining Uber, Bordetsky was the head of commerce and consumer product business development at Twitter, and she held a variety of business-development and GTM roles at early-stage marketplace and mobility startups (Wheelz and Better Place).

Bordetsky holds an MBA from Stanford University and a BA in environmental science, policy and management from the University of California, Berkeley.

Bryan Offutt, a partner at Index Ventures

In 2018, Offutt joined Index, where he focuses on enterprise investments with an emphasis on design. He is particularly interested in the consumerization of enterprise and the use of design to improve the approachability of highly technical products. Offutt is also one of the hosts of Index Venture’s new podcast series, “Hands On.”

Prior to joining Index, Offutt worked as product manager at MemSQL, where he focused on deployability and user interfaces. He began his career at Palantir Technologies, where he served as an engineer and product manager on work that spanned federated search, data ingestion, data collaboration and access control.

Offutt graduated from Stanford University with a BS in computer science, focusing on artificial intelligence.

Alison Rapaport Stillman, the founding and managing partner at Serena Ventures (SV)

Stillman oversees portfolio management and sourcing new investments at SV. In addition to growing the reach and impact of the SV portfolio, she is the person founders turn to when they need pointed advice, detailed feedback and tough love.

Stillman holds a BS from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and an MBA from Harvard Business School, and she is a CFA charter holder.

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