Disrupt 2025 is just a few days away and tickets are still available here! There’s no higher time to announce that we’re launching an all-new TechCrunch series: Build Mode alongside our flagship event and annual Startup Battlefield 200 competition.
Brought to you by Startup Battlefield editor Isabelle Johannessen, Build Mode is a survival guide for early-stage founders navigating the high-stakes chaos of building a company from scratch. No sugar. No noise. Just honest conversations and tactical advice from individuals who’ve done it before and have the scars (and term sheets) to prove it.
Starting November 13, Isabelle can be meeting with founders, VCs and operators to find the real stories behind the release. Each season and weekly episodes will explore a topic that keeps founders up at night: market chaos, fundraising pressures, runaway runs, hiring duds, and the whole lot in between.
Whether you are an apple, SpotifyOr YouTube person, you possibly can tune into build mode wherever yow will discover podcasts. Additional content and exclusive clips will appear on TechCrunch’s social media channels, including: Instagram, XAND TikTok. If you are not a subscriber, the clock is ticking until the official launch in a few weeks!
Watch the Build Mode and Season One trailer here:
Season one of Build Mode begins with a dive into the good, the bad, and the brutal realities of product launch. From big launches to epic failures, we discover what it really takes to take an idea from idea to reality. And we’re thrilled to have it our Season One sponsor, JP Morgancome along for the ride.
But this is just the starting.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco
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October 27-29, 2025
We want Build Mode to be greater than just a podcast; we wish it to be a community of builders helping other builders succeed, identical to the over 1,700 startups that have passed through the Startup Battlefield program. That means we wish to listen to from you, founders, operators and curious listeners, about the questions and topics that basically keep you up at night.
We’ll be weaving in stories, suggestions and questions from the community in upcoming episodes, so stay tuned to find out how you possibly can get involved!
And if you’ve got already subscribed to our Found podcast, welcome back! You are already a part of the Build Mode community. We’re keeping the Found archive alive so you possibly can revisit founder interviews and insights from years past. No oversight, just honest stories and hard-won lessons, shared freely with anyone daring enough to build a startup.