Between October 28 and 30, representatives of the SCET community attended TechCrunch Disrupt, a three-day conference held annually in San Francisco. The event featured keynotes from industry experts, roundtable discussions, and pitch sessions, offering attendees an unparalleled opportunity to learn about the most disruptive technologies and discover emerging startups. At TechCrunch Disrupt, four Berkeley startups—Optigenix, Moonshine, Uncracked, and Swipefund—pitched their companies during roundtable sessions. Each of these startups originated in classes at SCET. Below, we’ve shared some favorite moments from our time at TechCrunch Disrupt.
Inside the Berkeley Delegation’s Journey to TechCrunch Disrupt
SCET sent a Berkeley Delegation to TechCrunch Disrupt consisting of Spring 2024 Collider Cup winners and selected SCET student leadership, faculty, and staff. All delegation members attended a professional development session before TechCrunch led by Dr. Christianna Taylor who discussed leadership as it relates to startup development. Taylor has extensive experience helping teams cultivate leadership excellence by implementing practical strategies that foster a culture of trust and innovation.
In addition to the leadership development session, the members of the Berkeley delegation received mentorship tips from SCET instructors Gert Christen and Naeem Zafar on how to take advantage of their time at TechCrunch. Zafar noted that exploring how technology interacts with real-world problems can expand one’s perspective, creating new opportunities for compelling companies. He encouraged attendees to attend at least six keynote presentations, visit 20 demos, and collect 30 contacts. TechCrunch Disrupt is an incredible opportunity to meet the next generation of founders and entrepreneurs creating groundbreaking companies. Most importantly, Zafar hopes to see student attendees apply their learnings to their projects upon returning to campus.
Additionally, Christen emphasized the importance of good preparation. Before the conference, he suggested that attendees structure their days in advance by researching the speakers, companies, and other attendees. Crafting insightful questions would also allow students to demonstrate genuine interest. To lay the foundation for fostering meaningful connections, Christen encourages students to prepare an elevator pitch to introduce themselves and their goals effectively, as well as jot down the most salient takeaways from conversations with interesting people, to make the most of their time at TechCrunch Disrupt.
Course coordinator, Manan Bhagarava led the student delegation. He organized logistics and supported student attendees as they navigated the TechCrunch space for the first time. The event featured keynotes from industry experts, roundtable discussions, and pitch sessions, offering attendees an unparalleled opportunity to learn about the most disruptive technologies and discover emerging startups. Some keynote speakers were Alex Pall and Drew Taggart from the Chainsmokers, who discussed bringing value beyond their celebrity status and discussing their fund Mantis Capital.
Key Insights and Lessons from Students at TechCrunch Disrupt
SCET Decal Facilitator Maher Hasan described his time at TechCrunch Disrupt as transformative, sharing, “It was an incredible experience connecting with so many amazing people. Hearing positive feedback not only about my company but also about some of the projects my friends are working on really helped me build solid relationships.”
“The highlight was definitely getting advice from The Chainsmokers. I’ve been a huge fan of their music since middle school—hearing their songs on the radio and now getting personalized advice from them made things come full circle. Drew’s comment about how you will inevitably mess up resonated with me. It was a powerful reminder to be kinder to myself, especially coming from someone I’ve admired for so long.”
SCET-Founded Startups Pitch at TechCrunch Roundtable Events
TechCrunch, which is held at the Moscone West Center in San Francisco, hosts over 10,000 attendees ranging from investors, startup founders, venture capitalists, students, and more. Through SCET’s partnership with TechCrunch, UC Berkeley was the only university to be an official sponsor at the conference.
Four SCET-founded companies had the incredible opportunity to showcase their startups at the TechCrunch roundtables. Both roundtable discussions hosted by SCET were at full capacity as investors, founders, industry leaders, and students witnessed firsthand what makes UC Berkeley the #1 university startup ecosystem in the world. Before the pitch, attendees learned about SCET’s Berkeley Method of Entrepreneurship, which emphasizes an inductive, journey-based approach to entrepreneurship education that actively engages students and challenges them to develop real-world entrepreneurial skills. After learning more about the SCET pedagogy, attendees heard four teams pitch.
“One of the core principles of SCET is to embrace the ‘innovation collider’ model—that is, to bring together people who are different to create new strengths and unique perspectives,” said SCET Chief Marketing Officer Keith McAleer. “Leading the Berkeley delegation at TechCrunch Disrupt was a great way to help innovative students share their ideas, create new connections, and also help SCET better connect with what is happening in the industry.”
The four teams that represented SCET are also teams that have deep roots in the Collider Cup. Optigenix, a company founded in ENGIN 183C – Challenge Lab: SportsTech, Entrepreneurship & the Future of Sports, competed but did not place in the 2023 competition. However, they returned as an alumni expo contestant in the Spring 2024 Collider Cup and won.
Pitching alongside Optigenix, was Moonshine, an AI video editor platform, the Collider Cup winners in Fall 2022. Co-founders Harsha Gundala and Ganesh Pimpale met each other in class and connected over a shared passion for video editing and startups. They are currently participating in Y Combinator’s Fall 2024 batch and, through the Roundtable, have had the opportunity to connect with other startup founders in similar industries.
Highlighting Female Founders at TechCrunch
The second roundtable session highlighted female founders, emphasizing UC Berkeley’s leadership in supporting female founders. Kate Sullivan, founder of UnCracked, a seafood sustainability company, was the winner of the Collider Cup in Spring 2023 and also participated as an alumni expo participant that same year. Uncracked, founded in ENGIN 183C – Challenge Lab: AltMeat: Product Design of Plant-Based Foods, initially focused on producing plant-based crab meat, but has since shifted to producing algae-based products. Since then, Kate has been able to connect with UC Berkeley and SCET alumni to further discuss investment opportunities. Three-time course coordinator Amy Jain and Shristi Dalal presented their startup Swipefund, founded in ENGIN 183 Startup Catalyst to an audience of eager investors and industry professionals.
TechCrunch Disrupt was a transformative experience for the Berkeley delegation—from engaging with industry trailblazers to learning about emerging technologies. The Berkeley Delegation is excited to take their learnings from TechCrunch Disrupt and apply them to their work, carrying forward the spirit of innovation and collaboration they witnessed on the global stage.