Cybersecurity
```html In the high-stakes arena of cybersecurity, where threats evolve faster than defenses, a group of battle-hardened founders emerged as champions at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 Startup Battlefield. Their story isn't just about winning a competition—it's a gritty tale of turning relentless hacker attacks into unbreakable
Startup Success
```html Raymond Zhao stared at the towering glass facade of Goldman Sachs during his college internship interviews, envisioning a life of high-stakes deals and corner offices. That dream crumbled under the weight of endless spreadsheets and a nagging sense that he craved creation over analysis. Fast-forward two years: at 22,
Marissa Mayer
Mayer Pivots Sunshine to AI Dazzle Win Marissa Mayer, the tech icon who shaped Google’s early search interface and later steered Yahoo through turbulent times, found herself at a familiar crossroads in late 2025. After six years pouring her energy into Sunshine, a contacts and photo-sharing app that never
Caviar Luxe
Caviar CEO's Jet-to-Luxury Daily Grind Alexei Volkov stepped off his private jet onto the tarmac of a private airstrip in the Bay Area, the California sun glinting off his polished loafers. It was 2023, and at 32, he had just closed a $15 million Series A for Caviar
iRobot
iRobot Founder Scrapes Path to Roomba Colin Angle stood in a cluttered academic lab, staring at the promise of robots that never materialized. Frustrated by the gap between science fiction dreams and reality, he co-founded iRobot in 1990 with a simple question: If not us, who? If not now, when?
Paternity Leave
Paternity Leave Sparks Outset Empire Aaron Cannon sat in his quiet home, cradling his newborn son, when the idea hit him like a bolt from the blue. Fresh into paternity leave from his demanding tech job, he had time—precious, uninterrupted time—to think beyond the daily grind. That moment
Jon Medved
```html Jon Medved never imagined the health tech startups he championed would one day become his lifeline. As a pioneering venture capitalist in Israel's "Startup Nation," his bold bets on innovation took a deeply personal turn when a devastating ALS diagnosis forced him to confront his
AI chatbots
```html Fedor Pak stared at his phone, overwhelmed by a flood of WhatsApp messages pouring in from patients. It was a small dermatology practice, just three rooms, but the founder spent more time rescheduling appointments than treating skin conditions. That moment sparked a revelation: healthcare professionals were drowning in routine
Retail Turnaround
```html Imagine stepping into the CEO role of a struggling retail giant during the chaos of holiday shopping, with the stock price cratering and customers drifting away. That's exactly what Winnie Park did in December 2024, turning Five Below from a faltering discount chain into a powerhouse with
Entrepreneurship
```html Carinne Meyrignac was deep into the haze of new motherhood, cradling her newborn while scrolling through her phone one sleepless night. That's when the idea hit her—a simple solution to a problem she saw everywhere among parents like her. Little did she know, that spark would
Private Equity
Hook: A Different Kind of Dealmaker Most founders hear “buyout firm” and imagine spreadsheets, layoffs, and a quiet email to staff on a Friday afternoon. Tide Rock was built to be the opposite of that image. While much of private equity talks about “synergies” and “efficiencies,” Tide Rock’s leadership
SaaS
```html In the brutal landscape of 2025 tech layoffs, where giants like Smartsheet and Brightcove slashed jobs post-acquisition and startups like Inbound Health shuttered entirely, one founder found an unlikely lifeline. Meet Alex Rivera, who built a thriving SaaS tool for remote teams—only to sell it to a buyout