Undoubtedly, TechCrunch is one the most popular tech blogs in the world. Personally, I was immediately attracted to it because it revealed the mysterious world of start-ups from the heart of technopreneurship, the Silicon Valley. Of course TechNode ourselves have taken much inspiration from what TechCrunch has achieved.
In playing a key role of the tech start-up eco-system between start-ups and investors, TechCrunch holds a massively popular start-up event called TechCrunch Disrupt. Bouncing between the East and West coast of America from New York to Sanfranciso for the past 5 years, the Disrupt conference is all about highlighting the start-up street fighters that dream big and aren’t afraid to tell the world about it. Now with the attention on China and its thriving start-up market, TechCrunch is bringing Disrupt to China.
Gang recently visited the TechCrunch headquarters in Silicon Valley to interview their CEO Heather Harde to find out more about Disrupt Beijing. Heather revealed that the instigator behind coming to Beijing was Sarah Lacy, a key editor at TechCrunch. Lacy apparently convinced the TechCrunch team that Beijing is Silicon Valley’s Asian brother that deserves more attention; especially with all the crazy investment deals and billion dollar tech company IPO’s. “We want to put our finger on the pulse of what’s happening now, in terms of key trends and hottest companies.” Said Harde. Check out the video below, that was published on TechCrunch itself!
Running from October 31st to November 1st, the Disrupt conference has always been known to be an action packed tech festival with a focus on the entrepreneurs and big ideas. For start-ups, I think its an awesome opportunity to not just get great local exposure but international exposure too! The most noteworthy sections are:
- Hackathon – 29-30th October (Pre-Disrupt)
Similar to the iWeekend and Start-up Weekend format, individuals and teams can come to work and hack together a demo product over 24 hours and then have 90 seconds to present it the next day to a panel of judges. The top 8 teams will be awarded with free-entry into the Disrupt conference.
To apply, click here.
- Battlefield – 1st November Afternoon
For start-ups looking to launch their product for the first time, they can pitch their new product to an esteemed panel of judges. In New York, the Battlefield winner was Getaround, an innovative start-up that is like Airbnb for cars. Applicant’s can also apply if they have a product in private beta. Global teams can apply but local teams will be given more attention.
To apply, click here.
For start-ups who don’t want to present on stage, similar to GMIC, there will be an exhibition area for them to set up booths to showcase their product. Similar to our TechNode mixer, another night will be reserved for attending start-ups to go to a VC networking mixer with the aim of building relationships and potentially get funding.
Being TechCrunch, they will be inviting both domestic and international heavyweights to speak. From China, Founder and CEO of Tencent, Pony Ma and Serial entrepreneur and CEO of Xiaomi Tech, Lei Jun will be there. The impressive international line-up includes Peter Verstabacka, the Mighty Eagle of Rovio who was a hit during GMIC and Steve Chen, Co-founder of Youtube.
For those of you who always wanted to go to a TechCrunch Disrupt Conference, here is your chance. They are coming to us in Beijing!
Event Info Summary
When: October 31 – November 1
Where: China National Convention Center
Ticket prices: Buy here
– Early Bird General Admission US$1,495
– Regular Admission US$1,995
– Entrepreneurs Exclusive US$997.50*
*The special Entrepreneur package also gives you the opportunity to display your start-up at a booth in Start-up Alley, as well as attend the exclusive VC and Angel investor networking event.