One of the best parts of TechCrunch Disrupt is the Startup Battlefield competition, and one of the most important pieces of the Startup Battlefield is our lineup of expert judges — they’re the ones the founders are trying to impress. Once the demos and presentations are done, the judges need to think quickly and ask probing questions about each startup. And then, of course, they choose the winner who gets to take home $100k and the Disrupt Cup.
This year, at our second virtual Startup Battlefield, GV partner Terri Burns will be joining us as one of our judges. Burns joined the firm (formerly known as Google Ventures) in 2017 as a principal, then was promoted to partner last year — making her the first Black female partner at GV, and its youngest partner as well.
Burns previously worked as a developer evangelist and front-end engineer at Venmo and an associate product manager at Twitter. At GV, she’s invested in high school social app HAGS and social audio app Locker Room.
During an interview about her role last fall, Burns told us she’s interested in backing Gen Z founders, and she pointed to HAGS as a good example of a product that was “built by and for Gen Z.”
“That generation is coming to an age where they are building and they are creating and they are at the forefront of the cultural landscape,” she said. “So to find founders and builders and engineers, and designers who are part of that generation and building for their own demographic, I think it’s just a new wave of entrepreneurship and builders that are coming into technology and in Silicon Valley.”
Disrupt 2021 runs September 21-23 and will be 100% virtual this year. Get your pass to attend with the rest of the TechCrunch community for less than $100 if you secure your seat before next month. Applications to compete in the Startup Battlefield are also open now until May 13.
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