Isabelle JOHANNESSEN

As the Head of the Startup Battlefield Program at TechCrunch, Isabelle leads the charge in sourcing and selecting 200 of the most promising early-stage companies worldwide each year to showcase at TechCrunch Disrupt. She partners closely with these startups to fine-tune their pitches, preparing them to compete for $100,000 in equity-free prize money, a TechCrunch.com feature article, the spotlight of global press and investors, and the prestigious Disrupt Cup. Before joining TechCrunch, Isabelle ran a San Francisco-based accelerator, focused on bringing international startups from countries like Japan, South Korea, Italy, and Spain into the heart of Silicon Valley. Throughout her career, she’s helped thousands of startups secure funding and customers. Isabelle is particularly passionate about empowering women founders and has received recognition from the World Trade Organization for launching an accelerator program that brought women entrepreneurs from Spain to the U.S., which won th