TL;DR:
• TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 highlights alternative funding strategies beyond traditional VC
• Chess.com CEO demonstrates bootstrapped success with 200M+ users, no VC backing
• Family offices and angel networks emerge as serious alternatives to venture capital
• Founders prioritize control retention over rapid venture-backed scaling
TechCrunch is spotlighting a funding revolution at its flagship Disrupt 2025 conference, where founders are increasingly ditching traditional venture capital for alternative paths. The session features bootstrapped success stories and family office strategies that preserve founder control while scaling rapidly. This signals a broader shift away from Silicon Valley's traditional funding orthodoxy.
The venture capital playbook is getting rewritten in real time, and TechCrunch is putting the rebellion center stage. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, happening October 27-29 in San Francisco, a panel discussion titled "Funding routes that don't start in the Valley" showcases how founders are finding capital without surrendering their vision or equity control.
The timing couldn't be more significant. As traditional VC funding faces headwinds and valuations compress, founders are discovering that bootstrapping, family offices, and angel networks offer viable paths to scale without the typical Silicon Valley strings attached. The session brings together three speakers who've each carved different routes around the venture capital establishment.
Erik Allebest, CEO and co-founder of Chess.com, represents perhaps the most dramatic success story in bootstrap funding. What started as a college passion project has evolved into the world's leading chess platform with over 200 million users – all without chasing venture capital. The company's growth trajectory challenges the conventional wisdom that massive scale requires massive outside investment.
"There's more than one way to get to your next round," the session description notes, highlighting how founders are increasingly questioning whether traditional VC alignment matches their long-term vision. Chess.com's success demonstrates that sustainable, profitable growth can compete directly with venture-backed competitors while maintaining founder control.
Gale Wilkinson, founder and managing partner at , brings a different perspective as someone bridging traditional and alternative funding. With 50 personal angel investments and leadership of over $80 million in early-stage funding across 150 startups, Wilkinson has become a champion for diversity in venture and values-aligned capital. Her approach represents how experienced investors are creating new models that prioritize founder autonomy alongside returns.
