TechCrunch's 20th anniversary conference gets real about startups' biggest pain point: how to structure compensation and equity that competes with Big Tech without burning through runway. Three battle-tested experts will decode the equity maze on October 27-29 in San Francisco.
The startup hiring crisis just got its most anticipated deep dive. TechCrunch's milestone 20th anniversary conference is putting equity compensation front and center with a panel that reads like a startup founder's dream advisory board. The timing couldn't be more critical as startups struggle to compete with Big Tech's unprecedented compensation packages while managing increasingly tight runways. Yin Wu, founder and CEO of Pulley, brings the data that matters most to this conversation. Her YC-backed equity management platform now serves over 5,000 companies, giving her an unparalleled view into how startups actually structure their equity packages versus what works in practice. Wu's previous exit to Microsoft adds the perspective of someone who's navigated both sides of the acquisition table. The panel gains serious operational muscle with Randi Jakubowitz from 645 Ventures. Jakubowitz lived through one of the most challenging talent scaling stories in recent startup history, leading HR at Seamless through its merger with Grubhub and eventual IPO. That experience of maintaining team cohesion and equity motivation through major corporate transitions gives her insights most HR leaders never acquire. Rounding out the expertise is Rebecca Lee Whiting, founder of Epigram Legal and fractional general counsel to top AI and biotech startups. Her background as a former Ninth Circuit clerk brings the legal precision that often gets lost in startup equity conversations, but her current role keeping AI startups compliant adds the cutting-edge regulatory perspective founders desperately need. The panel addresses three questions keeping founders awake at night. First, the core equity percentage question that every early-stage company wrestles with: how much is too much, and how much is too little? Second, the Big Tech competition reality that's reshaped talent markets entirely since the pandemic. Companies like Google and Meta are offering packages that dwarf most startup budgets, forcing founders to get creative with equity structures, vesting schedules, and long-term incentives. The third challenge tackles retention in an environment where job-hopping has become normalized and equity often represents the only meaningful wealth-building opportunity for employees. These aren't theoretical discussions. Wu's platform handles billions in equity value, while Jakubowitz's 645 Ventures portfolio companies face these decisions weekly. Whiting's legal practice means she's structuring these agreements and seeing which ones actually withstand the pressures of rapid growth, funding rounds, and market volatility. The Builders Stage session represents more than just another conference panel. It's a masterclass from practitioners who've seen equity strategies succeed and fail at scale. The conversation happens October 27-29 at San Francisco's Moscone West, with early registration pricing available through September 27.