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A contributor to Entrepreneur argues that many founders misread networking's value, treating events, panels and coffee meetings as a substitute for building a strong product or service. The piece contends that genuine business relationships form as a byproduct of good work, reliable customer experience and follow-through, not from accumulating contacts.
MyMonthlyCar, a startup founded by three Ukrainian entrepreneurs including CEO Igor Dobrianskyi, has built an online platform connecting dealerships' unsold used-car inventory with customers seeking month-to-month rentals. The company charges no listing fees but takes a 10% cut from both dealers and renters per transaction, and also enables rent-to-own arrangements. MyMonthlyCar has been selected for TechCrunch Disrupt's 2026 Startup Battlefield 200 cohort, taking place in San Francisco in October.
OpenAI has terminated two researchers after allegations that they shared confidential company information outside the organization. The departures come as the company is also addressing separate incidents involving its AI models behaving unexpectedly.
TechCrunch is closing exhibit bookings for Disrupt 2026 this Friday, October 2 at 11:59 p.m. PT. The conference runs October 13-15 at Moscone West in San Francisco, and exhibitors get a $12,500 package including a table, 10 team passes, lead-generation tools, and sponsor branding.
Startup Nights 2026 will take place on 5-6 November in Winterthur, Switzerland, at the Eulachhallen venue. The nearby Park Hotel Winterthur is offering event attendees accommodation with a 20% discount using the promo code Startup26.
A blog post by Simon Späti argues that the real risk from AI-generated code isn't poor quality but that engineers and teams no longer understand why architectural decisions were made. He cites a viral tweet describing a large company where specs, tickets, tests and code are all produced via Claude Code, with staff at every level simply prompting the AI and management pressuring teams to ship faster without reviewing output.
TechCrunch announced five additional judges for its Startup Battlefield 200 competition at Disrupt 2026, bringing the total revealed so far to 20. The 200 selected startups will exhibit and pitch at the event, with judges narrowing the field toward finalists who compete for a $100,000 equity-free prize and the Disrupt Cup.
TechCrunch is closing exhibit table bookings for its Disrupt 2026 conference on Friday, October 2, at 11:59 p.m. PT, after which no further reservations will be accepted. The event runs October 13–15 at Moscone West in San Francisco and is expected to draw more than 10,000 founders, investors and tech leaders. Exhibit packages include a branded table, ten team passes, lead-generation tools, and app and website branding.
Apple's support guidance explains how MacBook power states differ: a full shutdown closes all apps, clears RAM and stops power draw, while sleep and restart preserve more system state. Shutting down via the Apple menu includes a one-minute cancellable countdown and an option to reopen previous windows, and holding Option skips that countdown. Holding the Touch ID or power button for several seconds forces an unresponsive system to shut down, though this risks losing unsaved work.
An Entrepreneur contributor writes that founders earn investment less through pitch polish than through operating discipline: a recurring weekly execution meeting with a fixed agenda, a one-page plan, and a named owner for every key metric. The writer also says monthly investor updates that candidly report wins, misses and asks build credibility over time.
Muju Earth has built the Aeropod, a fingernail-sized device farmers plant alongside seeds that bursts open from soil temperature, pressure and moisture to loosen compacted soil without machinery. The startup, founded by Ifeoluwa Afolayan and Wangyang Hu at Imperial College London, says the device can match tilling's results at roughly a quarter of the cost. Muju Earth is running paid field trials with nine UK onion farmers this fall and will present at TechCrunch Disrupt's Startup Battlefield in October.
TechCrunch is selling a discounted $75 Expo+ Pass to its Disrupt 2026 conference for people who have been laid off, capped at the first 100 qualifying buyers or until the event opens on October 13 at 8 a.m. PT. The pass grants access to the Expo Hall at Moscone West in San Francisco from October 13-15, where over 10,000 attendees and 300+ startups are expected.