If one thing has become clear this season, finding the right talent for your team isn’t as easy as picking from a pile of resumes This week’s guest is  Leah Solivan, the founder of Taskrabbit and now an early-stage investor who has seen that the power to change a homogenous startup exosystem comes from empowering diverse VCs to fund underrepresented founders who will hire the hidden tech talent.

From bootstrapping TaskRabbit on credit cards to scaling it into one of the defining companies of the gig economy, Leah learned firsthand that the hardest part of building a company isn’t the product, it’s selecting the right people to build it.

In this episode, Isabelle Johannessen and Leah unpack what it really takes to build diverse teams from day one and why most companies get it wrong by waiting too long. They also explore how the lack of diversity in venture capital directly shapes who gets funded, and ultimately, who gets hired.

They discuss:

•

How to build diverse teams intentionally from the very beginning

•

Why the “easy path” in hiring leads to less diverse outcomes

•

The connection between diverse VCs and diverse companies

•

How to hire for culture and values over credentials

Apply to Startup Battlefield: We are looking for early-stage companies that have an MVP. So nominate a founder (or yourself): techcrunch.com/apply () . Be sure to say you heard about Startup Battlefield from the Build Mode podcast.  

TechCrunch Disrupt: ([%E2%80%A6]pt2026&utm_content=ticketsales&promo=buildmode15&display=true) If you’re thinking about applying to Startup Battlefield, then October 13 to 15 in San Francisco, we’re back for TechCrunch Disrupt, where the Startup Battlefield 200 takes the stage. So if you want to cheer them on, or just network with 1000s of founders, VCs, and tech enthusiasts, then grab your tickets. ([%E2%80%A6]pt2026&utm_content=ticketsales&promo=buildmode15&display=true)  

Use code buildmode15 for 15% off any ticket type.

Chapters:

00:00 The hard way to hire diverse talent

01:20 From engineer to Taskrabbit founder03:39 The moment that sparked Taskrabbit

07:39 Why building teams is the hardest part

12:06 Learning how to hire from scratch

17:36 Why venture capital lacks diversity

27:25 How to build diverse teams from day one

39:42 What founders get wrong about competition