If one thing has become clear this season, it’s that finding the right talent for your team isn’t as easy as picking from a pile of résumés. This week’s Build Mode 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 ecosystem 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.
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TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: We’re back for TechCrunch Disrupt on October 13 to 15 in San Francisco, where the Startup Battlefield 200 takes the stage. So if you want to cheer them on, or just network with thousands of founders, VCs, and tech enthusiasts, then grab your tickets.
Use code buildmode15 for 15% off any ticket type.
New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday. Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.
