If you’ve been sitting on an idea for a TechCrunch Disrupt Side Event, the clock just ran out on your deliberation time. Applications close tonight at midnight PT for anyone hoping to host an official gathering during Disrupt week, which runs October 10–16 in San Francisco.
This isn’t a small opportunity. Disrupt expects 10,000+ tech leaders to converge on the Bay Area, and Side Events give hosts a direct line to that crowd. Whether you want to run a meetup, a happy hour, a panel, or a workshop, the format is entirely yours. Approved events get placement on the official Side Events page, the conference agenda, the mobile app, attendee emails, a TechCrunch article, and social channels. Hosts also receive a 25% ticket discount code they can share with their own networks — a meaningful incentive for community builders trying to get people in the door.
There’s a catch, as there always is. TechCrunch’s events team reviews every application, and approval isn’t guaranteed. All logistics and costs fall on the host. That’s standard for conference-adjacent programming — companies like Web Summit and SXSW run similar models — but it’s worth being clear-eyed: you’re paying for the halo effect of the Disrupt brand and the foot traffic it generates, not for turnkey event production.
For anyone who’d rather attend than host, general admission tickets still carry up to $200 off until rates jump on September 25. But if you want your company’s name attached to the broader Disrupt week ecosystem, tonight is the hard stop. The application window doesn’t reopen, and the visibility that comes with being on TechCrunch’s official schedule is not something you can retrofit after the fact.
