On Tuesday morning at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, our senior producer Maggie Nye pulled up her sleeve to reveal her latest tattoo: a retro, pixel-style cursor arrow. TechCrunch’s Becca Szkutak chose the same design, while Theresa Loconsolo opted for a cheerful moon.
I assumed that during the excitement of Disrupt, Maggie and Becca had slipped away to a fashionable San Francisco tattoo parlor to mark their friendship with some tech-inspired ink (perhaps Theresa joined them as well?). That seemed more plausible than the truth: they actually got their tattoos right at Disrupt — yes, on the convention floor at Moscone Center, while upstairs, someone was probably giving a talk about product-market fit or agentic AI.
In the Expo Hall, hundreds of startups participated in the Battlefield 200, showcasing everything from robotic chefs and space insurance to innovative plastic recycling solutions. Amid the bustle, Tattd transformed their booth into a pop-up tattoo studio.
Maggie’s tattoo. Image Credits:TechCrunch Tattd is a service designed to connect people seeking tattoos with artists whose portfolios align with their desired style.
The company leverages generative AI to produce a sample design, but these digital concepts aren’t actually tattooed. Instead, Tattd uses reverse image search to match the AI-generated mockup with an artist whose previous work is similar, allowing the client and artist to collaborate on a unique piece, just as they would when working directly with a tattooist.
“If you ask ChatGPT for something like, ‘Show me a butterfly in a traditional Japanese style with bold lines,’ it doesn’t really understand what that means,” founder Laura Schaack explained to TechCrunch.
Just a few steps away, TechCrunch’s deputy managing editor Karyne Levy was getting an escape key tattooed on her upper arm.
Karyne’s tattoo. Image Credits:TechCrunch Before launching Tattd, Schaack managed operations at two startups: WearAway, a fashion rental platform that Grin acquired, and Lemonsqueeze, a market expansion service bought by Knotel. Schaack has always had a passion for the arts—she studied art history at NYU and sports a collection of tattoos herself. At Disrupt, she added a California postage stamp near her elbow.
“There have been people who tried to break into the tattoo business without having any tattoos themselves, and none of them succeeded,” Schaack noted. While appearances aren’t everything, she believes that not having tattoos often signals a lack of genuine interest, commitment, or experience in the field.
“I care deeply about this industry, I’m heavily tattooed, and my goal is to empower artists to grow their businesses in ways that benefit both them and their clients,” she said. Tattd currently has 900 artists on its platform and works with a third-party partner to provide them with access to healthcare and financial advice.
Tattd’s flash sheet. Image Credits:TechCrunch According to Schaack, about 30 people received tattoos over the course of the three-day TechCrunch Disrupt event.
Although the flash sheet featured a TechCrunch logo, no one ended up getting our brand permanently inked—fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your perspective.
