Boston Startup Summit: November 4 Agenda Announced

TechCrunch has finalized the schedule for Founder Summit 2026, a full-day conference scheduled for November 4 at SoWa Power Station in Boston. The event is hosted in partnership with Fidelity Private Shares and gathers founders, investors, and operators to discuss strategic decisions made before all data is available.

The agenda moves beyond standard topics like fundraising and artificial intelligence. Planned sessions address finding customers, building teams, refining pitches, and developing leadership skills. Specific tracks focus on scaling companies within and outside traditional startup hubs.

Steve Fredette, president and co-founder of Toast, will open the program on the Impact Stage. His session, titled "Building a Company That Keeps Reinventing Itself," will examine how a business evolves as customer expectations and technology shift. Fredette will discuss maintaining a connection to the original needs that created the company, which grew from a Boston startup into a public entity.

Investors will lead two sessions on the balance between growth and restraint. Kent Bennett of Bessemer Venture Partners will speak on "Finding Product Market Fit Before You Scale." He will discuss the signals founders should identify before increasing headcount, spending, or go-to-market efforts. Rudina Seseri of Glasswing Ventures will address "When to Scale and When to Hit the Brakes," exploring how to distinguish between moments for acceleration and those requiring restraint.

The local Boston ecosystem will feature prominently in the program. Chase Garbarino, CEO of HqO, will present "The Boston Founder Playbook" on the Impact Stage. This session will cover building and scaling a company in Boston, with specific attention to talent, customers, and capital outside of the Bay Area. The event will include a live pitching segment where founders present to a panel of investors, including Dave Balter of True Ventures, Chirag Shah of Define Ventures, and Simran Suri of Maveron.

Additional speakers include Hunter Worland of NEA, who will discuss distribution as a competitive advantage, and Vineet Edupuganti of Cogent Security, who will address team building. Tina Tosukhowong of TDK Ventures will speak on identifying category winners. Fidelity Private Shares representatives Kristen Craft and Evan Schnidman will lead sessions on fundraising trends and enterprise relationships, respectively.

The day concludes with roundtables, networking, and a closing reception presented by Fidelity Private Shares. TechCrunch is offering a 25% ticket discount and a buy-one-get-one deal for registrations prior to the event.