Starting a startup means making decisions without having all the answers.
When should you scale? How do you know you’ve truly achieved product-market fit? What does it take to land enterprise customers? How do you build the right team? And when you finally stand in front of investors, how do you ensure your pitch leads to the next conversation?
On November 4, the TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 will bring together founders, investors, and operators at the SoWa Power Station in Boston to answer these questions from diverse perspectives.
What presentations will the founder of Boston hear?
Steve Fredette on how to build a company that continuously reinvents itself
The founders of Boston didn’t have to look far to see what happens when a startup finds its market and evolves with its customers.
Steve Fredette, President, Co-founder, and Director of Toast, will take the Impact Stage to participate in a session titled “Building a Company That Continuously Reinvents Itself.”
Toast’s story provides a compelling case study for founders: identifying customer pain points, achieving product-market fit, winning customers, and ultimately growing a Boston-based startup into a public company.
But achieving scale doesn’t mean the work is over. Fredette’s conversation will explore how businesses continue to evolve as customer expectations, technology, and market conditions change, while still staying connected to the original needs that sparked the business’s creation.
Kent Bennett on how to determine whether product-market fit is truly real
Growth is exciting, but premature growth can be costly.
Bessemer Venture Partners partner Kent Bennett will moderate "Finding Product-Market Fit Before Scaling," focusing on one of the most critical questions for early-stage founders: Are your customers truly telling you that you're ready to grow?
This discussion will help founders thoughtfully consider which signals truly matter before hiring more staff, increasing expenses, or accelerating market expansion.
This also provides a healthy balance to the constant pressure in startup culture to “move fast.” Sometimes, the smartest next step is to first confirm that the foundation is truly solid.
Rudina Seseri on when to expand and when to hit the brakes
The same tension will also be at the core of the discussion by Rudina Seseri, founder and managing partner of Glasswing Ventures.
In the segment “When to Expand and When to Hit the Brakes,” Seseri will explore how founders can distinguish between moments that call for acceleration and those that require restraint to protect their business.
Founders always make trade-offs between growth and discipline. Knowing when not to expand is just as important as knowing when to push full speed ahead.
Lior Div on building for AI from day one
AI is reshaping how new companies think about products, operations, and teams, but integrating AI into existing processes is different from building a company around AI from the start.
Lior Div, CEO and co-founder of 7AI, will discuss this distinction in "Built for AI from Day One."
This conversation offers entrepreneurs in today’s technological landscape an opportunity to think beyond viewing AI as merely a feature, and instead consider how it impacts the entire company’s structure and operational model.
Chase Garbarino on the Boston Founders Handbook
The startup world doesn't only exist in Silicon Valley.
Chase Garbarino, CEO and co-founder of HqO, will take the Impact Stage to share “The Boston Founder Playbook,” exploring what it means to build and scale a company in Boston.
For founders in the New England region and the broader East Coast ecosystem, this discussion will offer a particularly relevant perspective on talent, customers, capital, and community beyond the Bay Area.
Incorporating Fredette’s story about Toast, this year’s summit also established a clear local theme: ambitious companies can be built in Boston, and founders here don’t need to copy the Silicon Valley model.
Dave Balter on how to create a pitch that earns you a follow-up meeting
A roadshow doesn’t need to close a deal on the spot; its goal is to get the other party willing to engage in the next conversation.
Dave Balter, General Partner at True Ventures and CEO of Edisyl, will explore this idea in "Your Pitch Must Win the Next Conversation."
For a founder accustomed to explaining their company every day, this discussion highlights that understanding your business and being able to articulate it clearly are two different skills.
Later in the afternoon, participants will see how this theory plays out in practice.
View the full list of Founder Summit speakers here.
Watch the founder's live pitch
In the “So You Think You Can Pitch?” segment, founders will test their stories live on the Build Stage.
Balter will join Define Ventures partner Chirag Shah and Maveron director Simran Suri, with startups presenting their business plans to a panel of investors.
For attendees, this will be an opportunity to observe how founders connect with an idea within a limited time frame and hear investors’ responses in real time.
This is also one of the most interactive components of the Founder Summit, offering insights both from compelling pitches and from those that raise questions.
More than just one startup conversation
The remaining agenda will cover several decisions the founder is currently facing.
Hunter Worland of NEA will explore why distribution channels may become the next competitive advantage for startups. Vineet Edupuganti, co-founder and CEO of Cogent Security, will discuss how to build a 10x team. Tina Tosukhowong of TDK Ventures will analyze the hidden signals that identify category winners.
Join the discussion in Boston
The TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 will take place on November 4 at the SoWa Power Station in Boston.
The day’s event will feature candid founder conversations, practical sessions, intimate roundtables, live pitch presentations, networking opportunities, and a closing reception presented by Fidelity Private Shares.
With the event approaching and spots limited, don’t wait—register now! Take advantage of this limited-time offer and save 25% on Founder Summit tickets.