Boston Startup Event Adds Six Focused Roundtables for November 4

TechCrunch will host its Founder Summit 2026 at the SoWa Power Station in Boston on November 4. The one-day event brings together founders, investors, and operators for a mix of main stage programming and smaller, intensive discussions. Organizers have scheduled six specific roundtables to address targeted operational challenges.

Participants in these sessions are expected to bring their own questions and share specific observations from their companies. The agenda covers topics including enterprise sales, vertical strategy, artificial intelligence, lean team management, and the creation of new market categories.

The day begins at 10:45 a.m. with a session led by Alexandra Ames, founder and chief event strategist at Blueprint Lab. Ames will discuss how early-stage companies can approach events strategically before hiring a full-time events team. The conversation will focus on selecting the right opportunities, defining success metrics, and stretching limited resources.

Two concurrent sessions start at 11:30 a.m. Chirag Shah, a partner at Define Ventures, will address the difficulties founders face when entering high-potential but complex markets, such as regulated industries. Simultaneously, Shishir Tewari, head of enterprise data engineering at Procore Technologies, will discuss how knowledge graphs and GraphRAG can improve the reliability of AI systems in real-world organizations.

Merve Kitapci, managing partner and CGO of ADIN.AI, leads the first afternoon session at 1:15 p.m. She will examine strategies for winning major enterprise customers early, citing her own experience closing deals with L'Oreal and Vodafone before a Series A round. Her talk will cover long buying cycles and the credibility gained from prominent customer logos.

Andy Tang, a partner at Draper Associates, follows at 1:55 p.m. with a session for founders whose products do not fit into established categories. He will discuss how to explain and sell these unique products and how to help investors understand the opportunity. The final roundtable at 2:35 p.m. features Linden Tibbets, CEO and founder of IFTTT, who will explore how smaller teams can use AI to increase speed and output without adding headcount.

Beyond the roundtables, the main program includes sessions on product-market fit, hiring, and fundraising. Steve Fredette, co-founder of Toast, is among the leaders scheduled to speak. Founders will also participate in a live competition called "So You Think You Can Pitch?" Networking opportunities include a lounge with Braindate and a closing reception presented by Fidelity Private Shares. Tickets are currently available with a 25% discount and a limited buy-one-get-one offer.