5 days left: Your last chance to connect, scale, and save at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026

A great founder event shouldn’t just leave you with ideas. It should give you connections, insights, and actionable advice to turn those ideas into growth.

Just five days away, TechCrunch Founder Summit, presented by Fidelity Private Shares, is bringing founders together for hands-on learning and meaningful connections. Explore two breakout stages packed with practical advice, then dive into interactive roundtables where you can ask questions, exchange ideas, and get direct insights from people who understand the challenges of building and scaling a company.

Don’t just take notes. Make connections, find answers, and leave with a clearer path forward. Register now to save up to $100 on your pass, plus get a second for free.

Get to know the breakout stages

Build Stage

Get tactical about building your company. The Build Stage focuses on what it takes to turn an idea into a growing business, with practical sessions on distribution, fundraising, emerging AI opportunities, and pitching. Visit the agenda to see the full session lineup.

• The Next Startup Advantage: Distribution Beats Technology: Hear Hunter Worland, Principal at NEA, explain why distribution can matter more than the technology itself and how founders can build a competitive advantage.

• Fundraising Trends: Get practical fundraising advice from Kristen Craft (Fidelity Private Shares), Jennifer Neundorfer (January Ventures), and Darren Ross (THE·TEAM) on what investors are looking for and how to prepare for your next raise.

• The Next AI Opportunity: What Hasn’t Been Built Yet? Explore emerging opportunities in AI with Amulya Vishwanath, CEO and Managing Partner at Techable VC, and discover where the next wave of AI startups could take shape.

• Your Pitch Has to Earn the Next Conversation: Learn from Dave Balter, Venture Partner at True Ventures, how to craft a compelling pitch that captures investor interest and earns that all-important next meeting.

These aren’t just conversations about startup success. They’re practical lessons you can take straight back to your company. Get tactical about building the company. You’ll hear perspectives on why distribution can matter as much as the technology itself, what investors are looking for as founders prepare to raise, how high-performing startup teams are built, and why the best pitch is often the one that earns another meeting. These are lessons designed to move from the stage back into your company.

Register for your pass before prices go up at the door.

Impact Stage

The Impact Stage focuses on the decisions that help founders build sustainable, scalable businesses, from finding product-market fit and knowing when to accelerate growth to building enterprise relationships and identifying future category leaders.

Through candid conversations with experienced founders, investors, and industry leaders, you’ll get practical insights into scaling responsibly, navigating competitive markets, unlocking strategic partnerships, and positioning your company for long-term success. Explore the full agenda to see the rest of the lineup.

• When to Scale and When to Hit the Brakes: Learn from Rudina Seseri, Founder and Managing Partner at Glasswing Ventures, how to make smart decisions after raising your first round, from hiring and product development to managing burn rate and knowing when to accelerate growth.

• Finding Product-Market Fit Before You Scale: Get insights from Kurt Bennett, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, on how to validate customer demand, build an MVP that answers the right questions, identify meaningful growth signals, and avoid scaling before your startup is ready.

• Enterprise Relationships: Hear from Kristen Craft of Fidelity Private Shares, Yossi Hayut of Wix Ventures, Evan Schnidman of Fidelity Investments, and Jennifer van Dijk of Boston Legacy FC on how startups can build strategic enterprise partnerships, unlock new markets, and accelerate growth.

• The Boston Founder Playbook: Hear from Chase Garbarino, CEO and Co-founder of HqO, about building and scaling successful companies outside Silicon Valley, the advantages and challenges of growing a business in Boston, and why founders don’t need to relocate to build category-defining companies.

• How To Spot the ‘King of the Hill’ Company: Hidden Signals That Define Category Winners: Learn from Tina Tosukhowong, Investment Director at TDK Ventures, how investors evaluate potential category leaders through economics, scalability, and commercial timing, with practical frameworks for assessing startup readiness and competitive positioning.

Register for your pass before prices go up at the door.

Roundtables: Bring your questions

Roundtables make the conversation smaller and more specific. Founders can dig into challenges, including entering difficult industries, building an events strategy without a dedicated team, reducing AI hallucinations, landing major enterprise customers before Series A, building entirely new categories, and using AI to help lean teams compete with much larger organizations.

Instead of simply hearing how someone else approached a problem, you can ask the questions that matter to your company and compare experiences with the people sitting around you. Explore the full roundtable agenda.

Don’t just watch. Participate in Founder Summit.

TechCrunch Founder Summit is intentionally more hands-on than a massive conference. Come ready to listen, but also come ready to ask, challenge, compare notes, and participate.

Just five days remain. Save up to $100 on your pass, get a second for free, and join the Boston startup hub at SoWa Power Station on November 4.

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