TechCrunch Sets 6 Roundtables for Nov 4 Boston Founder Summit

TechCrunch will host its Founder Summit 2026 on November 4 at the SoWa Power Station in Boston. The event brings together founders, investors, and operators for a day of discussions, live pitching, and networking. Organizers have added six small-group roundtables to the schedule to address specific operational challenges.

Alexandra Ames, founder and chief event strategist at Blueprint Lab, opens the roundtable track at 10:45 a.m. She will discuss how early-stage companies can use events strategically before hiring a full-time team. The session covers selecting opportunities, defining success metrics, and managing limited resources.

Two sessions run concurrently at 11:30 a.m. Chirag Shah, a partner at Define Ventures, will address the difficulties of entering regulated markets with complex buyers. Shishir Tewari, head of enterprise data engineering at Procore Technologies, will focus on using knowledge graphs and GraphRAG to improve AI reliability 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 how founders won major enterprise customers like L'Oreal and Vodafone before raising a Series A. The conversation will touch on long buying cycles and the value of prominent customer logos.

Andy Tang, a partner at Draper Associates, follows at 1:55 p.m. He will guide founders whose products do not fit into existing categories. The session covers how to explain these products to buyers and how to help investors understand the market opportunity.

Linden Tibbets, CEO and founder of IFTTT, concludes the roundtable track at 2:35 p.m. He will explore how smaller teams can use AI to increase speed and output without adding headcount. The discussion includes hiring strategies and structuring companies for efficiency.

The main program includes sessions on the Build and Impact Stages covering product-market fit, fundraising, and scaling outside the Bay Area. Steve Fredette, co-founder of Toast, is scheduled to speak. Founders will also compete in a live pitching event called "So You Think You Can Pitch?" A Networking Lounge and a closing reception presented by Fidelity Private Shares are also part of the agenda. Tickets are currently available with a 25% discount and a limited buy-one-get-one offer.