TechCrunch will hold its Founder Summit 2026 at SoWa Power Station in Boston on November 4, gathering founders, investors and operators for a day of talks, live pitching and networking. Central to the event is a set of smaller roundtables built for deeper discussion, where attendees are invited to bring their own questions and compare notes with experts and fellow founders facing similar problems. Topics span enterprise sales, vertical strategy, AI, lean teams and building a category that does not yet exist.
Alexandra Ames, founder and chief event strategist at Blueprint Lab, will lead a session on how early-stage companies can use events strategically before they have the budget or headcount for a dedicated events team. The conversation is expected to cover choosing the right opportunities, defining success and stretching limited resources. Chirag Shah, partner at Define Ventures, will examine the problem of pursuing a market with major potential that is also hard to enter, for founders working in regulated industries, with complex buyers or with specialized customers.
Shishir Tewari, head of enterprise data engineering at Procore Technologies, will address trust in enterprise AI, looking at how knowledge graphs and GraphRAG can give AI systems stronger context. Merve Kitapci, managing partner and CGO of ADIN.AI, will break down what it takes to land major enterprise customers early, covering long buying cycles, multiple stakeholders and the credibility that comes from winning the right logo. Andy Tang, partner at Draper Associates, will lead a discussion for founders building something that does not fit an existing category, including how to explain it, sell it and get investors to grasp the opportunity.
Linden Tibbets, CEO and founder of IFTTT, will explore how smaller teams can use AI to raise speed and output without simply adding headcount, touching on hiring, efficiency and how to structure an AI-enabled company. Organizers say the sessions are meant to let attendees ask the questions that matter to their own companies and leave with ideas they can apply.
The roundtables are one part of the day. Across the Build and Impact Stages, the summit will also cover product-market fit, hiring, founder leadership, fundraising, pitching and building companies outside the Bay Area. Attendees will hear founder perspectives from leaders including Toast co-founder Steve Fredette, and founders will test their stories in a live competition called "So You Think You Can Pitch?" A Networking Lounge with Braindate and a closing reception presented by Fidelity Private Shares will add time to connect.
Tickets are available at a 25 percent discount for a limited time, and organizers are offering a buy-one-get-one deal that lets attendees bring a colleague for free.
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