Toast President to Lead Boston Tech Summit on November 4
The full-day event at SoWa Power Station features speakers from Bessemer and Glasswing discussing growth strategy and AI architecture.
By Abigail Brooks ·
TechCrunch has finalized the speaker roster for its Founder Summit 2026, which takes place on November 4 at the SoWa Power Station in Boston. The event is hosted with Fidelity Private Shares and centers on the strategic choices founders must make before clear answers emerge. The program extends beyond fundraising and artificial intelligence to address customer acquisition, team building, and leadership development.
Steve Fredette, president and co-founder of Toast, will headline the Impact Stage. His session, titled "Building a Company That Keeps Reinventing Itself," examines how a public company evolved from a local startup while adapting to shifting market demands. The discussion focuses on maintaining alignment with original customer needs as technology and expectations change.
Investor-led sessions will address the balance between expansion and caution. Kent Bennett, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, will lead "Finding Product Market Fit Before You Scale." This segment covers the signals founders should observe before increasing headcount or accelerating market entry. Rudina Seseri, founder and managing partner of Glasswing Ventures, will follow with "When to Scale and When to Hit the Brakes," exploring how to distinguish between moments for growth and those requiring restraint.
Lior Div, CEO and co-founder of 7AI, will present on building companies for artificial intelligence from the start. His session contrasts bolting AI onto existing processes with designing an entire company architecture around the technology. Chase Garbarino, CEO and co-founder of HqO, will discuss the "Boston Founder Playbook." This talk looks at scaling a business in Boston, focusing on talent and capital access outside of Silicon Valley.
Pitching skills remain a central theme. Dave Balter, a venture partner at True Ventures and CEO of Edisyl, will lead a session on earning the next conversation with investors. Later in the day, a live judging panel will evaluate founders on the Build Stage. The panel includes Chirag Shah from Define Ventures and Simran Suri from Maveron, who will provide real-time feedback to the presenters.
Additional speakers include Hunter Worland of NEA, who will discuss distribution as a competitive advantage. Vineet Edupuganti, co-founder and CEO of Cogent Security, will address building high-performing teams. Tina Tosukhowong of TDK Ventures will identify signals that predict category winners. Fidelity Private Shares will contribute sessions on fundraising trends and enterprise relationships.
The event includes roundtables, networking opportunities, and a closing reception. TechCrunch is offering a 25 percent ticket discount and a buy-one-get-one deal for registrations completed before the event.
