The key facts
- TechCrunch Founder Summit will take place on November 4, 2026 at SoWa Power Station in Boston
- Speakers include Steve Fredette (Toast) and Chase Garbarino (HqO)
- November 4 is the last day of current ticket prices and group discounts
The conference kicks off on November 4
TechCrunch Founder Summit, organized with support from Fidelity Private Shares, will take place on November 4, 2026 at the SoWa Power Station venue in Boston, bringing together company founders, investors, and operating executives to discuss building businesses from Boston and other cities. According to TechCrunch, November 4 is also the last day to buy tickets at the current price: after that, the cost will rise and all special group discounts will disappear.
Speakers: experience building companies outside Silicon Valley
The central theme of the program is the possibility of building a large-scale business outside Silicon Valley. Steve Fredette, president, co-founder, and director of Toast, will present one of the most recognizable success stories among Boston founders: Toast's journey spans finding customers, achieving product-market fit, scaling, and evolving after the original idea proved successful. The publication calls this story proof that founders don't have to leave Boston to build a company of national and global scale.
“The Boston Founder Playbook” and networking
Chase Garbarino, CEO and co-founder of HqO, will devote his session directly to the question of geography: he has been building his business from Boston for more than ten years, has raised significant capital, and has taken HqO to the international level without relocating the company to the traditional West Coast hub. In the conversation, he will break down the advantages, disadvantages, and realities of building a business where the “startup playbook” was never written. The full program is available on the event website.
Event formats
In addition to on-stage sessions, the organizers have announced several formats for making connections: Braindate — networking for finding conversations around shared challenges; roundtables, where founders and venture investors discuss specific problems under the guidance of a scaling expert; as well as official side events, which continue introductions beyond the conference itself across the entire Boston startup community.
