TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026: 3 Speakers Set for Nov. 4 in Boston

Boston founders have a new date on the calendar: November 4, 2026. That's when TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 opens at SoWa Power Station in the city's South End, according to TechCrunch. The one-day event is hosted by TechCrunch in partnership with Fidelity Private Shares.

When and where is the event?

The summit runs for a single day — November 4 — at SoWa Power Station, a venue in Boston. Organizers describe the program as going beyond fundraising and AI topics to cover finding customers, building teams, sharpening a pitch, developing leadership skills, and scaling companies both inside and outside major startup hubs, per TechCrunch.

Who are the three speakers announced so far?

TechCrunch has named three speakers for the Impact Stage lineup: Steve Fredette, president and co-founder of Toast; Kent Bennett, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners; and Rudina Seseri, founder and managing partner of Glasswing Ventures.

What will Steve Fredette talk about?

Fredette's session, titled "Building a Company That Keeps Reinventing Itself," uses Toast's own history as the case study. Toast started by identifying a customer problem, found product-market fit, and eventually scaled from a Boston startup into a public company, according to TechCrunch. Fredette's talk will focus on what it takes to keep evolving a company as customer expectations and technology shift — without losing touch with the needs that built the business in the first place.

What does Kent Bennett's session cover?

Bennett leads "Finding Product Market Fit Before You Scale." The session centers on one question every early-stage founder has to answer honestly: are customers actually signaling that it's time to grow, or is the pressure coming from somewhere else? TechCrunch frames the talk as a counterweight to the constant push to move faster, with Bennett encouraging founders to confirm the foundation is solid before adding headcount or spend.

How does Rudina Seseri's talk differ?

Seseri's session, "When to Scale and When to Hit the Brakes," picks up the same tension from a different angle. As founder and managing partner of Glasswing Ventures, Seseri will walk through how founders can tell the difference between real scaling signals and the urge to grow for growth's sake, according to the TechCrunch writeup.

How much can founders save on tickets?

TechCrunch is offering a 25% discount on Founder Summit tickets purchased ahead of the event, plus a buy-one-get-one deal that lets a founder bring a colleague for free. Full details and registration are available through TechCrunch's event page.

By the numbers

• 1 day-long event, held November 4, 2026
• 3 confirmed speakers: Fredette (Toast), Bennett (Bessemer Venture Partners), Seseri (Glasswing Ventures)
• 25% discount on tickets purchased in advance
• 1 free second ticket through the current BOGO offer