TechCrunch Founder Summit in Boston to Offer Networking Through Braindate
TechCrunch's Founder Summit for startup founders takes place November 4 in Boston. Attendees will be able to use the Braindate platform to arrange one-on-one and small-group conversations.
Technology news outlet TechCrunch will hold its Founder Summit 2026, a conference for startup founders, on November 4 at SoWa Power Station in Boston, United States. According to the organizers, attendees will have access to Braindate, a networking platform that helps people meet to discuss specific topics, either one-on-one or in small groups.
How the networking works
In the Founder Summit Networking Lounge, attendees can schedule meetings throughout the day. Rather than hoping to bump into the right person, they pick a subject: fundraising, hiring, product-market fit or enterprise sales. They can also simply meet others building companies in Boston and elsewhere.
Programme
The agenda is built around questions founders ask: when to scale, how to build a stronger team, what makes investors take another meeting, and how to win enterprise customers without a large sales organization. These are covered on the Build and Impact stages and in smaller roundtables.
Speakers include Kent Bennett of venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners on product-market fit, Dave Balter of True Ventures and Edisyl on what makes a pitch earn a follow-up meeting, and Steve Fredette, co-founder of Toast, on scaling and navigating changing markets.
Tickets
The organizers describe the event as smaller and more hands-on than large conferences. Passes include breakout sessions, roundtables, Braindate networking, the Expo Hall and post-event session materials. Currently, buying one pass lets a guest attend free, and the ticket price is discounted by up to $100.
