Toast President Steve Fredette to Lead Boston Startup Summit

Steve Fredette, president and co-founder of Toast, will open the Founder Summit 2026 in Boston next month. The full-day conference is scheduled for November 4 at the SoWa Power Station. Fredette will speak on the Impact Stage about building a company that continues to reinvent itself as market conditions change.

The event is hosted in partnership with Fidelity Private Shares. It aims to help founders make decisions before they have complete answers. The agenda covers topics beyond fundraising and artificial intelligence. Sessions address finding customers, building teams, and sharpening pitches.

Investors will lead discussions on the balance between growth and restraint. Kent Bennett of Bessemer Venture Partners will examine how founders should identify product market fit before adding headcount or increasing spending. Rudina Seseri of Glasswing Ventures will discuss how to distinguish between moments requiring acceleration and times when restraint protects the business.

The summit also highlights the local Boston ecosystem. Chase Garbarino, CEO of HqO, will present the Boston Founder Playbook. He will discuss building companies in the city without relying on Silicon Valley models. This session pairs with Fredette's talk to emphasize local talent and capital.

Lior Div, CEO of 7AI, will present on building companies around AI from the start. He will contrast this approach with simply adding AI features to existing processes. Dave Balter, a venture partner at True Ventures, will lead a session on making pitches that earn follow-up conversations.

Later in the afternoon, a live pitch competition will test founders in front of a judging panel. Balter will join Chirag Shah of Define Ventures and Simran Suri of Maveron to provide real-time feedback. Other speakers include Hunter Worland of NEA and Vineet Edupuganti of Cogent Security.

The day concludes with roundtables and a networking reception. TechCrunch is currently offering a 25% discount on tickets for early registrants. A buy-one-get-one deal is also available for those signing up before the event begins.