Toast President Steve Fredette to Lead Boston Summit on Scaling

A 25% discount on registration for the TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 is currently available for attendees planning to attend the November 4 event in Boston. The one-day gathering will take place at the SoWa Power Station and is hosted in partnership with Fidelity Private Shares.

The summit aims to address the strategic choices early-stage companies make before clear market answers emerge. The agenda moves beyond standard fundraising and artificial intelligence topics to include customer acquisition, team building, and founder leadership. Sessions will also examine how companies expand within and outside traditional startup hubs.

Steve Fredette, president and co-founder of Toast, is scheduled to speak on the Impact Stage. His session, titled "Building a Company That Keeps Reinventing Itself," will explore how a public company that began in Boston continues to adapt to changing customer expectations and market conditions. The program includes local perspective from Chase Garbarino, CEO of HqO, who will present on building companies in Boston without relying on Silicon Valley models.

Investors from major venture capital firms will address the balance between expansion and caution. Kent Bennett, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, will lead a discussion on identifying product market fit before increasing headcount or spending. Rudina Seseri, founder and managing partner of Glasswing Ventures, will speak on recognizing when to accelerate growth versus when to restrain it to protect the business.

The schedule also includes Lior Div, CEO of 7AI, who will discuss the difference between integrating AI into existing processes and designing a company around it from the start. Dave Balter, a venture partner at True Ventures and CEO of Edisyl, will lead a session on effective pitching. Later in the day, Balter will join Chirag Shah of Define Ventures and Simran Suri of Maveron to judge live founder pitches on the Build Stage.

Additional speakers include Hunter Worland of NEA, who will discuss distribution as a competitive advantage, and Vineet Edupuganti, co-founder of Cogent Security, who will address building high-performing teams. TDK Ventures' Tina Tosukhowong will examine signals that identify category winners. Fidelity Private Shares will contribute sessions on fundraising trends and enterprise relationships led by Kristen Craft and Evan Schnidman, respectively.

The event day includes roundtables, networking opportunities, and a closing reception presented by Fidelity Private Shares. Registrants can take advantage of the current buy-one-get-one offer before the event date.