Founder Track
Ready to connect with your peers in entrepreneurship? Grab your free ticket for Startup Boston Week 2025 on Sept 8th - 12th today!
More sessions are still being added to the SBW2025 agenda!
All sessions are available BOTH in-person at Suffolk University and virtually.
NAILING THE FIRST 90 DAYS: LEGAL ISSUES YOUR VENTURE WILL FACE AND HOW TO MASTER THEM (presented by Touchstone Strategic Law)
Perfect for: founders launching soon, recently launched, or finally putting legal on the to-do list
The early days of building a company move fast - and the legal decisions you make now can either open doors or create roadblocks down the line. From equity to IP, this session will help you set the foundation for long-term success.
We’ll skip the jargon and focus on what you actually need to know to make confident, strategic choices around:
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Choosing the right legal entity to match your growth goals and fundraising plans
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Structuring co-founder and early team relationships to avoid misalignment down the road
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Setting up your equity and cap table so it’s clean, fair, and future-investor friendly
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Protecting your intellectual property from day one, including trademarks, patents, and NDAs
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Creating governance structures that define decision-making and safeguard founder control
Walk away with the tools and clarity to make smart, strategic legal decisions that set your venture up to scale with confidence.
YOU NEED A CONTRACT!: FROM YOUR FIRST CUSTOMER TO YOUR FIRST FINANCING AND ALL THE CONTRACTS IN BETWEEN (presented by Foley & Lardner LLP)
Perfect for: early-stage founders, operators handling contracts, and anyone preparing for their first fundraise or major customer deal.
Moving fast and breaking things is great for innovation – not so great for contracting. This program will help you identify the critical contracts and documentation you need for formation, collaboration, service providers, customers, and beyond. Do it right from the outset and watch the efficiencies scale with your operations!
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Identify your objectives and workstreams and the contracts needed to support those efforts
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Understand formation documents and partnership/co-founder agreements
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Learn about NDAs and employee proprietary information assignment agreements
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Manage independent contractor/service provider agreements
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Create, negotiate, and enforce customer agreements
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Discover the essentials of IP licensing
This comprehensive approach will offer you valuable insights as well as equip you with the knowledge and tools needed to demonstrate sophistication to investors and business stakeholders. Attend this session and position yourself to establish key relationships and revenue streams early on and succeed in your first financing round.
FOUNDER'S GUIDE TO EQUITY CLARITY: SAFEa, TERM SHEETS AND THE ROAD TO A CLEAN CAP TABLE (presented by Peak Counsel)
Perfect for: founders gearing up for a priced round or cleaning up post-SAFE
The term sheet is more than a handshake; it’s a turning point. For startups that have raised on SAFEs, understanding how those early agreements convert is critical to negotiating smart terms. In this tactical session, we’re diving into how to go from SAFEs to a clean, well-structured cap table. You’ll learn what to watch for in your Series Seed term sheet, how to avoid messy conversions, and how to protect your equity as you grow.
We're diving into:
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What term sheets actually control (and what they don’t)
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How to handle SAFE conversions without blowing up your cap table
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Which terms in a Series Seed term sheet matter most when SAFEs are outstanding
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Dilution, liquidation preferences, option pool adjustments, and board rights explained
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How to forecast investor ownership and founder dilution post-conversion
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Real-world examples and cautionary tales
If you’re raising or renegotiating, this is your must-attend guide to making sure your term sheet works for you - not against you.
FINDING THE RIGHT GUIDE: HOW EARLY-STAGE FOUNDERS CAN LEVERAGE ADVISORS & MENTORS
Perfect for: founders seeking strategic guidance, first-time entrepreneurs looking to grow their networks, and startups considering formal advisory boards
Building a strong network of advisors and mentors can accelerate your startup’s growth and help you avoid costly mistakes.
This session will cover how early-stage founders can find the right advisors and mentors, structure these relationships effectively, and maximize their impact, including:
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Why advisors and mentors are critical for early-stage success
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How to identify the right advisors and mentors for your startup’s needs
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Best practices for approaching and onboarding advisors
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Structuring advisor relationships: equity, compensation, and expectations
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Avoiding common pitfalls when building an advisory board
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How to maintain a productive and lasting relationship with advisors
MARKET-PROOF YOUR STARTUP: THRIVING THROUGH SHIFTS AND TRENDS
Perfect for: early-stage founders, entrepreneurs navigating dynamic markets, and startup leaders looking to build long-term adaptability
Markets change - successful startups adapt. In this fireside chat, a seasoned entrepreneur will share hard-earned lessons and real-world strategies for navigating market shifts and positioning your startup for future success.
You’ll learn:
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How to build a culture of adaptability and innovation
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Lessons from past market disruptions and strategies for adapting to future market shifts
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Balancing short-term needs with long-term positioning
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Common pitfalls in responding to changes - and how to avoid them
You’ll leave with actionable insights to help your startup stay resilient and seize new opportunities, no matter how the market evolves.
TECH-SAVVY WITHOUT THE CODE: BUILDING A STARTUP AS A NON-TECHNICAL FOUNDER
Perfect for: early-stage founders without a tech background, entrepreneurs navigating hiring decisions, and startup teams looking to avoid technical pitfalls
Building a tech startup without a technical background? This session will give you the tools to make smart technology decisions, hire the right developers, and avoid costly mistakes - all without needing to code.
You’ll walk away with insights into:
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How to assess your startup’s tech needs and choose between custom or off-the-shelf solutions
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When (and if) you need a technical co-founder
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Managing tech projects effectively: budgets, milestones, and scope creep
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Leveraging AI and automation tools that actually matter for startups
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Building credibility with investors as a non-technical founder
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The best no-code and low-code platforms for building and scaling an MVP
You’ll gain the confidence to make strategic tech decisions and lead your startup to success, even if you don’t know how to code.
TEAM BUILDING OR TEAM BLEEDING? HIRING SMART AS YOU SCALE
Perfect for: founders and startup teams scaling after a seed or Series A round
Hiring the right people at the right time is critical for scaling your startup effectively. This session will explore how to build a talent strategy that aligns with your company’s growth, including:
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How to balance immediate hiring needs with projected growth
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Which roles to hire for internally vs. outsource to contractors or agencies
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How team structures evolve through different growth phases
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When is the right time to hire key leadership and operational roles
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Strategies for attracting and retaining top talent in a competitive market
You’ll leave with a clear understanding of how to create a hiring plan that supports your company’s long-term success without overextending resources.
BOSS MODE: LEVELING UP YOUR LEADERSHIP AS YOU SCALE
Perfect for: founders and startup teams scaling after a seed or Series A round
Scaling a company requires more than just business growth - it demands personal and professional growth from its leaders.
This session will explore how to evolve your leadership style as your company scales, including:
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How to shift from founder to executive - developing leadership skills that scale
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Lessons from founders who have successfully (and unsuccessfully) navigated this transition
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Evolving team management structures and dynamics as the company grows
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Building systems and processes to support your growth as a leader
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Developing a leadership persona that inspires confidence from your team, board, and investors
You’ll leave with insights and practical strategies to help you grow alongside your company and lead with clarity and confidence.
PASSING THE SALES BATON: SCALING REVENUE WITHOUT LOSING CONTROL
Perfect for: founders and startup teams preparing to scale after a seed or Series A round
At some point, every founder faces the challenge of stepping back from day-to-day sales and building a scalable sales engine.
This session will explore how to transition from founder-led sales to a structured, scalable sales process, including:
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When to hire a VP or Head of Sales - and how to find the right fit
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How to systematize sales motions and metrics to track progress without being in every meeting
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Training someone else to sell your product or service effectively
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Letting go - mentally and operationally - without losing control of the sales process
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Communicating your sales transition strategy to your board and investors
You’ll walk away with actionable strategies for scaling your sales process while maintaining strategic oversight—so you can focus on driving long-term growth.
TAMING THE BEAST: BREAKING DOWN BIG HAIRY GOALS INTO BITE-SIZED WINS
Perfect for: founders, product leaders, and startup teams - especially those without a business background
Thinking big is essential - but knowing how to break down ambitious goals into achievable milestones is the key to startup success. This session will guide you through the art of strategic goal-setting, including:
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Why setting clear goals is essential for long-term growth
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Defining and using common goal-setting frameworks (KPIs, OKRs, SMART)
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How to set effective goals that drive focus and accountability
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The consequences of poor goal-setting—and how to fix it
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Best practices for involving your team in goal-setting and tracking
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Setting up a dashboard to measure progress and stay on course
You’ll leave with a clear framework for setting and tracking meaningful goals - so you can turn your big vision into actionable progress.
FOUNDER CONFESSIONS: THE HIGHS, LOWS AND ROLLERCOASTER MOMENTS
Perfect for: founders, startup operators, and anyone considering launching a company
Startup life isn’t all wins and unicorn valuations. This session pulls back the curtain on the real highs and lows of building a company, featuring true stories of successes, failures, and the hard-earned lessons in between, including:
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How founders navigated some of the toughest moments in their startup journey
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The most rewarding wins—and the hidden challenges behind them
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Lessons learned about resilience, leadership, and decision-making
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How to find support and resources during difficult times
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What founders wish they knew before starting their journey
You’ll walk away with a better understanding of the emotional rollercoaster of startup life—and practical insights on how to weather the storms and celebrate the wins.
ON BOARD AND ON POINT: TURNING FEEDBACK INTO STRATEGIC WINS
Perfect for: founders, CEOs, and leadership teams of growth-stage startups looking to strengthen their board dynamics and strategic alignment
As a growth-stage startup, your board can be a powerful asset - or a major source of friction. This session will explore how to effectively manage board relationships, align expectations, and leverage strategic input to drive business success, including:
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Understanding the role of the board in governance, oversight, and strategic input
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How board composition evolves as your company grows
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Setting clear, proactive communication practices to align the board with company priorities
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Preparing for board meetings without losing operational focus
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Managing tough conversations and navigating challenging feedback
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Turning your board into a strategic advantage rather than a time sink
You’ll gain insights into structuring a high-performing board, improving communication, and using strategic guidance to accelerate growth.
FROM FIT TO FIRST CUSTOMERS: TURNING PRODUCT-MARKET FIT INTO EARLY REVENUE
Perfect for: early-stage founders with an MVP, technical founders with limited sales experience, and teams under pressure to show traction within the first 12–18 months of funding
Bridging the gap between product-market fit and sustainable revenue is one of the biggest challenges for early-stage startups.
This session will provide practical strategies for validating your product idea, identifying paying customers, and implementing effective monetization strategies, including:
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Identifying key indicators of product-market fit and validation revenue
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Choosing the right early-stage monetization strategy for your startup
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Using customer feedback and data to iterate on your product and increase revenue
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Knowing when (and how) to pivot based on revenue insights
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Balancing user growth with early-stage revenue generation
You will gain insights into turning early traction into sustainable business growth, understanding how to measure success, and avoiding common early-stage monetization mistakes.
SELLING THE DREAM: RAISING PRE-SEED CAPITAL AS A FIRST-TIME FOUNDER
Perfect for: first-time founders preparing for their first funding round or looking to sell their vision to early-stage investors
Securing pre-seed funding as a first-time founder requires more than just a great idea - it’s about selling the vision.
This session will provide a roadmap for early-stage fundraising, helping you communicate your startup’s potential with confidence, including:
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Crafting a compelling pre-seed pitch deck
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Understanding SAFE agreements and when to use them
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Identifying and targeting the right early-stage investors
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Presenting key metrics and milestones without significant traction
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Managing equity strategies for early-stage growth
You will gain insights into approaching the right investors, handling early-stage risk, and creating a pitch that resonates even before you have significant traction.
SLICE IT RIGHT: DIVIDING STARTUP EQUITY WITHOUT THE DRAMA
Perfect for: founders negotiating equity splits, early-stage entrepreneurs setting up cap tables, and first-time founders seeking clarity on equity basics
Understanding how to structure and manage equity is essential for setting your startup up for long-term success.
This session will break down the fundamentals of equity management, from dividing shares to setting up vesting schedules and managing your cap table, including:
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How to fairly split equity among co-founders and early hires
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The relationship between equity ownership and decision-making power
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Why vesting schedules matter and how to structure them
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Managing equity for advisors, early hires, and investors
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Tools for tracking and managing your cap table
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How equity decisions impact fundraising and long-term growth
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Meet Elizabeth Chan! Elizabeth is our Founder Track - Early Stage Lead for Startup Boston Week 2025. This is her first year on the Startup Boston Organizing Team.
Some fun facts about her: if she could teleport anywhere in the world for one day she would go to Amazon Rainforest. Look them up and connect with them on LinkedIn.
Meet Jill Kravetz! Jill is our Founder Track - Growth Stage Lead for Startup Boston Week 2025. This is her first year on the Startup Boston Organizing Team.
Some fun facts about her: her go-to method for unwinding after a busy day of startup hustle is playing puzzles, specifically jigsaw and Sudoku. Look them up and connect with them on LinkedIn.