Startup Curious Track | Startup Boston Week 2025

Startup Curious

Ready to connect with your peers from all different backgrounds and industries? Grab your free ticket for Startup Boston Week 2024 on Sept 8th - 12th today!

FREE TICKET

More sessions are still being added to the SBW2025 agenda!

All sessions are available BOTH in-person at Suffolk University and virtually.

SMART, SAFE, AND SOUND: BUILDING WEARABLE HEALTH TECH THAT WORKS

Perfect for: founders, product managers, and designers working in the wearable health tech space

Designing healthcare devices isn’t just about cool tech - it’s about creating tools that serve both patients and providers. This session will explore what it takes to build effective, user-friendly devices that operate at the intersection of healthcare and technology.

Our panel of experts will dive into key considerations for designing and launching wearable health tech, including:

Balancing the needs of two distinct user groups: patients collecting data and providers analyzing it
Navigating regulatory constraints that shape product design and development
Identifying opportunities for startups to integrate with existing healthcare solutions—or stand out on their own

Whether you’re building a next-gen health monitor or exploring the future of connected care, this session will equip you with insights to design devices that improve outcomes and enhance experiences.

BUT WHAT IF WE'RE WRONG? TESTING AND VALIDATING EARLY-STAGE IDEAS

Perfect for: product managers and early-stage founders refining their first big idea

The best product ideas are built on solid assumptions - but how do you know if yours are right? This hands-on workshop will explore proven techniques for identifying, testing, and validating business ideas early in the product discovery phase.

This session will help you uncover blind spots and refine your product strategy before you even have a product. You’ll learn:

How to articulate and understand the key assumptions behind your business and product idea
Strategies for testing ideas before you build anything
How to prioritize which assumptions to test now versus later
What to do with assumptions that can’t be tested in advance

You’ll leave with practical frameworks for pressure-testing your product strategy and gaining confidence in your early-stage decisions.

BIOLOGY REALLY BYTES: SCALING LIFE SCIENCE SOFTWARE RIGHT

Perfect for: software engineers, data scientists, and technical leaders building platforms at the intersection of biology and technology

Modern life sciences don’t just rely on lab equipment — they run on code. As biology becomes increasingly data-driven, purpose-built software platforms are playing a critical role in everything from early-stage research to clinical decision-making.

This panel brings together engineers and technical leaders building scientific applications at scale. We’ll explore the unique challenges and opportunities in developing software for complex biological systems, and how to balance usability, scientific rigor, and scalability. Topics include:

Designing architectures that handle messy, high-dimensional biological data
UI/UX strategies that make complex tools intuitive for scientists and clinicians
Structuring data models for both biological accuracy and computational efficiency
Best practices for deploying and validating software in regulated environments
Collaborating across disciplines to keep science and software in sync

Whether you're building internal tools for researchers, launching a computational biology startup, or modernizing clinical workflows, this session will help you level up your technical strategy in life sciences.

NO MELTDOWNS REQUIRED: MASTERING HARDWARE-SOFTWARE INTEGRATION

Perfect for: CTOs, engineering managers, software engineers stepping into hardware, and hardware engineers collaborating with digital teams—especially at Series B+ startups building in IoT, embedded systems, consumer electronics, or medtech

When building products that combine the physical and digital — from IoT devices to medical hardware — alignment between hardware and software teams is essential, but rarely simple. Different timelines, tooling, and constraints can create friction without the right systems in place.

This panel dives into the nuts and bolts of hardware-software collaboration in high-growth startups. Engineering leaders with deep experience across embedded systems, consumer electronics, and connected devices will share practical strategies for building cohesive teams and products.

We’ll explore:

How to structure cross-functional teams for seamless hardware-software development
Development methodologies that accommodate physical constraints and fast iteration
Testing and QA strategies that ensure tight integration between code and components
Managing firmware updates, versioning, and backwards compatibility post-deployment
Technical architectures that give both hardware and software room to evolve

You’ll leave with actionable insights for building modern, integrated products that can scale—without letting hardware and software teams drift apart.

STANDING OUT IN THE AI CROWD: STRATEGIES FOR REAL PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION

Perfect for: founders, technical and founding engineers, AI product managers, investors, and go-to-market leaders looking to sharpen their AI strategy

With AI products flooding the market, building something technically impressive isn’t enough - you need to stand out strategically.

This panel will explore how startups can develop AI products that succeed not just through technological innovation but through smart market positioning, user experience, and business value, including:

What makes an AI product truly unique beyond model accuracy and performance.
Creating a competitive moat - whether building core AI technology or AI-wrapper solutions.
Common pitfalls in AI product positioning and how to avoid them.
Effective pricing, monetization, and go-to-market strategies for AI startups.
How investors evaluate AI-wrapper startups versus deep-tech AI companies.
Key trends shaping the future of AI product differentiation.

You’ll walk away with a clearer understanding of how to build an AI product that delivers value, resonates with users, and stands out in a crowded market.

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:

Why advisors and mentors are critical for early-stage success
How to identify the right advisors and mentors for your startup’s needs
Best practices for approaching and onboarding advisors
Structuring advisor relationships: equity, compensation, and expectations
Avoiding common pitfalls when building an advisory board
How to maintain a productive and lasting relationship with advisors

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:

How to assess your startup’s tech needs and choose between custom or off-the-shelf solutions
When (and if) you need a technical co-founder
Managing tech projects effectively: budgets, milestones, and scope creep
Leveraging AI and automation tools that actually matter for startups
Building credibility with investors as a non-technical founder
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.

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:

How founders navigated some of the toughest moments in their startup journey
The most rewarding wins—and the hidden challenges behind them
Lessons learned about resilience, leadership, and decision-making
How to find support and resources during difficult times
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.

AI GOLD RUSH OR BUBBLE? INVESTING IN AI IN 2026

Perfect for: early-stage investors, traditional VCs, family office investors, angel investors, LPs, corporate VCs, and founders

AI continues to reshape industries, but how do you separate true opportunity from hype? This session will explore the evolving AI investment landscape, providing insights into valuation models, technical differentiation, and emerging opportunities, including:

Key metrics for evaluating AI companies at different stages
What’s driving lofty valuations—and how to spot red flags
Technical due diligence pitfalls and how to avoid them
Identifying underexplored AI submarkets
Assessing defensibility and competitive moats in AI

You will gain a deeper understanding of how to evaluate AI companies and position your investment strategy for long-term success.

VENTURE CAPITAL CRYSTAL BALL: WHAT 20216 HOLDS FOR STARTUPS AND INVESTORS

Perfect for: investors, startup founders navigating the current funding climate, LPs evaluating fund strategies, and government and policy leaders involved in startup ecosystem development

The venture capital landscape is shifting rapidly - are you prepared for what’s coming next? This session will provide an in-depth analysis of the VC market in 2025, unpacking the key trends, challenges, and emerging opportunities that will shape the industry in 2026.

Our panel of experienced investors and startup leaders will explore:

Key investment trends shaping venture capital in 2025
How macroeconomic factors (interest rates, inflation, geopolitics) are influencing VC funding and valuations
Which sectors (AI, climate tech, biotech, deep tech, fintech, etc.) are attracting the most capital and why
The biggest challenges for startups raising capital in 2025 — and how founders can adapt their fundraising strategies
Regulatory and policy changes impacting venture investments
The outlook for IPOs and M&A activity for VC-backed companies in 2025

You’ll walk away with a clear understanding of where the venture capital market is headed and how to position yourself - whether you’re raising capital, deploying it, or navigating the funding landscape.

MICRO BUT MIGHTY: HOW TO BUILD A SUB-$50M VC FUND

Perfect for: aspiring and emerging fund managers, angel investors looking to formalize their investing approach, and accelerator or incubator leaders exploring funding models

Launching a micro VC fund requires strategic planning and a deep understanding of the evolving venture landscape. This workshop will provide a step-by-step roadmap for building and scaling a successful fund under $50M.

The session will cover the critical components of micro VC fund formation, including:

Key steps to launching and structuring a micro VC fund under $50M
How fund economics and fee structures work for small funds
Capital raising strategies for attracting LPs (family offices, high-net-worth individuals, institutions)
Competitive positioning strategies to attract top startups despite a smaller fund size
Legal, regulatory, and operational requirements for launching and managing a fund
Investment strategies that work for micro funds, including sector focus, geography, and deal flow

You will gain actionable insights from experienced fund managers and solo GPs, equipping you with the knowledge and frameworks to launch and manage a high-performing micro VC fund.

Startup Boston Week is where the whole startup community gathers - all industries, all startup departments and all bootstrapped and funding stages to gather.