Student Track

Ready to connect with your peers who are currently in school or have recently graduated? Grab your free ticket for Startup Boston Week 2025 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.

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.

FINDING THE RIGHT GUIDE: HOW EARLY-STAGE FOUNDERS CAN LEVERAGE ADVISORS & MENTORS

Perfect for: ideal 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 MEETS PROPERTY: HOW PROPTECH IS SHAPING THE FUTURE OF REAL ESTATE

Perfect for: Proptech founders, real estate developers, property managers, and investors exploring opportunities at the intersection of real estate and technology

From streamlining property management to reshaping real estate investment strategies, Proptech is transforming the way we buy, sell, and manage property.

In this fireside chat, industry leaders will explore how technology is driving innovation in real estate, including:

How Proptech startups are changing real estate investment and management
The challenges of integrating Proptech into traditional real estate practices
Ensuring data security and privacy in Proptech solutions
Emerging trends in Proptech that investors and developers should watch

You’ll leave with a better understanding of how to navigate the evolving real estate landscape and leverage Proptech to stay competitive.

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:

How to fairly split equity among co-founders and early hires
The relationship between equity ownership and decision-making power
Why vesting schedules matter and how to structure them
Managing equity for advisors, early hires, and investors
Tools for tracking and managing your cap table
How equity decisions impact fundraising and long-term growth

FORCING PRODUCT-MARKET FIT: TURNING FEATURE REQUESTS INTO PRODUCT INSIGHTS THAT STICK

Perfect for: founders on the front lines of customer complaints, early-stage CS and support staff looking to sharpen their soft skills, and product managers overwhelmed by urgent or unrealistic feature demands

Handling demanding customers and endless feature requests is part of the startup grind - but how you respond can make or break customer relationships. This tactical session will help you turn challenging customer feedback into valuable product insights, strengthening customer trust and long-term retention.

This session will cover practical strategies for:

Calming heated customer demands with the right language and tone
Tactfully saying “no” to feature requests without alienating customers
Creating frameworks to turn negative feedback into positive product momentum
Knowing when (and how) to escalate issues to the right team member
Using proactive communication to prevent conflicts before they start

You will leave with a clear process for handling feature requests and customer conflicts, plus real-world insights on how to balance customer feedback with strategic product decisions.

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:

Crafting a compelling pre-seed pitch deck
Understanding SAFE agreements and when to use them
Identifying and targeting the right early-stage investors
Presenting key metrics and milestones without significant traction
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.

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.

BUILDING THE FUTURE: HOW ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION ARE CHANGING EVERYTHING

Perfect for: robotics founders, tech developers, investors, and business leaders exploring the intersection of automation and innovation

From factory floors to hospital rooms, robotics and automation are reshaping industries and redefining what’s possible. This panel will explore the latest breakthroughs in robotics and how startups are driving change across manufacturing, healthcare, and beyond. Key topics include:

How robotics startups are transforming industries like manufacturing and healthcare
The biggest technical challenges facing robotics companies in Boston
How Boston can maintain its leadership in robotics innovation
Ethical and regulatory considerations in the development of autonomous robots

You’ll leave with a deeper understanding of the future of robotics and how to navigate the opportunities and challenges ahead.

GET HANDS-ON AGENTIC AI: BUILD YOUR OWN AUTONOMOUS SYSTEM

Perfect for: software engineers, AI/ML developers, and technical founders who want to get hands-on with the next wave of intelligent systems

AI agents that can reason, plan, and act autonomously are unlocking new frontiers in product development — but building them requires more than just calling an API.

In this hands-on workshop, you’ll roll up your sleeves and build an AI agent from scratch. With guidance from experienced practitioners, you’ll explore the core components of agentic AI, experiment with open-source frameworks, and walk away with a working prototype you can build on.

This session is all about practical skills — no fluff, just code, tools, and real-world implementation. You’ll learn:

The building blocks of agentic AI systems — from reasoning loops to memory structures
How to use and customize open-source frameworks for agent development
Design principles for safe, reliable, and controllable autonomous agents
How to integrate agents into real-world applications and workflows
Which tools, libraries, and infrastructure choices will set you up for success

By the end, you’ll not only understand how agentic AI works — you’ll have built your own and know exactly where to take it next.

ENGINEERING WITH GUARDRAILS: INNOVATING IN REGULATED SPACES

Perfect for: CTOs, technical founders, and engineering leaders in regulated sectors, especially those navigating compliance while building for scale

Building fast doesn’t mean you can ignore the rules—especially when your startup operates in industries like healthcare, fintech, AI, or consumer hardware. As regulations grow more complex and enforcement tightens, engineering leaders need to build with compliance in mind from day one.

In this panel, startup CTOs and compliance-savvy engineers will share how to strike the right balance between shipping quickly and meeting critical regulatory requirements.

You’ll hear practical strategies for embedding compliance into your development process without slowing down innovation. We’ll dive into:

How to build regulatory thinking into engineering workflows from the start
Smart documentation and testing practices that reduce compliance overhead
Navigating overlapping frameworks like FDA, HIPAA, GDPR, and beyond
When to hire external compliance help vs. managing in-house
Future-proofing your architecture for evolving rules around AI, data, and security

Whether you’re preparing for your first regulatory submission or scaling existing processes to meet new demands, this session will give you tools to move fast — and stay compliant.

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:

Why setting clear goals is essential for long-term growth
Defining and using common goal-setting frameworks (KPIs, OKRs, SMART)
How to set effective goals that drive focus and accountability
The consequences of poor goal-setting—and how to fix it
Best practices for involving your team in goal-setting and tracking
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.

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.

LAUNCH LIKE A PRO: GTM PLAYBOOKS FOR FIRST-TIME FOUNDERS

Perfect for: founders, PMs, and early GTM teams looking to build revenue-driven launch strategies that stick

You’ve built something great - now how do you sell it? For first-time founders, launching a product is more than a marketing splash - it’s about building a go-to-market (GTM) motion that drives real revenue from day one.

In this hands-on workshop, we’ll help you create a structured, actionable GTM launch plan focused on sales, not just brand awareness.

From aligning with product and marketing to choosing the right launch approach, this session will give you the frameworks, templates, and confidence to launch with purpose - and close your first customers. We’ll dive into:

What a strong GTM launch plan actually includes
How to align your sales, marketing, and product teams around launch
When to soft launch vs go all-in - and how to decide
How to define and measure launch success in sales terms

Common GTM pitfalls and how to avoid them

HEALTHTECH UNPLUGGED: HOW TECHNOLOGY IS REVOLUTIONIZING PATIENT CARE

Perfect for: healthcare entrepreneurs, investors, healthcare executives, and tech professionals looking to drive meaningful change in patient care and healthcare delivery

Healthtech is transforming how patients receive care and how healthcare organizations operate - but navigating this highly regulated, complex industry isn’t easy.

In this fireside chat, leading voices in healthtech will explore how startups and innovators are tackling the biggest challenges in healthcare delivery and patient outcomes, including:

Managing patient data securely while staying HIPAA-compliant
The role of AI and machine learning in improving healthcare outcomes
Effective strategies for integrating healthtech solutions into traditional healthcare systems
Overcoming barriers to adoption—making tech accessible for providers of all skill levels
Scaling healthtech solutions across diverse healthcare settings

You’ll gain insights into the future of healthtech and how to position your company to thrive in a rapidly evolving industry

INNOVATIONS IN LIFE SCIENCES: FROM LAB TO MARKET

Perfect for: biotech entrepreneurs, investors, R&D leaders, and anyone shaping the future of life sciences

Boston is at the forefront of biotech innovation, but the path from groundbreaking research to commercial success is complex.

This session will explore how biotech startups can bridge the gap between scientific discovery and market readiness. Key topics include:

The most promising biotech innovations emerging from Boston’s ecosystem
How to approach the transition from early-stage research to commercialization
The biggest challenges in securing funding for biotech startups
How to improve collaboration between biotech startups and academic institutions

AI YOUR WAY TO THE TOP: SMART TOOLS TO LAUNCH, SCALE AND AUTOMATE

Perfect for: early-stage entrepreneurs, solo founders, startup operators, small business owners, and freelancers looking to level up with AI

AI is a game-changer for entrepreneurs, helping them automate, optimize, and scale their businesses efficiently. This hands-on workshop explores practical AI tools for naming, branding, content creation, productivity, and automation.

Attendees will get live demos and actionable insights on integrating AI into their workflow - without breaking the bank, including:

Best free AI tools for launching and growing a business.
How to generate business names, branding, and domain ideas with AI.
AI-powered content creation and productivity tools to save hours per week.
Automating customer outreach, social media, and marketing with AI.
No-code AI tools to eliminate repetitive tasks and improve efficiency.
Best practices for integrating AI tools into a startup’s workflow—even without technical expertise.

You’ll leave with a toolkit of AI resources and strategies to streamline your business and focus on growth.

GUT FEEL OR GAME PLAN? MASTERING EARLY-STAGE DUE DILIGENCE

Perfect for: new fund managers, angel investors, and startup founders looking to understand the investor mindset

Investing in early-stage startups requires more than a gut instinct - it demands a structured, repeatable approach to due diligence.

This panel will walk you through the complete process of assessing early-stage companies, from evaluating founders and technical capabilities to analyzing financial metrics and market potential, including:

Building a comprehensive due diligence framework
Evaluating founders, teams, and product-market fit
Market sizing and financial analysis
Assessing technical capabilities and competitive edge
Streamlining the process with tools and checklists

You will walk away with a clear, actionable framework for conducting due diligence, including key questions to ask and strategies for balancing speed with thoroughness.

FEEDING THE FUTURE: HOW FOODTECH IS CHANGING WHAT (AND HOW) WE EAT

Perfect for: Foodtech entrepreneurs, industry professionals, investors, and researchers looking to innovate in food production and consumer experiences

From sustainable agriculture to alternative proteins, Foodtech is reshaping how we produce, process, and consume food.

This session will explore how startups and innovators are tackling the biggest challenges and opportunities in the food industry, including:

Innovations in sustainable food production and alternative proteins
Scaling challenges for Foodtech startups—and how to overcome them
How shifting consumer preferences are influencing product development
The role of partnerships and collaborations in driving Foodtech growth

You’ll walk away with a clearer understanding of the future of Foodtech and how to position your company to thrive in this rapidly evolving space.

VENTURE CAPITAL CRYSTAL BALL: WHAT 2026 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.

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