TechCrunch Opens Audience Voting for Founder Summit Sessions
TechCrunch has opened Audience Choice voting for four programming slots at its Founder Summit in Boston on November 4. Eleven finalists are competing for places on the agenda, and submissions close on September 4.
The candidates cover startup operating issues ranging from event planning and domestic hardware production to enterprise AI sales, open-source growth, fundraising and healthcare AI. TechCrunch says the sessions are intended to deliver practical insights from people who have built, iterated and succeeded.
Eleven proposed sessions compete for four places
Alexandra Ames, founder and chief event strategist at Blueprint Lab, proposes a session on choosing events strategically when an early-stage company lacks a full-time events team. It would address prioritising stage-appropriate investments, demonstrating value without complex tools and deciding when events are worthwhile.
Hannan Happi, CEO and co-founder of Exowatt, would examine the supply chain strategy, cost structure and factory partnerships involved in building a scalable US hardware company. The proposal also considers how the IRA and CHIPS Act affect the domestic manufacturing equation.
AI is a major theme in the finalists. Shishir Tewar of Procore Technologies proposes a production GraphRAG pipeline using Neo4j, Ollama and validated Cypher queries to turn disjointed data into knowledge graphs. Merve Kitapci of ADIN.AI focuses on closing global enterprise accounts before a Series A, while Linden Tibbets of IFTTT addresses how lean teams can use AI tools and workflows.
Operational lessons across AI, open source and funding
Other candidates focus on whether an impressive AI prototype can become a durable company, how to evaluate healthcare AI in clinical workflows, and what technical founders need to show programmes such as YC and a16z Speedrun. Andy Tang of Draper Associates would discuss how founders position market-creating ideas that do not fit familiar categories.
Peter Farkas, CEO of Percona, proposes lessons from building a commercial open-source business to more than $50 million in revenue without venture capital. Gregory Kurtzer, CEO and founder of CIQ, would draw on the creation of CentOS and Rocky Linux to discuss culture, hiring and building an open-source movement that lasts.
The vote also sits within TechCrunch’s broader event activity, where TechCrunch investor and startup meeting programme illustrates the platform’s emphasis on structured connections between investors and startups. Founder Summit attendees can vote on the proposed sessions and select the topics most relevant to their immediate business decisions.
What founders can take from the vote
The shortlist gives founders a practical way to influence which operator-led discussions reach the Boston agenda. Businesses considering attendance can use the candidate list to identify gaps in their own event strategy, data foundations, enterprise sales motion, manufacturing plans or fundraising preparation, then vote before the September 4 deadline.