UNBOUND 2026 for Founders: Sessions, Meetups, and More
Founders know there’s no single formula for growing a company. But it helps to hear from people who’ve tried, tested, changed course, and figured a few things out along the way.
From founder-led Main Stage conversations and tactical Deep Dives to dedicated Meetups and curated introductions, there’s plenty happening in Boston for the startup community. Here’s where to start.
Meet the Founders Building Alongside You
Sometimes the most helpful connection you make at UNBOUND is another founder working through a problem that looks a lot like yours.
At Startups and Sangria: Founders Speed Networking, meet other founders, swap tactics, and get to know people at different stages of the startup journey.
Buyers, Meet Startups: Where Deals Take Shape puts early-stage founders and experienced GTM leaders in the same room. It’s your chance to talk directly with potential buyers, hear what they’re looking for, get candid feedback, and start conversations that could lead to pilots, partnerships, or future deals.
There’s also a dedicated Women Founders Meetup, bringing women entrepreneurs together to trade experiences and meet others across the startup community.
And if you’re looking for something less scheduled, stop by The Sync at The Exchanges. These drop-in, role-based networking spaces make it easy to find other founders and people working on similar priorities.
Is there a startup founder you’d especially like to meet while you’re in Boston? Tell the HubSpot for Startups team. Complete this form and share a little about who you’d like to meet and why. The team will review responses and help make the right introductions where possible. Note: Submitting the form does not guarantee an invitation or introduction.
Learn From Founders on the Main Stage
Some of this year’s biggest Main Stage conversations feature founders with firsthand lessons on starting companies, bringing new ideas to market, competing in fast-moving categories, and leading through major shifts in technology.
HubSpot co-founders Dharmesh Shah and Brian Halligan will take the stage together for HubSpot Founders' Fireside: Breakthrough Outcomes In AI, sharing stories and lessons from 20 years of HubSpot and looking ahead to an AI era where everyone can be a builder.
Legora co-founder and CEO Max Junestrand will share how his company learned from first movers while competing in a fast-moving market. Runway co-founder and CIO Alejandro Matamala Ortiz
will join an Emmy Award-winning director and editor to talk about AI’s changing role in creative work.
And Glean founder and CEO Arvind Jain will get into what it takes to move AI beyond pilots and put it to work across a company.
will join an Emmy Award-winning director and editor to talk about AI’s changing role in creative work.
And Glean founder and CEO Arvind Jain will get into what it takes to move AI beyond pilots and put it to work across a company.
Together, these sessions give founders a look at how other leaders are thinking about AI, product, creativity, competition, and company growth right now.
See founder-focused sessions.
Build Your Founder Skill Set
There’s plenty for founders who want to get tactical, too.
Education sessions, Deep Dives, and other stages cover the work that comes with running a growing company. From telling a clearer story and finding customers to entering new markets, rethinking a brand, growing through community, and putting AI to practical use, here are a few sessions to bookmark.
Gamma co-founder and CEO Grant Lee will lead Making Ideas Matter: Communication in the AI Age, sharing the product, growth, and team decisions behind Gamma’s rise to $100M ARR and examining why a good idea still depends on how well you communicate it.
If revenue is on your mind, Build the Revenue Org for What Comes Next brings together Vanta CRO Stevie Case, Lovable Head of Revenue Lauren Rhode, and HubSpot Ventures Principal Nate Morgan. They’ll get into how AI is changing revenue teams, from pre-call prep and onboarding to what customers value and why top reps are tailoring their approach to individual deals.
Elsewhere on the schedule, sessions cover community-led growth, rebranding, international growth, AI experimentation, and AI agents. From Prompting to Building: Create Your First AI Agent gets hands-on with automating real marketing workflows, while How We Scaled 1,000 AI Agents Without an AI Team looks at how Chili Piper made AI experimentation part of how the company works.
Join Founder Experiences
Your event calendar stretches beyond the main UNBOUND schedule, too. Check out a few events bringing smaller groups from the startup community together around specific topics and interests:
HubSpot for Startups Welcome Reception: Get a head start on the week with HubSpot for Startups. This curated reception brings early-stage founders, startup leaders, and HubSpot executives together to meet and build relationships before the main conference gets underway. Private event; request an invite.
Inside the HubSpot Case: Mark Roberge, The Science of Scaling, and HubSpot for Startups are bringing founders, sales leaders, and GTM operators to Harvard Business School. Together, the group will unpack the influential HubSpot: Inbound Marketing and Web 2.0 case and its lessons for growth. Open to all attendees; RSVP required.
UNBOUND Happy Hour with Wati: Kick off the week with Wati and a crowd of founders, marketers, and creators managing customer interactions across Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, email, and more. Swap stories with people who know what it’s like to run lean, scale fast, and keep up when demand spikes. Open to all attendees; RSVP required.
And view the full lineup of extra events, after-parties, and more here
Stay Connected With HubSpot for Startups
The founder community doesn’t pack up when UNBOUND ends.
HubSpot for Startups works with startups around the world, giving eligible companies access to HubSpot at startup-friendly pricing, along with educational resources and connections across the startup ecosystem.
For companies working on their GTM strategy or looking for a better way to bring marketing, sales, and customer service together, it’s a resource to keep in your back pocket after Boston.
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UNBOUND 2026 is bringing the startup community to Boston, with founder-led sessions, dedicated meetups, and plenty of ways to meet people who understand the work. Use this guide to plan your time in Boston and leave a little room for unexpected moments.
