TechCrunch Early Stage 2024 agenda first look: Engine Accelerator, Y Combinator, Glasswing Ventures and more will join us in Boston

TechCrunch Early Stage returns to Boston on April 25, 2024, and the agenda for our flagship founder event is shaping up. We’re excited to share this sneak peek at some of the fantastic speakers and sessions we have on tap. For builders who are just starting on their founder journey, TechCrunch Early Stage is absolutely the place to be.

We’re enlisting a huge cohort of leading investors and entrepreneurs to dig deep into founder-focused topics such as:

• How to use startup accelerators.
• How to raise first capital.
• How to find product-market fit.
• How to craft a killer pitch deck.

But wait, there’s more: Do you want to be among the many more speakers and sessions we’ll announce in the new year? Submit your application to our call for content by the January 10 deadline, and you could win a roundtable slot at TechCrunch Early Stage.

Early Stage is unlike any other TechCrunch event. Instead of panels and fireside chats, speakers present on their assigned topics and then answer questions from the audience. If you’re building and want access to top startup minds, we’re working around the clock to bring them to you. As always, all attendees get transcripts and visual assets from the presentations, so you can take what you learn with you!

And if you’re the chatty type, you’ll enjoy the roundtable discussions and lots of time to mingle with other founders, builders and investors.

You have loads of early-stage questions, and we’ll have the answers for you. So come down and hang with us on April 25 in Boston for my favorite TechCrunch event. It’s like Disrupt, but incredibly focused and far more intimate. See you there!

TechCrunch Early Stage 2024 Agenda preview

Racing the Clock to $1M In ARR: Best Practices for Learning Fast from Launch Partners

With Rudina Seseri, co-founder and managing partner, Glasswing Ventures

After securing your seed round, the race is on to prove product-market fit and scale ARR (annual recurring revenue). With the clock ticking, limited seed dollars, a challenging macroeconomic environment and raising the bar to secure your next round, founder margin for error is slim and execution is critical. This session delves into best practices for rapidly iterating on the lessons learned from your launch partners (e.g., your early customers). Learn how to ask the right questions, get actionable answers, respond efficiently and avoid spinning your wheels at this critical juncture in your company’s growth.

Selecting the Right Accelerator or Incubator

With Emily Knight, president, The Engine Accelerator

Incubators and accelerators often provide support structures for early-stage startups. For founders transitioning from academia, specific programs are often tailored to their unique needs, as these founders often seek assistance in defining the potential commercial viability of their research. Academia-sourced founders face unique challenges departing from institutions of higher education and national labs. Selecting the right startup program can help ensure that young companies seamlessly navigate known hurdles post-formation. Here’s what you need to know today.

The Top Five Ways to Screw Up Your VC Pitch and How to Avoid Them

With Haje Kamps, pitch coach, Kamps Consulting LLC

Whether you’re just staring at a blank slide deck or fine-tuning your pitch, this don’t-miss session will provide invaluable insights so you can avoid some of the biggest pitfalls. TechCrunch’s friendly in-house pitch coach, Haje Kamps, has written more than 75 Pitch Deck Teardowns for TechCrunch+. He’s a wellspring of knowledge in the art of pitching early-stage startups to venture capitalists. With Haje’s expertise in dissecting and enhancing pitch decks, this session promises to be a gold mine of practical advice and strategies.

How to Raise Money and Come Out Alive

With Tom Blomfield, group partner, Y Combinator

There’s an art to raising your first round — especially if you want to do it right and not look back years later and regret terms, conditions or side letters. In this session, Tom will lay out how investors think, the common gotchas that might come back to haunt you later, and how you can put your company in the strongest possible position to raise. After all, who wants to enter the 2024 fundraising hunger games with outdated information?

Early Stage Fundraising: Convertible Notes, SAFE and Series Seed Financing

With Rebecca Lee Whiting, founder and fractional general counsel, Epigram Legal

Learn from an early-stage fractional general counsel about different funding mechanisms for early-stage companies, including convertible notes, simple agreements for future equity (SAFE) and series seed financing rounds. This session will cover the pros and cons of these alternatives, demystify standard terms, note potential pitfalls to avoid and suggest key points to consider when negotiating.

TechCrunch Early Stage 2024 takes place in Boston on April 25. Join other new and emerging founders, bring your questions, get answers directly from industry experts, and learn the next steps you need to build your startup. But your pass today and save with launch pricing!

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