APPLY TO SPEAK
Join us for our 9th Annual Conference in Boston, MA, from September 8-12!
Take the Stage at Startup Boston Week!
Startup Boston Week wouldn’t be the same without rockstars like you - passionate folks who love giving back and inspiring the next wave of startups. Whether you’re a founder, startup operator, or investor, our crowd includes everyone from scrappy MVP builders to Series B champions.
We’re on the hunt for experts across all fields - marketing, data, engineering, product, people ops, you name it - to help make this conference an epic learning experience.
Ready to share your wisdom? Let’s do this!
Apply to Speak at SBW2025
Thank you for your interest in speaking at Startup Boston Week 2025! To be considered for one of the sessions our team is curating, please share your information below.
If you'd like to design a curated session tailored to your background or expertise, visit our sponsorship page
We appreciate your interest and look forward to reviewing your submission! Applications close Wednesday, May 28.
Due to the high volume of submissions, we’re unable to respond individually about the status of your application to speak at Startup Boston Week. Submissions will close at the end of May, and all speakers for SBW2025 will be confirmed by July 1st. Thank you for your interest!
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Who is Founder+ for?Founder+ is designed for first-time founders or founding team members that are working on a tech-enabled startup, or in other words, a startup that features a product, platform, or technology in order to deliver value to customers. We welcome founders who are validating a problem and seeking product-market fit. Founders can be at the pre-seed to seed funding stages, as well as bootstrapped.
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Who is Founder+ NOT for?Founder+ is not for service providers, startup employees outside the founding team, non-US-based individuals, or founders who are in the Ideation stage or Growth stage.
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What happens after I submit my Founder+ application?Our Community Manager reviews all submissions to ensure that members fit our acceptance criteria. If you meet the criteria and there are available spots in the next cohort, you will be notified by email how to pay. Upon payment, you'll be assigned a seat in our next upcoming cohort!
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When will I find out if I have been accepted to Founder+?We strive to respond within three business days if you are eligible to join the next cohort of Founder+. All pending applications are due to be reviewed at least one week before the next cohort begins.
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What does a Founder+ member receive?Founder+ has a required one-time onboarding called the Ecosystem Explorer which contains an Ecosystem Overview webinar, Cohort Meet and Greet and 1-1 Goal Setting Workshop. Every month, a Founder+ member receives educational and leadership webinars tailored to Founder+ members, weekly "Accountability" meetings to stay on track, exclusive access to networking events, and access to a members-only Slack community.
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How much does the Founder+ subscription cost?$50/mo with a one-time onboarding fee of $25, or $125 for 3-months with one-time onboarding fee of $25.
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If I'm unhappy with my subscription, what is the refund policy?Founder+ members can request a refund after the first 60 days of joining if you're not satisfied with your experience.
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What if I did NOT get accepted to Founder+?We only admit a limited number of attendees each month to ensure that members get a chance to connect with other founders in smaller, more intimate cohorts. If you were not accepted, we encourage you to apply again for the next cohort.
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What if another Founder+ member is building a company that may compete with my startup?You are free to participate as publicly or as privately in any of the activities in Founder+. If you are concerned about sharing proprietary information with other business owners, you can rest assured that the Founder+ program is challenge by choice: you get to decide what to share. More importantly, the reality of starting a startup is that you'll always be existing with competitors. It's a common founder concern that a great idea or feature will get poached by a competitor, but time and time again it comes down to the execution: how you actually build the thing, how you go-to-market, who your initial customers are, what hyper-specific problem you solve, etc. Whatever product or service you are building, your secret sauce includes you, something that will be part of your startup's success and never a part of anyone else's.
WHERE IS SBW2025?
Startup Boston Week will be hosted at Suffolk University - located right in the heart of Downtown Boston, on Boston Common.
If selected to speak, you must be able to speak in-person day-of your session.
All speaking engagements are unpaid and SBW2025 does not cover the cost of travel.