Boston New Technology's End Of Year Tech Celebration

It's that time of year again! Join Boston New Technology for an unforgettable end of year celebration dedicated to the New England inno ecosystem. With a hard-hitting panel discussion, and a keynote from Co-Director and CPO Shweta Agrawal, BNT Leader Steve Vilkas and the whole team welcomes you to this awesome celebration!

Keynote: What Actually Matters for Founders in 2026 (And What to Stop Obsessing Over)
As AI collapses the cost of building, founders and teams are discovering a new challenge: deciding what is worth building in the first place. In this opening keynote, Shweta Agrawal will help founders cut through the noise of tools, trends, and social comparison to focus on what actually drives traction and learning in 2026. Drawing from hands-on work with early- and growth-stage founders, she’ll explore why judgment now matters more than speed, how to tell the difference between real progress and motion, and where founder attention belongs over the next 6–12 months — setting the stage for a deeper, more grounded panel discussion.

Anyone Can Pitch: Your Minute to Win It
No applications. No slides. No pressure.
During this fast-paced, community-powered segment, any founder in the room can raise their hand, stand up, and deliver a one-minute elevator pitch. After each pitch, the BNT hosts, panelists, organizers — and the audience — will offer brief, constructive feedback.
This is a low-stakes, high-signal way to:

• Test clarity in real time
• Hear how your idea lands with actual humans
• Experience the BNT community in action

Whether you pitch or just listen, this segment captures what BNT does best: learning together, out loud.

Preparing for 2026: The Smart Startup Toolkit is a tactical, founder-focused conversation on how to think about fundraising, building your tech stack, legal readiness, and operational execution as you plan for the next quarter and the year ahead.
2026 will reward startups that are intentional, well-structured, and strategically prepared. This panel brings together leaders from law, technology, product, and startup operations to share practical insights, best practices, and lessons learned from working with early-stage companies every day.
What we’ll cover:

• How founders should evaluate their position heading into a new year
• Fundraising strategy and investor readiness for 2026
• Building a smart, scalable, and cost-effective tech stack
• Legal and structural considerations startups often overlook
• How to prioritize change and execution in a new quarter
• What founders should do now to set themselves up for success by Q1

Panelists:

• Chinh Pham — Attorney, GT Law
• Shweta Agrawal, BNT CPO & Co-Lead| Lead Organizer Techstars Startup Weekend Boston
• Aria Ma, Founder of JadeWell
• Michael Sattler — Serial Entrepreneur & Product Leader
• Moderated by Adam Fisk. CTO Tech Superpowers

Who should attend:

• Early-stage and first-time founders
• Technical founders and product leaders
• Startup operators preparing to raise or scale
• Anyone planning meaningful changes in 2026

This panel is designed to be practical, candid, and immediately useful—giving attendees clear takeaways they can apply as soon as the new year begins.
Join us for this conversation and stay for the startup showcases, community announcements, and networking that follow.