June 2, 2026 · Carlos Crespo
What Boston Tech Week Taught Us About AI for Small Businesses
A field report from a week on the ground at Boston Tech Week — and the AI takeaways that actually matter for local businesses and personal brands.

We spent the week on the ground at Boston Tech Week, hopping between panels and workshops across the city. Here are the moments that stuck with us — and what they mean for the small businesses and personal brands we build for.

What we saw
AI in K-12 education. The line that stuck: we can only learn the effects of AI in education by experimenting — but who are we experimenting on? These are our children. A real reminder to deploy new tools with care.
The modern contractor AI playbook. A session at The Union on showing off modern tools without a heavy tech barrier. That's exactly our job: make powerful technology approachable for everyday businesses.
Building with AI inside real products. "How Teams Are Actually Building with AI" — a panel hosted by Klaviyo and Partiful on how teams actually ship AI inside working products, not just in demos. Practical over flashy, every time.
What it means for your business
You don't need to chase every trend. You need tools that quietly save you time and make you easier to do business with.
- AI should lower the barrier, not raise it. The best tools disappear into
the workflow. We help you adopt the ones that fit and skip the ones that don't.
- Practical beats hype. From faster websites to cleaner client workflows,
see the real, working builds we ship for local businesses.
If a conversation from Boston Tech Week sparked an idea — or you just want a website and tools that pull their weight — let's talk.
Boston Tech Week is part of a16z's Tech Week. Follow along on Instagram and LinkedIn.
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