Built to Flex: PM Waterloo Annual Conference 2026
The product landscape changed more in the last year than in the five before it. Scopes widened. Teams shrank. AI flooded the work with infinite output. And through all of it, the operators who thrived didn't out-tool anyone — they kept their fundamentals and found the signal in the noise.
Built to Flex is a one-day conference about exactly that: the durable principles and hard-won judgment that let products — and the people who build them — flex under pressure without losing their core. The tools flex. The fundamentals don't.
Expect a full day of talks, honest practitioner stories, and community, organized around three threads:
The Core — the fundamentals that got more valuable: discovery, problem framing, first principles.
The Shift — adapting to AI, expanding scope, and doing more with less on purpose.
The Signal — judgment, prioritization, and taste in an age of infinite output.
Our keynote, Signal Over Noise, sets the frame for the day: when producing everything is free, knowing what matters is the scarce skill.
Whether your role just doubled, your team just halved, or you're rethinking what product management even means right now — this is the room for product people who bend the plan without breaking the craft.
📍 Catalyst Commons, Waterloo · 🗓 Saturday, September 12, 2026, 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM · $75 · part of Waterloo Tech Week 2026. Ticket includes coffee and lunch
The day at a glance
Keynote — Signal Over Noise: judgment in the age of infinite output
Fundamentals That Got More Valuable — the skills AI can't outsource (The Core)
Doing More With Less, On Purpose — prioritization, saying no, leverage vs. burnout (The Shift)
AI as a Vehicle — earning its seat without taking the wheel (The Shift)
Taste & Judgment — the edge AI can't copy (The Signal)
Durable Principles — what survives every hype cycle (The Core)
Career Resilience for PMs — flex without breaking (The Shift + The Core)
Agenda subject to change as speakers are confirmed.
🎤 Speak at Built to Flex
We're building the lineup now and want talks from local product people. Call for talks is open → [https://forms.gle/BbRQPjxvUYAoTTEe7] · Deadline: Aug 7th.
Questions?
heathergawel@gmail.com · pmwaterloo.ca