Developer conference hopes to boost KC’s tech profile
June 22, 2015 | Abby Tillman
A group of local tech talent is banding together to bring global exposure to Kansas City’s tech scene.
Developers at KCDC
Set to kick off Wednesday, the two-day Kansas City Developer Conference hopes to engage techies with all aspects of software development. In addition to connecting developers, the seventh-annual conference aspires for a bigger mission: to put KC on the map.
“As we bring in speakers and sponsors from around the nation and the world, their interactions with our attendees makes them understand that KC is a tech community that really knows what it’s doing,” KCDC Founder Lee Brandt said.
Brandt further explained that Kansas City developers’ desire to learn and advance themselves impresses non-KC-based attendees. That interaction also promotes a positive feel of the pool of tech talent available in Kansas City.
This year’s conference will feature 1,300 attendees, 150 educational sessions and 120 speakers, including international leaders in software development. Sessions will cover all aspects of software development, including design, project management, development operations, JavaScript and more.
“We try to be a true software development conference,” Brandt said. “So anything that’s involved in that process around software development, we want to have content around that at the event. … We try to have something for everybody”
KCDC co-organizer Jonathan Mills said that the conference aims to be comprehensive in its approach and provide valuable professional development.
“We have a lot of speakers who speak at big events,” Mills said. “Instead of sending someone to a $3,000 conference, you can come see the same quality of speaker and the same session for $300 at KCDC. … We have top quality speakers from all over the world flying in — 2 or 3 are from London.”
The conference will run June 24 to June 26 at the Kansas City Convention Center. For more information on tickets, click here.
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
$3.5M HEDC project bringing coworking, kitchens, culture to Westside (Photos)
A new Center for Urban Enterprise project is expected to help limit risk for Kansas City’s low- to moderate-income entrepreneurs, Michael Carmona said. (Lea este artículo en español. Haga clic aquí.) “We’re looking at ways they can start and grow sustainable businesses with the little income they have as far as startup capital,” said Carmona,…
Confused about Tuesday’s KCI airport vote? Here’s the breakdown
Update: The votes are in! And turnout was high for a mid-term election! Check out Startland’s coverage of Tuesday’s KCI airport vote by clicking here. After more than five years of deal-making and debate, the time has come for Kansas City, Missouri, voters to decide the fate of the city’s current 45-year-old airport. On the…
GEW hopes to spark innovation, connections among entrepreneurs
Global Entrepreneurship Week is about helping businesses that start in Kansas City stay in Kansas City, Jenny Miller said. And it’s for more than the traditional “startup” crowd, the network builder at KCSourceLink said. “GEWKC connects people who may not identify as ‘entrepreneurs’ – those who may think of themselves as makers, creators, freelancers, artists,…
Hip hop entrepreneur: Rap stardom isn’t the only way to a paycheck
Music is everything, Kartez Marcel said. It’s an avenue to express anger and hurt in a positive way. It’s a way to heal. And for aspiring entrepreneurs, it’s an opportunity to earn a paycheck even if they aren’t destined for on-stage superstardom, said Marcel, a Kansas City rapper and hip hop industry mentor. “Everybody wants…