Techweek makes intro to Kansas City
August 18, 2015 | Bobby Burch
It only seems fitting that bass-thumping techno music would introduce Kansas City’s most anticipated technology conference.
National tech conference Techweek — which will be in Kansas City from Sept. 14 to Sept. 20 — made its official introduction into the Kansas City community Monday evening with a party at the Sprint Accelerator. After arriving in Kansas City only six hours earlier, Techweek CEO Katy Lynch welcomed more than 100 people at the event, which featured an array of technologists, entrepreneurs and other businesspeople.
Lynch said that her brief time in Kansas City has already been welcoming and fruitful.
“It’s been wonderful,” Lynch told Startland News. “The people here are so welcoming and so friendly; there’s a lot of enthusiasm and charisma. Hearing people’s stories has been great and everyone is so collaborative. Everyone I’ve met has introduced me to another person who does this and that, and that’s really cool. There’s something really special about the startup ecosystem here.”
The conference will begin with a kickoff party Sept. 14 at the Boulevard Brewery, and will feature other events including a pitch competition, job fair, concert and hackathon. Here’s a rough version of the schedule, provided by Techweek.
LaunchKC — an initiative to attract 10 tech firms to relocate to Kansas City — partnered with Techweek to present a demo day competition during Techweek, which is expected to attract hundreds of attendees.
In addition to revealing the conference schedule, Lynch also introduced eight additional speakers to Techweek’s roster.
Speakers include:
- Kristin Smith, CEO of Code Fellows
- John Fein, managing director of Techstars
- Boland Jones, CEO of PGi
- Chris Jeffrey, CEO of OrderUp
- Jim McKelvey, co-founder of Square
- Teffanie Stanard, CEO of MENT
- Anand Sanwal, CEO of CB Insights
- Blake Miller, a partner at Think Big Partners
- John Jantsch, founder of Duct Tape Marketing
- Claude Aldridge, CEO of Trellie
- Patrick Stuart, senior product manager at Skycatch
- Jonathan Badeen, co-founder of Tinder
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Procrastinating? Eat the frog, don’t chase the squirrels
On the metal wall in front of my desk, I’ve magnetically fastened a famous recommendation from Mark Twain. “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day,” the humorist from Missouri wrote. Though it can become an aspiration rather than a rule,…
KCultivator Q&A: ‘Fashionpreneur’ Jordan Williams on starting with nothing but his smile
Editor’s note: KCultivators is a lighthearted profile series to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Check out our features on Plexpod founder Gerald Smith, innovation coach Diana Kander, Victor & Penny’s Erin McGrane, SEED Law’s Adrienne Haynes, Code Koalas’ Robert Manigold, Prep-KC CEO Susan Wally and community builder Donald Carter. Jordan…
KC designers put streetwear innovation, culture on Kritiq runway (Photos)
Fashion entrepreneurs at Sunday night’s Kritiq fashion show shared many of the same struggles on their ways to the runway, Mark Launiu said. “One of our designers here was asked, ‘What’s your inspiration?’ And I think a lot of us can relate,” said Launiu, co-founder at MADE Urban Apparel and lead organizer of the event.…
Tax bill guts historic tax credits used to rehab Westport Commons, Kemper, lofts
Plexpod Westport Commons wouldn’t exist without the historic tax credits used to make the massive renovation and preservation project financially feasible, said developer Butch Rigby. A GOP-led tax reform bill introduced this month to simplify the tax code, however, would eliminate the Reagan-era tax credit program, which provides a 20 percent federal tax credit for…