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
Kauffman Foundation launches initiative to topple startup barriers
During an annual trip to Washington D.C., Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation CEO Wendy Guillies urged the U.S. Congress to take action to eliminate barriers for entrepreneurs to launch new businesses. In her 2017 State of Entrepreneurship address, Guillies said that millions of Americans are being left out the U.S. economy and that trends of dwindling…
In address to Congress, Victor Hwang urges action on entrepreneurship deficit
Tapping into his own entrepreneurial story, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s vice president of entrepreneurship testified before Congress on cutting obstacles to starting a business. Before the U.S. House Small Business Committee, Victor Hwang joined an expert panel of entrepreneurs and researchers to discuss common struggles entrepreneurs face, possible solutions and emerging trends. As Republican…
Kansas City milkman Matt Shatto launches new ag tech company
Matt Shatto — co-founder of the the popular Kansas City dairy Shatto Milk Company — is trailblazing new sustainable tech to help farmers reap more crops and reduce costs. Launched in 2016, Kansas City-based TerraManus Technologies created a patented device that helps farmers better manage soil and allocate water resources. The “TerraStar Disk” looks like a plastic…
Google Fiber losing ‘hundreds’ of employees but continues KC expansion
Google Fiber is reportedly trimming its employee count after announcing its new CEO. Business Insider reports that months after its former CEO Craig Barratt resigned, Google Fiber has hired Gregory McCray as the new leader of Access, the division of Google’s parent company Alphabet that includes Google Fiber. The gigabit provider also will lose “hundreds”…