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
The legend of the salvaged Westport Commons mural continues
If reader reaction is any indication, Startland News may want to consider a pivot to becoming a historical art publication. Since publishing a story on Tuesday regarding an exhumed mural at Plexpod Westport Commons, thousands of people around the area and nation have taken an interest in the piece. Dozens of Facebook comments have relayed their…
Events Preview: Athena League, Customer Experience Showcase
There are a boatload of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter or curious Kansas Citian, we’d recommend these upcoming events for you. WEEKLY EVENT PREVIEW Let’s Talk About Press, Baby When: August 18 @ 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm Where: Sprint Accelerator Let’s talk about press,…
Scavenger hunts and happy hours: 5 featured Techweek events
With Techweek Kansas City quickly approaching and expecting more attendees than ever, it’s time to start pulling out calendars to decide events to hit up. Startland picked a few events off the list that stand to wet the whistle of any techie or entrepreneur. The full schedule is here, which Techweek is expected to expand…
Silicon Valley vet Jason Anderson makes a game out of data collection
As a 4-year-old, Jason Anderson was captivated by the Atari classic Pong. He gawked at the game for hours after his dad brought one home in 1978. Four years later, he was so inspired by Pong that he decided to create his own game — a text adventure on the family’s Timex Sinclair 1000. Anderson…