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
FitBark: Missouri pooches are the most active dogs
Kansas City-based tech firm FitBark recently released an in-depth, interactive map plotting the vast array of data it collects on dogs around the world. The company, which relocated to Kansas City after completing the Sprint Mobile Health Accelerator program in 2014, opened its database to the public, sharing a trove of insights into canine health…
Smart City board discusses data privacy concerns, kiosks’ content
Creating value for citizens and openness to adaptive but privacy-conscious data policies were at the forefront of Kansas City’s Smart City board meeting Monday morning. About 20 people attended the year’s final meeting of the Smart City Advisory Board, which was formed in August to guide the $15.7 million, public-private tech project in downtown Kansas…
Fund Me KC: Lume Lifestyle
Who: Waira Mungai, Founder and CEO of Lume Lifestyle What: Lume Lifestyle is a lifestyle brand, aiming to merge fitness, fashion and technology. We invented a new product called “Lume Smart Leggings.” They feature a patent pending pocket that has been specifically designed for smartphone interaction. Our pocket has a special mesh that offers touchscreen functionality. It is…
One of Helzberg’s greatest ideas was resurrected from the trash
As charismatic as he is ornery, Barnett Helzberg recently charmed a few dozen entrepreneurs as part of Startup Grind Kansas City. Formerly CEO of Helzberg Diamonds, Helzberg shared with attendees an array of entertaining stories while leisurely pacing the stage and sipping a Boulevard Wheat beer. Here are a few of the stories he told.…