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
Study: Missouri tops Kansas in tech job growth
Part of the Kansas City metro area was represented on a recent report of states showing the most growth for tech-related jobs. Missouri hung on to the bottom end of Dice.com’s 17-state list at No. 15, showing 1.17 percent job growth in the tech industry during the last six months. KCnext President Ryan Weber chalks…
Drones, fashion, parties, more in Techweek queue
Techweek Kansas City released its full schedule Wednesday, revealing a jam-packed agenda with a variety of tech-oriented events to connect and inspire. The tech conference — which will be in Kansas City from Sept. 14 to Sept. 19 — will feature more than 40 events around the Kansas City area. Ranging from chats on drones…
KC entrepreneurs’ mobile game snags limelight
A year-and-a-half of tech toiling is paying dividends for a pair of Kansas City puzzle-makers whose mobile game is now surging in popularity. Luke Lisi and Kevin Bradford spent roughly 18 months designing and testing their game, The Guides, which was recently featured on the Apple Store. The Apple nod boosted daily downloads by 300…
After Apple Watch snafu, Niall gifts Royals’ Yost a timepiece
Stories of Kansas City Royals fans’ kindness during Major League Baseball’s 2014 playoffs cemented the faithful base as one rich in hospitality and warmth. So what happened when the MLB banned Royals manager Ned Yost from wearing his Apple Watch in the dugout last week? Yost’s hometown fans stepped to the plate in his aid.…