Techweek commits to five more years in KC

With more than 5,000 attendees last week in Union Station, Kansas City more than doubled the expected participation in Techweek, a week-long technology conference.

In fact, Kansas City performed so well that Techweek is coming back for at least five more years.

Techweek CEO Katy Lynch said that the conference was anticipating about 2,500 attendees, but that Kansas City surpassed its expectations. 

“The Kansas City tech community has really spoken for itself,” Lynch said. “This proved and validated that Kansas City is awesome and has a thriving tech scene, and it’s just going to continue to grow year after year.”

The week of tech was a hit in Lynch’s eyes, including the added bonus of the Big Data Summit, which she called “a massive success.” This was the first event where Techweek adopted a conference within their own, and it performed well enough that Lynch said they will explore that option again for future Techweek events.

Asked why Techweek opted to return to the area for the next five years, Lynch said Kansas City’s tech and entrepreneurial community has tremendous upside.

“Honestly, we’ve had our thumb on the pulse for the last five to six years with what’s happening with Google Fiber and Cisco Smart City,” Lynch said. “Seeing how far the city has come over the past five years, it made sense to say, ‘Hey, I wonder what’s going to happen five years from now.”

Read more about the events throughout the week on Startland News, including coverage of Tinder co-founder Jonathan Badeen, Square and LaunchCode co-founder Jim McKelvey, LaunchKC grant award winners and more.