Kansas City Developers Conference cultivates community among techies

Hundreds of hardcore techies are gearing up for one of Kansas City’s largest gatherings of developers.

The eighth-annual Kansas City Developers Conference is expecting more than 1,300 attendees from regional corporations, startups and universities on June 22. With a focus on building the Kansas City community, the conference features loads of workshops, panel discussions and opportunities to connect with area techies.

More than 80 speakers — from CTOs and educators to tech founders and civic leaders — from around the world will engage with developers as part of the conference. Topics range from emerging trends in technology to developing an effective professional network, but each aim to offer attendees valuable information on how to become proficient and connected with Kansas City.

Startland News sat down with KCDC co-directors Lee Brandt, Jon Mills and Boon Lee to learn about how the conference has evolved in its eight years and what it hopes to impart to techies. To learn more about the conference, click here.

How’d this conference come about back in 2008?
Lee Brandt: There weren’t a lot of companies moving to Kansas City because nobody knew anything about Kansas City. It was pre-Google Fiber, so nobody heard anything about Kansas City’s tech scene. If we share our experiences in Kansas City and bring some people from Silicon Valley and Silicon Alley in New York here and then teach them the stuff that’s going on on the coasts, then developers will get better here. And pretty soon companies will say, yes we can move our headquarters to Kansas City because there’s enough developers there that we can staff. … If I want a vibrant tech scene, it’s part of my responsibility to make a vibrant tech scene. So that’s what I tried to do.

How has the conference changed in its eight years?
Lee Brandt: For the first two or three years it almost doubled every year — 100 people to 200 people to 400 people. Every year for a couple years we had to change venues. Slowly but surely, the word’s getting out. … Every year I meet people who say “I had no idea we had a conference here in town that I could go to.”

Tell me more about the “small-conference-feel” you have.
Boon Lee: One of the things I like about the small conferences like ours is that the speakers are out in the open, talking to the attendees. Whereas at the big conferences, you see them talk for an hour, and then you don’t see them the rest of the conference unless they’re back in the conference room. You don’t get to hang out, ask questions and learn. In my opinion, that’s really valuable.

Jon Mills: The vibe we’re going for is very laid back. Our speakers are just hanging out in the hallway trying to drive that conversation. One of the things we try to push with our sponsors is “let’s do something fun.” Let’s try to engage people in a different way than a corporate feel. … A couple years ago, (a sponsor) had a text-based scavenger hunt to drive people to our sponsor tables. Every year we’re trying different ways to make it less like a job fair — which is terrible — and more like, “Hey, we’ve got companies from Kansas City with very cool stories to tell.”

Aside from educational opportunities, what value does the KCDC offer?
Lee Brandt: I’ve met several people who are at their current jobs because of someone they met at KCDC. I’ve met people who started dating at KCDC and are now married. I definitely think it’s bringing the community together.

What challenges have you faced in building a community of techies?
Lee Brandt: Probably one of the biggest challenges throughout our activities is getting attendees that are generally not social people to socialize. Usually, it involves alcohol, so you get a couple beers in somebody and they start talking to people. The other thing has been board games. A couple years ago Jon recommended a board game night because we’ve got a lot of people who don’t drink. Having a party for people who don’t drink but can still socialize has been a huge success. Geeks love board games and video games.

What exciting tech topics may we hear at KCDC?
Boon Lee: Home automation is huge. I just recently replaced two garage doors. The only reason I bought the garage doors is because they came with a (LiftMaster Internet) Gateway device. I can hook it up to my router, and if I drive off and forget to close the garage door, it will let me know so I can close it remotely. Those sorts of things are exciting.

Lee Brandt: There are lots of weird, exciting things happening in security now. … In the future I think you’ll be able to play your password. There’ll be a Guitar Hero-type thing in your phone, and you’ll be able to play this melody five or six times, and you’ll be able to remember subliminally in your head. … There are things like EyeVerify, a local company, that does retinal scanning. Retinal scanning, voiceprint recognition, fingerprint recognition — which is already on our phones. There’s lots of cool things happening in security. Security has always been the thing that makes a device harder to use, but it’s getting easier and easier.

What’s next for the KCDC?
Jon Mills: There are a lot of cool things going on that we could be talking about but we’re not. We’re to the point now where our mission is to show ourselves off. We’re pulling speakers, attendees and sponsors from all over the country. They are coming to Kansas City and seeing that the local speakers and attendees know their stuff. … There are 12 technology conferences a year in Kansas City, which is nuts, that we as a community can support 12 technology events. … There’s so much going on in Kansas City. The struggle a lot of times is that most people in Kansas City don’t know about it.