Events Preview: Gigabit Workday, KC Roundtable

There are a plethora of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter, or curious community member — we recommend these upcoming events for you.

Are you hosting a relevant community event? Feel free to add it to the FWD/KC calendar for increased exposure. Once your event is submitted, it will quickly get reviewed and then published to the calendar.

Marketing to Women: Economic Powerhouses Your Brand May Be Overlooking
When: March 29, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Where: Sprint Accelerator
As we wrap up Women’s Month, we wanted to take a moment to focus on women as consumers and how we go about marketing to the economic powerhouses that are women!
In the US, Women account for over 80% of all purchases and over $5 trillion in total sales. As consumers, women tend to consider nine different factors when deciding whether to make a purchase, whereas men tend to be more mission-oriented and consider only a third as many. This presentation on marketing to women will reveal the nature of women’s cross-category purchasing considerations and some of the key ways brands can drive more loyalty and build stronger relationships with this highly profitable audience. It will also share advertising and marketing examples of brands and companies that win with women every day.
Join us for Coworking Wednesday from 10am to 4:30 and enjoy this specific talk by Janie Curtis from 11 am to 12:30pm!

KC Roundtable Breakfast
When: March 30, 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Where: Eggtc.
KC Roundtable is in existence to provide 20 and 30-something Kansas City entrepreneurs with a group of peers to support and collaborate on each others’ businesses. Our mission is to: – Focus on relationship building; not lead generating – Facilitate collaboration, openness, transparency, learning and teaching – Establish an entrepreneurial network – Fill the void of not having the water cooler.
We meet for breakfast and various locations around the city. In addition to our morning meetings, KC Roundtable provides additional opportunities to network with young entrepreneurs such as events like small group Mastermind sessions & After Hour events.
Prospective members are self-motivated, curious, open to learning and currently starting a new business. Thanks for checking us out. We look forward to meeting you soon!

Gigabit Workday
When: March 30, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Where: Google Fiber Space
Throughout this year, KC Digital Drive is building and launching two gigabit apps as part of the Smart Gigabit Communities grant.
Gigabit Workdays are part of a year-long event series designed to help us navigate the app lifecycle process, from initial ideation to deployment. During quarterly Gigabit Workday workshops, attendees and stakeholders will have structured time to work on app ideas in five target areas: transportation, public safety, energy and advanced manufacturing.
The Gigabit Workday will kick off with reverse pitches—project proposals detailed by a stakeholder from that project’s industry and shared with app developers for implementation consideration. The workshop will also include time to provide project updates and share other relevant info.
We’re looking for app developers and entrepreneurs interested in helping us move these Gigabit Apps projects forward during the Gigabit Workday workshop. If that’s you, please RSVP and make plans to join us.

#Winning at Sales: Nobody eats until Somebody sells something
When: April 3, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Where: UMKC SBTDC
Five sessions: April 3, April 24, May 15, June 5 and June 26
Do you want to jump out front and be #WINNING in sales? Our series will allow you to increase profits through sales growth via accountability.
In these sessions, you will:
Network with other small businesses.
Learn tactical, applicable sales information from experts.
Hold yourself and your peers accountable for your sales goals, plans, and follow through.
Sales management is an integral part of your daily business success.
Learn to fill your sales funnel and become accountable to drive your BEST sales performance!

Apply today to be a member of this non-competitive, one per industry peer-to-peer sales accountability roundtable.

Ongoing events

Don’t miss out on the events that happen every week at the same time, in the same place.

Code for KC Hack Night
Mondays from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at Sprint Accelerator

Hammerspace Open House
Thursdays from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at Hammerspace

1 Million Cups
Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. at Kauffman Foundation, Lawrence and KC Live Stream

Looking ahead

Winning Federal Research Grants: SBIR/STTR Workshop
When: April 4, 11:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Where: UMKC SBTDC
Have a technology business but don’t know where to find funding or the best way to acquire it? Then this workshop is for you!
This introductory seminar explains how to win SBIR (Small Business Initiative Research) and STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer Research) grants from federal programs that provide Research and Development (R&D) funds for small businesses. You will learn how to find grants, how to apply, and the best strategies to gain funding for your growing technology business.

Lunch is included.

TechHire KC – Tech Sector Meetup at Think Big
When: April 5, 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Where: Think Big Partners
RSVP: www.techhirekc.eventbrite.com
Find out how the TechHire initiative can impact your organization, how you can participate with subsidized placements, and discover how you can influence programming, training and curriculum to better meet your workforce needs. During these meetups, we will explore those topics and dive deeper into the region’s 5-year outlook, sector best practices, labor trends, and curriculum/instructional design in I.T. in Kansas City.
April 5, 2017
May 10, 2017
This meetup is for tech-sector employers looking to hire or shape the workforce pipeline. All events take place from 12-1:30 (lunch provided) at Think Big Partners, 1712 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Meeting Rooms B-C-D.
Think Big Partners serves as the Tech Sector Intermediary on behalf of FEC and the TechHire initiative in Kansas City.

About TechHire
TechHire is recoding the American economy by helping employers find outstanding tech talent, and overlooked job seekers get the training and connections they need to start successful technical careers.
TechHire Kansas City
In one of the original communities to join the President’s TechHire initiative, the Full Employment Council’s Greater Kansas City Technology Career Collaboration (GKCTCC) will help train 2,000 participants, including young adults facing barriers to employment such as disabilities and criminal records and workers currently in low-wage jobs. Training will focus on four high-growth industries: (1) IT, (2) healthcare, (3) advanced manufacturing, and (4) financial services. Working with Think Big, Full Employment Council, the National Machining and Tooling Association, and Missouri/Kansas Hospital Association, GKCTCC will identify the skills to succeed in each industry and work with training providers to customize curricula to help prepare participants for well-paying jobs.

First Wednesdays, Annie Hurlbut Zander
When: April 5, 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Where: Bloch Executive Hall
Join us for A Conversation with Annie Hurlbut Zander. Hear first-hand how co-founder and CEO of Tonganoxie-based Peruvian Connection, was inspired halfway across the world and founded a luxury artisan apparel company, which releases five internationally renowned collections per year and that has retail locations throughout the U.S. and the U.K.

KC Design Week
When: April 6-13
Where: Kansas City
An 8-day wake-up call to the eye-opening presence of design in all our lives. Parties, talks, workshops, exhibits, etc. celebrating design in KC. See link for tickets & join us April 6-13, 2017!

The Sales Series: Setting and Managing Sales Goals with Elizabeth Usovicz, White Space Consulting
When: April 6, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Where: Enterprise Center in Johnson County
The Sales Series teaches entrepreneurs the basics of building scalable sales systems, attracting and compensating top-performing sales staff and customer retention.