Events Preview: Smart City Tech summit, Intentional Collisions
October 16, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
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? Add it to the KCSourceLink Calendar for increased exposure. Email info@kcsourcelink.com for assistance.
Smart City Tech Summit: Public Safety
When: Oct. 17 – 18
Where: National Airline History Museum
Attendees will learn from public safety leaders, participate in hand on educational sessions, discuss industry-specific security concerns, attend live technology demonstrations, be able to meet with top technology providers, discover new emerging technologies and more. Our goal is to be able to bring together today’s best practices with the currently available technology solutions in order to provide attendees a thorough understanding that can improve public safety, manage today’s domestic terrorism and active shooter risks and ultimately save property damage and lives.
This is a MUST ATTEND event for anyone who is making decisions related to public safety, in charge of managing the risks of domestic terrorism and active shooter scenarios or is looking to connect with the right people to make public safety technology decisions. GROUP RATES AVAILABLE FOR 6+ GUESTS. CONTACT SCTS@thinkbigpartners.com for information.
Attendees will include:
- City Leaders
- Smart City Project Leaders
- Public Venue Operators
- High Profile Companies with Security Concerns
- Public Safety Experts
- Civic Thought Leaders
- Law Enforcement Officials
- Government Officials
- Schools and Universities
- Established Public Safety Technology Providers
- Emerging Companies and Startups with Innovative New Public Safety Technologies
- Other Citizens from Around the World Who Are Concerned About Public Safety
Enterprise University: Create and Implement a Healthy Financial Plan Taught by Chris Torres:
When: Oct. 17, 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Where: Training Umbrella
Find out where you stand in relationship to your wealth accumulation, retirement funding, estate planning and financial goals.
- Key Takeaways:
- Keys to financial planning
- Risk, Tax & money management
- Retirement & Estate planning
Intentional Collisions – Digital Transformation
When: Oct. 17, 1:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Where: Sprint Accelerator
It’s time for another session of Intentional Collisions at the Sprint Accelerator and this time we’ll be diving into Digital Transformation, with our theme champion, Sprint!
Intentional Collisions is an ongoing program, where Sprint Accelerator organizes a themed & condensed coworking day; bringing together thought leaders and people interested in similar subjects and/or working to solve common challenges. When we share knowledge and collaborate, we can problem-solve together more rapidly!
It’s no secret that today’s world is changing at an intense pace. Digital Transformation is the profound and accelerating transformation of business activities, processes, competencies and models to fully leverage the changes and opportunities of digital technologies and their impact across society in a strategic and prioritized way, with present and future shifts in mind.
Become exposed to individuals who are focused on creating digital transformations within their domain.
Hear from speakers who have deep expertise within digital transformation. We’ll be surrounded by thought leaders, corporate innovators, entrepreneurs and the generally curious.
Join us for the conversation!
The event runs from 1 PM to 5:30 PM, kicked off with a talk by our partner, Sprint, relating to specific challenges around Digital Transformation. We’ll then hear from other speakers who bring different experience and viewpoints into the realm.
Sprint has generously offered to provide snacks and a happy hour for those in attendance, so be sure to thank them and definitely RSVP so we have an accurate headcount!
October Inventor Meet-Up
When: Oct. 17, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Where: Union Station
Join us for our October meet-up and put your ideas and abilities in motion for your product invention! Our meet-up will feature inspiring and insightful presentations from creative inventors making their way along the new product pathway. Share with and meet other inventors that can help find the resources you need to bring your invention to life!
The Lean Lab + #KCedu October Meetup
When: Oct. 19, 5:30 – 7:30
Where: The EduHub
“The Latest in Neuroscience in Education”
Key Facilitators include:
Dr. Oh-Ryeong Ha
Dr. Erin Hambrick
Dr. Peppler
Wade Self
About The Lean Lab + #KCedu Meetups:
Join #KCedu and the Lean Lab every Third Thursday to network with genius educators, business partners, and other interested folks as you eat and drink, learn and collide!
5:30-6:00: Sign-in, food/drink, networking
6:00-6:15: Introductions and announcements
6:15-7:00: Unconference
7:00-7:30: Closing comments, continued networking
The format is about active small group networking and relationship building, not passive listening. CHOICE and VOICE! You’ll be happy you plugged into KC’s vibrant educator network.
Innovation Workshop: October 2017
When: Oct. 20, 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Where: Crossroads Academy
Are you experiencing a problem in education that you want to solve? Do you have a solution in mind, but you’re not sure how or where to begin? Join The Lean Lab for a 1.5 day deep-dive into human-centered design, design thinking, lean methodology, and innovation!
- When: Friday, October 20 from 5-8PM – Saturday, October 21, 2017 from 9AM-4PM
- Where: 1011 Central Street, KCMO 64105
- Cost: $50/person – This will cover the cost of food and materials during the weekend. Coming with a team? Team discounts available. Contact Aditya (aditya@theleanlab.org) for more information.
- What you’ll need: A problem written in the form of a statement: “The problem is [x] and it impacts [y].”
- Who is this event for?: Aspiring education innovators who want to build a solution to impart transformational change! You don’t need any prior entrepreneurship experience to attend and be successful in this workshop. Just an idea and your own experiences.
You’ll leave the workshop with the tools of human-centered design and design thinking to continue working on your solution, as well as a succinct problem statement, a clear understanding of who your target user is, and a prototype ready to test!
We’re running a special promo code, EARLYBIRD17, that gets you 50% off the ticket price. There are only 10 uses of the code so act fast. Please contact Aditya at aditya@theleanlab.org for additional scholarship opportunities. We do NOT want cost to be a barrier in attending this workshop.
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
Coworking Wednesdays
Wednesdays from 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at Sprint Accelerator
Looking ahead
Winning Federal Research Grants: SBIR/STTR
When: Oct. 25, 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.
Business Blitz Q&A
When: Oct. 26, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Where: Bloch Venture Hub
The world of entrepreneurship is an abyss of constant discovery, chance and hard-work. It’s impossible to know everything. So if you’ve ever wondered…
- Does my tech startup need to file taxes?
- What marketing techniques work best in my industry?
- Do I need renters insurance for my private co-working office?
- What are some basic things that need to be included in business contracts to make sure it will uphold in court?
- What are some low cost options to protect my computer and other devices?
- How do I build business credit and how can my business qualify for a revolving line of credit?
Then Business Blitz Q&A is where you need to be.
There are many components to consider when starting or maintaining an existing business; you don‘t know, what you don’t know. So, join us on October 26th from 6pm to 9pm at 4328 Madison, Bloch Venture Hub, to kickoff the fourth quarter of 2017. We are calling entrepreneurs, small businesses owners and the like to an engaging networking experience. The evening will open with a panel of professionals who will tackle questions and concerns of the audience and share some unconventional wisdom.
The panelist will include professionals from the following industries:
Insurance – Michael Givhan, Michael Givhan Agency
Human Resources – Cheryl Wright, Darda Human Resources Advisors
Accounting/Tax – Nicola Price, B2BC Mobile Tax & Solutions
Marketing – Terra Whipple, Live By Change
Technology – Burton Kelso, Integral Computer Consultants
Law – Adrienne Haynes, Seed Law LLC
Business Banking – Monica Dahl, Arvest Bank
The second half of the night will be for networking and visiting with the panelist. Refreshments will be served.
Don’t fumble on the opportunity to connect with resources that will help to build, sustain, protect and grow your business!
Please RSVP. This is a FREE event.
KCADC Annual Meeting
When: Oct. 27, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Where: Kansas City Convention Center
KCADC’s Annual Meeting celebration is the most prominent and well-attended business event in the Kansas City metropolitan area – drawing 1,600 of KC’s top corporate and civic influencers.
“The Big WHY” will celebrate the many reasons whyour KC region is enjoying an unprecedented wave of innovation, growth and opportunity. Use #TheBigWhyKC to engage with us leading up to and during our 41st annual luncheon.
Walter Isaacson, best-selling author, historian and journalist is this year’s featured speaker. He has studied history’s most creative geniuses — Einstein, Franklin, and Jobs. Now, in his new book, Leonardo da Vinci, Walter will share his insight on why passionate curiosity led these figures to challenge the status quo –and how we can learn to recognize the power of creativity to change the world.
In partnership with Rainy Day Books, KCADC will provide each attendee with Walter Isaacson’s new hardcover Leonardo da Vinci, being published in October.

2017 Startups to Watch
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