Techweek KC taps into thirst for community at Boulevard kickoff party (Photos)
October 9, 2018 | Tommy Felts
Revelers networking Monday night at a kickoff party for Techweek Kansas City were so lost in conversation that they frequently had to be reminded of the open bar available to them at Boulevard Beer Hall.
The evening event capped the first day of Techweek KC programming, which ran the gamut from a KC Mayoral Tech Forum and smart city innovation conversations to the opening of a Big Data track and Demo Day for KCMO’s Innovation Partnership Program.
Click here for a full event schedule for Techweek KC.
Click here to purchase tickets to Techweek.
The success of events like Techweek — and entrepreneurship in Kansas City in general — are thanks to hard work, not luck, said Jessica Palm, managing director of TeamKC at the Kansas City Area Development Council.
“Throughout this week, you’ll see incredible skills of individuals who call Kansas City home, of people who are visiting here and doing tremendous things all over the world,” Palm told the crowd at the kickoff party. “Kansas City is the place to be for tech — whether it’s a top city for really specific technology or the place to begin a career or create a startup.”
Tuesday’s programming dives deeper into blockchain technology, cryptocurrency and other FinTech topics, according to Techweek KC’s schedule, followed Wednesday by a track intentionally focused on diversity and inclusion in tech.
Thursday is dedicated to Techstars Kansas City programming and Demo Day, with LaunchKC and its grants competition rounding out the week Friday.
Check out the gallery from Techweek KC’s kickoff party below.
Featured Business

2018 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Grit Road plants $11M venture fund to cultivate homegrown ag tech solutions across Midwest
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. OMAHA — The precision guide for Grit Road Partners — a Nebraska-based venture fund — is investing in ag tech companies that are solving Midwest producer problems, said Mike Jung,…
KC nonprofit wants to change the face of tech (without leaving its students in debt)
Editor’s note: The following story was sponsored by Resiliency at Work 2.0 Career and Technical Education, a Kansas City-based organization focused on creating and increasing equitable opportunities through education and training for careers in the technically skilled workforce. Dr. Joy Vann-Hamilton set out to close the diversity gap in the tech workforce; her work through…
Proof is in the spending: CEO-to-CEO Challenge yields results in diversifying supply chains
Editor’s note: The following story was sponsored by KC Rising, a regional initiative to help Kansas City grow faster and more intentionally, as part of a campaign to promote its CEO-to-CEO Challenge on supplier diversity. When she started researching the institutional knowledge at MMC Corp. about working with diverse suppliers, national purchasing director Kelli Fraas found the process was…
Her new role is reenvisioning one of KC’s most iconic events for entrepreneurs; how Callie England is shaking up GEW
Callie England misses the life of an entrepreneur, she shared, but her new role with the UMKC Innovation Center — and GEWKC — allows her to stay in the game without being on the field. As of January, the veteran Kansas City startup founder is responsible for managing the branding and marketing initiatives of the…












