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.
Jermaine Reed, KC Mayoral Tech Forum, Techweek KC
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.
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Tommy Felts
Tommy is editor-in-chief for Startland News, a Kansas City-based nonprofit newsroom that uses storytelling to elevate the region’s startup community of entrepreneurs, innovators, hustlers, creatives and risk-takers.
Under Tommy’s leadership, Startland News has expanded its coverage from a primarily high-tech, high-growth focus to a more wide-ranging and inclusive look at the faces of entrepreneurism, innovation and business.
Before joining Startland News in 2017, Tommy worked for 12 years as an award-winning newspaper journalist, designer, editor and publisher. He was named one of Editor & Publisher magazine’s top “25 Under 35” in 2014.
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