Collaboration Awaits: Blacktech Weekend aims to connect black innovators with a lasting network
October 31, 2019 | Anna Turnbull
The most important aspect of Blacktech Weekend’s return to Kansas City Friday: connecting individuals from different segments of the entrepreneur cityscape, said Denayja Reese.
“Across industries, we want them to collaborate with each other and continue to build community as well as bring in folks who are outside of the community into the fold,” said Reese, founder of Miami-based GWTLP, which organizes the one-day Blacktech Weekend in KC. “I hope that the people who attend the event learn things that they didn’t know before. Whether it be a funding resource or if they learn from someone else’s’ ideas.”
Blacktech Weekend 2018
Blacktech Weekend is entering its second annual Kansas City offering this week, having debuted during 2018’s Global Entrepreneurship Week. The program targets black entrepreneurs, innovators and “techies.”
Click here to read about the 2018 Blacktech Weekend conversation on tearing down walls built by exclusive startup lingo.
“Most of the time, [Blacktech Weekend’s] out of town [speakers] are dealing with many of the same issues as those [in Kansas City]. They are able to have conversations about how they are balancing it given their different circumstances,” Reese said, explaining the event. “It really gives the attendees an opportunity to learn from the people even if they are coming from different sides [of the issue].”
The Kansas City event is also set to feature a number of local voices, including Philip Gaskin, senior director of entrepreneurship at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation; April Boyd-Noronha, chief engagement strategist for The STEM Broker; Bryan Shannon, founder and CEO of TicketRX; Dan Smith, co-founder of The Porter House KC; and Dell Gines, senior community development advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
Click here for more information on Blacktech Weekend, which begins 10 a.m. Friday at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
Activities from a fireside chat and panel conversations to masterclass breakout sessions, Reese said.
This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.
For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn
Featured Business
2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
KC’s Site 1001 eyes Raleigh as next smart city, opens innovation office
Following the firm’s $6 million raise earlier this month, Kansas City-based Site 1001 recently announced it selected the city of Raleigh, North Carolina, for a new office and innovation center. A technology spin out from Kansas City construction giant JE Dunn Construction, the firm said in a release that it plans to work with Raleigh’s…
Voting open: KC-based efforts vie for spots among SXSW 2018 panels
SXSW 2018 is still six months away, but members of the Kansas City startup community need supporters’ help now to land a coveted spot on the Austin-based conference’s panel lineup for March. At least three proposals with KC ties are among those being considered during SXSW’s PanelPicker Community Voting process, which runs through Aug. 25.…
OYO Fitness flexes muscles internationally after $1M in US crowdfunding
The pressure isn’t letting up for OYO Fitness. With nearly $1 million in sales via crowdfunding already banked, the Kansas City-based fitness firm hopes to add more muscle to its brand by expanding into Asia. After previous success on U.S.-based Kickstarter and Indiegogo, OYO (On Your Own) Fitness launched its collapsible, portable gym product last…
BBQ Addicts co-owner tastes individual success on Food Network’s ‘Chopped’
Megan Day left the corporate world for sweeter pastures. Now the BBQ Addicts co-owner is glazing her own trail as a premier pitmaster. And for at least one big victory, it’s all caught on camera. The Kansas City-based entrepreneur advanced earlier this month in a special grill master tournament on Food Network’s “Chopped.” Day bested…