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
Report: Kansas City startups snagging more dough in 2016
Kansas City has made significant strides when it comes to improving access to early-stage capital, though its relative volume still lags other startup hubs, according to a recent report. In the first three months of 2016, Kansas City has boosted its total capital raised by about 297 percent when compared to the same time period…
Fund me, KC: MyCroft AI to take on Amazon Echo, Siri
Startland News is continuing its segment to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses. This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs — like MyCroft AI CEO Joshua Montgomery — to share their stories to gain a little help from their supporters. If you or your startup is running a crowdfunding campaign, let us know by…
The Lean Lab partners with 4.0 Schools to innovate KC education
More than 100 years ago, our education system was designed and built to prepare an early-1900s workforce for the industrial age. Today, children are learning with iPads and Youtube, but the bones of the traditional liberal arts structure remain similar to what our great-grandparents experienced. Local education innovation incubator The Lean Lab hopes to change…
Google Fiber nixes free Internet offering in Kansas City
It’s often said there’s no such thing as a free lunch. And in Google’s case, there’s no such thing a free fiber connection — at least anymore. The tech titan last week nixed its free Internet offering, which dished out download speeds of 5 megabits-per-second and upload speeds of 1 mbps. Google has offered the…