GEWKC just launched its 2024 lineup; Here are three of the can’t-miss entrepreneur events
August 30, 2024 | Tommy Felts
Inspiration — and top honors — are on the calendar this fall as registration launches for Kansas City’s busiest week in entrepreneurship. Among the headline events for the connection-packed summit: two grants competitions and a new-to-GEW celebration of Kansas City innovation.
GEWKC organizers Callie England and Chanté Keller, KCSourceLink, speak during the 2023 AltCap Your Biz pitch competition in the Medallion Theater at the Offices at Park 39; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News
Organizers this week released the official schedule for the in-person Nov. 19-21 Global Entrepreneurship Week – Kansas City event series. Boasting a high-profile base camp at Union Station, GEWKC features a curated selection of back-to-back content every hour with networking, food, and drink.
Click here to view the just-posted Tuesday-Thursday event schedule and here to start building your custom GEWKC agenda.
Additional community events are planned outside the Union Station base camp throughout the week of Nov. 18-22.
Major events capping each day of GEWKC events include:
- LaunchKC Liftoff — 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 19, J. Rieger & Co. Distillery — An initiative of the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City and the Downtown Council, LaunchKC plans to showcase seven to eight grant-winning tech startups, each winning $55,000 (up from $50,000 in past years), as well as downtown office space, and extensive programming and network-building opportunities. Grant winners present their companies during the live showcase. Applications close Sept. 16. Click here to read more about the 2023 LaunchKC grant winners.
- AltCap Your Biz pitch competition — 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 20, City Stage at Union Station — Now in its ninth year, the competition returns with more than $40,000 in cash prizes for Kansas City entrepreneurs. Applications open Sept. 16 and close Sept. 30. Prizes include $25,000 for first place. Click here to read more about the 2023 AltCap Your Biz prize winners.
- UMKC Entrepreneur of the Year Awards — 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 21, Copaken Stage at H&R Block World Headquarters — The University of Missouri-Kansas City and the Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation presents the annual Entrepreneur of the Year awards, joining the official GEWKC lineup for the first time. In addition to the not-yet-announced Student Entrepreneur of the Year award, honorees include: Chris Carver, Ron Labinski, Joe Spear, Dennis Wellner and Earl Santee, representing the founders of Populous (Henry W. Bloch International Entrepreneurs of the Year); Pat McCown and Brett Gordon, founders of McCownGordon (Kansas City Entrepreneurs of the Year); and Natasha Herdman, founder and CEO of Pawsperity (Marion and John Kreamer Award for Social Entrepreneurship). The event opens with a reception and student venture showcase. Click here to read more about the 2023 Entrepreneur of the Year winners.
To attend these events and other free sessions and workshops during GEWKC, registration is required via the online Whoova platform at gewkc.com. Attendees can use the platform to build their agenda with dozens of sessions led by experts for those who want to start a business or side hustle, scale their operations or elevate their marketing.
“Global Entrepreneurship Week — Kansas City will help you learn new things to boost your business or side hustle, connect with key experts and have a little fun,” said Callie England, director of brand marketing for the UMKC Innovation Center and KCSourceLink, which has organized GEWKC since 2008.
Union Station, Kansas City; photo courtesy of KCSourceLink
Joel Barrett, KC Rainbow Tour, Joel Speaks Out
The week’s base camp festivities open at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at Union Station with “What I Wish I Knew Before Starting a Business” (by author, entrepreneur and professional speaker Joel Barrett) and a breakfast sponsored by Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce.
While the event series features a range of marquee events and social gatherings, a core function of the annual celebration of entrepreneurship is providing macro to micro learning opportunities for emerging and aspiring entrepreneurs, England noted.
“This is a great introduction to Kansas City’s huge entrepreneur community, which features 230+ nonprofit Resource Partner organizations that can help you start, scale and accelerate,” she said. “You’ll meet so many great people and experts who can help you clear that hurdle and make your next or first move forward. Even if you’re just exploring entrepreneurship, this is a great event to see what you’ll need and meet those who can help you.”
Global Entrepreneurship Week is an international celebration that, for the past 17 years, has inspired millions of people to explore their potential as entrepreneurs and connect with their local entrepreneurship communities.
Founded in Kansas City by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in 2008, the event has since expanded to more than 180 countries.
Featured Business
2024 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
KC govtech startup: You shouldn’t have to know how local government works to get answers (or make impact)
Even a ripple can make waves, said Mitch Mabrey, an exited cleantech founder whose new cause finds him on a mission to ensure that the voices of residents from all walks of life are more broadly heard — and answered — by their government officials. Resonus, his Kansas City-based political information platform is designed to…
Northland BBQ spot opens, building flavors, menu from side hustle to storefront
After a decade-long journey building his BBQ business — from tailgates to a just-opened brick-and-mortar restaurant — Wardell Hooks Jr. would only change one thing along the way: He’d have quit his full-time job sooner. “My thing is the joy,” said Hooks, founder of Off the Hook BBQ, describing the feeling of accomplishment from his…
Match this: ‘Ted Lasso’ filming in KC another win for city’s tax credit pitch, mayor says
Scoring state-side shooting locations for the newest season of “Ted Lasso” reflects a strategy by the KC Film Office that’s straight from the hit Apple TV+ series’ playbook: the harder you work, the luckier you get. “‘Ted Lasso’ filming in Kansas City represents everything we’ve been working toward,” said Rachel Kephart, director of the KC…
Kauffman Foundation launches new executive role to lead its Real World Learning team
Cross-sector collaboration will be key for Misty Chandler as she embarks on a freshly carved out journey within the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s evolving Real World Learning strategy, said Dr. Susan Klusmeier, lauding the longtime advocate for her wealth of experience with workforce readiness and student success at the University of Kansas. “Her deep understanding…