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
Troostapalooza aims to shed the old skin of city’s racial dividing line, says Kemet Coleman
Troostapalooza will build community while constructively addressing the elephant in the room, said Kemet Coleman, organizer of the newly developed street festival. “We wanted to create a home away from home on Troost that is inclusive and sensitive to the historic and existing nuances,” he said. “Not the violent, divisive one that is portrayed by…
Defiant anti-gentrification voice: Clock is ticking on east side neighborhoods, Movement KC
Daniel Edwards isn’t shy about his frustrations with the perception of Kansas City’s east side. “I remember my first corporate lunch after graduating college: the joke was, ‘Nobody wants to go near 35th and Prospect at night time,’” said Edwards, a Kansas City area developer and the founder of Movement KC. “I was like, ‘Yo, it’s…
Fried gator to chicken alfredo: Flavors driving KC Cajun to entrepreneur’s next phase
Kansas City businesses should utilize every resource at their disposal to build stronger brands, said Israel England, owner and operator of KC Cajun. “I’m branching out,” England said with confidence as he detailed his coming venture — adapting his KC Cajun catering service into a food truck. “There is so much more room to improve,…
LaunchKC finalists revealed: Kansas City newsmakers and startup stars in the making
A dozen Kansas City tech entrepreneurs are set to compete next month against a mix of firms from across the country — and one startup from Israel — in arguably the city’s most elite and hotly anticipated pitch event of the year. LaunchKC announced its 20 finalists Tuesday — each vying for their piece of…