Wichita Startup Week rallying nonprofits (and Bill Nye ‘The Science Guy’) to celebrate entrepreneurs
August 13, 2024 | Startland News Staff
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro.
WICHITA — Entrepreneurship and innovation advocates on Tuesday announced plans for an unprecedented, power-packed week of high-profile events and programs — all fueled by a new coalition of nonprofits that support Kansas business owners.
Wichita Startup Week is set to return Sept. 30 to Oct. 4, notably earlier in the fall than in past years when programming overlapped with Global Entrepreneurship Week. Among the planned highlights: an appearance by science, education and media personality Bill Nye “The Science Guy.”
Richard D. Muma, president of Wichita State University, speaks during the 2023 Ad Astra Summit in Wichita; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
FlagshipKansas.Tech, NXTUS, the Wichita Independent Business Association, Wichita Startup Week, and Create Campaign are set to combine previously separate fall programs and events during this week, to benefit startups, technology professionals and educators, and entrepreneurs from Wichita and around Kansas.
Click here to learn more about Wichita Startup Week.
“We’ll welcome state-wide attendees to engage on tech industry and workforce issues and soak up energy and wisdom from Bill Nye and dozens of presenters and panelists,” said Conner Hampton, executive director FlagshipKansas.tech, which in 2023 brought Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to its standalone Ad Astra Summit.
ICYMI: Apple co-founder tells Kansas crowd: The real threat from AI is misinformation
Attendees of the Wichita Independent Business Association's August luncheon hear a preview of details from the 2024 Wichita Startup Week; photo courtesy of Third House Co.
Third House Co., announce details of the fall event series during a preview presentation at the Wichita Independent Business Association's August luncheon; photo courtesy of Third House Co.
The collaborative Wichita Startup Week event series is designed to energize the state’s economic landscape — connecting entrepreneurs and innovators to resources, experts, and insights on the latest industry trends, according to organizers.
“This unified effort is all about benefiting our entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem,” said Mary Beth Jarvis, president and CEO of NXTUS. “By joining forces, we can offer a lineup of events that elevates Kansas as a prominent hub for innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship and draws participants in, knowing their week will be jammed with valuable programs.”
This joint week is designed to amplify the impact of the support organizations and allow attendees to benefit from diverse educational and networking programs during a blitz of coordinated events:
- FlagshipKansas.tech’s Ad Astra Tech Summit is set to feature high-profile industry speakers, including Nye, and sessions focused on state-wide technology professionals, startups, and tech educators and advocates, with workforce-focused programming enhanced by the Greater Wichita Partnership and the Workforce Alliance.
- NXTUS plans to culminate two unique NXTSTAGE programs — the Enterprise Engagement Series and Financial Technology Pilot Competition — with events that celebrate entrepreneurs and innovators from around Kansas and the nation.
- WIBA is hosting educational and networking events for entrepreneurs and the business community.
- Wichita Startup Week will offer interactive panel discussions, workshops and showcase events for startups and interested community members, in partnership with community organizations like Create Campaign, Groover Labs, Kansas Small Business Development Center, Wichita State University Center for Entrepreneurship, and more.
“Wichita Startup Week aims to celebrate and uplift our entrepreneurial community and spirit,” said Shae Blevins, a lead volunteer for the week. “Working together with FlagshipKansas.Tech, NXTUS, and WIBA extends this celebration throughout the entire state, creating a high-energy week that everyone will want to experience firsthand.”
This story is made possible by Entrepreneurial Growth Ventures.
Entrepreneurial Growth Ventures (EGV) is a business unit of NetWork Kansas supporting innovative, high-growth entrepreneurs in the State of Kansas. NetWork Kansas promotes an entrepreneurial environment by connecting entrepreneurs and small business owners with the expertise, education and economic resources they need to succeed.
Featured Business
2024 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Now renting nostalgia: Hands-on classic car startup drives ‘look but don’t touch’ into the past
Ryan Wager isn’t just renting out classic cars with his new startup, he shared, he’s loaning out memories. North Kansas City-based RND — launched earlier this year — allows community members and visitors to take classic, RND-restored cars — like his own 1958 Chevy Corvette — for a spin with daily rentals. Want to take…
KC record label disrupts music industry with incubator studio concept that gives artists more freedom, ownership
Casio McCombs’ most creative ideas come to him during “dream hours” — late at night and early in the morning when a majority of people are asleep, he shared. “That’s when all these new ideas for music and how to structure the label would really hit us,” said McCombs, who co-founded the Kansas City-based record…
Their joyful art began with pom poms, but Bubble Gum Kurt’s upcycled expression won’t be boxed in
Infusing their work with plenty of color and a DIY approach, Kansas City artist Kurt Ryan weaves their identity into each craft, article of clothing, and piece of jewelry they sell. Ryan’s creates their work as Bubble Gum Kurt, and through their business venture FunStarShine, both of which evoke the colorful wares Ryan creates. “I…
Startup’s swift action against siloed systems: Finding that ‘single version of truth’ hidden in the data
This story is possible thanks to Entrepreneurial Growth Ventures (EGV), a business unit of NetWork Kansas supporting innovative, high-growth entrepreneurs in the State of Kansas. Celerity Enterprises is aiming no lower than industry modernization with its plug-and-play SaaS financial platform — designed to bring clarity to a world of industrial wholesale distribution that often is rooted…