GEWKC submissions open: Organizers seek community-sourced ideas for fall event series

June 12, 2025  |  Startland News Staff

Small business community organizers and entrepreneurs Rickey Leathers, Savvy Salon, and Victoria Campbell Osborne, The Scented Webb, share a laugh during Global Entrepreneurship Week Kansas City in 2024; photo courtesy of KCSourceLink

One of Kansas City’s largest interactive educational experiences for entrepreneurs is inviting community members to drive the conversation when Global Entrepreneurship Week returns in November.

Festivities are set for Nov. 17-22 at Union Station in Kansas City.

The GEWKC event series’ programming is crowd-sourced through submissions from community members and organized by KCSourceLink. Selected concepts are led on event day by the individuals or organizations who submitted them.

Click here to share an idea with GEWKC organizers.

“As a former entrepreneur, I understand how valuable time is when you’re building something from the ground up,” said Callie England, director of GEWKC and marketing director at KCSourceLink, which has organized GEWKC since 2008. “That’s why every session we include in GEWKC is intentionally crafted to offer real, actionable value. In my third year leading this event, it’s been incredibly rewarding to give back by helping curate free, impactful education for our community.”

Organizers are welcoming a wide range of session ideas, from solo talks and expert panels to hands-on workshops, networking events, site visits and more. While creativity is encouraged, space is limited. Sessions that focus on real skill-building, knowledge-sharing and tangible takeaways for entrepreneurs have the strongest chance of being selected.

GEWKC also has traditionally been home to such high-profile startup and small business community events as AltCap Your Biz and LaunchKC’s grant winner reveal.

Global Entrepreneurship Week-Kansas City attendees listen to a panel conversation in the Planetarium at Union Station, basecamp for GEWKC; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

Other well-attended GEWKC sessions and workshops have included:

  • Happy hours and networking
  • “Marketing Mastermind” panel
  • “AI and Marketing: Create 30 Days of Content with Chat GPT”
  • “Managing ADHD as a Business Owner”
  • “Polish Your Pitch: An Interactive Guide on Clarifying Your Story Hook”
  • Marketing and sales for artists/makers/creatives
  • “Balancing Babies and Business”
  • “What entrepreneurs should know about trademarks, copyrights, intellectual property, equity funding, hiring vs. contracting”

“GEWKC was built with the entrepreneur in mind — whether you’re running a business, growing a side hustle or just getting started,” England said. “We want every attendee to walk away with something that truly helps them move forward: practical tools, honest insight and meaningful connections.”

Click here to learn more about GEWKC.

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