GEWKC returning to familiar venue (but its new destinations might surprise ticket holders)
October 7, 2025 | Tommy Felts
When Global Entrepreneurship Week pulls into the station later this fall, Kansas City participants can expect a fresh experience inside one of the region’s most iconic landmarks, said Callie England, noting an intentional effort behind the scenes should help reroute the “best of the best” events onto custom agendas.
“While you’ll see a few familiar faces, there’s a strong mix of new voices too,” said England, director of Global Entrepreneurship Week-Kansas City for KCSourceLink, which has organized the event since 2008.
Leaders from Brown Suga race to the stage after winning the 2024 AltCap Your Biz competition during GEWKC; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
In addition to community sessions across the metro that run throughout the week, the in-person, three-day GEWKC conference at Union Station Kansas City is set for Nov. 18-20 and features a curated selection of back-to-back content every hour with expanded networking opportunities, a growing maker fair, and even a pitch competition.
ICYMI: AltCap Your Biz launches fan favorite vote as GEWKC pitch event nears
“This year marks the first time we implemented blind judging for session selection,” England explained of the planning effort that resulted in the November schedule. “Every submission was scored against a set of criteria, eliminating bias in what gets chosen.”
Organizers are proud to have used the new process to ensure GEWKC is curating sessions entrepreneurs actually want, she added, noting changes were based on feedback heard throughout the year from small business owners.
“Out of more than 200 submissions, only 60 were selected,” England said, emphasizing sessions are led by experts for those who want to start a business or side hustle, scale their operations or elevate their marketing. “So while the schedule can feel full, it’s truly the best of the best. We also addressed past feedback that some sessions felt like sales pitches; this new approach really prioritizes practical, high-value content.”
Registration is now open, and attendees can click here to begin building their schedules.
GEWKC also includes more curated networking time than ever before, England said, with each day now including dedicated breakfast, lunch, and happy hour blocks designed for real connection — “not just ‘eat and listen,’ but ‘eat and make a new connection.’”
“It’s a huge shift toward what we think makes entrepreneurship thrive: community,” she said. “And yes, we’re feeding more people than ever!”
The Maker Fair at GEWKC has also expanded, with 25 small businesses set to be showcased each day at the Union Station base camp.
Nicholas Segura, founder of Segura Marketing, moderates a GEWKC panel conversation about the business impact of the coming World Cup in 2026, alongside Kim Randolph Davis, CEO of the Heartland Black Chamber of Commerce, David Pruente, senior vice president of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Cici Rojas, CEO of Tico Productions, and Francisco Murguia, owner of Cafe Ollama; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
England stressed the event’s mission to serve as an entry point into Kansas City’s entrepreneur community for anyone hoping to move forward with an idea or in their existing venture. Six to 10 entrepreneur support organizations are expected to be on site for GEWKC, and KCSourceLink will have its six navigators creating action plans for entrepreneurs throughout the day.
“I’d be remiss not to mention our Hispanic Track on Thursday,” England said of the expanded specialty programming day that first debuted in 2024 with sessions offered in Spanish for members of Kansas City’s Latino business community. “We’ve brought even more partners to the table this year and expanded that programming significantly — something our community really asked for and needed.”
Global Entrepreneurship Week is an international celebration that, for the past 18 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
2025 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Break Free KC drops beat on cultural stereotypes, aims to rebrand hip hop
Hip hop culture in Kansas City is misunderstood, James “Sug Easy” Singleton said, explaining his mission to help local artists break free of stereotypes and live their passion with authenticity. “When I have a 88-year-old lady at my camp seeing her grandson — who came in with a negative notion of what hip hop was going…
Tenacious Scollar CEO to international investors: Look me in the eyes and try to tell me ‘no’
With a year of hustle well under way, you can’t break Scollar’s stride, Lisa Tamayo said as she prepares to take the stage in front of a 25,000-plus person crowd May 20 at the Collision tech conference in Toronto. “[I believe] 15,000 people applied to present a pitch and they whittle that down to 60…
Zego exit, investment wins reflect critical need for startups to look outside KC, co-founder says
Homegrown is great, Adam Blake said, but at some point scaling companies must explore the world of resources and dollars available outside the metro. “Kansas City has a lot to offer — plenty of talent, great place to live and quality of life, helpful mentors, etc. — but I would say it’s a requirement for startups…
The Distrikc founders: We’re not waiting on outsiders to save our brothers and sisters
It’s time for members of Kansas City’s largely unseen and forgotten communities of color to take control, said Wesley Hamilton, one of the organizers behind The Distrikc. “We speak so much about KC, but people forget whole groups of people — I’m talking Troost to Main, East Kansas City, South Kansas City,” he said. “We want…