Events Preview: Chat with Victor Hwang, Municipal Innovation
December 13, 2016 | Meghan LeVota
There are a plethora of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter, or curious community member — we recommend these upcoming events for you.
Weekly Events Preview
Innovation Exchange
When: Dec. 14, 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Where: Think Big Coworking
Rarely are all the facts of breaking news included in the stories we read. From the coincidences that led to a business deal to the personal challenges along the way, there’s often a fascinating patchwork of details that remain in reporters’ notebooks. Think of Innovation Exchange as a chance to open a news organization’s notepad for a view into its sources’ rich backstories. Startland News editor Bobby Burch will explore breaking news in Kansas City entrepreneurship via a fireside chat with the newsmakers that catalyzed the headlines. This month, Bobby will be talking with Kauffman’s vice president of entrepreneurship Victor Hwang, KCK’s Chief Knowledge Officer Alan Howze and KCMO’s innovation analyst Kate Garman.
Innovation Partnership Program Demo Day
When: Dec. 13, 5:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m.
Where: Sprint Accelerator
You’re invited to join Mayor James & City Manager Troy Schulte for Kansas City’s inaugural Innovation Partnership Program Demo Day. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to hear lightning presentations by the seven partners selected in 2016 to pilot a service within City Hall!
Poe Man’s Challenge
When: Dec. 13, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Where: Think Big Coworking
Poe Man’s Challenge is an event that bridges at-risk youth and tech entrepreneurs in a competition to see which team can present their company the best in a “Shark Tank”-like setting. A number of Dontari’s teammates will be there, along with a Harlem Globetrotter and various tech luminaries.
Digital Health Innovation Forum
When: Dec. 14, 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Where: Sprint Accelerator
Over the past year, the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute (KCALSI) and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City have convened broad workgroups on opportunities in health IT, population health, and how we transition from a fee-for-service to outcomes-based health reimbursement models. While these two efforts began with specific and discrete objectives, there has been some significant overlap in the ensuing discussion and big ideas about the opportunities for better community health in Kansas City.
Among our speakers will be:
Keith Gary, Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute
John Spertus, Health Outcomes Sciences, Co-Chair of KCALSI Health IT Outcomes Workgroup
Karen Johnson, Blue Cross Blue Shield BlueKC Blue Ribbon Panel
Questions?
Contact: John Fitzpatrick, Health Consultant, KC Digital Drive: jfitzpatrick@kcdigitaldrive.org
TechrIoT KC: An Internet of Things community
When: Dec. 14, 7:00 p.m.
Where: IBM
TechrIoT is a Kansas City-based community of Internet of Things (IoT) entrepreneurs, executives, manufacturers, investors, engineers, suppliers and academics. Together, we’re collaborating to enhance speed to market for innovative new IoT products and services and convening Kansas City’s ecosystem of resources for ground-breaking companies.
Ongoing events
Don’t miss out on the events that happen every week at the same time, in the same place.
Code for America Hack Night
Mondays from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at Sprint Accelerator
Coworking Wednesdays
Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at Sprint Accelerator
Hammerspace Open House
Thursdays from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at Hammerspace
1 Million Cups
Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. at Kauffman Foundation, Lawrence and KC Live Stream
Looking ahead
KC Roundtable Breakfast
When: Dec. 22, 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Where: Eggct
KC Roundtable is in existence to provide 20 and 30-something Kansas City entrepreneurs with a group of peers to support and collaborate on each others’ businesses. Our mission is to: – Focus on relationship building; not lead generating – Facilitate collaboration, openness, transparency, learning and teaching – Establish an entrepreneurial network – Fill the void of not having the water cooler.
We meet for breakfast and various locations around the city. In addition to our morning meetings, KC Roundtable provides additional opportunities to network with young entrepreneurs such as events like small group Mastermind sessions & After Hour events.
Prospective members are self-motivated, curious, open to learning and currently starting a new business. Thanks for checking us out. We look forward to meeting you soon!

2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
KC favorites eye World Cup: How to become ‘the spot’ for visitors without losing KC flavor
Even a visitor can become a repeat customer, said Dulcinea Herrera, stressing the importance of Kansas City businesses making their establishments a destination — not just a one-time stopover or accidental find — for international fans and other out-of-town guests when the FIFA World Cup arrives next summer. The goal: Win them over with intentional…
Meet LaunchKC’s winners: $60K prize today; world headquarters in KC tomorrow
Every iconic company headquartered in Kansas City — from Helzberg Diamonds to Hallmark — started with an entrepreneur hoping to scale a small idea into big impact, said Jim Erickson, teasing a next wave of emerging startups and the latest winners of the LaunchKC grants competition. Eight early-stage companies were announced Monday as recipients of…
Tesseract pairs one-button robotic badge with real-time, multi-industry workforce tracking
A new site management platform — complete with wearable robots designed to automatically document work as it happens — is expected to help construction, infrastructure, and military teams gain real-time clarity across their projects and workforce, said John Boucard. “Instead of relying on spreadsheets, manual reporting, or guesswork, leaders now have continuous visual and sensor…
LISTEN: KoraLabs connects AI to the field, helping agtech grow a more sustainable future
On this episode of our 12-part Plug and Play Topeka podcast series, we speak with Luca Corinzia of KoraLabs — an agtech pioneer based in Switzerland that’s bridging the gap between scattered farm data and actionable insights. KoraLabs’ AI-driven “digital twin” platform integrates field data, satellite imagery, soil and weather models to help agronomists and…
