GEWKC organizers announce return to Midtown; 2023 base camp set for Westport at Park 39

The metro’s largest educational entrepreneurship event is expected to return to a familiar, but proven setting this fall. Organizers of Global Entrepreneurship Week – Kansas City announced today that main sessions for the 2023 event series will return to Plexpod.

GEWKC rotates its location for each year’s massive block of programming with Plexpod Westport at Park 39 — formerly branded as Plexpod Westport Commons — previously serving as host in 2017 and 2018.

Click here to check out coverage of GEWKC’s 2022 kickoff panel with Toby Rush, Redeem; John Thomson, PayIt; and India Wells-Carter, Fresh Factory KC.

Dan Smith, The Porter House, and Michael Carmona, KCSourceLink, at a kickoff event for GEWKC in 2022; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

“From North Kansas City, Missouri, to 18th and Vine, we locate our GEWKC base camps in vibrant communities with strong entrepreneurial energy,” said Michael Carmona, senior director of KCSourceLink, which serves as the lead organizer of GEWKC. “We’re happy to return to Midtown Kansas City, Missouri, with a single, centralized location, making GEWKC more accessible for everyone.”

“We’re excited to spur new ideas and new connections and spark the next innovations for the event’s 16th year,” he continued, noting programming for the week of sessions is crowdsourced from entrepreneurs, service providers, policymakers and champions of entrepreneurship.

Plexpod Westport at Park 39 — part of Plexpod’s progressive coworking platform offering next-generation workspace and bookable spaces for companies of all sizes — will be the site of GEWKC’s main sessions, according to organizers.

“The entire Plexpod team is very excited to, once again, host GEWKC,” said Gerald Smith, founder and CEO of Plexpod. “We seek to elevate and help entrepreneurs every day and are proud to invite the regional entrepreneurial community into our space to educate the doers, dreamers and makers that fuel our communities.”

Andy Talbert, Snow Pops, speaks during a 2018 GEWKC panel hosted by Austin Barnes, Startland News, on stage Plexpod Westport at Park 39; fellow panelists included Carlanda McKinney, Raaxo; Sean Null, Erkios Systems; photo courtesy of KCSourceLink

Past base camps have been held in the 18th and Vine District in Kansas City, Missouri, and at multiple locations in downtown North Kansas City, Missouri — two other thriving entrepreneurial hubs that have been historic hotbeds of arts, community and culture, KCSourceLink said.

Global Entrepreneurship Week itself is an international celebration of the dreamers, innovators and job creators who launch startups, bring ideas to life and advance entrepreneurship. Founded in Kansas City by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in 2008, the event has since expanded to more than 170 countries.

GEWKC sessions are expected to fit into three tracks, created by the planning committee in response to past attendee requests:

•     Startups
•     Scalers
•     Marketing

For those who want to host a session, GEWKC will start to accept session submissions in late July 2023 at gewkc.com. Sessions can include individual speakers, presenters, headliners, panels, workshops, competitions and more. Attendees can build their agendas and register in October. GEWKC is 100% free and open to anyone.

Click here to register for a “How to Apply and Host a GEWKC Session” info session Aug. 4 or here for Aug. 10.