Techweek makes intro to Kansas City
August 18, 2015 | Bobby Burch
It only seems fitting that bass-thumping techno music would introduce Kansas City’s most anticipated technology conference.
National tech conference Techweek — which will be in Kansas City from Sept. 14 to Sept. 20 — made its official introduction into the Kansas City community Monday evening with a party at the Sprint Accelerator. After arriving in Kansas City only six hours earlier, Techweek CEO Katy Lynch welcomed more than 100 people at the event, which featured an array of technologists, entrepreneurs and other businesspeople.
Lynch said that her brief time in Kansas City has already been welcoming and fruitful.
“It’s been wonderful,” Lynch told Startland News. “The people here are so welcoming and so friendly; there’s a lot of enthusiasm and charisma. Hearing people’s stories has been great and everyone is so collaborative. Everyone I’ve met has introduced me to another person who does this and that, and that’s really cool. There’s something really special about the startup ecosystem here.”
The conference will begin with a kickoff party Sept. 14 at the Boulevard Brewery, and will feature other events including a pitch competition, job fair, concert and hackathon. Here’s a rough version of the schedule, provided by Techweek.
LaunchKC — an initiative to attract 10 tech firms to relocate to Kansas City — partnered with Techweek to present a demo day competition during Techweek, which is expected to attract hundreds of attendees.
In addition to revealing the conference schedule, Lynch also introduced eight additional speakers to Techweek’s roster.
Speakers include:
- Kristin Smith, CEO of Code Fellows
- John Fein, managing director of Techstars
- Boland Jones, CEO of PGi
- Chris Jeffrey, CEO of OrderUp
- Jim McKelvey, co-founder of Square
- Teffanie Stanard, CEO of MENT
- Anand Sanwal, CEO of CB Insights
- Blake Miller, a partner at Think Big Partners
- John Jantsch, founder of Duct Tape Marketing
- Claude Aldridge, CEO of Trellie
- Patrick Stuart, senior product manager at Skycatch
- Jonathan Badeen, co-founder of Tinder
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Moblico snags six-figure investment, announces hiring plans
Kansas City-based Moblico, a tech firm that creates software for mobile marketers, recently announced a $900,000 investment raise to hire additional staff. The investment came from Missouri Technology Corp. and a local angel investor — both of which are second time investors in the company. “We raised these funds to help the company grow,” Moblico…
Windhaven Farms, Chemistry take 1 Million Cups stage
The seemingly disparate industries of agriculture and marketing were on display this week at 1 Million Cups with startups Windhaven Farms and Chemistry. Windhaven Farms founder Kristen Wolf first presented her local meat distribution company, which delivers an assortment of locally-raised, organically-grown meat products, including beef, pork, chicken and rabbit. “The product is really, really…
KC among the best cities to find a job
The City of Fountains is apparently overflowing with job opportunities. Career data Glassdoor recently named Kansas City, Mo. as the No. 2 city to find employment. Kansas City currently has nearly 28,800 employment opportunities, a median base salary $46,000 and median home value of $138,500. Glassdoor determined the final rankings by looking at hiring opportunity…
Recap: Bill would gut Kansas Bioscience Authority
A bill in the Kansas legislature if passed would dissolve the Kansas Bioscience Authority, which has recently served as a venture capital organization investing in early-stage bioscience firms. The measure — SB 305 — would shut down the organization and transfer its funds and obligations to the Kansas Department of Commence. Proponents of the KBA say…