KANSAS CITY, MO. — Kansas City’s first ever Techweek kicked off Monday. The event is drawing thousands of industry leaders, startup companies and investors to the area.
The event had it’s official launch party at Boulevard Brewing Monday night. Tuesday they will tour offices of Kansas City’s biggest tech organizations. An expo and conference kicks off at Union Station Thursday, featuring dozens of speakers including Tinder Co-Founder Jonathan Badeen and Square Co-Founder Jim Mckelvey.
Techweek got its start in 2010 and has traditionally only been in major markets like New York, Chicago and L.A. However, attention to additions like Google Fiber and a growing tech boom have helped put Kansas City on the high-tech map.
“Techweek is huge for Kansas City and entrepreneurship,” Kansas City Assistant City Manager Rick Usher said. “We’ve been doing a lot over the past few years to help the startups and support the community growth, so this is really just an event to bring everyone together and let the nation see what’s happening in Kansas City.”
Last year’s Techweek events drew in 28,000 people in five cities. Festival organizers expecting that number to grow with the addition of Kansas City.
One of the highlights for local startups and entrepreneurs is the competition for ten $50,000 grants. The final selection of recipients will take place September 19th.
“The best stories we like to witness at techweek are the aspiring entrepreneurs coming to the festival and potentially meeting their co-founder or hearing a speech by a nationally recognized speaker that helps take their business to the next level,” said Katy Lynch, Techweek C.E.O.
Even if you aren’t registered as an attendee for Techweek, you can still go the expo and hiring fair at Union Station starting Thursday, both of which are free.
