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
Winning Federal Research Grants
When: Jan. 18, 11:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Where: UMKC SBTDC
This introductory seminar explains how to win SBIR (Small Business Initiative Research) and STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer Research) grants from federal programs that provide Research and Development (R&D) funds for small businesses. You will learn how to find grants, how to apply, and the best strategies to gain funding for your growing technology business. $35.
Networking w/ Bloch School FTMBA Class
When: Jan. 18, 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Where: Torn Label Brewery
Join the current full-time MBA class at the Bloch School of Management for a networking opportunity at Torn Label Brewery. This is an opportunity for them to meet industry professionals while giving you a chance to meet some of Kansas City’s best and brightest upcoming talent! Please email Erin Christensen at christensener@umkc.edu if interested.
January TechTalk
When: Jan. 18, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Where: Google Fiber Space
Join Kansas City Women in Technology for drinks and to kick off a great year for women in tech! The Kansas City Women in Technology leadership team will present an overview of what we accomplished in 2016, our goals for 2017, and ways to get involved in the new year.
Come to learn more about:
CoderDojoKC
Coding & Cupcakes
Coding & Cocktails
Django Girls KC 2017
Upcoming TechTalks
Community outreach initiatives
Volunteer, mentor, and leadership opportunities.
Exempt vs. Non-Exempt Employees: Simplified
When: Jan. 19, 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Where: Grid Collaborative Workspace
Most workers are classified as either exempt or non-exempt depending on their salary and the type of work they do. But classifying employees can become very complicated and confusing. Learn what makes your employees exempt or non-exempt, ask questions of our industry experts and enjoy complimentary breakfast.
KC Roundtable Breakfast
When: Jan. 19, 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Where: Eggtc.
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!
Third Thursday KCedu and Lean Lab Happy Hour
When: Jan. 19, 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Where: EduHub
Join #KCedu and the Lean Lab at EduHub, a co-working space for education and youth-related startups. Network with genius educators, business partners, and other interested folks as you eat and drink, learn and collide!
When you arrive, grab a snack and check out the whiteboard where participants create the schedule on the fly! Want to share something? Want to get feedback from others on a topic? In addition to the featured guests, as an attendee, you can throw your idea up in one of the squares for small group breakout conversations. For example:
Want to talk about technology in education, apps, gamificatoin or how to make it relevant to kids?
Want to talk family-community engagement in schools and in KC?
Want to plan a city-wide project to bring KC together, led by kids?
Looking for some interested parties to co-write a grant? EdHub has several offices for us to spread out and share/discuss.
After introductions of any featured guests at 6pm, we go into an Edcamp/Unconference format in two fast-paced, 20 minute breakout sessions. Stay in one group or sample more than one discussion. We come back together as a group at 7:00 for final announcements and then continue conversations at EduHub or at a nearby establishment.
This format is about active small group networking and relationship building, not passive listening. CHOICE and VOICE! You’ll be happy you plugged into KC’s vibrant educator network.
Pitching to Investors
When: Jan. 19, 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Where: UMKC SBTDC
Learn about what investors need to know and want to see before making an investment in a start-up. Presented by Michele Weigand, Managing Partner of Focused Perspective with over 27 years of Finance and Business Development experience. Michele was the former Chief Investment Officer for KTEC and managed investments for GE Mortgage and GE Reinsurance. $35.
KC Amazon Web Services Meetup
When: Jan. 19, 6:00 p.m.
Where: Cerner Continuous Campus (Performance Conference Room)
This group is for all current (and potential) users of Amazon Web Services. We’ll talk about general cloud topics as they pertain to AWS such as security, scalability, architecture, etc.
We will be serving Pizza.
1/19 Agenda:
6:00-6:20 — Meet and Greet / Grab some pizza
6:20-6:30 — Introduction / Call to Order
6:30-7:15 — Speaker / Q&A
7:15 – Whenever — Open Forum
For the open forum I would like to spend at least a little time discussing what we would like to see at future meetups.
Code for KC Project Celebration
When: Jan. 23, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Where: Sprint Accelerator
Come join KC Digital Drive in the celebration of 2016 Code for KC projects. Pizza & beverages provided.
Ongoing events
Don’t miss out on the events that happen every week at the same time, in the same place.
Code for KC Hack Night
Mondays from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 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
Innovation Exchange
When: Jan. 24, 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Where: Think Big Coworking
*** This month, Startland editor Bobby Burch will be talking with Lesa Mitchell, managing director of Techstars Kansas City. More guests to be announced soon. ***
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. On Jan. 24, Startland News editor Bobby Burch will explore breaking news in Kansas City entrepreneurship via a fireside chat with the newsmakers that catalyzed the headlines.
TechHire KC – Tech Sector Meetup
When: Jan. 25, 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Where: Think Big Partners
Find out how the TechHire initiative can impact your organization, how you can participate with subsidized placements, and discover how you can influence programming, training and curriculum to better meet your workforce needs. During these meetups, we will explore those topics and dive deeper into the region’s 5-year outlook, sector best practices, labor trends, and curriculum/instructional design in I.T. in Kansas City. Think Big Partners serves as the Tech Sector Intermediary on behalf of FEC and the TechHire initiative in Kansas City.
Tech on Tap Series
When: Jan. 25, 4:00 p.m. — 6:00 p.m.
Where: Lifted Spirits Distillery
Welcome to our Tech on Tap Series sponsored by Greg Elliot.
Join the KC Tech Council and other members of Kansas City’s tech scene for an opportunity to have a drink on us, network and learn about our role in the city’s tech scene.
Entrepreneur’s Journey for Business Success
When: Jan. 25, 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sprint Accelerator
On January 25, 2017, we are giving you a chance to hear successful entrepreneurs from across the city to learn about their business journey. Entrepreneur’s Journey will give you insight on what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. Prepare for a night of learning about growth, failure, strategy/traction, leadership, and more. There will be an abundance of food, music, and libations. Sponsored by Project UK and the National Black MBA Association.
6:00PM-7:00PM-Audience interaction to discuss their own business journey
7:00PM-8:15PM-Speakers
8:15-8:30 Closing
FX January Luncheon Doing What You Love and Loving What You Do
When: Jan. 27, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Where: Ruins Pub
A Conversation with the KC Royals Top Communicator. Mike Swanson’s been around baseball for much of his life. As a kid, his mom took him to her jobs working for the Royals and Chiefs. That early exposure to sports cultivated a passion for baseball, and his career path reflects that.
The course of Swanson’s 38-year career in sports communications has brought him full circle – back home to KC. For the last 11 years, he’s been the lead communicator for the Royals. As VP of Communications & Broadcasting, he’s guided the communications and media relations team through the ball club’s highs and lows.
It’s certainly a great time to be a Royals fan. But, from a communications standpoint, what does it take to run such a high-profile communications operation with so many stakeholders? How does one keep fans interested, engaged and excited in the offseason? Swanson will be answering these questions and more at our next FX luncheon.
Be sure to mark your calendar and join us on Friday, January 27th, when Mike Swanson will be our featured guest. We guarantee you will not want to miss this program!
Build A Website Workshop
When: Jan. 28 – Jan. 29, all day
Where: SpiderOak Offices, Suite 324
Build a fully hosted, completely functional website for your business, nonprofit, or social group! We’ll walk you through step by step how to register, host, build, customize, publish, and get the most out of your very own website. We utilize industry standard content management software, and world-class hosting, to get you up and running quickly. On-site experts will build a website live with you as you follow along step by step building your own! Use the same technology that powers over 60 million websites to build a complete, functional website that looks how you want and does what you need. With thousands of plug-ins and customizable themes available, we will help you get everything you can out of your new website. On site experts will guide you through the process, answering questions and helping you design the right website for your purposes. Our graphic designer will also help with custom graphics like photo editing, stock photo usage, and logo creation. Free, over $1,500 value.