Last year, Think
Big Partners and The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce held the very
first iKC conference--a day-long even dedicated to Kansas City innovation and
entrepreneurship. We are extremely
excited to announce a second iKC conference in the works. Introducing--iKC: The
Unconference!
iKC: The Unconference is a
day-long unconference that will be hosted at H&R Block World Headquarters
on October 3, 2013. The main
mission of the unconference is to enable a higher level of “collision density”,
the level of collisions made between entrepreneurs, investors and connectors in
a single area. At this time,
collision density is 20 times less likely to occur in Kansas City than it is in
San Francisco because entrepreneurs, investors and connectors are too spread
out geographically. iKC: The
Unconference will solve this issue by uniting a large number of individuals
under one roof to turn innovative ideas into actionable items.
“We’ve seen great
success come out of unconferences in cities such as Austin and Boston,” said
Sarah Snyder, meeting planner and event organizer at Think Big Partners. “After seeing firsthand the power of
organic community-driven discussions and relevant collaboration, we are eager
to bring this refreshing format to Kansas City to help improve the collision
density of our community.”
To carry out its
mission, iKC will take the form of an unconference. An unconference is an open-format conference in order to
facilitate activity, conversations and collisions between individuals. iKC: The Unconference asks individuals
to submit topic ideas before the conference. A few days prior to the day of the conference, an agenda will
be distributed based off of the submitted topic ideas. Unconference sessions can take on many
different formats including short presentations, group discussions, show and
tell, “unpanels” and more. After the sessions are complete, iKC:
The Unconference will host Open Mic Awards in which attendees can publicly
award prizes to standout community leaders as well as a networking
after-party.
In addition to
the unconference format, iKC will also be hosting a 1-on-1 program for new
entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are
encouraged to apply for the 1-on-1 program in order to meet with local, high-level
mentors throughout the day of the conference. To apply for the 1-on-1 program, visit www.ikctheunconference.com.
“In 2011, the KC Chamber launched the Big 5 goal of making
Kansas City ‘America’s Most Entrepreneurial City,’ and, since then, there’s
been no looking back,” said Jim Heeter, president and chief executive officer
of the KC Chamber. “Each of our Big 5 goals for Big KC leverages assets already
in place and each has great potential for adding to our regional economy.
iKC supports our vision of gaining global recognition for Kansas City as a
premier location for launching and expanding innovative, high-growth companies,
and does so in an unconventional way.”
iKC: The
Unconference is currently looking for leaders in the Kansas City community to
get involved through sponsorship opportunities. To learn more about these opportunities, please visit www.ikctheunconference.com.
iKC: The
Unconference will take place on October
3, 2013 at H&R Block World
Headquarters in downtown Kansas City.
Tickets for the unconference will go on sale August 1, 2013. To purchase your tickets and learn more
about iKC: The Unconference, please visit www.ikctheunconference.com.
We hope to see
you at our first ever unconference in October! Stay tuned...more details will
be leaked along the way
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