Announcing the iKC Ambassadors

For the second year in a row, we have teamed up with the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce to bring KC an (un)conference unlike any other.  iKC: The Unconference is an open format conference to facilitate collisions between innovators, entrepreneurs, investors and connectors.

Unlike any other event in Kansas City, iKC is all about taking great ideas and turning them into action.  And that’s also where the iKC Ambassadors come into play.  The iKC Ambassadors will not only be in attendance at iKC on October 3, but they will play an integral part in bringing iKC awareness to the community and fostering more collisions and connections both prior to and during the unconference.  

A big thanks to our iKC Ambassadors:

• Sam Bao, Curator at StartupDigest
• Adam Coomes, Kansas City Entrepreneur
• Katie Peterson, Director at iStart, Manager in Networks and Innovation at the Kauffman Foundation
• Perry Pucetti, President and CEO of Triple-I
• Carrie Royce, Founder of Shabby Hats and Prodigy Arcade
• Ryan Weber, President of KCNext–The Technology Council of Greater Kansas City 

In addition to our Ambassadors, iKC: The Unconference will also feature a 1-on-1 UnMentor program.  Current UnMentors include Keith Bae, Pat Doherty, Dr. Julie Edge and Ryan O’Connell.  Stay tuned as we announce more UnMentors in the coming weeks.  Attendees can sign up to be mentees of the UnMentor program by filling out the online application.  In order to apply for the 1-on-1 program with one of our UnMentors, you must purchase an iKC ticket. 

iKC: The Unconference takes place on October 3, 2013 at H&R Block World Headquarters in downtown Kansas City.  A big thanks to our iKC Location Sponsor, H&R Block and the iKC Agenda Creation Sponsor, Husch Blackwell.  A special thanks to our newest sponsors including Centrix Innovations, Kansas City Business Magazine, Adopt-a-Highway, Inboun, CBIZ and Microsoft BizSpark.  To see a full list of sponsors, click here.

Get tickets to iKC: The Unconference!

The 3 Best Ways to Prepare for an Unconference

We’ve all been there: stuck in a room for hours listening to speaker after speaker. We say we are there for work, professional development or networking, but we’re actually just horribly bored and unengaged. You guessed it; we’re at a typical run-of-the-mill conference. 

Sure, the concept of a conference is a great one.  But too often, traditional conferences are poorly executed. That is where the unconference concept comes into play. What is an unconference, exactly?  It’s a lot like a conference, but less structured and more participatory. The attendees have just as much to do with what the agenda looks like as the organizers. While one says he or she is at a conference to network, the unconference is where it actually happens.

An unconference is still a fairly new concept, but it may just be the future of professional development events. With that in mind, and with iKC: The Unconference right around the corner, here are the 3 best ways for you to prepare for your next unconference: 

1.    Keep an open mind

The unconference model doesn’t work if you walk in with preconceived notions of what should or shouldn’t happen. A true unconference is not a super structured event and therefore, those who attend shouldn’t be either.  In other words, keep an open mind throughout the entire unconference--no matter what sessions you attend, speaker you engage with or networking experience you have. 

An unconference should also be a safe space where people should feel comfortable to freely share their ideas and receive feedback from others. This way, ideas keep flowing and innovation and connections are allowed to happen (after all, that’s the point!). 

2.    Be prepared with ideas to share and questions to ask

Now that you’re ready to meet and speak with anyone and everyone at an unconference, you’ve got to have something to say! Don’t be afraid to share your ideas or provide feedback...no idea is a bad idea at an unconference.

For example, if another attendee presents a new product or idea to you, let them know your honest opinion. If someone brings up a topic that you don’t understand, ask him or her to clarify. An unconference is not an event where you let the speaker’s words flow in one ear and out the other. This is your chance to discover new ideas, get feedback and take action on those ideas.

3.    Practice your listening skills

We love industry disruptors and innovators, but please don’t be an interrupter! An unconference is a great place for real collisions to happen and relationships to form. Listen carefully to what the speaker or fellow attendee is saying so you can provide thoughtful comments or feedback. An unconference is anything but fluff or saying something just to say something. An unconference is the ideal place of meaningful action – and listening to others lets that occur.   

Anyone who’s a quick thinker with an open mind, who also knows when to shut up and when to speak up, is the best kind of unconference attendee. Now that you know what it takes, why not get in on the unconference action?

Don’t be shy; get your tickets for iKC 2013 today!

Think Big Partners and The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Announce iKC: The Unconference on October 3, 2013

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