We’re heading into year two of Big Kansas City, and looking forward to sharing your stories and those of our speakers over the next few weeks. All of this wouldn’t be possible without our content partner, Pinsight Media+. They are a pioneer in mobile media with deep entrepreneurial roots. Their team brings leadership, experience and global awareness to Kansas City’s booming startup community. To learn more or talk with our friends at Pinsight, email Serge Bushman, sbushman@pinsightmedia.com.

Us Big Kansas City folks like a good party. This may seem obvious, given the five hosted parties over two and a half days, placed in between keynotes, Q&As, meals and art installations. These times allow attendees to make valuable connections, debrief the activities of the day and let loose some of the energy gained.

But this year, we won’t be the only ones hosting events. We’re letting you get in on the fun. In early July we opened our pop-up event application to the public. We invited community partners to tell us their ideas for a week-of event, and we have already seen a flood of great proposals.

The idea was inspired by the long list of Big Omaha pop-up events that came about organically in early May. Gatherings included an open house for Hudl’s new office space, a tech and developer happy hour, a women’s hackathon and a pitch night for Creighton MBA students. We saw the added value these events gave not only conference attendees, but the entrepreneurial community as a whole.

Silicon Prairie News co-founder Jeff Slobotski says the biggest challenge is what happens after Big Events and carrying that energy through to make things happen. It is our hope that these events spark more conversations, facilitate further discussion and stimulate collaboration in the community.

Applications are still open. Have an idea for an awesome event? Submit below. You may see it featured on our full event calendar.

SUBMIT YOUR POP-UP EVENT IDEA

Credits: Joshua Foo Photography