KC’s Global Entrepreneurship Week invites area innovators to submit events for this year’s lineup

Global Entrepreneurship Week will return to Kansas City this fall with a 5-day lineup of inspiring events and speakers aimed toward helping area entrepreneurs connect to the city’s ecosystem. GEW is an international celebration of the innovators and job creators who launch startups and bring ideas to life. Founded in Kansas City by the Kauffman…

Attendees at Kansas City’s 2017 GEW

Global Entrepreneurship Week will return to Kansas City this fall with a 5-day lineup of inspiring events and speakers aimed toward helping area entrepreneurs connect to the city’s ecosystem.

GEW is an international celebration of the innovators and job creators who launch startups and bring ideas to life. Founded in Kansas City by the Kauffman Foundation in 2008, the event has since expanded to more than 160 countries.

“Entrepreneurship is booming in Kansas City, and it’s been amazing watching the ripple of Global Entrepreneurship Week across our city and across the world,” says Jenny Miller, network builder at KCSourceLink and chair of the GEWKC organizing committee.

Kansas City’s business community, as well as community members from around the region, are invited to submit events for this year’s GEW lineup. Submissions for event ideas are open now through Aug. 31 at gewkc.org.

“GEW in KC is a community event. With that in mind, we open-source all of the events that will happen throughout the course of the week,” said Miller. “We are looking for businesses, support organizations, really anybody that has expertise in an area to come forward and share their experiences and knowledge with the business community in Kansas City.”

This year’s events are divided into four tracks to help represent the diversity of Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem:

  • makers and creators
  • startups
  • social entrepreneurs
  • scalers

All ideas are welcome: from individual speakers and presenters to headliners, panels and workshops. Topics that focus on providing additional knowledge and skill-sharing with the community have the best chance of being selected.

Miller said that one of the big goals for Global Entrepreneurship is to reach those markets that are not currently connected to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Kansas City.

“Global Entrepreneurship Week is there for them to have an easy point of entry into the ecosystem, with the goal that they’re going to meet resources that are there to help them, said Miller. “They’re going to meet other business owners and they’re going to make the connections during this week that are going to give them the confidence and resources they need to move toward.”

A few of last year’s most popular events included: what fashion entrepreneurs should know, the trade secrets that helped founders be successful, how to foster innovation in established companies, the secrets of running a food-truck business, and how solopreneurs can make a profit and have fun.

Kansas City’s GEW is a community-led event organized by KCSourceLink and coordinated through a volunteer team of 22 members. This year, #GEWKC headquarters is at Plexpod Westport Commons.

“Last year, over 5,000 people came out to connect with and learn from investors and job creators at more than 100 events across the KC metro,” Miller says. “We can’t wait to see what presenters have in store for the Kansas City community this year. The real-world information and experience they share at these events are great for businesses just starting out and for those looking to grow.”

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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