It’s that time of year again—the sun is shining, the birds are singing and 1 Week KC is just around the corner. So block off some time on your calendar between Monday, June 9, and Sunday, June 15, when the Kansas City community gathers to celebrate entrepreneurship.
Unlike in years past, the organizers of 1 Week KC decided to focus on only one or two events each day of the celebration in order to create the maximum potential for spontaneous connections and energy generation.
“In the past, with four or five events each day, entrepreneurs would historically make one or two events, but there was less of a community in each space, and less opportunities to get the density of interactions and community we hoped for,” Nathan Kurtz of the Kauffman Foundation told Silicon Prairie News.
Kurtz says the Foundation will try out the new model this year and see how more limited programming goes. But even with fewer events, 1 Week KC’s programming offers a diverse spread of activities for members of the community, from the Startup Games, powered by Google Fiber kicking things off, to an evening Pub Quiz hosted by Silicon Prairie News.
Thanks to our sponsor
At the root of 1 Week KC, Kurtz says the event is about getting entrepreneurs out in the community and connecting with new people.
“1 Week is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to meet other innovators in the community who they otherwise may not have had an opportunity to meet,” Kurtz said. “When 1 Million Cups launched, it united several disparate pockets of entrepreneurs across the KC metro. 1 Week KC aims to do the same thing, by bringing even more groups of entrepreneurs together that otherwise wouldn’t have a connection point.”
While many of the events are free, some have limited registration numbers. If you’re interested in attending a particular event during 1 Week KC, RSVP online. Here are the events with the respective RSVP/more info links:
- Monday, June 9, 6–8 p.m.—Startup Games powered by Google Fiber, Google Fiber Space
- Tuesday, June 10, 4–7 p.m.—Tailgate @ The K, Kauffman Stadium (Lot N)
- Tuesday, June 10, 7 p.m.—Entrepreneur Day @ The K, Kauffman Stadium
- Wednesday, June 11, 9–10 a.m.—1 Million Cups, Kauffman Foundation Conference Center
- Wednesday, June 11, 4:30–7 p.m.—Digital Sandbox KC Innovation Showcase, Hallmark Cards
- Thursday, June 12, 4:30–7 p.m.—Sprint Techstars Demo Day, Kauffman Performing Arts Center
- Thursday, June 12, 7–10 p.m.—Silicon Prairie News Pub Quiz, 2000 Grand
- Friday, June 13, 7:30–9:30 a.m.—Startup Waffles, Think Big Partners
- Friday, 6 p.m.–Sunday, 6 p.m.—Startup Weekend (details to come)
- Friday, June 13, 9 p.m.–2 a.m.—Startup Party, Mosaic Nightclub patio
- Friday–Sunday, Boulevardia, West Bottoms
