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.

Warby Parker co-founder and co-CEO Neil Blumenthal will speak at Big Kansas City on October 10.

Next week, Big Kansas City will welcome a lineup of 15 speakers. Leaders from the tech, nonprofit, marketing, music, digital media and corporate sectors will fill two days with incredible insight for the conference’s attendees. With such a variety of backgrounds and all experiencing incredible success independently, this is surely one of the best lineups in Big Event history.

Take a look at the all-star lineup, and get acquainted with this year’s speakers through the bios and related content provided. (Speakers listed in order of appearance during conference). 

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	Jason Zone Fisher – 2014 Emcee @JZFish Jason has spent his entire life in the entertainment industry. He’s worked as a TV host, producer and brand spokesman for MTV, Nickelodeon, Big Ten, CNBC, Skype and Gillette, among many others. He returns to Big Kansas City as his second year as emcee. More on Jason Hosting Reel – Various sources Big Kansas City 2013 – SPN
	John Wirtz – Hudl @jmwirtz John is a co-founder and the chief product officer at Hudl, a software company that helps millions of athletes and coaches analyze and share videos. Founded in Lincoln in 2006, Hudl has experienced explosive growth, becoming the largest online community for coaches and athletes in the world. More on John “I know it’s scary, but ask for the money” – SPN “Hudl acquisition of Ubersense is its fourth, second in two months” – SPN
	Nancy Lublin – DoSomething.org @nancylublin Nancy is the CEO of DoSomething.org, the largest social change movement for young people in America with 2.8 million members tackling campaigns that cover a wide variety of causes. She is also the founder of two other nonprofits – Crisis Text Line and Dress for Success. More on Nancy “Texting that Saves Lives” – TED “Adapt your business to social change, or die” – Fast Company
	Gary Shapiro – CEA @GaryShapiro Gary Shapiro is the CEO of Consumer Electronics Association, producers of the world’s largest innovation event, International CES. He’s also the best-selling author of Ninja Innovation and The Comeback and has been honored as a civil rights champion by the Anti-Defamation League. More on Gary “How the Consumer Electronics Industry Is Thinking Green” – Huffington Post “The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream “ – Amazon
	Maxine Bédat – Zady @maxinebedat Maxine is the co-founder of Zady, a lifestyle destination for conscious consumers. The online retailer shares creators’ stories, facilitating a connection to our things and each other. Prior to Zady, she started The Bootstrap Project, of which she is the Executive Director. More on Maxine “The Art of Zady.com’s Conscious Consumerism” – Huffington Post “Apps I Live By” – NBC News
	Kimber Lockhart – One Medical Group @kimber_lockhart Kimber Lockhart founded her first company when she was a junior in college. The company, Increo, would soon be sold to tech giant Box, where she would become the senior director of web app engineering. Today she is working towards fixing the healthcare system through leading engineering at One Medical Group. More on Kimber “Women who start late in computer science catch up quickly” – Mercury News “No internship needed, Kimber Lockhart sold Increo then grew Box” -SPN
	Marissa Sackler – Beespace @marissasackler Marissa Sackler is launching high impact nonprofits through her nonprofit incubator, Beespace. By reworking the startup incubator model, Sackler and her New York-based Beespace help identify and invest in the next generation of genuine and bold organizations such as The Malala Fund. More on Marissa “Incubators Abound for Tech Startups. Now Nonprofits Have Their Own” – BusinessWeek “Marissa Sackler: Busy Bee” – W Magazine
	Steve Case – Rise of the Rest @SteveCase The co-founder of AOL, Steve Case is one of America’s best-known and most accomplished entrepreneurs and a pioneer in making the Internet part of everyday life. He joins Big Kansas City as a part of the Rise of the Rest Road Trip, a tour across the Midwest, aiming to celebrate and accelerate the region’s entrepreneurs. More on Steve “Why innovation and start-ups are thriving in ‘flyover country’” – Washington Post “Celebrating Entrepreneurship Across America” – Rise of the Rest
	Eric Schweikardt – Modular Robotics @modrobotics After receiving his Ph.D from Carnegie Mellon University, Eric Schweikardt founded Modular Robotics. Through Modular Robotics, Eric is developing robot toys to help kids gain intuitions about complexity, patterns and emergence. More on Eric “STEM toys help kids solve problems by learning principles of math & science” – about parenting “Building On Cubelets” – TechCrunch
	Mike Johnston – MikesLessons.com @MikesLessons Known as one of the world’s finest living drummers, Mike Johnston has been playing since age 5. At 21 he began playing on world tours, but after a few years he decided to focus his talent into teaching. Through MikesLessons.com, he has created one of the most successful online music programs and has assisted in pioneering the online music lesson marketplace.  More on Mike “2013 PASIC Drum Solo” – YouTube “Interview with Mike Johnston” – Mike Dolbear
	Shradha Agarwal – ContextMedia @shr4dha Shradha Argarwal is the co-founder of ContextMedia, where she is bringing health information when & where it matters. Using targeted programming, her company is impacting more than 60 million patients. Additionally, Shradha is a partner at Chicago firm JumpStart Ventures. More on Shradha “You Have to Drown A Few Times” – Inc. “Crain’s 40 under 40” – Crain’s Chicago Business
	Neil Blumenthal – Warby Parker @NeilBlumenthal Neil loves helping people see. As the co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker, he’s offering designer eyewear at a revolutionary price, while distributing a pair of glasses to someone in need for every pair sold. At only four years old, Warby Parker has already distributed more than 1 million pairs of glasses to people in need. More on Neil “To Collaborate, Think Like a Mixologist” – WSJ “Secrets to Warby Parker’s Rapid Growth” – Inc.
	Anita Newton – Kauffman Founders School @AnitaBNewton Anita has led marketing at some of the nation’s largest and most respected companies including Procter & Gamble, Sprint, AMC Theatres and now Adknowledge. Her experience in the startup world includes years of consultant work as well as a position as CMO at Zave Networks, who was acquired by Google in 2011. Recently, Kauffman Founders School chose Anita to head the Entrepreneurial Marketing program on their platform. More on Anita “For the Love of Marketing” – Adknowledge “Entrepreneurial Marketing” – Kauffman Founders School
	Kimberly Bryant – Black Girls Code @6gems As the founder of Black Girls Code, Kimberly Bryant is empowering young women of color ages 7-17, helping them embrace the current tech marketplace as builders and creators while giving them the tools to develop self confidence. As a result, she wishes to change the makeup of the future tech industry. More on Kimberly “Black Girls Code Tackles Tech Inclusion” – Forbes “Inequality in Tech: May I ask one more question?” – Huffington Post
	Marc Hemeon – Google Ventures/North Technologies @hemeon Marc Hemeon is the co-founder of five companies including his latest venture with Kevin Rose, North Technologies. Over his career he has led design at Oakley, digg, and Youtube, including the 2012 site-wide redesign. Currently he serves as entrepreneur in residence at Google Ventures. More on Marc “The Making of Tiiny” – Medium “Design Process is a Myth” – Medium