Moment has arrived for Techweek 2018 + LaunchKC

The fourth annual Techweek in Kansas City conference – featuring the LaunchKC grants competition for tech entrepreneurs – is here!

Techweek returns to KC today (Monday, Oct. 8) and runs through Friday. The fourth annual LaunchKC competition is the closing act of Techweek 2018 on Friday, as 20 finalists will pitch their business plans to a panel of judges and the Techweek audience at Union Station.

“Techweek 2018 in Kansas City is shaping up to be one of the best yet,” said Amanda Signorelli, CEO of the Chicago-based conference + festival producers. “Techweek brings a great tech offering this year including the 2018 Techweek KC EXPO, which will host 100 booths of exciting tech companies from startups to enterprise level companies.”

Techweek has introduced a new mobile app for Techweek KC 2018.  Information about Big Data, Fintech, Blockchain, Diversity in Tech, Public Policy and Tech, and Smart Cities, Techstars Demo Day, Founder’s House, and the Launch KC $500,000 grant competition can all be found in the new app, which is available through Attendify at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/attendify/id1262403617?mt=8

Kicking off the week today (Monday) is a new feature, the KC Mayoral Tech Forum (at 10 a.m.) which will showcase candidates for the 2019 Kansas City, Missouri mayor’s race. It will cover issues important to the region’s tech industry, and will be an event you won’t want to miss. The forum will be hosted by Ryan Weber, KC Tech Council president.

Union Station will serve as home base for this year’s Techweek, including conference sessions and KC EXPO on Monday through Wednesday and the LaunchKC competition on Friday. The Midland Theater will be the focus of activities on Thursday, as the focus turns to the Techstars Demo Day and programming on the Digital Crossroads.

Friday will be dedicated to LaunchKC activities, including an opening keynote address now set for 8 a.m. by Kira Blackwell, Program Executive, Office of the Chief Technologist, NASA.

LaunchKC finalists will begin making their pitches to the judges at 9 a.m., and wrapping up around Noon. in the Extreme Screen theater at Union Station.

The panel of judges, which will include Ms. Blackwell, will break for the next two hours to discuss the finalists, score all 20 of the presenters, and come to an agreement on the top nine entrepreneurs.  The nine grant winners will be announced at approximately 3:30 p.m. that day at a site to be announced early next week.

“We are thrilled with the quality of our 20 finalists,” said Mike Hurd, marketing officer for LaunchKC and the Downtown Council. “This year’s Pitch Day promises to be the best one yet!”

See below for a summary of the complete Techweek 2018 schedule. Tickets are available right here.

Also, make sure you download the Attendify app to view the entire week’s schedule and see the location of every session. We will have multiple sessions in multiple areas of Union Station. The Attendify app is the best way to confirm the location and time of the session you wish to attend. Link to App: https://attendify.com/app/nmy2xr/