Summerfest Tech will be a hybrid event on Sept. 8, according to a Monday announcement from Milwaukee World Festival Inc.
This year's iteration of the fourth-annual event will be completely accessible virtually, but will also include an in-person afternoon component at the Johnson Controls World Sound Stage at Henry Maier Festival Park, according to a press release.
Event programming will be aimed at corporate businesses, startups, investors and technology nonprofits, and will include keynote speakers, breakout sessions and a pitch competiton. The event will kick off with a roundtable discussion led by Tim Dickson, chief information officer of Generac Power Systems, a sponsor of the event and the Summerfest music festival.
The Summerfest Tech pitch competition will give six startups the chance to win a share of $25,000, according to the release. Interested entrepreneurs should apply online by July 12. The competition will be produced by the Young Enterprising Society, a local organization that runs The Blueprint startup accelerator.
Launched in 2018, Summerfest Tech has evolved over time. In its inaugural year, it was a three-hour event held in July during Summerfest. In 2019, it was expanded to a two-day event in June with a $10,000 pitch competition. In 2020, it was a completely virtual one-day event in September and included a $20,000 pitch competition.
Summerfest Tech 2021 will be held in between the first two weekends of the 2021 Summerfest music event, which is scheduled for Sept. 2-4, 9-11 and 16-18. Anyone who attends Summerfest Tech either virtually or in person will receive a Summerfest ticket that will be valid for the last two weekends of the music festival, according to a Summerfest spokeswoman.
"Summerfest Tech offers us the opportunity to not only extend the Summerfest brand, but to also shine the spotlight on Milwaukee and its growing reputation as a tech hub,” Don Smiley, president and CEO of Milwaukee World Festival Inc. said in a statement.
Summerfest Tech is free and will run from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 8. You can register here.
The Milwaukee Business Journal is a media partner for Summerfest Tech.
