An angel investor and startup founder tied to some well-known names in business will talk entrepreneurship next month at Wichita Startup Week.
Rob DeSantis, an early backer of LinkedIn Corp. and co-founder of business software companies Ariba and Arkestro, will headline the event with a fireside chat on Oct. 11.
Wichita Startup Week runs Oct. 10-14 at Groover Labs, 334 N. St. Francis Ave., and is being presented by Koch Industries Inc.
“Rob has been successful at every level — from founder, to investor, to mentor,” Navin Maharaj, director of Koch Disruptive Technologies, said in a press release. “We’re excited to help bring Rob to Wichita and know he will share knowledge and experience that crosses all Startup Week tracks.”
The week-long event is free to attend and registration is available online.
Other scheduled speakers include Jon Rolph, CEO of Thrive Restaurant Group; Wayne Bell, district director of the Small Business Association; Jeff Turner, former CEO of Spirit AeroSystems Inc. (NYSE: SPR); Tara Clack, founder of Mountain Lilly Studios in Denver; Jon Darbyshire, co-founder of SmartSuite; and Ali Schwanke, founder of Simple Strat.
“Nearly 40 sessions are available for Wichitans to elevate and celebrate their entrepreneurial opportunities,” said James Williams, event co-founder and senior community affairs manager for Black Hills Energy. “Either to bring value for your current employer or to build something new, this is the best opportunity for people in our community to be entrepreneurs of their career.”
Other planned programming includes an Oct. 10 kickoff party, an Oct. 12 NXTUS Inc.-sponsored enterprise engagement event, an Oct. 13 trade show and pitch competition presented by Cox Business, and an Oct. 14 finale presented by Martin Pringle Law Firm.
The inaugural Wichita Startup Week in 2021, also held at Groover Labs, hosted more than 40 events, powered by 300 registrants and more than 2,300 distributed tickets.
More than 350 attendees have already registered for this year's event.
Wichita Startup Week is a partnership with Techstars, a Boulder, Colorado-based seed accelerator that has hosted more than 280 startup week programs in 140 cities worldwide.
