Wichita Startup Week returns this November with five days of workshops, panel discussions and networking events with the goal of helping local entrepreneurs turn an idea into a business.
Organizers have unveiled the lineup of events happening Nov. 13-17, including two new tracks in which attendees can register.
"We're just trying to open the breadth of what we would offer for various types of entrepreneurs, and this year that's adding a social entrepreneurism track and a youth track," said Shae Blevins, who is the lead organizer for this year's Wichita Startup Week, and works as marketing director at local startup Knowledge as a Service.
Now in its third year, Wichita Startup Week is presented once again by Koch Industries Inc. and in collaboration with pre-seed investor Techstars, which partners to put on Startup Weeks in cities around the globe.
"Having one in Wichita — in such an entrepreneurial community already — it gives a little bit more to the ecosystem to be like, 'This is the week where we get to celebrate with each other, we get to network with each other, and we get to learn from each other,'" Blevins said.
The new social entrepreneurship track, Blevins said, is geared toward entrepreneurs who are starting nonprofits or other initiatives that impact the Wichita community.
And for the first time, the youth track is designed to attract area teens to Wichita Startup Week.
"We really want to try to engage the next generation of entrepreneurs in Startup Week and get them connected and integrated into the existing ecosystem," Blevins said, adding they're working with groups such as Empowered, Destination Innovation and Wichita Public Schools as the events happen during the school day.
"We're really reaching out to those parts of USD 259 and programs that exist already in an entrepreneurial way for young entrepreneurs," she said.
Other tracks included as part of Wichita Startup Week include the startup toolkit track, which provides education and resources within the Wichita ecosystem; the innovation track to showcase advances in topics such as advanced manufacturing, AI and cybersecurity; and the diversity, equity and inclusion track, targeted toward underserved populations in entrepreneurship.
"The DEI track is coming back from last year, ensuring that we have the ability to reach people who are in those marginalized communities that may not have the same type of access," Blevins said.
The preliminary schedule for Wichita Startup Week looks like this:
- Nov. 13: Kickoff keynote at Groover Labs and a resource summit and kickoff party at Wave
- Nov. 14: Panels, sessions and workshops at Groover Labs, and a social hour
- Nov. 15: 1 Million Cups at 9 a.m., panels, sessions and workshops, and a culminating event for the NXTUS Enterprise Engagement Series at 4 p.m.
- Nov. 16: Panels, sessions and workshops, a startup trade show, and a startup mashup meeting in partnership with Startup Grind and WIBA
- Nov. 17: Panels, sessions and workshops, and a "Wichita wins" celebration at Wichita Petroleum Club
Event organizers, made up of a team of volunteers, are seeking speakers and sponsors for each track.
"Entrepreneurs, business leaders and founders are invited to submit proposals to speak, conduct workshops or express interest in panel discussions," said James Williams, a cofounder of Wichita Startup Week, and a senior community affairs manager for Black Hills Energy.
Registration for Wichita Startup Week opens Sept. 18 online at startupweekwichita.com.
Since its launch, the event has grown from 300 registrants in 2021 to 700 the following year, and this year Blevins said organizers hope to see 1,000 attendees.
"We have a lot of excitement around what's going on from an entrepreneurial perspective in Wichita," she said. "... That's really one of Wichita Startup Week's goals is to celebrate what is happening in Wichita, and showcasing it to other entrepreneurs in the community and beyond."
