One week to go for Techweek + LaunchKC competition

The fourth annual Techweek in Kansas City conference – featuring the LaunchKC grants competition for tech entrepreneurs – is right around the corner.

Techweek returns to KC on Monday, Oct. 8 and runs through Friday, Oct. 12. The fourth annual LaunchKC competition is the closing act of Techweek 2018 next Friday, as 20 finalists will pitch their business plans to a panel of judges and the Techweek audience.

“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.”

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 next 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.

The LaunchKC finalists will begin making their pitches to the judges at 9 a.m., and wrapping up around noon. The panel of judges 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.

“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.

To discover more about Techweek and LaunchKC, watch this space for a daily blog post every weekday through Friday, Oct. 12.