13 November 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Wichita Startup Week begins Monday and continues through Friday. It is a free event that connects aspiring entrepreneurs, business owners, and founders. Those who attend can go all week or attend a single session.
“We’re bringing together professionals who are, you know, teaching people how to build businesses or who are very experienced in finance or marketing or you know, those various aspects of your business that you need to learn in order to run a business,” Shae Blevins, Startup Week organizing team, said. “We’re bringing together all of these resources and all of these people for a week of networking and education and information, and being able to get together in this space and in this way allows us to not only network with each other and learn but also be a part of our community.”
No matter where you are at with your entrepreneurship journey, this week is for you.
“They might have just an idea, they might have a full-blown business, they might need to scale or grow their business in some way,” Blevins said. “Our programming really reflects those various types of levels in where you are in your business.”
Roy Moye III is the owner of STEMusic LLC, and he went to Wichita Startup Week last year.
“Just interested in learning how to be a better entrepreneur,” Moye said. “What are the things that I have missed? I went to school for aerospace engineering, not for business. So what are some of the tips and tricks that I need to learn or just you know, you don’t know what you don’t know.”
Moye got feedback from other entrepreneurs in the city that helped him continue forward.
“So many other opportunities to connect with fellow entrepreneurs, but to really gain skills, tangible skills, practical skills, like how to make projections, how to market better, how to engage with investors,” Moye said. “All of this information was coming out of the SPARK Business Academy to create a campaign, which I got to learn about at Wichita Startup Week.”
Moye says Wichita Startup Week helps entrepreneurs in the community and the place they live.
“Wichita Startup Week is here to support the small business, here to support the entrepreneur,” Moye said. “And if we’re able to provide those resources to entrepreneurs within our city, their businesses will grow, our economy gets stronger. People are seeing and experiencing new products that ultimately impact how our city can grow. I think there’s a great, great moment for the city with this week for years down the road where our economy will be boosted by entrepreneurs that are stronger as small business owners with incredible products that are really changing our city, changing our state, but also changing the world.”
To see the schedule and register, click here