Months of planning by dozens of volunteers, small business owners and others culminated in a highly successful Global Entrepreneurship Week Kansas City (GEWKC) Nov. 14-20.
Based at iWerx North Kansas City and several surrounding businesses, the event drew hundreds of entrepreneurs and small business owners who learned about everything from how to start a business to using blogging as a marketing tool.
iWerx in North Kansas City was the first Northland “basecamp” for the event, which has been operated by KCSourceLink for 15 years. Other Northland satellite organizations hosted numerous sessions and events, including Restless Spirits, Cinder Block Brewery and Chicken N Pickle. More than 150 sessions were held over the week-long event.

One thing that stood out was the relatively young age of participants, who seemed concentrated in the late 20s and early 30s age bracket. The energy and interest in starting or growing businesses was dramatic, and many could be found exchanging notes, ideas and impressions between programs.
GEWKC this year offered five tracks: Makers, Artists and Creators; Startups; Scaleup; Inclusive Communities; and Youthpreneurs. Each year, GEWKC is powered by KC’s entrepreneurship community and organized by KCSourceLink, a program of the UMKC Innovation Center.