3Q4: Steve Dickie, ICT Unconference Speaker

Continuing in our “3Q4” series, we’d like to introduce you to Steve Dickie, our ICT Unconference closing speaker. If you missed the other posts in the 3Q4 series they are here and here.

Steve Dickie is the Character Coach for the Wichita State Shockers Men’s Basketball team. He has served in Coach Gregg Marshall ‘s program for the last 3 years and been an important component in seasons that have included 3 invitations to the NCAA tournament, 2 Missouri Valley Conference Championships, a trip to the Final Four and this year’s record breaking run to 35 straight victories. Steve is also Regional Director for Nation of Coaches, a national faith based organization that encourages coaches and helps college basketball programs teach character.

Steve is passionate about creative leadership, discovering the simple in the abstract, exploring new ways to do old things, empowering the extraordinary out of the ordinary and helping people align their gifts and talents with purposes bigger than themselves.

3Q4 Steve Dickie

Q1. Why is Wichita a great place to “start up”?

“Start up” is in Wichita’s blood. Since its frontier beginnings and throughout its storied history, Wichita has always been a place to launch good ideas. Great people, affordable living, expanding cultural resources and lots of creative elbowroom provide everything we need to turn the world on its ear.

Q2. What gets you excited about the current entrepreneurial environment in Wichita?

When I first moved to Wichita from Los Angeles, I saw a community that wasn’t always enticing for young and emerging leaders to stick around. Not so much anymore. Young entrepreneurs are putting down roots and investing their creative energy in our city and we’re all the better for it. Wichita is a great place to be, but also a great place to become!

Q3. Give us a sneak peak to your closing remarks.

I'm so excited to speak on this topic! Success and significance in leadership begins with and is ultimately sustained by the ability to understand, challenge and manage self. In other words, the greatest investment any leader can make is to pay attention to who they are on the inside. Simply put, we're transformed from the inside out.

Meet Steve Dickie and all of our Unconference speakers, ambassadors and mentors at ICT Unconference on April 22. Get your tickets today!

A special “thank you” to Microsoft BizSpark, Docutronics, Think Big Partners, Urban League of Kansas, Business Brokers of the Plains. Without your support, ICT Unconference would not be possible.

ICT Unconference Gaining Attention in Wichita News

The Wichita community is excited for the upcoming ICT Unconference next week, April 22! Check out the latest news and announcements surrounding the unconference.  

• Evomail Blog , Feb. 19 - ICT Unconference is Going to Start Something Big in Wichita, and Evomail Will be Front and Center 
• Wichita Business Journal, Feb. 13 - Entrepreneurs, leaders plan to collaborate at Wichita’s first unconference
• Wichita Business Journal, Feb. 18 - Three reasons why an ‘unconference’ could be just what Wichita’s entrepreneurship community needs
• The Wichita Eagle, Mar. 16 - Unconference topics to target entrepreneurs 
• Network Kansas - Save the Date for ICT Unconference
• The Wichita Eagle, April 20 - A conversation with Herb Sih

VIDEOS:

• ICT - UNCONFERENCE PSA 
• Local Loop ICT - UNCONFERENCE 

There's still time to purchase your ticket to ICT, submit session ideas you want to take part in and attend this day full of collisions and collaborations with Wichita's own innovators and entrepreneurs. Don't miss out! 

Countdown to ICT: Our Favorite Ideas

There are only 11 days until the ICT Unconference, and we are excitedly finishing preparations. It looks like you have been busy as well adding your breakout session ideas into IdeaScale. We thought we’d look through them all and post a few of our favorites to get you thinking and prepare you for the day.

Our Favorite ICT Unconference Breakout Topics (So Far):

1. Linking Entrepreneurs with Talent

How do entrepreneurs find the talent they need to create next-generation products and services? What resources do they use in trying to find IT specialists, web designers and other key talent? And how do job seekers interested in working for a start-up find these entrepreneurs?

2. Starting a Entrepreneurship/business incubator center in Wichita

Entrepreneurs need a space to meet, collaborate, network, develop and work on their business ideas in an environment that encourages and accelerates the process. What/where is the ideal location for this space? Is there enough interest to get this type of space started within our community?

3. The Impostor Syndrome - When you don't feel you're good enough!

As entrepreneurs, we all know the feeling. Those moments when we don't think we're good enough, that we are over our heads with the project we have started. Or, that we have bitten off more than we can chew. This session will be enlightening and encouraging to all those who attend. We will be pleasantly surprised to learn that we all experience those feelings. And, we will learn from one another how to come through it with success.

4. Guppy Tank
Have something like this ICT Unconference (or "Shark Tank") once a month in Wichita? Business leaders could sit down and take on (support) a Kansas idea or project? And/or commit time to help mentor great ideas. Could be done at the Wichita Chamber downtown. What a great way to help build our town and state! Only top five ideas each month.

If you are attending the ICT Unconference, you will be able to vote on these, and many other, great session ideas. Do you have an idea for a session topic? Tell us about it!

Don’t have your ticket to ICT Unconference yet? What are you waiting for? Go get it now!

An Out-Of-This-World Experience

An Unconference is a unique learning and collaboration environment, where its success is completely dependent on the participation of its attendees. So where in the world do you find a keynote speaker who can measure up? We looked outside of this word (literally) to Space Entrepreneur and CEO of Katasi, Scott Tibbitts. Curious about his keynote message? Here’s a sneak preview:

This is the story of creating a space company from scratch. This crazy entrepreneurial story started with an invention made of hardware store parts, which NASA said they could use on their spacecraft. That led to a crazy journey of becoming the world’s leading supplier of mechanisms for spacecraft, and also let to perils with becoming a "rockstar" space company – their growth almost killed them. By itself, it’s a very good story with plenty of take-aways – taking chances, following intuition, challenges of growth, dealing with success, the highs and lows of becoming an iconic company in an industry.

Scott will also discuss:

- The challenges entrepreneurs face as a company grows, how your genes wire you for entrepreneurial success, but the same genes create blind spots that can cause a company to fail;
- "Escaping the entrepreneurs prison" where Scott talks honestly about the demons he had to wrestle with as they grew;
- Recognizing the importance of intuitive "Nudges";
- In entrepreneurship where you’re taking a road less travelled, that you have a choice of A or B. And how the one that seems crazy, is the one that leads to great things. 

Trust us, this is a keynote session you don’t want to miss. If you haven’t purchased your ICT Unconference tickets yet, hurry! They are selling fast.

Have an idea for a session topic? Submit it here!

We love our amazing sponsors, including: Wichita State University Center for Entrepreneurship, Wichita Technology Corporation and Allen, Gibbs & Houlik, L.C. CPAs and Advisors.

Win a Ticket to ICT Unconference!

By now, you’ve heard all about the ICT Unconference and we’ve given you lots of great reasons to attend. The Unconference is the first event of its kind in Wichita, and you’ve probably noticed that this isn’t your typical conference.  As a matter of fact, we are turning to you, the Wichita entrepreneur community, to ask for ideas and topics to cover as sessions during the Unconference on April 22.  That’s right – you submit an idea through the idea scale platform and it may become an entire session topic during ICT!

We have received some very interesting submissions so far:

Building the Wichita Community by growing the youth
How Do I Build a Team for My New Business
Hiring vs. Contracting
I'm Ready to Launch - Where Do I Find the Funding?
How to tell your startup story effectively
How do we get more people from out of town to try the Midwest? 

We are still looking for more great ideas from you!

Submit your idea to ICT Unconference now through April 11, and you will be entered to win a ticket to ICT (up to a $139.00 value!).  So what are you waiting for?  Submit your topic idea to ICT Unconference and enter for you chance to join us at the event on April 22.

SUBMIT HERE!

Be sure to follow @ICTUnconference on Twitter for more updates!

3Q4: Steve Radley, ICT Unconference Sponsor/Mentor

Welcome to the second in our “3Q4” series, where we ask three questions of Ambassadors and Mentors of ICT Unconference. If you missed our first 3Q4 Kenton Hansen, go check it out now. We’re excited to introduce you to Steve Radley, an ICT Sponsor and Ambassador.

A resident of Wichita, Steve began his career in the private sector as the 28th employee of a business startup technology company, Brite Voice Systems in Wichita. The company grew from $6 million to more than $175 million during the nine years Steve worked for Brite. Since then, Steve has co-owned two businesses including a manufactured housing dealership that was sold to the largest manufacturer in the country, Champion Enterprises. Currently, Steve Radley is the President and CEO of the Kansas Center for Entrepreneurship DBA NetWork Kansas. Since the launch in March of 2006, NetWork Kansas has created a resource partner network of more than five hundred (500) partners and launched multiple loan programs and a venture fund that have provided loans and investments of more than $13 million to 350 plus businesses with total capital deployed exceeding $168 million. As you can see, Radley is champion of entrepreneurship and brings a wealth of knowledge to the Unconference.

Steve’s 3Qs

Q1. Why do you think Wichita is a great candidate to host an Unconference like this? What does this conference mean to Wichita?

A conversation has started in Wichita about how to create an environment more conducive to entrepreneurs. The Wichita Metro Chamber has included it in their strategic plan, Wichita State is actively engaged, and entrepreneurs in Wichita are becoming more connected. The Unconference will help continue to build this important foundation.

Q2. What gets you most excited about this conference? Any predictions?

I'm excited about meeting entrepreneurs I've never met and strengthening the relationships with partners we already have. My prediction is that I will learn from both and others will have the same experience.

Q3. Why should entrepreneurs attend? What's your advice for those on the fence about coming?

Simple, you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. In one day, entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to learn from people who have been where they are at, get connected to potential resources that can help, and in the end, mitigate the risk of their venture.

Bonus! Here's a recent post from Steve on cultivating an entrepreneurial culture.

Meet Steve Radley and all of our Unconference ambassadors at ICT Unconference on April 22. Get your tickets today!

A special “thank you” to NetWork Kansas, Quantum Expositions International and Intrust Bank. Without your support, ICT Unconference would not be possible.

10 Reasons to Attend the ICT Unconference

The ICT Unconference is quickly approaching. If you haven’t purchased your tickets yet, or maybe you’re on the fence about whether to attend, we thought we’d put together 10 reasons to attend the ICT Unconference.

1. Freedom to pick the tough topics. 

Unlike a lot of pre-planned conferences, you don’t get a lot of say in the topics the speakers choose, which means they tell you what they want to tell you, not what you want to hear. The Unconference is YOUR chance to ask these professionals questions you wished you knew the answers to. Don’t be shy! Chances are if you have the question, others do too.

2. You can be more relaxed and have fun. 

Feel encouraged to be creative with the session topics you suggest. Because the Unconference format and tone are set by attendees, why not make if fun? If the session is light and full of laughter and enjoyment, odds are, people will be more relaxed and you may get more out of it.

3. It will inspire you

Unless you sit in the parking lot, you won’t be able to avoid new ideas. The format itself lends to brainstorming and creatively solving problems, so our hope is that a few of these ideas will inspire you to do more and be more in your own business.

4. You will make better, deeper connections

Something magical happens when people get together and get honest – barriers come down, problems get solved and relationships grow. If business to you has felt more like going it alone, and you’re looking for something different, you are in for a real treat.

5. It will give you space to think about your business

Sometimes working day in and day out on the work of your company, doesn’t give you time or space to work on your business. The Unconference provides space to reflect on your past year, the decisions you’ve made, and the choices in front of you. Who knows? Maybe you’ll see things with a fresh eye.

6. You will view your business through the lens of other types of businesses

Hear ideas and challenges outside of your own industry and you’re sure to hear the applications within yours. Things that work for a different business, may just work for yours and help you differentiate.

7. Opportunity for partnerships

Meeting people from your entrepreneurial community not only inspires but it creates an opportunity to build potential business partnerships and other collaborative connections.

8. You will learn from others’ experiences

Wise people learn from the mistakes of others so they do not repeat them. When people share and open up about their own challenges and how they solved them, this is information gold. Lock it in and learn from it.

9. Recharge your creative tank

Sometimes work can feel like…well, work. If you’ve been missing out on the fun and fulfillment of being an entrepreneur, maybe you’re in need of a recharge. There’s nothing like being in a room of like-minded people to get your engines revved up again. Join us and refill.

10. Get 1-on-1 mentorship with some of Wichita’s most respected entrepreneurs and business leaders
 

Are you an entrepreneur looking for feedback or mentorship? We’ve lined up some of city’s most successful entrepreneurs and business leaders for 1-on-1 Mentor sessions.


Sound intriguing? Get your ICT Unconference tickets now!
Unconference sessions are being submitted now. Submit yours!
Sign up for the Mentor Program with local business executives.

ICT Unconference is grateful to our sponsors, including Martin Pringle Law Firm.

3Q4: Kenton Hansen, ICT Unconference Ambassador

Welcome to the first in our “3Q4” series. In this blog series, we’ll be asking three questions of Ambassadors and Mentors of ICT Unconference. Everyone in this series is a champion of entrepreneurship and innovation in Wichita, Kan., including our first guest, Kenton Hansen.

Wichita native Kenton Hansen is the founder of Wichita’s first creative coworking space, the Labor Party. The space brings together many of Wichita’s entrepreneurs and innovators like startups, designers, developers and writers. Hansen also has his hands in several startup and tech companies, both as an advisor and as a member of the team. As you can see, Hansen is a perfect Ambassador to the unconference that is all about bringing Wichita’s entrepreneurs, investors and innovators together.

Q1. What does the ICT Unconference mean to Wichita?

It means that the people in Wichita are ready to talk about how to make our city a better place. It means that while we may live in the "biggest small town," there are some who are ready to try something new and untested.

Q2. Any predictions about how the Unconference will be received or how companies will be impacted?

I've had a lot of people contact me once they knew that I was involved, asking if they should attend. I have said, in every case, yes. I think people will meet new investors, new mentors and new entrepreneurs. I think people will learn about ideas, solutions, problems, and possibilities they didn't know existed in Wichita.

Q3. What kinds of interactions are you hoping to experience or see during the Unconference?

I am most excited for the chance to understand a new point of view. I survey the environment and draw conclusions, but I think there are enough people with unique experiences that I will walk away with a completely new perspective.

Meet Kenton Hansen and all of our unconference Ambassadors at ICT Unconference on April 22. Get your tickets today!

Entrepreneurs Have a Chance to Meet with Experienced Mentors in ICT Mentor Program

We’re another week closer to ICT and we can already feel the energy and excitement growing in the Wichita community! We recently announced our ICT Ambassadors who play a big role in bringing entrepreneurs, innovators and companies together on April 22 for ICT Unconference. They are truly change-makers who are passionate about the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Wichita. 

Along with our Ambassadors, community leaders and experts will serve as Mentors in the Mentor Program. In addition to the breakout sessions and speakers, entrepreneurs will be able to meet with Mentors throughout the day for 20 minutes and receive feedback, guidance and advice. The Mentors have extensive experience in a variety of industries and will meet one-on-one with attendees who apply to the Mentor Program.

You must be accepted into the Mentor Program for a chance to meet with an ICT Mentor one-on-one. Individual time slots will depend on the Mentor's schedule and will be announced closer to the day of the Unconference. Apply to meet with an ICT Mentor here!

Please welcome our ICT Mentors:

•      Trish Brasted, President and CEO, Wichita Technology Corporation
•  Expertise: Raising Capital, Growth Strategy, Angel Investing
•       Luke Catlin, Cofounder & CTO, Flourish, Inc.
•    Expertise: Technology, SaaS, Bootstrapping, Business Development
•       Frank Choriego, Business Coach & Entrepreneur, Family Heritage/Torchmark
•    Expertise: Marketing, Market/Financial Analysis, Strategic Planning
•       Jonathan George, CEO, Evomail 
•    Expertise: Financing, Technology, Lean Startup, Branding
•       James Mock, President, 360ideas 
•    Expertise: Startup, Digital and Traditional Marketing, Sales, New Product Development, Software Licensing, Market Diversification
•       Beth Tully, CEO and Owner, Cocoa Dolce Artisan Chocolates
•    Expertise: Marketing, Branding, Growth Strategy, Specialty Food Manufacturing
•     Josh Umbehr, MD, CEO, AtlasMD 
•    Expertise: Direct Primary Care, Medical Business, Medical Practice Management, Medical Software Development
•       Devin Walker, CEO and Founder, Printpop.com 
• Expertise: Startups, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Vision, Bootstrapping, The Entrepreneurial Mindset

For questions about ICT Unconference, please email info@ictunconference.com

Announcing ICT Unconference Ambassadors from the Wichita Community

We’re excited to announce our ICT Ambassadors for ICT Unconference on April 22! 

These Ambassadors are community leaders and change-makers in the Wichita community. They believe in growing the Wichita entrepreneurial economy and are passionate about bringing entrepreneurs, innovators and companies together into a day full of unexpected conversations and collisions. Please welcome the following Ambassadors:

Wayne E. Bell - District Director, Wichita District Office, U.S. Small Business Administration
@sbagov

Suzy Finn- Executive Director, Young Professionals of Wichita
@ypw

Kenton Hansen – Founder, Labor Party
@kentonh, @thelaborparty

Lou Heldman – Interim Director, WSU Center for Entrepreneurship
@LouHeldman

Brandi Koskie- Editorial Strategist, Evomail
@brandik, @evomail

Gary Oborny – CEO/Chairman, Occidental Management, Inc

Steve Radley – President and CEO, NetWork Kansas
@SteveRadley3, @networkkansas

Richard Stevens – Attorney, Martin Pringle Law Firm
@richardcstevens

Sean Weaver – Exec. Vice President, Assurance Services at Allen, Gibbs & Houlik, L.C.

Stefan White – Director of Strategery, Centrix Innovations
@CentrixKC

We appreciate the support of our ICT Ambassadors who are excited to create a thriving entrepreneurial city!

To learn how to get involved or attend ICT Unconference, visit www.ictunconference.com

ICT UNCONFERENCE: What It Is and Why Wichita Needs It

It’s time for Wichita’s entrepreneurial community to take action. Although entrepreneurship has been taking off here in Wichita and throughout the Midwest, it’s time to kick it up a notch. That’s why we’ve created ICT Unconference, to take place on April 22 at the Wichita Marriott Hotel.

Why An Unconference

If the word “unconference” left you scratching your head, let us explain. An unconference is an open format conference that facilitates activity, conversations and collisions between individuals. Attendees actively create the unconference agenda with the assistance of skilled facilitators so that all the sessions become relevant and engaging for attendees.

Unlike at a regular conference, event planners won’t decide what you want to learn. Instead, the power is in the hands of you- the attendee! You create the sessions with the information most important to you.

Plus, we’ll have speakers such as Herb Sih of Think Big Partners and Scott Tibbitts, CEO of Katasi and entrepreneurial explorer. Our speakers, mentors and facilitators will be available during the day to keep the creative juices flowing and allowing us to all work together and take action.

But Why?

ICT Unconference isn’t just for fun (although it will be). This unconference’s goal is to bring all of Wichita’s entrepreneurs, innovators and doers together to increase our community’s collision density. We’re sorry to throw another new phrase at you like that, but bear with us. It’s important.

Collision density is the level of collisions (or interactions) between entrepreneurs, innovators and connectors in any given area. The higher an area’s collision density, the more quickly and efficiently innovative development can occur. Therefore, the more collision density Wichita has, the better.

For example, while entrepreneurship hotbeds like Silicon Valley and Austin have high rates of collision density, Wichita’s is rather low. But our low collision density hurts more than just Wichita’s entrepreneurs. It also impedes our local economy and Wichita’s progress as a community.

This is why we have created the ICT Unconference: together we can create a thriving entrepreneurial and innovative community here in Wichita by increasing our collision density!

Take action with us on April 22 to boost Wichita’s collision density! Get your tickets to ICT Unconference today!