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!

What to Expect at ICT Unconference

ICT Unconference will be the first event of its kind to hit the Wichita area in April, but it’s not the first to create collisions in the Midwest. Last October, iKC: The Unconference brought people from all walks of entrepreneurial life to Kansas City. The unconference format shook things up and helped innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors create lasting connections. Here’s what iKC attendees had to say about their unconference experience and what advice they have for those attending the Wichita ICT Unconference.

The amount and quality of #collisiondensitykc @iKC2013 was awesome! Fireworks in my head, still. Thank you @thinkbigKC @kcchamber #KC

— Bek (@noda3k) October 4, 2013

The Unconference Experience

iKC attendee and CEO of LightBridge, DJ Good, called the unconference experience “unique, worthwhile and exciting.” When comparing the unconference format to other conferences, Good said, “It’s hard to explain the difference and the dynamics of an unconference. It cannot be adequately described with words. You have to attend an unconference to fully understand one.”

For many iKC attendees, it was the interactive component of the unconference that made the experience really stand out.

“The biggest advantage to the unconference format was that attendees were able to tailor the experience to fit their unique challenges and interests,” said Catalina Campos, marketing and communications strategist for Surmount Studios.

“I liked that it wasn’t just one person on a stage sharing their experience to the participants,” said Rigo Neri, co-founder and chief product officer of Instin, “but instead it was every participant sharing their own experience.”

In comparison to other conferences, Neri said “it’s a more open and comfortable experience than other conferences. [The unconference format] encourages the networking aspect by having sessions that are a full-length Q&A instead of just five minutes in the end.”

The Unconference was quite possibly the most valuable conference I've ever attended. Thanks @iKC2013! #ikc2013

— Mike Bosch (@mikesbosch) October 3, 2013

More Bang for Your Buck

At an unconference, the content is not determined by some mysterious committee. The agenda is determined by attendees, giving unconference participants the chance to determine how valuable the experience will be.

As Good puts it, “If you get the right audience, you can most certainly get more information and value [than a regular conference], all while participating.”

Unconference attendees are more likely to get the information they are looking for, since they are the ones ultimately designing the agenda.

“I felt that the panel of participants and the leadership in each [session] were top-notch,” Campos said. “I got a lot of valuable information and contacts from the unconference.”

Advice for Unconference First-Timers

Although it’s hard to prepare for the unexpected, iKC attendees had a few words of advice for unconference newbies.

“If you don’t like the [session] you’re in, don’t be ashamed to leave and join another one,” Campos said. “It's much better for you to be surrounded with the people and topics you're interested in than to stay in a room that won't be constructive to you or your business.”

Good reminds unconference rookies to “keep an open mind at an unconference as everything is unplanned.”

Ultimately, the unconference experience is what you make it, so Neri advises unconference attendees “to not be shy, to ask questions and to share your own experience.”

Can’t wait for your own unconference experience? Get your tickets to ICT Unconference today!

ICT Unconference Coming to Wichita April 22nd - For Entrepreneurs, Innovators and Community Leaders

ICT Unconference, Wichita’s first official unconference, is April 22^nd at the Wichita Marriott. Presented by Wichita Technology Corporation and Quantum Expositions, the event’s mission is to bring together entrepreneurs, innovators and businesses in an effort to grow and strengthen Greater Wichita’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The unconference model is open-format, which allows for attendee-driven discussion and collaboration. Attendees submit and vote on topics prior to the event via the ICT website. This format allows each session to be relevant and engaging for those participating.

Trish Brasted, President & CEO of Wichita Technology Corporation, explained: “Unconferences are being conducted with great success in progressive cities across the nation. The timing is perfect for bringing the unconference model to Wichita. We are excited to bring entrepreneurs, innovators and community leaders under one roof, to increase Wichita’s entrepreneurial innovation collaboration.”

Community members are showing their support for this event as they share the vision for strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem and bringing startups and businesses together.

“Our firm is excited about sponsoring this event because it continues a strong tradition of the entrepreneurial spirit in our community. Wichita has been the starting place for so many great companies and we think the ICT Unconference is a great way to keep that creative energy alive and well,” according to Richard Stevens, attorney with Martin Pringle Law Firm and Ambassador for the ICT Unconference.

Along with the unconference format, the event will include expert speakers on entrepreneurship, as well as a professional mentoring program where entrepreneurs can discuss their ideas and get immediate feedback and advice from some of the area’s top entrepreneurs, business executives and leaders.

“Part of the value of the ICT Unconference is the unique opportunity for attendees to meet 1-on-1 with an experienced mentor for a time slot of 20 minutes. Those who sign-up and are accepted into the mentor program will receive feedback, guidance, and advice from experienced entrepreneurs who have been there and done that!” said Bob Loudermilk, founder of Quantum Expositions and one of the organizers of the unconference.

Participating mentors for ICT Unconference include:  

•       Trish Brasted, President and CEO, Wichita Technology Corporation

•       Luke Catlin, Cofounder & CTO, Flourish, Inc.

•       Frank Choriego, Business Coach & Entrepreneur, Family Heritage/Torchmark

•       Jonathan George, CEO, Evomail

•       James Mock, President, 360ideas

•       Gary Oborny, Chairman & CEO, Occidental Management, Inc.

•       Beth Tully, CEO and Owner, Cocoa Dolce Artisan Chocolates

•       Josh Umbehr, MD, CEO, AtlasMD

•       Devin Walker, CEO and Founder, Printpop.com

In addition to mentors, ICT Unconference Ambassadors play a crucial role in facilitating meaningful interactions and innovative thinking between attendees during the sessions.

ICT Ambassadors include:

•       Wayne E. Bell, District Director, Wichita District Office, U.S. Small Business Administration

•       Suzy Finn, Executive Director, Young Professionals of Wichita

•       Kenton Hansen, Founder, Labor Party

•       Lou Heldman, Interim Director, WSU Center for Entrepreneurship

•       Brandi Koskie, Editorial Strategist, Evomail 

•       Gary Oborny, Chairman & CEO, Occidental Management, Inc.

•       Steve Radley, President and CEO, NetWork Kansas

•       Richard Stevens, Attorney, Martin Pringle Law Firm

•       Sean Weaver, Executive Vice President, Assurance Services at Allen, Gibbs & Houlik, L.C.

•       Stefan White, Director of Strategery at Centrix Innovations

The emcee for the event is Derrick Nielsen, Vice President, Organizational Development and Family Business Services at Allen, Gibbs & Houlik, L.C.

ICT Unconference is currently looking for entrepreneurs, area leaders and companies who want to be involved in the event. Complete information (including sponsorship opportunities, submitting session topics, applying for the mentor program, or purchasing tickets) can be found at www.ICTunconference.com.

Click here to download a PDF of the media release. 

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!