On Thursday, October 3rd something pretty unique happened here in Kansas City. The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce teamed up with Think Big Partners to host the iKC Unconference at the H&R Block World Headquarters Building in Downtown Kansas City.
But what’s an unconference, you might be asking? Well, it’s sort of like any other conference, but with one big twist: the participants drive the content. What that means is, rather than a list of panels or lectures or presentations, an unconference takes a more “open source” approach, allowing attendees to suggest topics, facilitate interactions, and actively create the agenda with the help of skilled moderators and unMentors.
The idea of an unconference goes back over a decade, and the term was probably first used in 1998, but the iKC Unconference is pretty unique. The reason for the iKC Unconference was to try to increase collision density between entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, and connectors. What’s collision density? Pretty much just how often people are likely to run into each other and get to talking.
There are a lot of people in the Kansas City metro area, but because they’re so spread out geographically, they’re less likely to run into each other here than they would be in, say, San Francisco. (20 times less likely, in fact!) So the idea of the Unconference is simply to increase that likelihood. Get all the entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, and connectors in one place, and let them start making connections that can turn ideas into action.
At the iKC Unconference, turning ideas into action was what it was all about. Some of the leading entrepreneurs in Kansas City were on hand acting as unMentors. Attendees could grab them for 20-minute one-on-ones, or simply join in the discussion with them anywhere on the floor.
The Unconference adheres to the “Law of Two Feet,” which says that if you’re not learning or contributing, you use your own two feet to take yourself someplace where you are. That’s maybe the biggest thing that makes it different from a typical conference. It’s not about lectures or training, it’s about making connections.
It’s this focus on innovation, connection, and community that made the iKC Unconference stand out this year and the EDC is proud to support ongoing efforts by local partners like the KC Chamber and Think Big Partners who believe in the power of our Kansas City community.
