Nation’s Leading Tech Conference Spotlights Local Tech Startups, Provides Access to Top Talent
Chicago — Techweek is bringing a weeklong celebration of technology and innovation back to its home city for the seventh year in a row, June 19-23. With a strong focus on high-growth startups this year, Techweek Chicago’s exciting, extensive lineup of events and speakers offers attendees exclusive access to top industry leaders and opportunities to learn about innovative local startups.
Uniting visionaries, influencers and thought leaders, Techweek Chicago aims to make the world a better place through tech entrepreneurship. The conference will host numerous educational and networking opportunities for attendees throughout the week, including interactive workshops, a hiring fair, Launch Showcase and numerous speaker panels. Techweek’s goal is to help local tech startups become substantial and influential companies, increasing their influence and notoriety, while also bringing jobs and excitement to the Windy City.
Discussing some of the hottest tech topics in Chicago, ranging from high-growth startup strategies and diversity in tech, to acquisitions and scaling businesses, Techweek Chicago’s list of prominent speakers includes Mike Rothman, CEO of SMS Assist; Pat Vihtelic, CEO of Home Chef; Amanda Lannert, CEO of Jellyvision; and Justyn Howard CEO of Sprout Social, among others.
Complete details of Techweek Chicago’s 2017 schedule of events will be announced on Thursday, June 1, with highlights including:
- Techweek Chicago Kick-Off Party: Monday, June 19 at 5 p.m. at the MillerCoors rooftop
- The Capital One Gathering, which will take over three floors and feature 3D printerspace, coding, robot wars and more: Tuesday, June 20 at 5 pm at Capital One
- Techweek Launch Showcase, a summit featuring top local startups from the Techweek100: Wednesday, June 21 at 5:30 pm at the Bottom Lounge in the West Loop
- Nerdery Virtual Reality Event, with leading content and interactive activities: Wednesday, June 21 at 7 pm at the Nerdery
- Women in Tech Breakfast, where female business leaders share their thoughts on tech entrepreneurship, in partnership with Syndio: Thursday, June 22 at 7:30 am at VenueSix10
- Growth Summit, panel of CEO’s speaking about company growth topics: Thursday, June 22 at 8:30 am at VenueSix10
- GoGo Air Gathering, featuring the passenger experience in the future: 5:30 pm on Thursday, June 22 at GoGo Air
- Techweek Gives Event, announcing the most generous company: Wednesday, June 21 (time and location TBD)
Whether networking with industry leaders at fireside chats or discovering and exploring new technologies, there is something for everyone at Techweek Chicago. Guests are also invited to meet this year’s honorees of Techweek100, a celebration of 100 startup professionals reflecting the Hero Company thesis of economic development through contributions to the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The full list of honorees will be revealed on the Techweek website at the beginning of June.
“As the city where Techweek originated, Chicago always has a special place in our hearts,” said Amanda Signorelli, CEO of Techweek. “Our city has one of the most diverse economies in the country, packed with numerous fast-growing startups, Fortune 500 companies and rising tech employment, along with world-renowned tech programs at local universities. All of this makes Chicago one of the most influential tech economies in the world. Now is more important than ever to help entrepreneurs in the city continue to learn and grow.”
To further its support of the Chicago ecosystem, Techweek launched TechweekGives this year as an opportunity to give back to the non-profits making a difference in the city. Techweek Gives is a campaign aimed at raising $1 million over a 90-day period by involving Chicago’s technology community. In partnership with uBack, a mobile giving platform, along with Walker Sands Communications and DLA Piper, the organizations will rally Chicago’s technology community to come together and give money, time and goods to S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) and other worthy nonprofits. So far, in just the first eight weeks of the campaign, TechweekGives has tracked/logged nearly $600K in money, goods and volunteer hours.
Techweek Chicago 2017 is one of nine conferences across North America, with other cities such as Washington DC, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. For more details about Techweek Chicago, to purchase tickets or to find out more about other events throughout the country, visit www.techweek.com.
About Techweek
Techweek is a seven‐day conference, expo and festival where entrepreneurs, tech visionaries and thought leaders gather together to enable to innovation ecosystem in the cities of Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Toronto and Washington DC. Techweek curates a compelling programming that allows a global spotlight to shine on each ecosystem and its leaders. Past speakers include Rahm Emanuel (Mayor, Chicago), Travis Kalanick (CEO, Uber), Craig Newmark (Founder, Craigslist), Dan Gilbert (Founder, Quicken Loans), Jonah Peretti (Founder & CEO), Susan Paley (First Employee and Former CEO, Beats by Dr. Dre), Peter Diamandis (Founder, X PRIZE) and Pitbull (world-renowned musician). The Techweek expo has gathered more than 200 sponsors, including companies such as Google, American Airlines, Microsoft, Motorola, Redbox, Uber, Yelp and WordPress.