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Longmont Startup Week Press Release

Periodically, we'll publish a press release in it's entirety when it's specifically focused on Longmont and what's happening in Longmont. The Longmont Economic Development Partnership (LEDP) is putting on this years Startup Week event.
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This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

Periodically, we'll publish a press release in it's entirety when it's specifically focused on Longmont and what's happening in Longmont.

The Longmont Economic Development Partnership (LEDP) is putting on this years Startup Week event.  This event was created three years ago as an extension of TinkerMill, the Longmont Makerspace and it's focus on entrepreneurs, innovators and creating new businesses.  It then migrated to it's own non profit organization last year and has been taken over by the highly capable folks at LEDP this year.  Following is the full text of their press release:

Contact Name             Jessica Erickson, President/CEO

Organization             Longmont Economic Development Partnership

Phone Number            303-651-0128

Email                           [email protected]

 

Unveiling Party Reveals Exciting Teasers for Longmont Startup Week 2017

Longmont EDP Announces Keynote Speakers, Special Events and Collaborations for Longmont Startup Week

Longmont, CO:  On Friday, May 12th, the Longmont Economic Development Partnership (EDP), as the lead planning organization for Longmont Startup Week 2017 (LSW17), hosted an Unveiling Party to celebrate all the hard work of the planning committees and reveal some of the exciting things in store for LSW17.  LSW17 will bring together entrepreneurs, wanna-preneurs, intrapreneurs, creatives, techies, inventors, business owners, and investors of all ages to connect and inspire.  LSW17 will showcase why Longmont and the Northern Colorado region is the best place to start a business, and build momentum in advancing Longmont’s startup community.  Over the course of five days, from Monday, July 24th through Friday, July 28th, over 70 events including keynote speaker presentations, panel discussions, open coffees, mentoring hours, and happy hours will be hosted at unique venues throughout Longmont.  The week will feature over 100 speakers and panelists in topic areas of design, development, marketing, finance, legal, and entrepreneurial basics.  LSW17 will bring a wide variety of resources to Longmont to assist local entrepreneurs and the regional startup community.

“The idea is to bring entrepreneurs together to create meaningful connections, expose local entrepreneurs to resources, ideas, lessons learned and best practices, showcase Longmont as a premier location for startups, raise our regional profile as an innovation hub and foster collaboration amongst the entrepreneurial communities along the front range,“ said Jessica Erickson, President of the Longmont EDP.

At the Unveiling Party last Friday, Jessica Erickson announced and thanked the key sponsors for LSW17.  Sponsors include: The Longmont EDP, Circle Graphics, Wyatt’s Wet Goods, Terrapin Care Station, Galvanize, UCHealth, Sunflower Bank, BBP, CoBiz Financial, Avocet Communications, City of Longmont, StickerGiant, Jupiter Visual, Lifelicious, Intention Products, BrewHop Trolley, Brewer Law LLC, Print Experts, and Times-Call as the media sponsor.  Jessica Erickson also thanked Longmont EDP staff along with the Advance Longmont Partners and community volunteers who have all had a hand in planning and organizing LSW17 thus far.

During the Unveiling Party, a trivia game was played to reveal teasers of what is to come for LSW17, including such highlights as:

  • Walter Scott, Founder, CTO and Executive Vice President of DigitalGlobe will be one of the keynote speakers for LSW17. Dr. Walter Scott founded DigitalGlobe in 1992 as WorldView Imaging Corporation, which was the first company to receive a high resolution commercial remote sensing license from the U.S. Government.  The company became DigitalGlobe in 2001, and with the launch of the QuickBird-2 satellite that year, offered the world’s highest resolution commercial satellite imagery.  Today, DigitalGlobe operates a 5-satellite imaging constellation with the best revisit rate and greatest capacity in the industry.  Dr. Scott holds a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Mathematics from Harvard and a Doctorate and Master of Science in Computer Science from UC Berkeley.  He was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 2004 for the Rocky Mountain Region in the Emerging Technology category.
  • Morgan Smith will be a returning keynote speaker this year. Morgan is currently a senior at the University of Denver, majoring in Public Policy and Economics.  He is the Student President, a Boettcher Scholar, and an Eagle Scout.  In 2016, he completed international research in Denmark, examining how local governments support innovation and small business development.  His keynote speech will discuss the “Evolution of Work”, with the dual rise of the Millennial Generation and the widespread adoption of technology.  He will discuss the new boundaries and workplace expectations set by younger generations, the redefinition of the workplace with the growth of cloud computing and other internet-based technologies, and the broader goals for the Millennial Generation and how they view work.
  • Warrior Playground and the TinkerMill will be hosting a Founder Warrior Competition and Happy Hour during LSW17 to bring together local founders and the startup community. Local founders will compete in teams of two in a head-to-head Ninja Warrior obstacle course competition.  Proceeds from the event will be donated to the Longmont Ignite Fund, a grant fund that benefits Longmont’s entrepreneurs.  For more info on Longmont Ignite, visit longmontignite.org.  Founder teams can register for the event by contacting Janine Ledingham at [email protected] or 303-651-0128.  Warrior Playground will be offering complimentary training sessions prior to the competition.
  • An exciting new Longmont Startup Week beer collaboration was announced, with more details to follow. The Wannapreneur will be released and sold exclusively during LSW17.  The beer will be brewed at 300 Suns, in collaboration with Oskar Blues, Left Hand Brewing, Bootstrap Brewing, Skeye Brewery, Shoes & Brews, Grossen Bart Brewery, Pumphouse, Open Door Brewing, and St. Vrain Cidery.  The breweries are still perfecting the style of beer, but they will be utilizing local ingredients and infusing some unique flavors inspired by Longmont.  The beer will be available at each of the breweries in the collaboration during LSW17, and $1 from each pint sold will be donated to the Longmont Ignite Fund.  Please stay tuned for more info on The Wannapreneur!

More announcements can be seen on the Facebook Live video from the Unveiling Party on the Longmont Startup Week Facebook page, www.facebook.com/longmontstartupweek.

“We are really looking forward to Longmont Startup Week this year!  We feel that this year’s line-up of topics and speakers are uniquely Longmont, specifically tailored to the key industries and culture of Longmont’s growing startup community.  This years’ Startup Week will provide a wealth of resources and new networking opportunities that will help to bolster and advance our local startups.  We are excited to see what everyone will ‘make happen’ this year during LSW17,” said Dana Schnieber, Marketing Specialist & Event Coordinator for the Longmont EDP.

The Longmont EDP also announced a call for volunteers.  Longmont Startup Week is hosted by the community for the community, so volunteers are critical to its success.  Volunteers are needed for social media marketing and day-of event execution, including setup, checking in and assisting attendees, AV assistance, cleanup, and more.  Volunteer hours are flexible, and will provide excellent learning and networking opportunities.  For more info, or to sign up to volunteer, please visit http://longmont.startupweek.co.

For more information on Longmont Startup Week and to receive the latest LSW17 updates and announcements, visit the LSW17 official website, http://longmont.startupweek.co, follow LSW on Facebook (www.facebook.com/longmontstartupweek), on Twitter (@longmontstartup), or join the conversation using #LSW17.

About Longmont Economic Development Partnership:  Longmont Economic Development Partnership is a public/private 501c(6) non-profit economic development organization serving the greater Longmont area. As Longmont’s primary agent for economic development, the Partnership leads a comprehensive and collaborative economic development strategy to promote and strengthen the Longmont community’s economic health. The Longmont Economic Development Partnership offers a variety of services and resources to support the relocation, retention, and expansion of business in Longmont and serves as the gateway to Longmont for all businesses.

About Startup Week™:  Startup Week™ is more than a conference, it’s a celebration. Startup Week brings entrepreneurs, local leaders, and friends together over five days to build momentum and opportunity around your community’s unique entrepreneurial identity. Join in a celebration led by entrepreneurs and hosted in the entrepreneurial spaces you love. Over the course of five days, participants in Startup Week can choose the events they’d like to attend. Typically these events are held at various venues across a city. Speakers from the community, and outside it, are brought in to share their story to motivate and inspire the entrepreneurial community. Local organizers select the tracks they feel are most relevant to their community and choose speakers based on those tracks. Over 75 communities across the globe have hosted a Startup Week, a program of Techstars.