After the success of last year, PHX Startup Week is hitting the Valley once again Feb. 22-26, bringing local tech experts and entrepreneurs together for a weeklong celebration of the entrepreneur community.
During last year’s inaugural event, 2,500 entrepreneurs congregated across five locations to listen to more than 100 speakers talk about the community and new projects and it was a great success, said Pagie Soucie, program lead at PHX Startup Week.
“Entrepreneurs in the Valley have come together as a group since last year,” Soucie said.
And there have been ripple effects from last year’s event, such as a monthly happy hour where entrepreneurs have been meeting up and networking, she explained.
This year’s PHX Startup Week is going to be bigger and more diverse, she said, with workshops, more speakers and a community bar crawl that have been added to the event.
Compared with last year, a significant number of folks from out of state will be attending this year’s event to take a look at the entrepreneur community first-hand, Soucie said.
“Ultimately, we want to put Arizona on the map for the startup community, both nationally and locally,” she added.
Every day is packed with plenty of events, Soucie said, but here are some of the talks and workshops to keep an eye on:
Monday:
- Veterans in Entrepreneurship (4×10)
- Hispanic Track
- Specialty Sessions at CEI
- Fireside with Vice Mayor Daniel Valenzuela
- Keynote by Brian Mueller
- Chase Hosted Happy Hour
Tuesday:
- Brand Storytelling (4×10)
- Women’s Track
- Fireside with Heidi Jannenga
- Keynote with William Dolphin
Wednesday:
Thursday:
- Generosity in Arizona (4×10)
- Fireside with Pledge 1% & Startup AZ Foundation
- Keynote by Matthew Manos
- EdTech Specialty Track
Friday:
- Creating Your Customer Experience (4×10)
- Startup Grind hosts Jeff Katz
- Keynote by Greg Head
- Bar Crawl
- Closing Party