Tech Week 2024 Recap

As part of our mission to ensure Greater Grand Rapids remains a vibrant community and hub for economic growth, The Right Place is committed to strengthening our region’s tech sector. In 2021, we released a 10-year tech strategy that provides the framework for establishing Greater Grand Rapids as a leading tech hub in the Midwest. This report highlighted the impact hosting a tech-related event series would have on our region. Now, three years into this initiative, we have just wrapped up our third annual Tech Week Grand Rapids. Over the course of the 6-day schedule, Tech Week GR brought in over 16,000 people in total.

What is Tech Week Grand Rapids?

Tech Week GR is a community-led ‘unconference,’ meaning that each event, discussion, demo, and showcase is led by people who live and work in our community. This is designed in a way that showcases our region’s tech sector and allows participants to exchange ideas and network.

The flexibility of this layout allows attendees to create their own schedules. This year’s Tech Week consisted of over 70 events - so there were a lot to choose from! From AI to machine learning to sustainability, Tech Week has something for everyone, not only the experts.

Tech Week Kick-Off Event

To commence this year’s Tech Week, the keynote speaker at our annual Kick-Off Event was Stephen Dubner, widely renowned co-author of the Freakonomics book series and host of Freakonomics Radio.

Dubner spoke about AI as a force of creative destruction, best practices in attracting talent to our region, and data that incentivizes change. With about 800 people in attendance, this event was an energizing and inspiring start to a week full of all things tech.

Student Tech Showcase

At this interactive all-day event, 6th-8th grade students from across the region had access to hands-on exhibits provided by twelve different tech companies. The event focused on strengthening our region’s future tech talent pipeline by sparking students’ interest in technology. This ties directly to the talent objective outlined in our tech strategy, which reiterates the importance of developing foundational tech skills to increase the tech talent pipeline and will ultimately help us reach our goal of strengthening our region’s tech sector.

Tech on the Deck

Tech on the Deck, hosted by Michigan Software Labs, brought together over 350 members of the West Michigan community to connect, explore potential collaborations, and enjoy great food and beverages. Right in the heart of West Michigan’s tech scene, this event was a great opportunity to mingle with like-minded individuals.

Tech Talks

One thing that made this year’s Tech Week especially unique was the inaugural Tech Talk series. This series consisted of three events, each with a unique theme: Health & Technology, AI & Data, and Design & Innovation. During each event, speakers gave ‘lightning talks’ about these topics, followed by a networking portion where attendees were able to connect with speakers and ask questions. This series was a great opportunity to hear from front-runners in the tech industry and create new connections. Thank you to the following speakers who made this event a success:

Health & Technology

• Zach DeBruine, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Computing GVSU
• Dr. Anthony Chang, Founder & CEO, BAMF Health
• Jason Joseph, CIO, Corewell Health
• Steve Goulet, VP of Product & Technology, Mentavi Health
• Kim Burmeister, CEO, SpinDance
• Lauren Laurie, Principal Design Strategist, Twisthink
• Madala Mathurin, Founder & CEO, Kozen

AI & Data

• Naomi Riley, CEO & Founder, Text Pledge & FINAI
• Michael Hyacinthe, CEO & Founder, Wimage
• Joshua Engelsma, Senior Scientist, Rank One Computing
• Dre Wallace, CEO, Opnr
• Joseph Van Harken, Innovator in Residence, GVSU
• Ashlea Souffrou, Founder & CEO, SxanPro
• Devon Bleibtrey, CEO, FlockX

Design & Innovation

• Mark Johnson, Partner & Co-Founder, Michigan Software Labs
• Chip LaFleur, CEO, LaFleur Marketing
• Ricardo O’Neal, Founder, Kikcit
• Elizabeth Goede, President & Founder, Ratliff Consulting & SPARK AI Lab
• Tara McCrackin, President, Kendall College

Demo Day

This event gives aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their business ideas for a chance at $20,000. Hosted in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids at Calder Plaza, this event also offered food trucks and a live DJ. What better way to support local entrepreneurs and network with community and business leaders? Congratulations to this year’s winners:

• Aiyende Akhigbe, Sticky Spoons
• Austin Pollock, Reel Free
• Marissa Fellows, Great Lakes Tinned Fish
• Tiawanna Ezell, I Live Here
• Devon Hudson, Tegriware
• Luciano Hernandez, Spirit Fire Lights
• Arturo Garcia, Thermal
• Zach DeBruine, Herd Social
• Mishara Ellis, A3sthetically Pleasing
• Reyna Masko, Reyna’s Michelada Mix
• Tanisha Kuykendall, West Mi Greek Store - People's Choice Award

The Blue Dot Experience

The Blue Dot Experience allowed GVSU faculty and students to showcase computing and engineering projects at the Eberhard Center, the future home of the Blue Dot. The goal of Blue Dot is to elevate students’ digital literacy skills, contributing to our objective of strengthening the tech talent pipeline. This approach will help bridge the skills gap and foster innovation and growth within our region’s tech sector.

Confluence Festival

Tech Week GR’s culminating event was Confluence - a two-day festival that celebrates innovation across art, music, science, and tech. Located at Rosa Parks Circle, this event engaged participants in AI-powered art activations, gallery-style fashion presentations with local designers, culinary creations, and live musical performances. It was the perfect way to wrap up Tech Week GR!

Tech Week Grand Rapids 2025

With Tech Week growing exponentially each year, we are thrilled to share that Tech Week GR 2025 will take place September 15-20, 2025. Visit techweekgr.com to sign up for Tech Week emails, and fill out this form if you’re interested in participating in Tech Week 2025. See you next year!