Hacking It: Michael Gelphman assembles an app-building crew this weekend.
- Photo by Sabrina Staires
- Michael Gelphman is connecting Kansas City’s IT community.
Michael Gelphman found a way out. After 12 years of working in IT, for companies such as Embarq and H&R Block, the 35-year-old took the leap in February and devoted himself full time to his passion.
Gelphman is the founder of Kansas City IT Professionals, a grassroots networking group. He started it on LinkedIn in 2008, after reading a blog on career building.
“I didn’t see anything on LinkedIn about IT in Kansas City,” he says. “We got to 500 or 600 members, and I realized we might be on to something.”
He’s putting his hard work on display this weekend with Hack the Midwest, a two-day Hackathon (June 2 and 3). Gelphman expects 70 to 100 developers and designers from all over the Midwest – Kansas City, St. Louis, Omaha, Des Moines – to show up and build apps from scratch at the Heartland Golf Club (8200 Hillcrest Road, 816-523-8601).
“When you get people like that in a room and working together and you get this energy, you don’t know what will come out of it,” he says. “I’m hoping to see something awesome.”
The Hackathon starts Saturday at 9 a.m. and wraps up Sunday at 11 a.m., with contest winners announced at 3 that afternoon. The all-star judging panel includes OpenAir Equity Partners’ Thad Langford, AgLocal founder Naithan Jones, outgoing Kauffman Foundation Manager of Entrepreneurship Nick Seguin and others. (Register at hackthemidwest.com.)
