Tech Week, Valley Hackathon returning to Glendale in October
Last year, about 1,000 people flocked to panels, job fairs and networking events over the course of four days in September for the first-ever Tech Week in Glendale.
The event, organized by the city of Glendale’s Economic Development Division, will return this year from Oct. 9 to 12 to help elevate Glendale’s brand in the tech world.
“Our intention is to highlight the tech and innovation that’s happening here in an effort to keep these businesses and retain more firms in the area of tech,” said Jennifer McLain, principal economic development officer for the city.
McLain added that the city expects even more participation this year, and organizers have reconfigured some of last year’s popular events to accommodate the anticipated growth.
The week will open with two days of pop-up events that will lead into the city-sponsored, ticketed portion of the event to be held on Oct. 11 at the Alex Theatre, featuring a yet-to-be-announced rotating panel of guest speakers from tech firms in and around the Glendale area.
They will include representatives from companies such as Service Titan, Age of Learning, Inc. and Expert Dojo.
“This year’s Tech Week will focus on the start-up journey,” McLain said. “We’ve arranged programs that really look at the early stages — from ideas, planning and issues to overcome as an entrepreneur.”
Among the returning events will be “Pitchfest,” where owners of 10 selected start-ups will have a few minutes to sell their idea in the style of the television show “Shark Tank” to a panel of judges. The winner of the event, to be held on Oct. 12 at the Alex, will take home a $20,000 prize package.
Also returning will be a tech job fair organized by the Verdugo Job Center. The recently renovated Glendale Central Library will host the event this year, and more than 350 people are expected to attend.
While Tech Week’s closing ceremony will be on Oct. 12 at the Alex, there will be an additional tech-related event the next day. The third annual “Valley Hackathon,” sponsored by the Valley Economic Alliance, will be held on Oct. 13 at the Central Library. At the daylong competition, college and high school students will be divided into teams and assigned a technical problem to be solved by developing applications. First-, second- and third-place teams will receive prizes.
For more information and updates, visit glendaletechweek.com.
Twitter: @JeffLanda
