Being an entrepreneur, small business owner, consultant, contractor or otherwise working independently can feel lonely at times. You’re driven and disciplined, and you have your routine and methods, but you might lack motivation, inspiration, or the tools you need to work better or improve your operations. It’s natural and familiar to experience this, even if you work with a team rather than just working solo.
This is one of the reasons why Stoke hosts FlintConf, Denton’s startup conference for hipsters (creatives), hackers (techies), and hustlers (entrepreneurs). Not only are the speakers and panelists familiar with that experience and are able to speak to how to improve it, but so are your fellow attendees sharing the table.
FlintConf 2022 attendees participating in a game design activity
We surveyed potential attendees before initially planning conference content (all the way back in 2019!) and have also asked for feedback from attendees after FlintConf as well to ensure that sessions and panels are useful and valuable to those attending. Every year, we’ve worked to curate content and invite speakers and panelists to FlintConf who will inspire and support attendees by sharing their experiences and expertise. They’re able to provide tips and tools on specific business-related topics to help you with your own business endeavors.
Because of these surveys and feedback, speakers and session leaders are a mix of established entrepreneurs, successful small business owners, professionals working in small business development and human resources, and experts in their fields. Here’s what you can expect at FlintConf this year!
Darlisa Diltz will emcee during FlintConf, introducing speakers and keeping the day’s activities moving along smoothly. Darlisa is an entrepreneur herself, and she played a vital role in several ecosystem build-outs such as the St. Louis Cortex Innovation District, Women’s Business Centers and instructional programs such as WIBO (Workshop in Business Opportunities), FastTrac and The Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative, formally known as Ice House.
In 2018 Darlisa opened North Texas Entrepreneur Education and Training, LLC, the 1st for-profit business service organization in the metroplex with a focus on Entrepreneur education and development. In 2021, her organization graduated 193 entrepreneurs from their programs and in 2022, she lead the Global Entrepreneurship Week efforts for all of North Texas.
Bunch Bikes CEO and founder, Aaron Powell, on Shark Tank
Speaking about his journey from educator to entrepreneur, Aaron Powell, founder and CEO of Bunch Bikes, as seen on Shark Tank, will be the first speaker session of the day. Aaron is a life-long bike enthusiast and started Bunch Bikes after falling in love with Scandanavian bicycle culture on a family trip to Malmö, Sweden in 2016. He was the first Denton entrepreneur to appear on Shark Tank a couple of years ago!
We’ll also hear from Eric Swayne, VP of Strategy and Insights at Social Factor, an agency that takes brands from digital chaos to human connection, unlocking the value of social media. Given social media’s constantly changing nature, Eric’s talk will be about how to use it to your business’ advantage, cleverly titling his talk “How to Social Media Good in 2023.”
Tanya Smith, founder of Get Noticed with Video, will discuss a system for building a sustainable service business. Tanya is a graduate of the third cohort of the AccelerateHER incubator program and has so much knowledge to share.
Stoke members and savvy business women, Randi Skinner, RS Consulting, and Heather Steele, Blue Steele Solutions, will give a joint talk and share their vision-value model for developing a strong marketing strategy for your business.
The first panel of the day will be moderated by Stoke executive director and owner, Heather Gregory. The panel focus will be the creative economy of Denton, and we’ll hear from Anthony Najera of Colectivo Creative Media, and Savannah Kurka of Savvie Creative Studio and the DIME store.
We’ll hear from winners of the first-ever Denton pitch competition in the second panel, which will be moderated by Juli James, entrepreneur, educator, veteran, and associate director of Stoke. Panelists include Denton business owners and entrepreneurs, Hannah McGinty of Hans Film & Photo and Modern Memoir, Sarah Adams and Maggie Rieth Austin of The Monthly Junk, and Parker Wallace, creator of app Circle U!
Big Ideas pitch-ers from FlintConf 2022
After lunch, attendees can sign up to share a one-minute pitch about an idea, project, addition, or wish that they have for Denton. This is a shortened version of Big Ideas, an annual Stoke event that invites and gives a platform for members of the community to share their ideas for what would make Denton an even better place to live, work, and play.
Tickets for FlintConf are only $50. The conference will be held at the gorgeous venue, Sunago Bell, on the 8th floor of the Wells Fargo building on the Denton square. Breakfast and lunch will be served by a local Denton restaurant.
A view of Sunago Bell and of Denton