Denton’s conference for creatives, techies, and entrepreneurs had a great fifth year, its second time being hosted at Sunago Bell, the top floor of the Wells Fargo building on the square. Previously held at Stoke and virtually, the venue for the conference once again proved to be the perfect atmosphere for learning from expert speakers and panelists and engaging with one another during breaks, lunch, and Big Ideas.
The energy of conference day was driven by our emcee, Darlisa Diltz, founder of the North Texas Entrepreneur Education and Training Center. Her introductions of each speaker and panelist and transitions from session to session kept the room on their toes. She also put into practice the sentiment, “never met a stranger,” and encouraged attendees to chat with the people around their table, making lasting connections with ease.
Kicking off speaker sessions with an inspirational and entertaining talk, Aaron Powell (Bunch Bikes), shared about his entrepreneurial spirit and all the forms it took over the years up to this point. Those forms included amber jewelry sales, electronics and appliance repairs (from phones to dryers) before today’s iteration: family cargo bikes. Motivated by freedom of time and family, Aaron pursued several different endeavors before landing on Bunch Bikes, which led to a pitch in the Shark Tank and improved operations and valuable insight the past few years.
We then heard from some of Denton’s finest creative minds on the Creative Economy Panel, moderated by owner and cofounder of Thistle Creative Reuse, Kari Meyercord Westerman. Panelists talked about how their passion and work come to life as well as about the struggles one can face when working mostly independently or alone.
Following the Creative Economy Panel, Randi Skinner (RS Consulting) and Heather Steele (Blue Steele Solutions) presented their Vision Value Model from their joint offering, Value Building Marketing. They emphasized the importance of identifying why you’re truly in business and what you see as your ultimate goals, which will then influence the road and continuously guide you to getting there.
We had a delicious spread for lunch that was catered by local favorite Chestnut Tree! Attendees who signed up to pitch a Big Idea for Denton shared their wishes and visions in a sixty second pitch. Ideas included a sustainability-minded shopping hub in Denton, a coworking style makerspace and studio spots, care for those in our community who were in foster care after “aging out,” a Denton Death Collective to approach the complexity of our mortality, and more!
Back for his second year speaking at FlintConf, Eric Swayne (Social Factor) presented the talk “How to Social Media Good in 2023,” sharing with attendees tips to connect with one’s audience as times change for the social media world.
We gained valuable insights about how to prepare a pitch for money to support one’s business during a Conversation with Denton Pitch Competition winners, Hannah McGinty of Modern Memoir and Hans Film and Photo, Sarah and Maggie of The Monthly Junk, and Parker Wallace of Circles U.
Tanya Smith (Get Noticed With Video) delivered a talk about growing one’s service business with a succinct process that focuses around really getting to know one’s target market, “Discover, Connect, and Sell: A 3-Part System for Building a Sustainable Service Business.”
Closing out the day, Stoke owner and executive director, Heather Gregory, presented her talk, “Purposeful Design That Impacts Your Bottom Line,” chronicling her formal education, career, entrepreneurial endeavors, and how she arrived at her current position at the help of Denton’s coworking space and entrepreneur hub, Stoke.
We couldn’t have asked for a better day for year five of FlintConf. The Stoke team continues to strategize on how to improve the annual event to best serve our Denton community, and we can’t wait to see you next year!
Thank you again to our sponsors, the City of Denton, TWU Center for women Entrepreneurs, and Wallace Accounting and Advisory.
