My Day Speaking at TechWeek Chicago!

I LANDED IN RAINY CHICAGO THURSDAY MORNING JUST IN TIME FOR MY TALK AT TECHWEEK CHICAGO (20 MINUTES PRIOR TO BE EXACT, FLIGHT WAS DELAYED BEACUSE OF THE RAIN) . I WALKED IN AND WAS GREETED BY THE EVENT ORGANIZER AND TECHNICIAN TO HOOK UP MY MIC AND HIT THE STAGE.

THE PLAN TO ATTEND TECHWEEK CHICAGO WAS PLANNED LITERALLY 48 HRS BEFORE I WAS SUPPOSE TO SPEAK. THERE WAS A MIX UP WITH SCHEDULING AND I DIDN’T HEAR ANYTHING FROM THE ORGANIZER SO I REACHED OUT THROUGH AN EMAIL. SHE GOT BACK TO ME ONE WEEK BEFORE THE CONFERENCE ON A POSSIBLE SPEAKING OPPORTUNITY. A WEEK WENT BY AND NO WORD, THEN I RECEIVED INFO FOR A WOMEN IN TECH BREAKFAST FOR THE UPCOMING THURSDAY. SO I HAD TO PREPARE QUICKLY.

MY TOOLS FOR TRAVEL (ONE DAY): FULLY CHARGED PHONE WITH CHARGER, VERY BIG HANDBAG (BEAUTY ITEMS, BUSINESS CARDS, AND CHANGE OF SHOES) AND JACKET FOR THE PLANE.

NOW THANK GOODNESS FOR ONENOTE BECAUSE I WASN’T SURE WHAT I WANTED TO SAY DURING MY SPEECH AND NEEDED TO WRITE NOTES THE DAY BEFORE I LEFT AND ON THE PLANE. I WAS ONLY GOING TO BE IN CHICAGO FOR ABOUT 12 HOURS SO I NEEDED TO SPEAK, MEET NEW PEOPLE, CAPTURE MEDIA AND POST.

IF YOU HAVEN’T TRIED ONENOTE, I SUGGEST YOU START USING ESPECIALLY IF YOU TRAVEL FOR WORK. YOU CAN CAPTURE PHOTOS, IDEAS AND WRITE TO-DO LISTS VERY EASILY AND SHARE TO YOUR TEAM.

THANKS TO AWESOME MC JILL SALZMAN A.K.A FOUNDING MOM (PICTURED HERE…LOVE HER GLASSES!) FOR MY GREAT INTRO TO THE AUDIENCE!

I STARTED MY TALK WITH MY BACKGROUND AND HOW I STARTED MY FIRST COMPANY AND WHY I CHOOSE TO LEARN TECHNOLOGY SKILLS. I ALWAYS ADD A FEW FUNNY REMARKS ABOUT WHEN I WAS YOUNG AND LEARNING COMPUTERS, INSTEAD OF MY MOM PLACING ME IN COMPUTER CLASS SHE PLACED ME IN DANCE CLASSES LOL..(IT’S A CULTURE THING LOL)

THE TALK ENDED WITH QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE AND OF COURSE A SELFIE!
(IN THE PICTURE: TECHWEEK CEO-KATY LYNCH, THE FOUNDING MOM, CAPITAL ONE PANELISTS AND THE EVENT ATTENDEES)

AFTER A FULL DAY OF TECH EVENTS, MY DAY ENDED AT THE FOUNDER’S HOUSE FOR VIP TREATMENT WITH CONFERENCE SPEAKERS.

NOW FOR AN OFFICIAL INTRO: MEET NEW TECK WEEK CEO, KATY LYNCH
BADASS WOMAN RUNNING EVERY CITY FOR TECHWEEK
FOLLOW HER ON TWITTER @THEKATYLYNCH