We’re Looking for Bold, Human Powered Session Ideas
Whether you’re a solopreneur or leading a team of 100, a strong team is the secret sauce behind a successful business. This year, the People Track is all about harnessing that human power. We’re looking for session submissions that focus on how businesses can build, lead, and sustain stronger, more resilient teams and leadership practices.
Whether you’re a founder, a manager, or someone who’s stepping into leadership for the first time, your ability to build, lead, and sustain a strong team is one of your most important assets. We’re bringing together two essential themes under the People Track umbrella:
- HR Strategies: How do you treat your staff, vendors, and partners like the invaluable resources they are? How can you create a company culture that supports engagement, incentives, and employee well-being?
- Leadership Development: How do you, as a leader, grow into the person your vision requires? We’ll dive into topics like purpose alignment, negotiation, and developing leadership capacities that are both bold and sustainable.
This track is designed to keep things real: practical, actionable, and grounded in experience. Our goal is for every session to deliver something that founders can actually apply in your business or leadership journey.
Let’s Talk Big Picture + Practical Application
The People Track is all about mixing the big picture with practical application. We’re less interested in concepts and theories, and more excited about strategies you can put to work immediately.
Here’s an idea of the kind of sessions we’d like to see:
- A panel on real-world health care solutions for small and mid-sized teams.
- A conversation about managing issues in remote teams, including what works (and what doesn’t).
- Sessions focused on practical personal development tools that can be used on the job — not just on weekends at retreats.
- Discussions around hiring, firing, engagement, and retention strategies.
- Ideas for promoting coherent, healthy company cultures across diverse teams—whether that’s different generations, technical versus administrative staff, or teams spread across multiple locations.
One thing we’re hoping to bring into focus this year is practical leadership strategies that make building and running a business just a little easier, especially in the areas where most founders or team leads feel stretched thin.
We Want Some Action!
Panels and interactive sessions tend to land best with the People Track audience. We want participants actively engaged, not just listening passively. Workshops can work, but only if they’re designed to deliver real wins or actionable tools leaders can take home and start using.
If you’re thinking about submitting a session idea, keep in mind we’re not looking for traditional “talking head” presentations. We want sessions that are hands-on, direct, and useful. Bring your experience, your practical tools, and your best ideas for engaging participants.
Tips for a Strong Session Submission
What makes a submission stand out?
- Creativity in approach: Don’t be afraid to mix frameworks or flip a traditional idea on its head.
- Actionable: Give people tools they can use, not just ideas to think about.
- Interaction: Build in ways for participants to engage and learn by doing.
- Concise, inspiring case studies: Share short real-world stories that spark ideas and motivation. Tip: avoid spending too long on storytelling without getting to the “how-to” part.
If you’re presenting with a co-speaker or collaborator, that’s great … as long as they’re bringing something extra to the session.
Who Should Submit?
We want to hear from you if you’ve been in the trenches building a business or a team and have figured out practical ways to lead, support, and grow the people side of your business. If you’ve struggled with your own leadership growth and found ways through those challenges, you’re exactly who we’re hoping will submit.
And honestly, presenting at West Slope Startup Week is fun. You’ll be part of a community that’s rooting for each other’s success.
The deadline to submit your session idea is June 18, 2025. Hope to see you — and your great ideas — there.
This year’s People Track Captain is Holly Woods PhD, Founder of Emergence Institute, helping founders, executives, and business owners to become purposeful about how to lead their business or organization and get out of their own way to fulfill their vision. If you have questions about submitting an idea, email her at holly@emergenceinstitute.net.
