TCSW FAQ

Twin Cities Startup Week is dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religion, national origin, political affiliation, veteran status, or branch of military service.

We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate for any Twin Cities Startup Week event, including talks and individual sessions, headline events, and social events. Participants violating these rules may be sanctioned and/or expelled from the conference at the discretion of the conference organizers; they may also be barred from participation in future Twin Cities Startup Week events.

We define “participant” as anyone taking part in Twin Cities Startup Week activities in any form. This includes presenters (speakers, panelists, moderators, and anyone else involved in the presentation of a session), venue hosts, sponsors, exhibitors, volunteers, organizers, attendees, and anyone else playing a role in Twin Cities Startup Week.

Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

• Verbal or written comments that reinforce social structures of domination related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religion, or national origin.
• Sexual images in public spaces
• Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or unwelcome following
• Harassing photography or recording
• Sustained disruption of talks or other events
• Inappropriate physical contact
• Unwelcome sexual attention
• Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior

Enforcement

If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the organizers retain the right to take any actions necessary to maintain a welcoming and safe environment for all participants. This includes warning the offender or expelling them from the conference. Twin Cities Startup Week is a distributed conference; those expelled from a session may be barred from attending or asked to leave subsequent sessions regardless of whether any subsequent offense has taken place.

Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

Event organizers may take action to redress anything designed to, or with the clear impact of, disrupting the event or making the environment hostile for any participants.

We expect participants to adhere to this Code of Conduct at all sanctioned Twin Cities Startup Week events, regardless of whether they occur during the official event dates, in the lead-up to the event, or after its conclusion. This expectation extends to participation in all online forums managed by or related to Twin Cities Startup Week, including but not limited to session submissions, the Twin Cities Startup Week website, the TCSW slack channel, and any social media.

Exhibitors at any event, including vendors and sponsors, are also subject to this Code of Conduct. In particular, exhibitors should not use sexualized images, activities, or other material. Booth staff (including volunteers) should not use sexualized clothing/uniforms/costumes or otherwise create a sexualized environment.

Reporting

If someone makes you or anyone else feel unsafe or unwelcome, please report it as soon as possible. Twin Cities Startup Week Staff can be readily identified by staff badges.

Harassment and other code of conduct violations reduce the value of Twin Cities Startup Week for everyone. We want everyone to derive as much value as possible from Twin Cities Startup Week and associated events.

You can send an electronic report to tcsw@beta.mn or fill out this form. For obvious reasons, we cannot follow up directly with individuals who submit an anonymous report, but we will fully investigate all anonymous reports we receive and take whatever action we deem necessary to prevent a recurrence.

You may also make a personal report by contacting a member of the event staff (identified by staff badges).

When taking a personal report, our staff will ensure you are safe and cannot be overheard. They may involve other event staff to ensure your report is managed properly. Once safe, we will ask you to tell us about what happened. While we understand that this can be upsetting, we promise to handle it as respectfully as possible, and you can bring someone to support you. You will not be asked to confront anyone, and we will not reveal your identity.

You can electronically submit repots of harassment or inappropriate behavior via this online form or by sending an email to tcsw@beta.mn.

Please also feel free to talk to a TCSW team member if there are any issues. Your issue will be handled with the sensitivity and urgency it requires.

• Educate the audience, don’t give a sales pitch.
• Ensure your content is relevant and is valuable to listeners.
• Be professional and respectful. We have a no tolerance policy for mistreatment or discrimination against our volunteers, staff, and attendees.
• Be inclusive. If your session or event consists of three or more speakers, we ask that your session’s presenters include at least one individual from an underrepresented group (e.g., female, person of color, LGBTQ+).
• Arrive to your session fifteen minutes early.
• Respect other speakers and make sure that you end on time.
• Make a minimum of three posts on social media about your session (before, during, after).

Yes. For groups of 3+, we ask that there is some sort of representation from an underrepresented group (e.g., Woman, LGBTQ+, BIPOC).

Please read more about DEI at TCSW 2025 in the additional FAQs below.

All accepted sessions will be featured on the TCSW 2025 schedule. Promotion of individual sessions (social posts promoting specific sessions, for example) is the responsibility of session hosts.

Yes! While all TCSW sessions will be in-person and hosted at the three downtown Minneapolis venues, TCSW is open to anyone and everyone.

All sessions will be in-person this year.

If a session host wants to record or have their session live-streamed, they must provide all of the technology and cover all fees associated with live-streaming equipment.

Your content should inspire (help people get excited!), connect (help bring like-minded people together to discuss big ideas and network), and/or enable (help teach a skill or set of skills).

No. All TCSW 2025 events are in-person and will require in-person volunteers.

If you have other ideas of how you can contribute to TCSW 2025, however, please let us know.