{"id":150561,"date":"2019-10-16T06:00:03","date_gmt":"2019-10-16T11:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=150561"},"modified":"2019-10-16T06:02:01","modified_gmt":"2019-10-16T11:02:01","slug":"ictp-077-creating-caribbean-see-kirk-anthony-hamilton-tech-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2019\/10\/ictp-077-creating-caribbean-see-kirk-anthony-hamilton-tech-beach\/","title":{"rendered":"ICTP 077:  Creating the Caribbean he wants to see, with Kirk-Anthony Hamilton of Tech Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Kirk-Anthony Hamilton is the Founder of Tech Beach, one of the leading business tech conferences in the Caribbean that is seeking to foster creativity and innovation by expanding our minds as to what is possible. Kirk discusses Tech Beach and what it aims to achieve, and also shares his own personal journey, especially the change in mindset he had to conquer, in order to challenge all of us to strive for more than the status quo.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/696670387&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>This episode is also available in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast\/id1373550291\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apple iTunes<\/a>\u00a0and on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast?refid=stpr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stitcher<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We tend not to give it much thought, but we are all creatures of our environment \u2013 our home life, our schools and even the wider community. In the Caribbean, and with the emphasis we tend to have on education, and on being successful in that space, undoubtedly, our attitudes and perceptions of the world, what is possible and what we might be able to achieve, have been shaped by that experience.<\/p>\n<p>However, in an environment in which we are expected to toe the line, be it at school or in the workplace \u2013 to not think beyond the status quo, or a particular construct \u2013 can we, in the Caribbean, truly foster innovation? The short answer might be no. Like any muscle, creativity has to be exercised, failing which, it atrophies. Hence, even when we are the freedom to create, we might still find ourselves imprisoned by our own self-imposed and limiting thoughts.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_150563\" style=\"width: 470px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-150563\" data-attachment-id=\"150563\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2019\/10\/ictp-077-creating-caribbean-see-kirk-anthony-hamilton-tech-beach\/kirk-anthony-hamilton-ka-hamilton\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Kirk-Anthony-Hamilton-KA-Hamilton.jpg?fit=640%2C539&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"640,539\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 5D Mark III&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1510387361&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;50&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;1000&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.000625&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Kirk-Anthony Hamilton (KA Hamilton)\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Kirk-Anthony Hamilton&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Kirk-Anthony-Hamilton-KA-Hamilton.jpg?fit=300%2C253&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Kirk-Anthony-Hamilton-KA-Hamilton.jpg?fit=640%2C539&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-image-150563\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Kirk-Anthony-Hamilton-KA-Hamilton.jpg?resize=460%2C387&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"460\" height=\"387\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Kirk-Anthony-Hamilton-KA-Hamilton.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Kirk-Anthony-Hamilton-KA-Hamilton.jpg?resize=300%2C253&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 460px) 100vw, 460px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-150563\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kirk-Anthony Hamilton<\/p><\/div>\n<p>That was the experience of this episode\u2019s guest, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/kirkanthony\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kirk-Anthony Hamilton<\/a>, the Founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/techbeach.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tech Beach<\/a>, which is one of the leading tech conferences in the Caribbean. Kirk is also an entrepreneur, investor and experiential designer. He is the Founder and CEO of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.infinitipartnership.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Infiniti Partnership<\/a>, which has interests in the hospitality, entertainment and lifestyle sectors, and the co-curator of the Destination Experience; which gathers a global network of business leaders and influencers to promote investment, prosperity and philanthropy in the Caribbean.<\/p>\n<p>As we continue our look at innovation, our focus today is on another element of the innovation ecosystem \u2013 the tech event, such as Tech Beach, but would include meet-ups, conferences, workshops, to name a few. At its core, Tech Beach aims to foster creativity and innovation, by highlighting to its participants what is possible. However, to get to that point, Kirk also had to recognise and challenge his own limiting mindset, which he discusses during our interview.<\/p>\n<p>When we sat to chat with Kirk, he was in the throes of preparing for \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/techbeach.net\/pages\/bermuda\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fintech Innovation Island<\/a>, which will be held in Bermuda later this week, 17\u201418 October, and at that time, was about a month away. However, we wanted to know more about Tech Beach, what it aims to achieve, the extent to which tech events can foster innovation, along with learning more about Kirk&#8217;s own journey to entrepreneurship and thinking outside the box. So, in our conversation with Kirk, some of the questions we posed included the following:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>How would Kirk describe Tech Beach, and what drove him to set it up?<\/li>\n<li>How is Tech Beach doing? What has been the response to the event, within the region, and by the international community?<\/li>\n<li>What has been Kirk&#8217;s journey to entrepreneurship<\/li>\n<li>Are there any themes or emphases for the upcoming Tech Beach events?<\/li>\n<li>How effective has Tech Beach been in nurturing ICT\/tech innovation?<\/li>\n<li>What are Kirk\u2019s thoughts on the sharp increase in tech events in the Caribbean, and whether he thinks having all of those events is good and\/or effective?<\/li>\n<li>What might be some of the lessons Kirk has learned since the first Tech Beach?<\/li>\n<li>If someone wants to create a space, similar to what Tech Beach, what advice might Kirk offer?<\/li>\n<li>Where would Kirk like to see\u00a0Tech Beach in the next 3 to 5 years?<\/li>\n<li>What\u2019s next for Kirk-Anthony Hamilton?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>We would love to hear from you!<\/p>\n<p>Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ICTPulse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Facebook<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ict-pulse-consulting-limited\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LinkedIn<\/a> pages, or via Twitter, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ICTPulse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>@<\/strong>ICTPulse<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Select links<\/h3>\n<p>Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/kirkanthony\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kirk-Anthony Hamilton<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/techbeach.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tech Beach<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.infinitipartnership.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Infiniti Partnership<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mydestinationexperience.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Destination Experience<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/techbeach.net\/pages\/bermuda\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fintech Innovation Island (Tech Beach Bermuda)<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Loop Jamaica article, <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.loopjamaica.com\/content\/tech-beach-retreat-gains-international-recognition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tech Beach Retreat gains international recognition<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<li>The Gleaner article, <em><a href=\"http:\/\/jamaica-gleaner.com\/article\/outlook\/20181223\/kirk-anthony-hamilton-gets-innovative-caribbean-ecosystem-technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kirk-Anthony Hamilton, Gets Innovative With Caribbean Ecosystem, Technology<\/a> <\/em><\/li>\n<li>Resident article, <em><a href=\"http:\/\/residentpublications.com\/jamaica\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">JAMAICA: Annual Visionaries\u2019 Summit<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Image credits:\u00a0 StockSnap (<a href=\"http:\/\/pixabay.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pixabay<\/a>);\u00a0 K A Hamilton<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Music credit:\u00a0 Ray Holman<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kirk-Anthony Hamilton is the Founder of Tech Beach, one of the leading business tech conferences in the Caribbean that is seeking to foster creativity and innovation by expanding our minds 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