Some of Birmingham's most innovative tech businesses will open their doors for a day as part an event to boost collaboration in the city.

More than a dozen firms will tell the secrets of their successes as part of the first ever Birmingham OpenCo - a movement that started in San Francisco.

The event, on October 2, will be based at the offices of businesses in four clusters - Digbeth, the Jewellery Quarter, Innovation Birmingham and Alpha Tower.

Company bosses will reveal their journeys - the highs and lows - and field questions about their route to success.

Simon Jenner from Silicon Canal, which represents tech firms in the region, said the city would benefit from being more open.

Mr Jenner, who is also chief executive of tech accelerator Oxygen, said: "In general, the tech sector is really open. If you go to Silicon Valley and run into someone from Facebook and ask 'How are you doing this?' they will tell you.

"It is an open and collaborative environment and it is similar in London."

He added: "We need to make sure that the tech community is collaborating firstly but also open the doors to people from non-tech, like lawyers and accountants, so they can see there is some amazing start-ups which they probably didn't know about.

"The sector is too fragmented. There is lots going on but in little silos and Silicon Canal is trying to bring them together and give one single voice.

"I think currently other cities are better at shouting about their tech businesses. We probably have more than them but it's just finding them."

OpenCo, dubbed an "inside out" festival of business innovation, was founded in 2012 and has since become a feature of London and New York's tech scene.

Fifteen companies have signed up for the Birmingham event thus far.

Alongside Oxygen Accelerator, there is Packt Publishing, Orb, Glide, Magic Milestones, Whisk, e4f Centre, Majestic SEO, Vanti, VoxPopMe, StaySafe, JC Social, One Result, Digital Animal and Ooh-AR. However, more are expected to sign up in the weeks to come.

The day is split into seven 40-minute sessions from 10am, with some presentations running simultaneously.

Packt Publishing managing director David Maclean said attendees would pick up a few trade secrets and hear some inspiring stories.

"Anyone can come, see what is uniquely happening behind closed doors, and have a look at it," he said.

"It is an advert for Birmingham and it is a bit of a mentality thing. If you actually look at fast-growing cities, you find people are very open.

"One reason that Silicon Valley was successful is technology companies share ideas about and there is a fluid labour force.

"We have a mindset in England that it is a bad thing that companies' ideas are shared - we have to keep our doors closed and be really private.

"But all the evidence from fast-growing business shows that the more cross-pollination and sharing of ideas the faster everybody grows.

"You have to have a mentality that says 'I will be more successful if everybody in the cluster around me is more successful'.

"If you are open new ideas and new partnerships come your way. OpenCo comes from that mentality."