What's next happens at 1871

What's next happens at 1871

Join our innovation hub – an expansive community of founders, leaders, innovators, and supporters that is advancing the world forward and shaping a brighter future.

We inspire, equip, and support

We inspire, equip, and support

Early stage, growth stage, and corporate innovators in building extraordinary businesses from idea to Fortune 50.

$3.5 B

Raised in venture capital

17

Unicorns in membership

~14,500

Jobs created

850+

Alumni scaling

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IRL•VIRTUAL • VR

The convener of change-makers

The convener of change-makers

We’re an independent, nonprofit innovation hub named after the year of the Great Chicago Fire where innovators came together to rebuild and re-imagine what’s possible. To this day, we’re rooted in our city with a reach that spans the globe.

We believe in the power of “and.” By partnering with others, we create experiences where everyone can find belonging and win.

Here, surprise and serendipity can be found in every step of your journey. Because when you’re surrounded by a vibrant community, even the smallest and most unexpected interactions can create the greatest impact.

We're world's #1

We're world's #1

Top Business Incubator Private UBI Global 19 / 20 World #1

Fuel your next breakthrough

Fuel your next breakthrough

No two innovators’ journeys are the same, so we’ve curated our member experiences with products, community, and resources to help you reach new levels of creativity anytime and anywhere—at every step.

1871ers get to be a part of one of the only organizations in the country that brings together founders, leaders, investors, and mentors into a single, unified community.

Discover your next game-changing opportunity from the fortunate collisions!

No two innovators’ journeys are the same, so we’ve curated our member experiences with products, community, and resources to help you reach new levels of creativity anytime and anywhere—at every step.

1871ers get to be a part of one of the only organizations in the country that brings together founders, leaders, investors, and mentors into a single, unified community.

Discover your next game-changing opportunity from the fortunate collisions!

Member pathways

Membership options

Our membership options cover the full business maturity curve, whether you are ready to launch, accelerate, innovate, or lead. Find your fit to access our physical or virtual spaces, programming, events, marketing promotion, exclusive perks, peers, and more.

Early stage

Join ~400 early startups from idea to product-market-fit.

Growth stage

Join ~200 growth startups from seed to initial public offering stages.

Corporate

Join  200+ enterprise businesses innovating.

Want to connect as a partner or support? View other ways to engage.

1871 spotlight

1871 Spotlight

Here’s what our members have to say about their experiences…

Sara Agate
“Provided me with a community of women who I could grow with over several weeks through a transformative cohort experience filled with workshops and shareouts. The potential for relationship building and skill sharing has been valuable beyond the cohort!”

Sara Agate

CEO & Founder, MuniTask
Keesha Vinson

The beauty of a community is its common unity and to be surrounded with like-minded individuals with similar backgrounds and challenges makes the journey of entrepreneurship bearable. There was something so refreshing about seeing so many who look like you and are as ambitious, solving real problems.

Keesha Vinson

Founder, Heart of Culture, Inc.

Elissa Trainor
“This program provided me with the space, time and resources to think about what kind of leader I want to be and the skills I need to work on things like setting boundaries, effective communication, not needing the answer, and to let go of things and give others the opportunity to grow.”

Elissa Trainor

App & Mobile

Technology Director,

Lettuce Entertain You

Restaurants

Reginald Maisonneuve

“It has been challenging to find business-minded organizations that understand the complexities and challenges of being a Latinx startup and with whom we could engage at so many levels, feel at home, and welcome! They [1871 & IHCC] are making an important difference for us in the short time.”

Reginald Maisonneuve

Founder, Aegis

About

About

Learn more about who we are and what we’ve been up to on our blog!

How we got here.
Fortunate Collisions

Stay connected

Stay connected

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