1871 hosted its LTNtech Pitch Competition Finals on 10.11.23, where the top 5 Latin early stage startup founders were given the opportunity to pitch to secure resources for their business. Finalists included: We Hear You, Sensytec, Route, KIKrr, & The Jefas.
Emceed by Rosa Escareño, General Superintendent & CEO of Chicago Park District, finalists competed for cash prizes, equity funding, and other opportunities to advance their startup to the next level.
Relive the event’s best moments in our recap playlist, including interviews from panelists, pitch finalists, and more.
2023 LTNtech Pitch Competition results & their winnings
- We Hear You, taking home $8k dollars & $10k in Aloa development credits
- Sensytec, taking home $5k dollars & $2.5k in Aloa development credits
- Route, taking home $4k dollars & $2.5k in Aloa development credits
- KIKrr, taking home $4k dollars & $2.5k in Aloa development credits
- The Jefas, taking home $4k dollars & $2.5k in Aloa development credits
Alongside winning cash & equity prizes and development credits, the finalists received six months of free 1871 membership to access valuable resources, products, and programming to further accelerate their entrepreneurial journey.
Importance of funding for Latin founders
According to Inc., Latin founders are the fastest growing demographic of entrepreneurs in America, but they’re the least likely to receive funding and revenue to scale their businesses. 1871 and Chicago startup innovators want to help change that.
Before the pitches, 1871 had an incredible panel discussion, Growth & Gaps – Future of Latin Startups in Chicago, with Inicio Ventures and Latin industry leaders and founders, including Desiree Vargas Wrigley, CIO & Executive Director of P33, Tricia Martinez-Saab, Managing Director of TechStars Chicago, and Osvaldo Montelongo, CEO of ConnectCareHero.
The panel, moderated by Kaili Emmrich, Head of North America, Google for Startups, discussed Chicago’s current investment and funding ecosystem and what local venture firms are doing to help close the wealth gap for Latin founders and their startups.
“Chicago has a great wealth and history of being innovative, and the mixture of Latinx being in that, with 30% Latinos in Chicago, it should be one of the biggest hubs for Latinx founders in our ecosystem,” said Jorge Calderon, Managing Director at Inicio Ventures. “We should take this moment and realize we have a critical mass to support and help each other, and these types of events are celebrations of us.”
The panelists shared the biggest challenges faced by Chicago founders, including the need to seek angel investor funding in other cities, missed local investment opportunities, and underutilization of the city’s remarkable resources. The solution? Cultivating camaraderie in local communities and actively investing & building with local entrepreneurs and investors.
“There’s an entire ecosystem of people out there that are going to be new into the startup ecosystem, and so it’s our priority to make sure that we have a more inclusive environment that provides those resources to those individuals,” said Tricia Martinez-Saab. “It’s also really important for our future that we see the top scientists, technologists and founders are people that look like us – we need to highlight and show more representation in all fields.”
“Before you make a decision that involves any kind of spending, ask yourself, ‘Is there a Chicago company solving this problem?’ And if you’re a Chicago company that’s building, we should be marketing to each other first and trying to make sure that the dollars are moving around here to support each other,” said Desiree Vargas Wrigley. “We have so many incredible assets in the city, including the founders and creative energy of our community.”
Thank you to our 2023 judges:
- Eric Eversman, Senior Associate at Wintrust Ventures
- Jorge Calderon, Managing Director at Inicio Ventures
- Steve Shein, Investor at OCA Ventures
- Arantxa Valverde, Director of Early Stage Program: PYROS at 1871
- Betsy Ziegler, CEO of 1871
This competition was made possible by our investment partners Inicio Ventures, OCA Ventures, and Wintrust Ventures, and our sponsors Aloa and Microsoft.
About LTNtech
LTNtech is 1871’s umbrella of programming centered around inspiring, equipping, and supporting Latin founders and leaders through tailored programming and mentorship initiatives, including LTNtech Founders and Tech Leaders.
Celebrate Dia de los Muertos at our upcoming Happy Hour on 11.01, located at 1871. Participate in our first-ever community Day of the Dead altar, paint sugar skull cookies, and learn about the significance of the holiday, its symbolism, and more, hosted by our newest community resource group, LTNtech Voices.
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