To meet that objective, we provide our community with unfair advantages at scale, which includes 350 vetted mentors throughout a variety of industries, connections with several top-ranked universities, 100 partners, numerous venture funds, education programs and accelerators, and other organizations that serve to benefit local startups and businesses. Today, we’re located in a 140,000 square-foot space in The Merchandise Mart, where we are home to 450 high-growth technology startups and ~1,500 members supported by an entire ecosystem focused on accelerating their growth and creating jobs in the Chicagoland area.

As we get ready to turn the page and head into a new chapter, we’re proud to continue our support for the city’s tech and startup ecosystem. The impact our alumni community has had on Chicago is nothing short of extraordinary. In addition to the impact created by our alumni, our founder community has tackled policy, talked tech, and made moves. As a city of innovation, we don’t merely have big shoulders; we use them to raise founders up across the Midwest.

The Founder Community: A Year In Review

1871: THE CHICAGO GOOGLE FOR STARTUPS TECH HUB

BETSY’S TECH TAKE

From partnerships and sales to funding and recruitment, good press has helped a number of founders and startups in our ecosystem generate leads and business. 1871 and its member companies were featured, profiled, and covered by more than a dozen major-market media organizations this year, and we were mentioned in more than 100 stories. We’ve got our finger on the pulse of Chicago’s technology and business community, and we’re delighted to help increase education around innovation and entrepreneurship by serving as an asset for local, national, and trade media outlets.

Social Media

Our voice can be heard by an audience of more than 100,000 followers across all our digital platforms of entrepreneurs, investors, partners, policymakers, and the greater Chicago tech community.

From our alumni like SpotHero and Cameo, both of whom made TIME Magazine’s list of Most Genius Companies, to members like EX3 Labs, who continue to give back to the Chicago community by donating state-of-the-art technology to local schools, we are privileged to support a growing community of innovative founders in their mission to build the extraordinary.

Showcase Video

EX3 Lab’s Immersive Learning Lab Dedication

Through this grant, we’ve been able to host four forums dedicated to public policy. Each of these forums have convened founders, investors, and policymakers in an effort to break down policy-related barriers at the local, state, and federal levels. Working in tandem with the Kauffman Foundation, our team has focused on several policy-related challenges that are top of mind for our startups. This includes access to capital, small business regulations, tax reform, immigration and federal and state funding, and grant opportunities.

“Today’s Policy, Tomorrow’s Progress: Advocating for Entrepreneurs”

With their support, we create opportunities to help boost the local economy and facilitate greater innovation in the region. In 2018, we had the great fortune of partnering with exceptional organizations such as BMO Harris Bank, The Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Google For Startups to name just a few. Each partnership has furthered our ability to provide our member community with capital, state-of-the-art resources, and better serve Chicago’s founders, innovators, and pioneers.

Spotlight: Bosch, Chicago connectory

Our team and our board are not only committed to serving the city’s startup, tech, and business ecosystem, but they’re also dedicated to meeting—and exceeding—every goal that’s set in front of them. In 2018, we were ranked first in the world in the 2018 UBI Global list of Top University-Affiliated Business Incubators. That achievement is a direct reflection of the efforts put forth by our staff and board. Thank you to the amazing professionals that make up 1871; you are our greatest resource and we are truly lucky to have you.

Our Board

Our Staff

As long as brilliant founders continue to innovate and create ideas that will have a massive impact on our society, we’ll keep moving forward to ensure that they have all the resources they need to thrive. All of our achievements are made possible because we are a residence for a many of Chicago’s best and brightest. That includes our staff, board, members, community, corporate partners, sponsors, donors, and supporters—we thank you all for calling 1871 home. And of course:

Thank you, Chicago!