1871 Selected for Blackstone Inclusive Entrepreneurship Grant

June 2, 2017 by J Blaszczykiewicz

1871 was selected by ChicagoNEXT, World Business Chicago (WBC) and the Blackstone Charitable Foundation to join a cohort of organizations who will receive grant funding from the Blackstone Inclusive Entrepreneurship Challenge. The Blackstone Challenge is a three-year pilot program awarding up to $3 million to innovative organizations that effectively support diverse entrepreneurs and scale start-ups in the Chicago area.

May 22, 2017 by J Blaszczykiewicz

Google for Entrepreneurs announced Thursday that Peanut Butter, an 1871 member company that helps employers offer student loan assistance, will join the 2017 Google Demo Day. Peanut Butter and other companies selected from across the network will travel to the Bay Area in June to to showcase their innovative technology to investors at the event and to an international audience via a livestream.

May 19, 2017 by J Blaszczykiewicz

At 1871, it is part of our core values to provide resources and support to every single subset of our diverse community and to level the playing field for entrepreneurs so they have every ability to build their businesses successfully. Today, we are announcing a new benefit for our members that will allow themselves and their employees to deal with immigration-related issues efficiently and effectively.

May 15, 2017 by J Blaszczykiewicz

The Chicago Connectory, an Internet of Things (IoT) innovation space in the historic Merchandise Mart, launches today as a new center for IoT co-creation in Chicago and the Midwest United States. Startup organizations, corporations and universities will collaborate at the Chicago Connectory through membership, programming and strategic partnerships to create IoT solutions and business models.

May 2, 2017 by J Blaszczykiewicz

1871 marked its 5th birthday in Chicago Tuesday by announcing a massive celebration for the elite tech community from the city and beyond that has helped build and nourish its unique ecosystem inside The Merchandise Mart over the past half-decade.

April 27, 2017 by J Blaszczykiewicz

In this profile of WiSTEM C4 members, Ritu Trivedi-Purohit, PsyD, Founder and CEO of thriveosity, tells us about her innovative solution to improve quality of life and health outcomes for cancer patients.

April 27, 2017 by J Blaszczykiewicz

In this profile of WiSTEM C4 members, Kara Scanlin, CEO and Co-founder of Lystr, introduces her innovative IoT hardware solution and app that helps users quickly build grocery lists using the UPCs of items in their kitchens.

April 25, 2017 by J Blaszczykiewicz

In this profile of our WiSTEM C4 members, Lisa Souter, Founder and CEO of Sparkl, introduces her on-demand car wash that’s eco-friendly and caters to businesses and residential buildings in addition to consumers.

April 21, 2017 by J Blaszczykiewicz

BMO Harris Bank today announced a partnership with 1871 – a leading technology and entrepreneurship ecosystem which is currently home to nearly 500 high-growth digital startups in the Merchandise Mart– that will provide a select group of FinTech startups the opportunity to participate in a three-month mentorship program.

April 20, 2017 by J Blaszczykiewicz

In this profile of WiSTEM C4 members, Brianna Wolin, CEO and Co-Founder of Find Your Ditto, tells the story of how her personal journey with chronic illness led her to create a tech-enabled solution for in-person peer support.

April 19, 2017 by J Blaszczykiewicz

1871 is excited to announce WiSTEM’s new Programming Partnership with InvestHER. Lakshmi Shenoy, 1871’s Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, spoke with Gerri Kahnweiler and Cayla Weisberg about the goals of the partnership and their vision for women entrepreneurs:

April 19, 2017 by J Blaszczykiewicz

At the end of March, 1871 CEO Howard Tullman and I had the great opportunity to join 100 other entrepreneurial ecosystem builders in Washington, DC for the Rise of the Rise Conference, powered by Revolution Ventures and Steve Case. The goal of the conference was to share best practices from various entrepreneurial hubs from the “rest” of the country (not California, New York and Massachusetts, which receive 80% of the total venture capital dollars in this country).

April 18, 2017 by J Blaszczykiewicz

In this profile of WiSTEM C4 members, Tiffany Mikell, CEO/CTO and co-founder of Aerialspaces talks about her journey from working as a software engineer to founding her virtual events app.

April 13, 2017 by J Blaszczykiewicz

In this profile of WiSTEM C4 members, Angie Rivera, co-founder and CEO of InReach talks about the communications platform she is building to connect prospective college students with current college students for a more authentic and informative experience when selecting schools.

April 11, 2017 by J Blaszczykiewicz

In this profile of WiSTEM C4 members, Kim Lewis, founder of CurlMix, talks about her subscription-based program that allows women with curly hair to easily and affordably mix their own hair products.

April 6, 2017 by J Blaszczykiewicz

In this profile of WiSTEM C4 members, Barbara Provost talks about the financial empowerment network and platform she is building for women.

April 4, 2017 by J Blaszczykiewicz

In this profile of members of the WiSTEM C4 cohort, Zenah Khawaja of Semiautomatic Semiotics talks about her virtual reality platform meant to benefit brick-and-mortar businesses.

April 1, 2017 by J Blaszczykiewicz

Students from seven Chicago-area University Partners are set to participate in a long weekend of immersive workshops, mentorshop, and pitch practice beginning March 31. A record number of students will participate this year in what has become a hugely-anticipated event by university students.

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