5 Takeaways on Building a Company With No Resources

The obstacles are always greater when you lack the funds to support your genius entrepreneurial idea. Victoria Elena Nones, Founder of Women in Comedy and 1871/IHCC Hispanic Technology Incubator alum, shares five key takeaways from her own entrepreneurial journey on how to maintain the right attitude when building a business on a shoestring.

[Read more…] about 5 Takeaways on Building a Company With No Resources

Earlier this year, my wife Tiffany mentioned an idea to me that might be a possible collaboration between 1871 and Energy BBDO, the Michigan Avenue-based advertising agency for whom she works. The idea was fairly straightforward — that the group of 25 or so Energy BBDO interns would work with 1871 startups over the summer to develop and pitch full advertising campaigns.

[Read more…] about Energy BBDO Interns Tackle “The Work” for 1871 Startups this Summer

Even though they’re learning the ins and outs of tech and business building while classes are out, Chicago students have had anything but a summer school experience at 1871 this summer. We welcomed students from both Rêve Academy and CoderSpace for a pair of innovative programs aimed at increasing opportunities in tech for young students and positively impacting communities.

[Read more…] about A Different Look at Summer School with Rêve Academy and CoderSpace

 We’ve talked and worried for years about the potential harm to businesses that unforeseen results and unintended consequences can cause, especially when the companies involved are new and relatively immature. When you read the typical after-action analyses, which try to make sense of these seemingly “abrupt” changes or the “surprise” upsets, they are almost always directed toward studying how well or poorly the particular actor, entity, or business fared as a result of the inability to anticipate or mitigate the nasty changes brought about by its own deliberate actions. Of course, these kinds of problems don’t simply effect newbies.

[Read more…] about Why You Never Saw It Coming

After planning her fair share of weddings and bachelorette parties for free, Christina Hecker decided it was time to make a little money on matrimony. Hecker, a member of WiSTEM’s fifth cohort, is the founder of Wedmony — an online platform that aims to connect couples planning their weddings and offers them simple tools to help them keep on schedule during the process.

[Read more…] about Wedmony Looks to Simplify Planning for Your Big Day