1871 and the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center announced Monday that the 10th Annual Momentum Awards will be held November 2, 2017 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. The awards will honor the best and brightest of Chicago’s tech community in a variety of categories.
[Read more…] about 10th Annual Momentum Awards: Details Announced
Mark Vargas, President of Licentiam
[Read more…] about Meet A Member: Mark Vargas of Licentiam, An IHCC And 1871 Cohort Company
IHCC President and CEO Omar Duque and 1871 Incubator Director Manny Ozaeta took to the Tastytrade airwaves last week to chat about the latest news out of 1871’s first incubator cohort for Latinx entrepreneurs. Appearing on the Bootstrapping in America program, the pair talked with host and Chicagoland Entrepreneurship Center Board Member Kristi Ross about the curated content and mentorship opportunities provided to the 12 Latinx owned startups by the joint 1871 and IHCC incubator.
[Read more…] about 1871 and IHCC Incubator Leaders Featured on Tastytrade
12 Latinx-led startups joined 1871 in late October for a 12-week accelerator program co-facilitated by 1871 and the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. As they progress through the cohort program and prepare for their Demo Day March 1, we’ll be posting Q&As with each company on the 1871 blog to introduce them to the community. This week, Ramon L. Rodriguez, Founder and CEO of Collaborate.biz, talks about his platform that matches businesses with strategic partners, which he describes as “LinkedIn meets Match.com.”
[Read more…] about Meet Aa Member: Ramon L. Rodriguez of Collaborate.biz
mRelief helps families in 42 states around the U.S. find out if they qualify for government social services like food stamps, transportation or child care assistance.
In a recent post I explained the importance of timing in the shutdown of an unsuccessful business. The main point is that, especially in the context of a “fire sale,” most tech startups and digital businesses don’t have too many hard assets to offer, but if the entrepreneur doesn’t wait too long, there is still plenty of potential value to be realized. Sometimes the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.
[Read more…] about Getting Out Whole – With Your Soul Intact
If you love Springsteen songs for the lyrics like I do (not that there’s anything wrong with the music) then you know what I mean when I say that there’s a line or a poignant phrase from some Bruce song that seems perfect for just about any and every occasion. I can think of dozens of times – staring down into one abyss or facing up to another impending disaster– when the Boss was the only solace I could find.
At 1871, each staff member is allocated a cash allotment to donate to a charity of their choice. On the 1871 blog, we’re highlighting the stories behind these donations throughout the month of December and beyond. Read on to learn about the causes Jeanne Reidy, VP of Events; Lakshmi Shenoy, VP of Business Development; and Tom Alexander, COO are passionate about.
They’re 50 of Chicago’s hottest tech companies, players and supporters, and many of them have something in common: They have deep connections to the 1871 community. The ChicagoInno 50 on Fire Awards wrapped Dec. 8, with a ceremony narrowing the 150 finalists to 50 companies who are among the hottest in Chicago.
[Read more…] about 50 on Fire: 1871 Community Well Represented in ChicagoInno’s Annual Awards
You can’t spell “teach” without t-e-c-h. At 1871, our members are driven to give back to the community. During Computer Science Education Week (Dec. 5 – 11), we were inspired to see the successful graduation of 1,000 6th, 7th and 8th grade students, including here in Chicago, from the Capital One C1 Coders Program, which encourages students during the 10-week program to explore careers in software development and science, technology, education and math.
12 Latinx-led startups joined 1871 in late October for a 12-week accelerator program co-facilitated by 1871 and IHCC. We’ll be posting Q&As with each company to introduce them to the community. This week, Victoria Elena Nones, Founder and Executive Director of Women in Comedy, talks about the support platform and network she is building for female comedians to connect, learn and become empowered as they seek paid work in the industry.
[Read more…] about Meet a Member: Victoria Elena Nones of Women In Comedy
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Today we are thrilled to launch the 1871 Store, a swag hub for the makers, doers, builders and thinkers of the Chicago tech community who wear their pride (literally) on their sleeves. The custom designs represent the diverse and evolving culture of 1871 and capture the unique “get it done” spirit of our community.
[Read more…] about Everyone Loves Swag! Introducing the 1871 Store
Visitors to 1871 are always surprised to see so many gray hairs zipping around the place. (No one here saunters – everyone’s in a hurry.) That’s because a significant portion of these older folks are our mentors and, while gray hair can be simply a sign of age and not necessarily of wisdom, that hasn’t been our experience.
[Read more…] about Old School: Who Said You Have to Be Young to Be an Innovator?
Twelve Latinx-led startups joined 1871 in late October for a 12-week accelerator program co-facilitated by 1871 and the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. We’ll be posting Q&As with each company on the 1871 blog to introduce them to the community. This week, Kristen Sonday, COO and Co-Founder of Paladin talks about the personalized pro bono tracking platform for the legal community she’s helped develop along with Co-Founder Felicity Conrad, and the impact she hopes it makes.
As an employee benefit in 2016, each 1871 staff member was allocated a cash amount to donate to a charity or cause they hold dear; organizations whose initiatives ranged from education to compassion, leadership to social justice. In the spirit of #GivingTuesday this year, we wanted to share the stories and experiences that led to these donations from 1871 on behalf of each team member — all of which are a reflection of the diverse and deeply held values throughout the 1871 staff.
[Read more…] about 1871 Team Gives Back for #GivingTuesday 2016
I used to feel bad for the guys in our IT department because they had the same career issue that the heads of Homeland Security have. As we all know, the terrorists and other scumbags only have to get it right one time and horrible things can happen. Yet our counter-terrorism teams and other law enforcement agencies have to try to be right every time and then, when nothing happens, no one bothers to thank them or offer recognition for their work.
Who would have thought that there would be some worthwhile words of wisdom coming from Glinda, the Good Witch, in Wicked? I saw Wicked again recently for the umpteenth time and I was struck by how relevant some of the lyrics from the song “Thank Goodness” were to the entrepreneurial mindset and to the ways many entrepreneurs behave.
[Read more…] about Why Entrepreneurs Are Really Terrible at Saying Thank You