Watch: Jai Shekhawat Named 2016 Entrepreneurial Champion

1871 announced Friday the arrival of three Finland-based startups, marking the first time partner company Sente Advisory Services has welcomed companies from the Finland to Chicago as part of Sente’s ongoing international efforts on behalf of 1871 and Chicago. The purpose of the program is to invite companies from overseas to Chicago in hopes that these companies are able to gain entry into the U.S. market through the relationships, introductions and efforts of the program.

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1871 announced Thursday the expansion of WiSTEM, its women-focused entrepreneurship program that tackles major barriers faced by women in the entrepreneurship community. The expansion — made possible by grant funding from JPMorgan Chase among other sponsors — will allow for three cohort-based programs in 2017 that focus on capital, community and technology — adding an extra cohort for the year. 

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The 9th Annual Momentum Dinner at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel was an enormous success, bringing together the best and brightest in Chicago to once again to celebrate the past, present and future of the Chicago entrepreneur. Hosted for the benefit of 1871 by the CEC, the 2016 Momentum Awards welcomed more than 800 guests to celebrate “Impact and Purpose” — a theme that recognized the leaders in the community who embody the unique and unselfish spirit of the entrepreneurial community in Chicago.

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There have been a lot of prescriptive articles about the critical–and often ignored or overlooked–need for succession planning in large companies, particularly at the highest management level. And I’ve seen the massive notebooks at some big businesses that detail the candidates and the replacement process for practically every member of the senior team. 

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Hardly a week goes by without my hearing yet another version of the same startup struggle. The companies may change, but the song remains basically the same: we couldn’t find it so we had to build it and now “it” is a bigger business opportunity for us than the business we set out to build in the first place.

[Read more…] about The Beauty of Backing Into a Business