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The Magic of Momentum Explained

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For 15 years, the Momentum Awards have annually celebrated tech innovation & impact across greater Chicago and beyond. But what makes them so special? 

This award program  is our premier event, bringing together our full community of innovators, leaders, supporters, & partners to make the largest celebration of tech in Chicago!

Here’s your primer on everything you need to know about the Momentum Awards, its history and evolution, & the impact it has on the work we do for our community!

View 2021’s recap here.

About the event 

Each year, the Momentum Awards honor the top tech innovators and leaders that are disrupting their industries, building up their communities, & shaping the future.

Our 8 awards represent key areas of achievement across the entire business maturity curve, from idea all the way to Fortune 50. Together, our award ceremony recognizes the strength of our community and the ingenuity that emerges when innovators are connected with the necessary resources, mentorship, & support system.

The Momentum Awards supports our mission 

As a 501c3, the work we do is made possible by the generous support of our community. The Momentum Awards is our most important fundraising event of the year, so you can help us continue to inspire, equip, & support innovators and leaders across the entire maturity curve for years to come by making a contribution, becoming a sponsor, or attending the event!

You can also help us recognize the best in tech by nominating yourself, your company, or your peers across our award categories. Nominations open each year during the summer, and your participation will help determine which innovators and leaders make our esteemed group of finalists!

Finally, you can support us by celebrating with our community at the event itself! Just reserve your ticket and join us in-person or virtually for the big day. 

The story of the awards

The Momentum Awards actually predate 1871 itself!

The Chicago Entrepreneurial Center (CEC) first introduced the awards in 2007 as a way to bring attention to the people who were building businesses and growing the community at a time when not many viewed Chicago as a top tech startup destination. 

A lot has changed in 15 years! Since our first event, we’ve seen incredible growth in our local tech industry in large part because of the strength of our community. Every day, founders are creating important solutions, building new businesses, and scaling their companies, and our annual gathering has evolved as well to reflect these developments. The Momentum Awards serves as the largest tech networking event and celebration of innovation in Chicago!

In 2020, we welcomed our community of growth stage companies following the acquisition of the Illinois Technology Association (ITA, which expanded our event to include winners from across the entire business maturity curve. With awards recognizing early stage startups, growth stage companies, and corporate innovators, the Momentum Awards celebrates outstanding individuals and companies now matter where they are at in their business journey!

The Momentum Awards impact

Not only is it one of the best places to connect with some of the brightest stars in tech, the Momentum Awards also has a long history of recognizing startups that have become leading disruptors in their industries. You’re sure to recognize many of our past winners, including Cameo, tastytrade, Discover, Rheaply, and ShipBob just to name a few.  In fact, it wouldn’t be the first time one of our award recipients became Chicago’s next unicorn! 

As an attendee, you’ll also see the density and diversity of our community on full display. The Momentum Awards brings together our full community of members, mentors, corporate sponsors, community & university partners, VCs, alumni, & policy makers for an unforgettable night of celebration and highlights what makes 1871 special—the energy that comes from every fortunate collision with supporters that share your passion for innovation!

For any questions about Momentum contact [email protected]

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Want to help us recognize the best in tech but don’t know where to start?

Each year at the Momentum Awards, we honor the innovators & leaders across the business maturity curve with 8 awards representing key areas of achievement—with 6 that are open to public nomination & vote! 

Nominations for the 15th Annual Momentum Awards are open until 6.17! 

We know that it can be hard to know where to start with so many incredible community members, so we put together a helpful list of resources you can reference before you cast your nominations:

Fast 50: Chicago’s Fastest-Growing Companies 2022

By Sophie Rodgers, Crain’s Business Chicago

Meet 30 Companies in Chicago Pushing the City to New Heights

By Matthew Urwin, Built In Chicago

Top Chicago Startups to Watch in 2022

By Lauren Zyber, Purpose Jobs

The 25 Best Tech Companies in Chicago to Work for in 2021

By Tiffany Webb, Flatiron School

Best of SaaS: The Top Tech Companies in Chicago

By Brittany K. King, Learn Hub

These 5 Chicago Companies Ranked on Forbes’ Best Startup Employers List

By Abel Rodriguez, Built In Chicago

Top Startups in Illinois

Startup Ranking

2022 Best Tech Startups in Chicago

The Tech Tribune

230 Illinois Companies Make Fastest-Growing List: Inc. 

By J. Ryne Danielson, Patch

Nominations will be accepted from Wednesday, June 1, 9AM CST through Friday, June 17, 11:59PM CST via Reviewr.

Want to learn more? We are hosting two introductory webinars on the categories and process. Register for them here: June 8 @ 10am CST | June 9 @ 1pm CST.

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1871 and Long-Time Partner BMO Open WMNfintech Applications to Support Progress of Women-Led Startups

● “WMNfintech” is North America’s largest nonprofit fintech industry program for women-founded and women-led startups, developed by BMO and 1871 

● Applications are open from March 20-April 17, 2023 

● Any women-founded or women-led fintech startup in North America that has a brand presence in the United States may apply 

● More than 15 percent of women fintech founders in North America have participated in WMNfintech

CHICAGO, March 21, 2023 ─ BMO and 1871 today announced a call for applications for the fourth annual WMNfintech, the largest non-profit fintech industry program for women-founded and women-led startups in North America. The program, designed to support the financial progress of women in fintech, bridges the gender gap in the startup and tech community by giving more women entrepreneurs the opportunity to bring innovative technologies and products forward that support the financial sector. 

Since launching in 2020, women-led fintechs that have completed WMNfintech have raised more than $29M in capital and created over 170 jobs. Out of all women fintech founders in North America, 15 percent have come through BMO’s doors and became a valuable part of its ecosystem – which continues to grow following BMO’s recent acquisition of Bank of the West that now positions the bank in three of the top five U.S. markets.

Additionally, BMO has expanded its national fintech network by hosting the “WMNfintech Lounge” at the annual Fintech Meetup in Las Vegas, one of the largest financial technology events in the world happening this week. 

Five companies will be selected to participate in the program to support the progress of women founders in the following ways: 

  •  Curated fintech amplified learning workshops delivered by BMO leaders.
  • Additional curriculum focused on enterprise sales cycles, vendor management, information security, risk and regulatory requirements, and media training. 
  • Opportunity to pitch to investors and BMO ecosystem partners for feedback, mentoring, continued connections, and/or funding. 
  •  Access to an immersive 12-week educational programming known as PYROS 
  •  Six months complimentary membership to 1871, including access to its space, resources, and roadmap of support.

A virtual information session will be held on March 29th, from 1:00 – 2:00 PM CST for attendees to learn more about the program, eligibility, and cohort involvement. Sign up here.

“BMO is invested in zero barriers to financial progress, and in the world of financial technology, WMNfintech is the only program of its kind that connects women founders to one of the best ecosystems in North America to diversify their networks, pitch products and services to investors, and create opportunities to secure capital,” said Andrew Harrison, Head of U.S. Digital Partnerships at BMO. “Each year, we see how our program helps founders create meaningful growth. We are eager to meet this year’s cohort that will no doubt transform the banking experience.” 

“Women are unapologetically taking the fintech industry by storm, and it’s vital that corporations team up with proven young startups to accelerate innovation and success,” said Betsy Ziegler, CEO of 1871. “ Year after year, we’ve seen extraordinary female founders in this program solving very important problems. We are excited to partner with BMO once again in delivering this program.” 

To apply for the WMNfintech program by April 17th and learn more about the program, click here.

WMNfintech strongly aligns with BMO’s Zero Barriers to Inclusion strategy that supports equity, equality, and inclusion in and outside the bank. The program is also another example of BMO’s Digital First strategy, focused on building a digitally-enabled, future-ready bank that drives progress for its customers, unlocks the power of its people, and delivers loyalty, growth, and efficiency. 

BMO is committed to supporting the advancement of women through the following commitments and programs: 

● $1.2 million in funding to SheEO – a not-for-profit company which offers financial support to businesses led by women and non-binary people. BMO’s financial commitment allowed SheEO to fund all 2021 venture applicant companies. 

● BMO Empower 2.0 – a series of long-term commitments to advance inclusive economic recovery and address barriers faced by minority businesses, communities, and families in the United States. The plan builds upon the bank’s previous $5 billion EMpower commitment for which the bank exceeded its goals early. 

● As part of EMpower, announced $300 million for Women in Business and BMO for Black and Latinx Businesses to provide better access to affordable credit lending, meaningful partnerships, resources, and tools to create more opportunity for growth and real financial progress. 

● BMO Celebrating Women Grant Program – an annual partnership with Deloitte to award $80,000 in grants, in both the U.S. and Canada, to support the high-level growth plans of women-owned businesses. 

● BMO Returnship Program – a partnership with The Mom Project to provide mothers who have a gap in their career or have left the workforce a smooth path to return without having to start over. 

● Set new diversity goals for senior leader and executive roles through its Zero Barriers to Inclusion 2025 strategy, including maintaining its leadership in gender diversity with at least 40 percent of senior leadership roles filled by employees who identify as women.

About BMO Financial Group 

Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider – the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North America. With total assets of $1.15 trillion as of January 31, 2023, and a team of diverse and highly engaged employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets. 

About 1871 

1871 is Chicago’s innovation hub and the #1 ranked private business incubator in the world. It exists to inspire, equip, and support early stage, growth stage and corporate innovators in building extraordinary businesses. 1871 is home to ~400 technology startups, ~200 growth stage companies, and ~1,500 members, and is supported by an entire ecosystem focused on accelerating their growth and creating jobs in the Chicagoland area. The member experience includes virtual and in person access to workshops, events, mentorship, and more. The nonprofit organization has 350 mentors available to its members, alongside access to more than 200 partner corporations, universities, education programs, accelerators, venture funds and others. Since its inception in 2012, more than 850 alumni companies are currently still active, have created over 14,500 jobs, and have raised more than $3.5 billion in follow-on capital. 

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February 8th 2023. Chicago, IL – nuEra, a leading Chicago-based cannabis company, is proud to announce its sponsorship of 1871’s Cannabis Innovation Lab. The Lab’s mission is to connect early startups in the cannabis industry with growth-scalers, corporate innovators and venture capitalists with the goal of solving industry problems with technology and particularly in promoting social equity and diversity.

“We are thrilled to support the innovative work being done at the Cannabis Innovation Lab,” said Laura Jaramillo Bernal, COO of nuEra. “We believe that by supporting the collaboration between startups, social equity license winners and established cannabis companies, we can help drive the sort of innovation that will make Chicago the undisputed hub for the cannabis industry in the country and the world. And as a socially responsible company, we’re committed to mentoring new entrants in the industry and promoting diversity and innovation through the lab’s platform.”

The Cannabis Innovation Lab provides a unique opportunity for startups to access the resources and expertise of 1871, one of the leading technology and innovation centers in the United States. The Lab is focused on identifying and addressing the most pressing challenges facing the cannabis industry, such as supply chain management, regulatory compliance and leveling-up social equity and diversity in the industry.

nuEra’s sponsorship of the Cannabis Innovation Lab is a reflection of the company’s commitment to driving progress and innovation in the cannabis industry. By supporting the Lab, nuEra is helping to create a more sustainable, diverse and successful future for the industry.

For more information about the Cannabis Innovation Lab, please visit 1871’s website.

About nuEra:

The name nuEra highlights the fact that legalization in Illinois didn’t just change the laws on the books – it unleashed a whole new era of cannabis. An era in which cannabis is safer, higher quality and available in a greater variety than ever before. Canna-consumers have more methods of consumption, more strains, more precise dosage labeling, and better information about the effects of each of our products than any generation before them.

nuEra sources the highest quality products to suit the needs of qualified Illinois Medical patients and 21+ adult-use customers alike. nuEra has been operating in Illinois since the start of the Medical Cannabis program in 2015 and currently operates six dispensaries in three major Illinois metros, with several more slated to open their doors in 2023.

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The Future of Payments

The recent surge of states like Missouri, Connecticut and Maryland passing legislation for legalized cannabis in some form has been nothing short of revolutionary. Not since the end of alcohol prohibition in 1933 has a product been rapidly unleashed onto the licensed market with such high and widespread demand. With each passing year, cannabis legalization, normalization, and demand continue to grow.

‍While the industry looks optimistically towards the future, the current federal classification of cannabis brings substantial challenges for dispensaries when it comes to payments. A common issue faced by rising cannabis businesses is the need for reliable, consistent, and fully compliant cannabis payment services.

As technology endeavors to provide cannabis companies with compliant solutions, what does the future of paying for legal cannabis look like?

It’s no surprise that experts are forecasting big moves on the tech side of the cannabis industry in 2023. With a growing customer base and new technology, the cannabis industry is likely to continue experiencing growth in the next few years. The number of legal cannabis consumers is expected to reach close to 71 million by 2030. New products and services that could help propel the sector even further are likely to be launched in near future, especially concerning payments for cannabis dispensaries.

What are some other trends we expect to see in the future for cannabis payments?

We’ll see bigger players entering the cannabis market.

Emerging markets in states like New Jersey are being closely watched and are setting the precedent for legal cannabis markets on the east coast. In Q3 alone, New Jersey saw over $100 million in recreational cannabis sales. Experts believe the success of adult-use cannabis legalization in New Jersey has pressured neighboring states like New York to do the same. 

The legalization of cannabis in New York is a big step toward seeing mainstream ancillary businesses including financial services, banking, accounting and more enter the cannabis space. This will provide the industry with much needed support and enterprise-level solutions. As the Safe Banking Act failed to pass in 2022, showing a stronger need for cannabis normalization, we can only hope to see more mainstream companies entering the cannabis space sooner rather than later.

Shoppers will leave the cash behind.

Less and less American consumers are using cash when they shop. A survey from U.S. Bank found that 50% of the respondents carried cash less than half of the time when they went out. Millennials have flocked to new digital payment trends like Apple Pay, Zelle, and Venmo. What does all this mean for cannabis payments? 

Though cash payments are the most common way to transact in the cannabis retail space, it is not without its share of complications. Transacting predominantly in cash, especially when operating at a high-volume location, can create unforeseen additional costs associated with cash management. With digital payments, e-transfers, and smartphone wallets now seen as the common form of payment, more customers are moving away from cash. 

Cannabis retailers have been using cashless ATMs, or “point of banking” systems, as a workaround to allow customers to use their bank cards at checkout. Business owners can “mask” payments to hide transaction details like the name of their business and the products sold. As the industry continues to evolve, staying current on the latest payment solutions is crucial in staying competitive, compliant, and transparent. Because cannabis is still federally illegal, accepting payments like this is technically unlawful. Credit card companies like Visa have warned the industry against cannabis payments that run on the card rails.

The recent crackdown on using cashless ATMs will have a large impact on the industry and there will be an increase in digital cannabis payment processors for dispensaries. 

Cashless payments will continue to increase in popularity, allowing customers to pay with mobile devices at dispensaries and other cannabis businesses via contactless and digital payments. Expect to see bank-to-bank transfers via ACH overtake alternative payment methods and “workarounds” such as Cashless ATMs. Differentiators for contactless payments will go beyond transaction fees with a focus on speed and settlement times, risk and fraud protection measures and supporting marketing programs. Secure and safe transactions will be key as risky cash transactions continue to dwindle.

Technology will start to bundle up.

Partnerships with large-scale tech companies and other big players will lead the way by offering integrated solutions for cannabis businesses with much more flexibility, choice, and scalability. More companies want bundled integrated solutions for limitless combinations of one-stop shopping. Digital payment providers like Aeropay, for example, have already partnered with some of the top technology companies, including Jane, Akerna, Flowhub, Dispense and Mosaic, among many others, to offer all-in-one payment and business management opportunities.

These robust integration solutions will allow business owners to integrate all aspects of their dispensary, including e-Commerce or cannabis delivery, for seamless digital transactions and store management. For developers and business owners, payment processors will continue to offer the latest easy-to-implement SDK, a more extensive library for complete customization, and access to more advanced out-of-the-box integrations with numerous point-of-sale and cannabis eCommerce platforms.

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With smiles and shared enthusiasm, a community of women professionals, founders, leaders, and allies gathered on the morning of March 8th for our annual International Women’s Day.

 Hundreds of attendees  buzzed in our auditorium,  chatting, connecting, and uniting under the goal of furthering equity. The content was on 🔥💡!

The day was filled with interactive, custom-designed workshops from our education partner Sandwina, which split off into “founders” and “leaders” tracks. Following the workshops, we hosted “Conversations with Leaders,” where Betsy Ziegler interviewed Suzanne Muchin, Co-founder of BonfireWomen and Clinical Professor at Kellogg School of Management, and Andrea Zopp, Managing Partner at Cleveland Avenue.

This year’s hybrid event was made possible by World Business Chicago and GET Cities, and we couldn’t thank you enough! 

If you missed the event, or want to revisit content from the day, don’t worry – We took notes! Enjoy our recap of quotes, video content, and more below. Find our IWD 2023 youtube playlist here. Subscribe here.

Opening Remarks

In her opening address, 1871 CEO Betsy Ziegler kicked off the conversation by reminiscing on the last three years – from the early stages of the pandemic to where the tech community is today. 

“This day matters,” said Ziegler. “Everything has changed over the last three years. How we work, interact, communicate. Status quo is redefined. IWD is a reminder that everyone can make a difference, work towards a gender equal world. No matter where you are in your path, you’ll benefit.” 

Ziegler asked the crowd to not only applaud themselves for showing up to learn and grow as individuals, but to applaud ourselves as a community for how far we have come, from “surviving” to “thriving” as we continue  in our own journeys. 

The aim of the IWD 2023 #EmbraceEquity campaign theme is to get the world talking about why equal opportunities aren’t enough. People start from different places, so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action. Read more about this here.

Staggering statistics were shared regarding the inequality for VC funding ,investing, and other roadblocks faced by minorities in tech. Not only just women founders and leaders, but other underrepresentated groups, such as Black founders and leaders, Latin founders and leaders, etc. 

Ziegler then tasked the crowd with several goals for the day: ‘Think of one to two things you can do to create an equal world, meet someone new, and most importantly, have fun’.

“It’s time for all of us to create and own a new vision of the future,” said Ziegler. “A future where people of all backgrounds have the opportunity to fund, found, lead, partner, and scale new innovations and visions.”

Founders Track Workshops

Bridget Lohrius, Founder & CEO of Sandwina, and Ellie Bahrmasel, Co-Founder & CEO of Further Faster,  taught attendees how to get women founders funded, along with sharing insider tips on how to do so in ‘Closing the Investment Gap: Getting Women Funded Faster’. 

Lohrius and Bahrmasel shared that one of the best practices women founders can do, is to create a ‘Whisper Network’. This is when individuals create a network of people who know their story, can speak highly of them and their work, and can spread their name in any room they walk into. 

“Know your power, keep your faith in what you’re building, ask people to remind you what you’re building and build that whisper network,” said Lohrius. ”Make those connections and enjoy the benefits. Be confident, be bold, be proud – because you’re doing amazing things.” 

Julie Bronsteatter, Mental Fitness Enthusiast & Sandwina Coach took the stage after Lohrius and Bahrmasel for ‘A Personal Branding Story – How a marketing professional scrapped her marketing knowledge to build and own a brand she loves’.

Bronsteatter shared her personal story about finding her own path in life, and shared several tips on what other women founders can do to take themselves and their business to the next level. Her overall tip to hesitant crowd members, “just f**king start.” 

Leaders Track Workshops

Sandwina Coach Azalia Speight kicked off the Leaders Track workshops with ‘The Art & Science of Allyship: How Fear Feeds the Gap’. 

Speight shared that several factors, such as current societal norms, conscious and unconscious bias, and resistance to vulnerability and equity, are reasons we as a society continue to “feed” inequality. Speight then shared how we as a community can acknowledge these barriers and stand up for ourselves and others when faced with inequity. 

“You’ll be surprised that we all have platforms, we all have opportunities, and we all have power that will allow us to elevate others and be true allies,” said Speight. 

Bridget Lohrius and Sharmili Majmudar, Executive Vice President of Policy, Programs, and Research of Women Employed, finished the Leaders Track workshops with ‘Fixing the Broken Rung – The Pipeline to Equity’’. 

Lohrius and Majmudar shared that the inequity of women in the workplace results in several factors, such as gender pay gap, underrepresentation in the workforce, unequal opportunities to move up in the work ladder, etc.

One major takeaway was for women professionals to raise their voice against inequality in the workplace, and to hold their organizations accountable. 

Conversations with Leaders

1871 COO Lisa Laws kicked off the ‘Conversation with Leaders’ panel with a non-traditional, yet exhilaratingly entertaining ‘rap’ introduction of our guest speakers, with help from Chat GPT. 

A huge thank you to Suzanne Muchin and Andrea Zopp for joining Betsy Ziegler on stage and sharing their professional insights and personal experiences. 

Topics of discussion ranged from learning when to ask for help, building relationships, learning from life’s turning points, and comical personal stories woven throughout. 

Zopp shared stories about her journey early on in her career and the challenges she faced, and conquered, along the way. Her best advice for women uncertain with their career? Trust yourself.

“Because of those relationships and the way my life went that I would never have thought about, it worked out totally fine,” said Zopp. “I could not have seen that, and I call out to you that things will happen that you feel are a derailment, and that’s okay. You will recover, and if not, recover better if that had not have happened to you. Trust.”

Muchin ended the conversation by sharing key values women professionals should keep in mind as they continue in their journey. 

“We are not in a world where we deeply understand the value proposition that women bring to the workplace,” said Muchin. “ If you don’t fundamentally believe that you can be successful, no one else will. Only if you see within your own underlying value proposition, that you are making the world a better place, and you become more valuable.”

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us this year and celebrated women’s achievements with us! We hope you had a great time and continue to #EmbraceEquity all year long. We’ll see you next March for IWD 2024!

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1871 and Long-Time Partner BMO to Host WMNfintech Lounge at Fintech Meetup 2023

CHICAGO (March 15, 2023) – 1871, a global non-profit innovation hub, and BMO are excited to host the WMNfintech Lounge at Fintech Meetup, the fintech industry’s largest meet-up in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 19th, 2023.

The WMNfintech Lounge is a pop-up space showcasing the success of the WMNfintech program, 1871 and BMO’s award-winning mentoring and accelerator experience. It’s also North America’s largest nonprofit fintech industry program for women-founded and women-led startups. 

Since launching, the women-led fintechs in the program have raised more than $29M in capital and created over 170 jobs. Additionally, over 15 percent of all women fintech founders in North America have come through BMO’s doors since 2018 and become a valuable part of its ecosystem. 

Additionally, on March 20th, 2023, applications to join Cohort 4 of WMNfintech open as the Fintech Meetup kicks off its second day. More details may be viewed here.

The WMNfintech Lounge will highlight 17 alumni of the program to share their experiences, allow attendees to learn more about the program and how to get involved, as well feature a panel focusing on gender diversity in fintech.

Attendees have the opportunity to walk through the lounge and connect with 1871, BMO, WMNfintech alumni, World Business Chicago as well as Jump Capital, which will be joining this lounge as its supporting venture capital (VC) and civic partners. Other agenda items include startup pitching and thought leadership panels. More details here. 

The WMNfintech program is part of 1871’s overall affinity offering “WMNtech,” a product line of women-centric experiences that focuses on exclusively supporting women in tech. Other programs include WMNtech Founders, WMNtech Pitch Competition, and WMNtech Leaders. 

“The fintech world is being positively changed by extraordinary female founders and we are proud to champion their early wins, and create opportunities for them to grow,” said 1871 CEO, Betsy Ziegler. “We’re excited for the WMNfintech Lounge to celebrate program alumni, women who are actively leading fintech companies, and the collective impact of 1871 & BMO’s innovation partnership within the industry.”

“BMO and 1871 have created the best ecosystem for women-founded fintechs across North America and we are thrilled to share the success of WMNfintech with the industry so we all can proactively address and close the gender gap,” said Andrew Harrison, Head of U.S. Digital Partnerships at BMO. “From partnering with our alumni and investing in their innovative companies to providing them with the right tools and resources for success, BMO is devoted to the progress of women-founded and women-led startups as we prepare to kick off the program’s fourth year.”

WMNfintech Lounge Agenda

3.20.23 

12:15 – 1:15 PM 

How to Show Up for Women in Fintech

Panel hosted by Nicole Casperson, Founder of Fintech is Femme, involving WMNfintech 2022 Cohort Founders

5:00 – 5:30 PM

Masterclass on Chicago Fintech 

Moderator

Alexandra Oleksiuk, World Business Chicago

Panelists

Investor perspective: 

Tarun Gupta, Jump Capital

Founder perspective: 

Rochelle Nawrocki-Gorey, SpringFour

Innovation hub perspective: 

Stephanie Miller, CXO, 1871

5:30 – 7:00 PM 

Startup Pitches

Spring Four
Plinqit
Arena Pay
Trustate
IndieTech
Expand HR
CreditRich
Homezada

3.21.23

12:15 – 1:00 PM

WMNfintech Program Q&A

A WMNfintech Program Q&A will be held for attendees to learn more about the program and how they can get involved.

Featuring

Andrew Harrison, Head US Digital Partnerships, BMO

Alycia-Aubrey, Sr. Director of Affinity Programs, 1871

4:30 – 6:00 PM

Startup Pitches

Xeni
Grounded
Caribou
Sign-Speak
Pocketnest
Second Keys
TruCrowd Illinois
Debtle

About BMO 

Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider – the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North America. With total assets of $1.15 trillion as of January 31, 2023, and a team of diverse and highly engaged employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.

About 1871 

1871 is Chicago’s innovation hub and the #1 ranked private business incubator in the world. It exists to inspire, equip, and support early stage, growth stage and corporate innovators in building extraordinary businesses. 1871 is home to ~400 technology startups, ~200 growth stage companies, and ~1,500 members, and is supported by an entire ecosystem focused on accelerating their growth and creating jobs in the Chicagoland area. The member experience includes virtual and in person access to workshops, events, mentorship, and more. The nonprofit organization has 350 mentors available to its members, alongside access to more than 200 partner corporations, universities, education programs, accelerators, venture funds and others. Since its inception in 2012, more than 850 alumni companies are currently still active, have created over 14,500 jobs, and have raised more than $3.5 billion in follow-on capital.

Contact

1871: J Blaszczykiewicz, Sr. Director of Marketing. [email protected] 

BMO: Lucas Seiler, Senior Manager, Media Relations. [email protected] 

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CHICAGO, March 13, 2023- 1871 has opened applications for their WMNtech Founders program, starting April 2023. This unique affinity offering runs for twelve weeks, combining professional development curriculum, mentoring, and peer group development to elevate women tech founders and their startups. Applications for both members and non-members will be accepted through April 3rd, 2023. The program will run from 4.11.23 – 6.20.23, every Tuesday, from 3:00 – 5:00 PM CST. 

This cohort is designed to create a safe, judgment-free space for women founders to meet others in similar entrepreneurial situations to connect and address unique challenges they face due to their gender. 

“I truly believe this program is vital as it focuses solely on the founder, which is often neglected by founders when it comes to starting their company,” said Alysha-Aubrey Bursey, Senior Director of Affinity Programs at 1871. “It’s unfortunately inevitable these women will face tough entrepreneurial challenges simply because they are women founders. 1871 strives to arm them with the skills and tools necessary to not only face these challenges, but overcome them. It’s an honor to watch the positive impact this program has on their journey – not just during and immediately after the cohort, but for years to come.” 

WMNtech Founders is supported by Molson Coors. This will be the 16th cohort of the program.

About the experience

Key takeaways for participants in the program: 

  • Learn how to maximize their key leadership skills
  • Gain confidence in themselves and their startups 
  • Overcome obstacles one faces when starting a business
  • Build reputable relationships with experienced founders and 1871 members who are dedicated to supporting this group. 

“WMNtech Founders provided me with a community of women who I could grow with over several weeks through a transformative cohort experience filled with workshops and share outs,” said Sara Agate, CEO & Founders of MuniTask. “ The potential for relationship building and skill sharing has been valuable beyond the cohort. Many thanks to those who make this program possible!”

“As a Black woman in tech & solo founder, it’s tough to find the “right” community to help you take your start-up to the next level,” said Ayrika Craig, Founder of Barter-E. ” I joined the cohort hoping to connect with like-minded individuals to help me navigate the journey of becoming a great founder. After completing this program I was not only able to connect with like-minded individuals, but also gain tons of wisdom that has saved me time and money! Being able to hear and have access to founders who have walked the current path I’m on is PRICELESS. I believe there is power in community and 1871 has provided me with the right amount of knowledge to keep moving forward.”

Important Dates

About 1871

1871 is Chicago’s innovation hub and the #1 ranked private business incubator in the world. It exists to inspire, equip, and support early stage, growth stage and corporate innovators in building extraordinary businesses. 1871 is home to ~400 technology startups, ~200 growth stage companies, and ~1,500 members, and is supported by an entire ecosystem focused on accelerating their growth and creating jobs in the Chicagoland area. The member experience includes virtual and in person access to workshops, events, mentorship, and more. The nonprofit organization has 350 mentors available to its members, alongside access to more than 200 partner corporations, universities, education programs, accelerators, venture funds and others. Since its inception in 2012, more than 850 alumni companies are currently still active, have created over 14,500 jobs, and have raised more than $3.5 billion in follow-on capital.

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1871 Announces its Spring ’23 WMNtech Leaders Cohort

Our WMNtech Leaders program kicked off in February 2023, and we are honored to announce the 31 women professionals participating in this innovative cohort! 

This 4-month accelerator and mentoring initiative is designed to cultivate the next generation of early-tenure women leaders by accelerating and developing their professional skills through curated programming. This is the 5th WMNtech Leaders cohort. 

Ethos, a culture consulting meets diversity, equity, inclusion firm, co-developed this program in 2019, and have continued to partner on delivery.

About the cohort

Participants in this cohort are high potential, early-tenured women professionals who exhibit exceptional promise in their current leading market-facing or technical roles. Participants  have an average range of 3-10 years of personal experience in their field. 

The cohort meets virtually between 2.24.23 – 6.14.23 for programming, workshops, and 1:1 mentoring. 

Cohort members are paired with a volunteer “Super Mentor”, meeting several times throughout the program to discuss leadership, personal, and professional development skills. We are so grateful for our mentors who have volunteered to support this program with their dedicated time, experience, and expertise.  

While WMNtech Leaders is one cohort, its peer-driven forums and group coaching sessions are split into two groups — market-facing and technical — to  equip each group with the necessary tools and resources to amplify their development, and meet their primary takeaways of the program. 

Market-Facing Leaders

Individuals who work in Marketing and Communications, HR, Sales, Customer Service, etc. 

Alicia Newland, VP of Digital Marketing at Double Good 

Amanda Ho Sang, Associate Director of Product Strategy at CCC Intelligent Solutions 

Andrea Proos, Senior Program Manager at CCC Intelligent Solutions 

Annalise Arigi, Marketing Associate at Morningstar 

Beatriz Kauffmann, Program Associate of ThinkChicago, at World Business Chicago

Celine Brookover, Marketing Manager at Morningstar 

Hollee Mangrum-Willis, Senior Program Manager at One In Tech, an ISACA Foundation

Jenna Blaszczykiewicz, Senior Director of Marketing at 1871

Kathy Wang, Associate Director of Product Management at  CCC Intelligent Solutions

Michelle Malcolm, Senior Director, Enterprise at Morningstar

Sarah Quinlan, VP of Marketing and Partnership Enablement at ThinkCERCA

Technical Leaders 

Individuals who work in Software Engineering & Development, IT, Analytics, etc. 

Allison Korhan, Data Scientist at Journera 

Anusha Satish Thattehalli, Data Engineer at  CCC Intelligent Solutions

Candace Draves, Senior IT Services Manager at Advanced Technology Services

Courtney Horne, Associate Manager of Salesforce Admin at CCC Intelligent Solutions

Dana Mock, Engineering Team Lead at Jellyvision

Eileen Dominic, Director of Engineering at Skillful.ly 

Henna Loungani, Engineering Manager at Yello 

Jennifer Walsh, ServiceNow Business Systems Analyst at Morningstar

Joanne Sfatcu, Senior Software Engineer at CCC Intelligent Solutions

Julia Holovko, Chief Product Manager at Corner

Kaitlyn Kimble, Project Manager at DeVry University

Kanthi Komar, Data Scientist at Journera  

Lauren Howerter, Lead Product Designer at dscout

Maryam Moghimi, AI-Enablement Lead Engineer at CCC Intelligent Solutions

Pragya Shrestha, Manager of QA at Morningstar

Sasha Korobko, Director of Engineering at dscout 

Sidra Bhatti, Software Engineering Manager at Vivid Seats 

Subhashini Srinivasan, Senior Software Engineer at CCC Intelligent Solutions

Swetha Derangula, Software Engineer at CCC Intelligent Solutions

Taylor Greene, Engineering Operations Manager at Upfront Healthcare 

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Author: Billy Anglin, Cybersecurity Exam Engineer, ISACA
Date Published: 10 January 2023

 

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1871 Announces its Spring ‘23 BLKtech Founders and LTNtech Founders Cohort

We have some exciting news to share! Here are the 41 participants involved in our spring 2023 BLKtech Founders and LTNtech Founders programs. 

These 10-week experiences, running 2.7.23-4.11.23, will enable participants to:

  • Maximize their key leadership strengths
  • Overcome challenging obstacles when running a startup
  • Build relationships with experienced founders and mentors dedicated to supporting them. 

Designed to inspire, equip, and support Black and Latin founders, participants will also get exposure to professional development curriculum, mentoring initiatives, and peer group development curated to them as they continue in their entrepreneurial journey. 

BLKtech Founders is supported by Verizon, Molson Coors, EY, Food Foundry, and William Blair. This will be the 4th cohort of the program, created in 2020. Jeff Osuji, Founder and CEO of Eventnoire will serve as our Entrepreneur in Residence.

LTNtech Founders is delivered in partnership with the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. This will be the 11th cohort of the program, previously called “Latinx,” renamed in 2022. 

BLKtech Founders Cohort Members 

Anthony Ferguson, Founder + CEO of The LYC Products Company

Brandon Anthony, Founder + CEO of Aequus HQ

Bridgette Washington, Founder + CEO of Ravevenn

Bryant Alexander, CEO at Pathways

Carl Vann, Founder of Pass the Peaz

Damondrick Jack,  CEO of VacayHQ

Danté Hamilton, President of  Internet Webpages Newspaper, Inc. 

Dege Nsoki,  CLO at Virtual Practicum, LLC. 

Derek Drew, Co-Founder of Plasia

Dominique Woods, Founder of SoPureFoods

Dwayne Harris, Founder + CEO of  HEL-GIE LLC

Jazmine Sanders, Founder of App Life SM

Justin Harris, President of eTITLE AND ESCROW 

Keith Gordon, Founder of Keith The Computer Guy

Kesia King, CEO at CHOP CHOP Mobile Salon & Barber

Latienda Williams, Founder & CEO at Best Seeds

Leonardo Arauju de Assis, CEO at Photos.live

Nicholas Day,  CEO at Martial Me

Ray Pryor, Founder of  Uclick

Rosalyn Wells, Founder of Free Babes Studio 

Sean LeDree,  Founder of  Community Core

Solomon Atta, Founder of Verdict 

Sunny Williams, Co-Founder of Tiny Docs

Tiffanni Sanders, company name TBD 

Tiffany Shelly, Founder + CEO of  Last Minute Hair

LTNtech Founders Cohort Members 

Alberto Morales, Founder + CEO of Morales Consulting 

Amy Ulloa, Executive at Anvilo 

Ana-Nadia Rivera, CEO at FishWalk 

Christian Martinez, Founder of XYZ 

Diego Fogle,  Founder + CEO of VeraTech Medical Inc. 

 Iraís Elizarraraz, Co-Founder + CEO of  Sin Título

John Llamas, Founder + CEO at Savely

Jonathan Hernandez, Founder of  Tildem 

Jose Macias, Founder, company name TBD

Julian Musikant, Co-Founder of EverPresent Ventures

Marco Alcala, Founder + Project Manager at America’s Fire Shield

Marco Lopez, Founder of Onxite 

Oscar Guzman, Co-Founder of  XREA

Oscar Stice, Founder of  Surreal Electronics 

Roxana Delgado,  Founder, company name TBD

Uziel Perez, Founder of  Vimtray

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AI Innovation Lab Launches for Early Startups, Growth Scalers, and Corporates — Apps Now Open

CHICAGO, February 6, 2023 – 1871, a non-profit global innovation hub, announces its third Innovation Lab program — AI Innovation Lab, supported by execution partner Why of AI and our first anchor partner Discover. 

This is 1871’s first tech program designed to bring startups, growth scalers, corporates, investors, and operators together to collectively solve challenges across industries with the support of Artificial Intelligence (AI). 

The program enables innovation across the business maturity curve with a 3-month immersive, yet hybrid, experience. Built exclusively to serve each stage in the curve respectively, and uniquely bringing everyone together in one cohort. 

The Lab kicks off on 4.3.23 and is open to those with an existing technology or product focused on the AI space, those seeking to expand or implement AI into their business or operations, or are curious about partnering with a tech company. Program eligibility varies depending on the current business stage you are at. 

Applications are now open until 3.6.23. There will be a selection process to ensure those admitted to the program have proven readiness for their best possible outcome. 

Information sessions will take place on 2.15.23 and on 3.1.23, to provide attendees with information on the program outline and the benefits of joining.  

“If you blink, you will fall behind. AI is the fastest moving technology I’ve seen and is already impacting how your teams work, how you build and take products to market, how you innovate and beyond, inspiring awe, curiosity and fear,” said 1871 CEO, Betsy Ziegler. “The game board is changing. Businesses that don’t leverage data and AI will be at a disadvantage. Our new AI Innovation Lab puts you and your teams at the center of the discussion and will accelerate your path to success.“

Innovating with industry experts as our guides

“It’s an honor for me and Why of AI to be a key partner of the 1871 AI Innovation Lab – an amazing program that connects individuals and companies that want to learn more about, and provide their expertise around this highly impactful field,” said Why of AI Founder and CEO, Alex Castrounis. 

Benefits  for joining the lab

  • Seed Stage Startups
    • Showcase their product to dozens of potential corporations and investors
    • Level up their thought leadership
    • Learn from the foremost global AI experts 
    • Connect with peers in AI
    • Tap into advisors and mentors
  • Growth scalers
    • Curated connections to potential partners and investors
    • Publically showcased as thought leaders
    • Employee engagement & networking with leaders in the industry
    • Access to corporations who are interested in exploring AI can transform their businesses
    • Connect with tech talent interested in AI
    • Opportunity to mentor early-stage startups
  • Corporates
    • Curated connections with startups and growth companies to collaborate on AI-specific solutions
    • Opportunity to mentor early-stage startups 
    • Publicly showcased as thought leaders through PR, co-hosted events, and more
    • Participation/co-host networking and exclusive events
    • Employee engagement & networking with leaders in the space
    • Connect with tech talent interested in AI
    • Sit on the 1871 AI Innovation Advisory Council 

The lab experience broken down

This lab is designed to connect startups, growth scalers, and corporate innovators together, while also introducing VCs, AI experts, and mentors in 4 immersive weeks of programming, alternating in virtual and in-person experiences. The cohorts will meet for one full week of programming and workshops in April, two weeks in May, and one week in June 2023.

The program ends with our AI Innovation Summit — taking place on 6.29.23, a public event similar to 1871’s recent Supply Chain Innovation Summit, which took place in October 2022. 

For inquiries about involvement in partnering with us or learning more about sponsor options for either our AI Innovation Labs or AI Innovation Summit, connect with our team at [email protected]. 

To stay updated on all AI Innovation Lab news, subscribe here.

About Why of AI

Why of AI® provides AI strategy consulting and training that helps organizations gain AI literacy and develop a responsible AI strategy to create positive impacts for their organization, customers, and society.

About 1871

1871 is Chicago’s innovation hub and the #1 ranked private business incubator in the world. It exists to inspire, equip, and support early stage, growth stage and corporate innovators in building extraordinary businesses. 1871 is home to ~400 technology startups, ~200 growth stage companies, and ~1,500 members, and is supported by an entire ecosystem focused on accelerating their growth and creating jobs in the Chicagoland area. The member experience includes virtual and in-person access to workshops, events, mentorship, and more. The nonprofit organization has 350 mentors available to its members, alongside access to more than 200 partner corporations, universities, education programs, accelerators, venture funds and others. Since its inception in 2012, more than 850 alumni companies are currently still active, have created over 14,500 jobs, and have raised more than $3.5 billion in follow-on capital.

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CHICAGO, January 31, 2023 – 1871, non-profit global innovation hub, announces its first-ever list of cohort members for their Cannabis Innovation Lab 2023, strategically built with Grown In, anchor partnered with Cresco Labs, and supported by World Business Chicago.This is 1871’s first tech Cannabis Innovation Lab, designed to bring startups, growth scalers, corporates, investors, and operators together to approach the Cannabis industry’s problems collectively. 

The 42 tech and operator companies selected for Cannabis Innovation Lab will collaborate to collectively solve leading industry problems with tech, through industry programming, leadership panels, and group problem-solving strategy sessions. 

Tech Cohort Members

Abide Assay | Chad Carpenter, CEO 

Abide allows budtenders and patients to select cannabis products based on active ingredients and research, instead of strain name and potency. 

Acute on Chronic | Rebecca Abraham, CEO 

Acute on Chronic provides accurate evidence-based education and guidance to support patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals nationwide. Our compassionate team of nurses and doctors makes it easy to eliminate symptoms safely using cannabis. 

Appature | Eldon Brown, CEO

Appature is a software platform that leverages your data to take the guesswork out of managing the operations of your cannabis business and drive increased revenue.

Avid | Fredrik Lindseth, CEO 

Avid’s fully automated grow system makes home cultivation of high quality cannabis effortless by controlling the most difficult parts of growing and coaching customers through the fun parts. 

Beuhi | Paloma Camper, Founder; David Martin, Founder; Richard Martin, Founder 

 Beuhi is a beautifully designed home confectionary appliance that provides cannabis/CBD consumers with an elevated non-smoking experience.   Through the appliance and the secure app, consumers have a reliable, consistent, secure and discreet method where they control all the ingredient inputs and choices.  

CannaTrac Financial Corp |  Edwin Sochacki, CMO 

 The Future of Compliant, Legal Cannabis Payments – CannaCard®️

CannMenus | Vibhav Gupta, CEO; David Adams, Co-Founder; Jonny Carlyon, CTO 

CannMenus is a data and analytics tech startup specializing in real-time market insights, customized sales enablement tools, and universal product search offerings to serve both consumers and businesses within the cannabis industry. 

Dapsocially | Dwayne Perry, President 

 Dapsocially provides TV broadcasting and digital signage for businesses and events.

Distru | Azam Khan, COO 

 Cannabis ERP software for cultivators, manufacturers and distributors

EZAF.eth | Joshua Hernandez 

EZAF.ETH aims to create decentralized tools and marketplaces for craft cannabis growers. Our mission: Establish a new cannabis category: decorative hemp. 

Flourish Software | Colton Griffin, CEO 

 Flourish is a leading seed to sale supply tracking and chain management platform built specifically for the cannabis, CBD, and hemp industries. Companies who cultivate, extract, manufacture, distribute, or retail cannabis, CBD, or hemp use Flourish’s software to drive their supply chain operations, manage costs, and stay compliant.

Human Elements Consulting, Inc. |  Sam Tanios, Founder & CEO 

 Human Elements Consulting was born out of a desperate need for “real” HR solutions for small businesses.  Real, proactive solutions that provide the tools, talent, and strategy to support and elevate small businesses in ways never seen before.

Natuur Brands | Alexander Choi, Founder & CEO; Steven Bruening, Co-Founder & COO 

 Natuur is a Chicago-based cannabis processing technology company developing revolutionary cannabis nanoemulsions for infusion. Natuur Nano is the only flavorless & chemical-free nanoemulsion, your all-in-one solution for better cannabis edibles, beverages & more. 

Niwa | Zachary Damato, COO 

 Niwa’s goal is to make indoor growing easier by offering software and hardware that is plug-n-play and affordable.

Notiphy | Bob Wise, CEO 

 Notiphy is easy-to-use cloud-based software that replaces paper and spreadsheets in manufactures, cannabis cultivators and manufacturers and warehouse/distribution. It makes labor accountable, efficient, productive, and safer while generating financial savings and operational data that management teams never previously had.  

ProCanna | Dede Perkins, CEO; Tony Perkins, Co-Founder & General Counsel 

 ProCanna is a simple, scalable operational and compliance software solution specially designed for the cannabis industry. It enables cannabis operators to achieve their operational goals faster, with consistency and with fewer operational and regulatory mishaps. 

Progress Retail |  Raymond Riley, CEO 

 A single platform for retail operations, underpinned by dynamic learning, smart retail task execution, and analytics that drive associate and store performance.

Run Transportation Solutions | Jesse McCurty, CEO 

 Professional reliable conveying people and products our business is to deliver yours.

Sa Wea Luxury | Julia Fofanah, Founder 

Sa Wea Luxury is the premier cannabis accessories marketplace, with a unique brand and vision.

Tetragram | Otha Smith III, Founder & CEO 

 Tetragram, an award winning, innovative technology company helps not only consumers, but the entire cannabis industry understand the effects of cannabis use, both positive and negative. 

TRUSTT | Mike Sikorski, Co-Founder & CEO 

TRUSTT is on the mission to make cannabis safer for patients, consumers and less risky for businesses through a development of blockchain and AI enabled cannabis tracking and quality verification platform.

VapeNprop | Kirsten Velasco, CEO 

 VapeNprop produces a unique accessory that protects devices and vapes, while keeping them in the upright position for peak performance. VapeNprop is ideal as promo merch to provide customer engagement incentives and relationship-building opportunities. 

Zentrela | Israel Gasperin, Founder & CEO 

Zentrela is a research company that specializes in studying the effects of cannabis using proprietary neurotechnology (EEG, neuroscience, and AI). We help cannabis producers reliably and objectively validate the efficacy of their products/formulations to create intended effects and guarantee their success in the market.

ZKsciences | Matt Kuznicki, Co-Founder & CEO 

 ZKsciences provides plant growth enhancers that increase yields for indoor and greenhouse cultivators. Our growing media additive technology boosts plant growth and yields for container grown cannabis without requiring any additional changes to the growing process.

Operator Cohort Members

Bridge City Collective Illinois | Shelli Hayes, Co-Founder & Co-Owner 

 Bridge City Collective has a coast-to-coast fellowship of cannabis operators, educators, activists, and innovators. With decades of combined experience across every branch of the cannabis trade, we strive to be model citizens of this industry.

Buckbee Weed Co. | John Murray, CEO 

 Buckbee Weed Co. offers premium cannabis and hemp products. Our famous fresh baked goods are sold at Mrs. Buckbee’s Wake N Bakery in Rockford. 

Catalyst Cannabis | Robert T. Brown Jr., Director of Security 

  We set the standard for a customer-focused dispensary experience by providing superior customer service that is coupled with our incredible menu at the best prices.

Drecisco Farms | Alisa Brill, CFO & COO 

 Drecisco Farms, LLC is a social equity craft grower with a facility in Marengo, IL.  We will be focusing on producing high quality edibles and plan to go to market mid-2023.

Excelleaf | Maria Davis, CEO; Crystal Anderson, CFO; Brian Garner, CSO 

We are a 100% minority owned, majority female, veteran owned company.  We are here to bring creativity, variety and education to this emerging industry.

Hemp Heals Body Shop Inc. | Tiffany Joi, Founder & Owner 

 Hemp Heals Body Shop is a solo woman minority-owned business that provides premium and luxurious CBD infused products that’ll help our customers live a pain & stress free life! 

Herban Gardens | Bobby Burns, Founding CEO 

 Herban Garden is an 83% Black-owned independent Craft Grower with the ability to cultivate 5,000 s.f of canopy space, with 3,000 s.f. added yearly for an eventual 14,000 s.f.. We plan to produce flower, and extracted/infused products for conscious consumers seeking physical and mental well-being.

Holy Vana | KJ Saffold, Owner 

 Holy Vana is a premium dispensary that offers a wide variety of high-quality organic cannabis products, including flower, edibles, concentrates, and topicals, to help customers find the perfect product for their needs. We pride ourselves on providing exceptional customer service, a comfortable shopping experience, and competitive prices.

HT23 Growers | Reese Xavier, CEO 

HT23 vision is to serve as Illinois’ premier cannabis cultivation operation. As a 100% African-American owned business, we are committed to community revitalization and providing residents with the opportunity to fuel the economic development and growth within their community.

Lighthouse Dispensing Company | Marlan Hicks, Owner’s Representative 

Lighthouse Dispensing Company creates a top tier dispensary experience through selling a variety of high-quality cannabis products and top-shelf smoking accessories. Bolstered by the dedication of its founders, Lighthouse aims to provide safe, reliable, and destigmatized access to quality cannabis products

MKPG LLC. | Moira Corcoran, CFO 

 MKPG LLC is an IL retail license holder in the Chicago BLS region. Women(and sister)owned!

NOBO | Lori DeCarlo, Regional Director West 

 NOBO IL is a retailer, an educator and on a mission to create a movement that encourages a more progressive understanding of the cannabis industry. 

Seven Point | Brad Zerman, CEO 

 Seven Point was formed in 2014 in order to provide safe and secure access to medical cannabis for IL patients.

Star Buds | Ahmad Joudeh, COO 

  Fully Vertical integrated Company with a dispensary craft grow and transportation. 

The 1937 Group | Ambrose Jackson, CEO 

 The 1937 Group is a leading minority-owned cannabis operator based in Chicago, IL. As a vertically-integrated company, The 1937 Group is in the process of launching multiple cultivation and retail dispensary establishments across Illinois and New Jersey.

The Culinary Cannabis Company | Kate Nadolski, Owner & CEO 

 The Culinary Cannabis Company (CCC) makes convenient cannabis-infused pantry staples that let the home cook make her own culinary creations with confidence. Mary Jane Infusible’s are the house of the brand’s flagship portfolio.

UMI Farms | Akele Parnell, CEO 

UMI Farms is a craft cannabis and retail brand based in Chicago.

Village Court Holdings | William Laws, CEO; Amber Laws, CMO 

 Village Court Holdings is a family-owned company based in Chicago that looks forward to opening its first dispensary in 2023. The company’s mission is to advance social equity by not only increasing diversity and inclusion but also by positively impacting communities harmed by the war on drugs.

Growth-Scale Cohort Members 

Tecvine 

TECVINE helps businesses select and implement the best enterprise technology solutions for operations, while solving existing issues. We provide turnkey services to our clients, by offering unbiased advising, negotiating contracts, and overseeing implementation of best-in-class solutions for mobility, networking, and cloud computing.

NuEra

The name nuEra highlights the fact that legalization in Illinois didn’t just change the laws on the books – it unleashed a whole new era of cannabis. An era in which cannabis is safer, higher quality and available in a greater variety than ever before. Canna-consumers have more methods of consumption, more strains, more precise dosage labeling, and better information about the effects of each of our products than any generation before them.

Aeropay

Aeropay is a financial technology company that helps people move money with bank-to-bank (ACH) transfers. We enable businesses to accept compliant, cashless and contactless payments, giving customers the freedom to spend. Leaving cash and cards behind and paying with a personal mobile device promotes safety, convenience and a modern lifestyle.

About the program

The Cannabis Innovation Lab uniquely enables innovation across the full business maturity curve with an immersive, yet hybrid, experience. Exclusively built to serve each stage respectively, and uniquely bringing everyone together in one entire group, the lab includes public and private workshops led by industry’s best.

“We are honored to host this incredible, diverse community of innovators as they create and drive technological advancements in the Cannabis industry,” said 1871 CEO, Betsy Ziegler. “With Chicago quickly becoming a place of massive importance in Cannabis, this lab, strategically developed with Grown In and partnered with Cresco Labs, is a key starting point for tech innovation and collaborative breakthroughs in new solutions for Cannabis.” 

“Capital formation and introductions to prospective investors is critical for any cannabis company today, including the recently licensed Illinois operators and technology startups from across the globe participating in Cannabis Innovation Lab accelerators,” said Brad Spirrison, CEO of Grown In. “Through collaboration with World Class innovation hub 1871 and globally recognized industry operator Cresco labs our aim is to get this next generation of startups up and rolling.”

Chima Enyia, Executive Vice President of SEEDTM, Cresco Labs’ Social Equity & Education  Development initiative, added, “Illinois has been at the forefront of creating one of the most responsible, respectable, and robust regulated cannabis markets in our country. To ensure this industry reaches its potential, it is critical  that operators help create permanent pathways for innovation, inclusion of different perspectives and cultures, and opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment. We’re honored to support 1871’s inaugural Cannabis Innovation Lab and look forward to lending our resources and insights to help these cohorts succeed in cannabis.”

Led and facilitated by Rachael Feuerborn, 1871’s Chief Product Officer, cohort members will be participating in virtual and in-person experiences held during one week in January, February, March, and April 2023. The experience provides cohort members with resources, programming, and networking opportunities to collaborate together during each week’s events. 

The program culminates with our capstone-like event, the Cannabis Innovation Summit, open to the public on 4.20.23. We are thrilled to have the support of our anchor partner Cresco in addition to NuEra as a summit sponsor to help bring the program to life. The summit is a full-day program on ALL that is happening in Cannabis innovation that includes cohort one startups, VCs, partners, and industry enthusiasts.  

To stay up to date on all Cannabis Innovation Lab news + summit, subscribe here. 

About Grown In

Grown In is a Chicago-based company offering cannabis industry insights, events and education. They provide cutting-edge content, strategic networking and online training for cannabis companies. Their mission is to create and cultivate connections among cannabis industry professionals with complementary interests to catalyze business opportunities and growth. 

About Cresco Labs Inc.

Cresco Labs is one of the largest vertically integrated multi-state cannabis operators in the United States, with a mission to normalize and professionalize the cannabis industry. Employing a consumer-packaged goods (“CPG”) approach, Cresco Labs is the largest wholesaler of branded cannabis products in the U.S. Its brands are designed to meet the needs of all consumer segments and comprised of some of the most recognized and trusted national brands including Cresco, High Supply, Mindy’s Edibles, Good News, Remedi, Wonder Wellness Co. and FloraCal Farms. Sunnyside, Cresco Labs’ national dispensary brand, is a wellness-focused retailer created to build trust, education, and convenience for both existing and new cannabis consumers. Recognizing that the cannabis industry is poised to become one of the leading job creators in the country, Cresco Labs operates the industry’s largest Social Equity and Educational Development initiative, SEED, which was established to ensure that all members of society have the skills, knowledge, and opportunity to work and own businesses in the cannabis industry. 

About 1871

1871 is Chicago’s innovation hub and the #1 ranked private business incubator in the world. It exists to inspire, equip, and support early stage, growth stage and corporate innovators in building extraordinary businesses. 1871 is home to ~400 technology startups, ~200 growth stage companies, and ~1,500 members, and is supported by an entire ecosystem focused on accelerating their growth and creating jobs in the Chicagoland area. The member experience includes virtual and in-person access to workshops, events, mentorship, and more. The nonprofit organization has 350 mentors available to its members, alongside access to more than 200 partner corporations, universities, education programs, accelerators, venture funds and others. Since its inception in 2012, more than 850 alumni companies are currently still active, have created over 14,500 jobs, and have raised more than $3.5 billion in follow-on capital.

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CHICAGO, January 2, 2023 – 1871 has opened applications to their BLKtech Founders and LTNtech Founders spring cohorts, starting February 2023. These unique affinity offerings run for twelve weeks, combining professional development curriculum, mentoring, and peer group development to elevate Black and Latin tech founders. Applications for both members and non-members will be accepted through January 30th, 2023. The programs will run from 2.7.23-4.11.23, every Tuesday, from 3:00-5:00 PM CST.

BLKtech and LTNtech Founders are designed to inspire, equip, and support Black and Latin founders to maximize their key leadership strengths, overcome obstacles, and build relationships with experienced founders and mentors who are dedicated to supporting them. 

These cohorts are designed to create a safe, judgment-free space for founders to meet others in similar entrepreneurial situations to connect and address unique challenges they face due to their racial identity.

BLKtech

BLKtech Founders is supported by Verizon, Molson Coors, EY, Gordon Food Service, Relish Works, and William Blair. This will be the 3rd cohort of the program, created in 2020.

LTNtech

LTNtech Founders is executed in partnership with the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. This will be the 10th cohort of the program, previously called “Latinx,” but renamed in 2022. While 1871 uses Latin for brevity, we happily welcome those who identify as Hispanic, Latino/a, Latine, [email protected], etc.

About the experience

Key takeaways for participants in the program: 

  • Learn how to maximize their key leadership skills
  • Gain confidence in themselves and their startups 
  • Overcome obstacles one faces when starting a business
  • Build reputable relationships with experienced founders and 1871 members who are dedicated to supporting these groups. 

“The beauty of a community is its common unity and to be surrounded with like-minded individuals with similar backgrounds and challenges makes the journey of entrepreneurship bearable,” said Keesha Vinson, founder of Heart of Culture Inc. “There was something so refreshing about seeing so many individuals who look just like you and are just as ambitious, if not more, on similar paths to solve real problems with amazing businesses. I’d recommend BLKtech Founders to anyone looking for an amazing tribe in their entrepreneurial pursuit.”

“As a Latinx entrepreneur, it has been challenging to find business-minded organizations that understand the complexities and challenges of being a Latinx startup and with whom we could engage at so many levels, feel at home, and welcome,” said Reginald Maisonneuve, founder of Aegis.“When that organization is also active and effective in advocating and advancing the businesses under its wings, it is truly rewarding.  That is 1871 & IHCC.  They are making an important difference for us in the short time we’ve been with them.”

Important Dates

About 1871

1871 is Chicago’s innovation hub and the #1 ranked private business incubator in the world. It exists to inspire, equip, and support early stage, growth stage and corporate innovators in building extraordinary businesses. 1871 is home to ~400 technology startups, ~200 growth stage companies, and ~1,500 members, and is supported by an entire ecosystem focused on accelerating their growth and creating jobs in the Chicagoland area. The member experience includes virtual and in person access to workshops, events, mentorship, and more. The nonprofit organization has 350 mentors available to its members, alongside access to more than 200 partner corporations, universities, education programs, accelerators, venture funds and others. Since its inception in 2012, more than 850 alumni companies are currently still active, have created over 14,500 jobs, and have raised more than $3.5 billion in follow-on capital.

About IHCC

IHCC is a not-for-profit organization and community of business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals committed to empowering individuals by helping them start and grow their businesses. As the largest community of Hispanic business owners across Illinois and the Midwest, we represent more than 100,000 businesses. We are committed to helping entrepreneurs grow by equipping them with the tools and resources they need to be competitive in today’s economy. We do this through our community advocacy, specialized one-on-one training, networking, and our Center for Hispanic Entrepreneurship.

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Email is part of most marketing and sales outreach programs. Are you getting the results you want? If not, it may be due to poor email health. How’s yours?

Maintaining optimal email health takes work – it’s not a “set it and forget it” situation. Much like you needing regular exercise, nutrition and maintenance to support your own health, so does your email database. And the parallel doesn’t stop there: particularly as our CRMs age, regular health checkups need to be part of the email marketing routine.

Sometimes, email health deteriorates over time. Other times, it’s more like an acute illness. It’s important to look for the root causes of the issues so you can address them. The vital signs for email health are open, click-through, bounce and unsubscribe rates. They are key when it comes to getting a clear picture of what’s causing problems.

If you see serious fluctuations in any of these stats, consider when and how they started.

  • What changes were made to your CRM or email list around the time your numbers changed? Did you import a new list?
  • Did you implement a new method of obtaining email addresses?
  • Are the fluctuations (especially dips) isolated to any one internet service provider (ISP)?

The answers to those questions can help you pinpoint the underlying cause of the changes.

Three of the biggest causes for poor email health are lack of authentication, poor delivery rates and low engagement. Like many health issues, addressing the source helps alleviate the symptoms. Let’s look at measures to improve deliverability and drive more engagement with your email marketing efforts.

Authentication

When you send an email, the receiving email server runs a series of checks that is like asking, “Is this email really from who it seems to be? Can/how do I verify that? Where should I place it if it doesn’t pass vetting?”

Google, Microsoft and other internet service providers check for authentication and either wave the message through to the inbox or relegate it to spam. Not all platforms require it, but you can use any or all the following authentication methods to decrease the chance of being marked as spam.

  • DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): This checks to see if the content of an email has been tampered with before reaching its destination. It uses a digital key to ensure the email came from an authorized sender and was not altered enroute. Some servers will flag any email without this and send it to junk or spam. This is considered the bare minimum of authentication for adequate clout when it comes to deliverability.If you use HubSpot, this is a simple process. Begin by authenticating your domain in your HubSpot account. Then, create your DKIM signature and connect it to your DNS records. HubSpot will generate the data to plug into your DNS record, which will authenticate your outgoing emails. Other email platforms are similar.
  • SPF (Sender Policy Framework): This authorizes outbound mail server IPs to send on a domain’s behalf. In other words, the server IP your email comes from needs to match with one of your SPF settings. If it doesn’t, the email may be quarantined or blocked.
  • DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance): This helps prevent spoofing, phishing, spammers and all the other illegitimate things ne’er-do-wells like to do using email. This authentication method allows domain owners to specify how emails that fail the checks are handled.What method of authentication you use depends largely on your business, volume and preferences. By ensuring that any outgoing emails have appropriate authenticity credentials, you’ll likely see higher delivery rates.

Deliverability

In a perfect world, every email you send ends up in someone’s inbox. But that’s not the case: often the internet service provider stops your emails from reaching your subscribers. Repeatedly sending emails to an inbox where they sit unopened increases the chance that future emails will be sent to the recipient’s junk or spam folder – and adversely impact your email sender reputation.

  • Hard Bounces: Perhaps the easiest way to improve deliverability is to stop sending emails to people who aren’t responding to your outreach efforts. Emails going to a dead inbox don’t get your intended results, and they can also harm your email sender reputation. Regularly identifying and purging your bounced contacts can remedy this. Your CRM likely logs this data, but you need to actively use it to maintain the integrity of your list. For example, create a list of hard bounces and delete them on a regular schedule.
  • Soft Bounces: If you’re encountering soft bounces, it’s good to ascertain why. It could be something as simple as the recipient’s inbox is full, which may mitigate itself. But if this happens repeatedly (and to certain companies) it could be due to the security policy on the receiving end. For whatever reason, your emails are not being allowed through. You can request the recipient’s company “whitelist” your IP to remedy this.
  • Graymail: Another best practice that increases the likelihood of your email reaching the inbox is avoiding graymail. That means not sending emails to the unengaged contacts in your database. HubSpot has a slick graymail feature where you can suppress sending to anyone who’s unengaged. And for an even cleaner CRM, simply remove the contacts that fall into these three categories:
    • They’ve never engaged with a marketing email from you or any of the last 11 emails you’ve sent them.
    • They’ve previously engaged with one of your marketing emails but no engagement with your last 16 emails.
    • They haven’t opened an email in a year or more.
  • Duplicate contacts: Managing your duplicate contacts can also help. Sending the same email to the same address multiple times indicates trouble and could get your email flagged as spam – and not delivered.
    Duplicate contacts also make accurate segmentation difficult. For example, you may have the same contact in your CRM three times, and each is tagged with a different lifecycle stage. If you are targeting different stages, you may inadvertently enroll that contact in more than one campaign simultaneously and be blowing up their inbox with annoying emails.

According to a study by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), 30% of people change their email addresses annually, often (60% of the time) due to a job change. So, it makes sense that many of your contacts are no longer using the email you have on file, which can increase duplicates and can instantly decrease deliverability. Sending marketing emails to an invalid email address is even worse than getting snail mail sent back marked “return to sender” because your email sender reputation also takes a hit.

So how do you remedy this? First, there are many data enrichment services (like ZoomInfo) that can help keep up with people making career (and thus, email) changes. You can also periodically “scrub” your list using a tool like ZeroBounce or Bouncer. Such tools use a process to determine if an email address is deliverable – without actually sending an email and affecting your reputation. Verified email addresses increase your delivery rate.

Also, of note when it comes to list hygiene, be sure you have opt-in from the contacts you’re emailing. Some experts advise implementing a double opt-in, though we wonder how many people love getting marketing emails so much that they’d opt-in twice. On that note, it’s also considered a no-no to purchase email lists. (Or at the very least, use caution.) They can wreak havoc with your reputation. More importantly, the people on that list didn’t opt-in to your communiques.

If your open rate falls below 10%, you may want to implement a reputation repair plan. You can do this using a series of “mini-sends” to contacts who are consistently engaged. Start by sending only to contacts who’ve clicked on something in one of your emails in the last two weeks. As you see your cumulative click and open rates increase, you expand your sends to include contacts with older engagement data. Over the weeks you execute this plan, you are likely to see your statistics improve.

So, keeping your list clean and valid is a huge part of deliverability – you want to be sending your messages to the right segment of recipients at valid email addresses. But the content matters, too.

Many ISPs filter for what they deem as “spammy content” so take care to avoid content that triggers those filters. A high number of links in the email, far more images than copy and lack of an unsubscribe link can cause flagging. What you say in your copy can also get your email relegated to the spam folder.

If you want to avoid being a purveyor of spam, avoid these practices in your email content:

  • Using spammy-scammy words, such as those that create undue urgency, smack of false promises, or refer to medical or dating situations
  • Using symbols (like $$$ or 100%)
  • Using ALL CAPS (especially for subject lines)

Engagement

Now let’s talk engagement. Obviously, an email that never reaches its intended recipient will get zero engagement, no matter how clever the content or savvy the subject line. But the ones that do reach your contacts need to be stellar, intriguing and compelling enough to prompt an open (yay, but we still want more) and interaction. Here are a few tips to help boost both:

  • Use audience segmentation. When inboxes are crammed with marketing emails, it’s paramount that your email is appropriate to the recipient in any way you can make it so. The more it fits the context of where they are (lifecycle, persona, tone, content), the better. So, put all that data in your CRM to use. Segment your audience and target each audience with information that is valuable – to them, at that If they see the information as valuable, the more likely they will be to act on that content and visit your website looking for more.

You can segment your audience based on several things: demographics, location, engagement, lifecycle stage, previous purchases, persona and job title are commonly used criterion. Effective segmentation and targeted messaging can make a big impact on the efficacy of your email efforts. A study by MailChimp compared segmented and non-segmented email campaigns and found significant improvement among the segmented campaigns:

  • Opens were 14.31% higher
  • Clicks were more than 100% higher
  • Bounce rates were 4.65% lower
  • Unsubscribe rates were 9.37% lower

Clearly, segmentation can make a positive impact.

  • Use personalization. It’s important. In fact, an Accenture study found that 41% of consumers switched businesses due to lack of personalization and 43% of U.S. consumers are more likely to purchase from companies that personalize their buying experience. For email marketing, that means using personalization tokens – they work well in subject lines and in email body copy, just don’t overdo it or it seems disingenuous and a little creepy!

But personalization doesn’t need to end there. Many CRMs allow senders to use smart subject lines. In HubSpot, for example, you can create targeted content based on the two different types of segments in a certain lifecycle stage or on a certain list. For example, let’s say you’re hosting a lunch and learn session for industry professionals. You have two lists: one is contacts who have attended previous events and the other has not. You can use a smart rule to deliver two different subject lines to each group, which could encourage them to open your email. You can also use smart rules for CTAs. It’s the same premise, but different segments of your recipients will receive emails containing a CTA tailored to certain lifecycle stages, countries, referral sources and other pertinent factors.

  • Consider using AI (Artificial Intelligence) to optimize your email sends: AI helps cut through the clutter to increase the likelihood your email will be delivered and opened. According to a report by Radicati Group, Inc., there are 333.2 billion (yes, billion!) emails sent worldwide each day and the average person receives 126 daily. How can your emails stand out amid all that? Using personalized and optimized delivery times for each contact seems like a no-brainer. Some of these tools, like Seventh Sense integrate seamlessly with HubSpot and Marketo, and have other, more in-depth capabilities for email optimization.

Get Your Email Health In Shape

Since so much effort is put into email marketing, it’s important to keep the entire system working as effectively as possible by optimizing those efforts. Employing the methods discussed above will help improve your email efficacy and garner you better results.

Need to have your email vitals assessed? We’d love to help keep your email marketing performing at peak levels. Contact Simple Machines today if it’s time for a checkup.

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CHICAGO, December 21, 2022 – 1871’s WMNtech Leaders Cohort is returning February 2023 for a 4-month accelerator and mentoring initiative, devoted to cultivating the next generation of women leaders in tech. Applications for the 2023 program will be accepted through February 3rd, 2023. 

Formerly known as Women Influence Chicago (WIC), this program was developed and launched back in 2019 to continue the initiative of promoting technological advancement in Chicago, especially for women accelerating in their careers. 

We have partnered with Ethos, a culture consulting meets diversity, equity, inclusion firm, for the development and execution of the program.  

About the program

This unique experience involves participation from women in leading tech roles, nominated women employees from tech companies, and mentors volunteering to join and work in unison to accelerate and strengthen practices and skills for women currently working in leading roles in the tech realm. 

The initiative is designed for mid-career, women professionals in the tech industry exhibiting exceptional promise in their current roles, and would benefit from support from this experience. Participants must have 3-10 years of management experience and work for a tech company in either a Market-facing or Technical role. Hear from a WMNtech Leader alumni about her experience in the Technical track. 

“The program was absolutely fantastic and just what I needed at this point in my career. This program provided me with the space, time, and resources to think about what kind of leader I want to be, and the skills I need to work on to get there,” said Elissa Trainer, App & Mobile Technology Director at Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants. “It gave me the confidence to work on things like setting boundaries, effective communication, knowing that I don’t always have to have the perfect answer, and to let go of things to give others the opportunity to grow and how to break larger goals out into smaller actions and strategies while providing a community of people to work with on these skills. Thank you and everyone on your team and the extended teams for making the program so rewarding.”

Program breakdown 

The cohort runs one Friday per month, virtually, from 2.24.23-6.14.23. After orientation, participants will be engaged in monthly “Connect days”, which consist of group coaching sessions, Leadership Development Workshops, peer-driven facilitated forums, and 1:1 mentoring with top tech leaders in Chicago.  

The forums and group coaching sessions are split into two groups- Market-facing and Technical, designed for each group with the necessary tools and resources for their primary takeaways of the program. 

  • Market Facing Leaders—individuals who work in Marketing and Communications, HR, Sales, Customer Service, etc.
  • Technical Leaders— individuals who work in Software Engineering & Development, IT, Analytics, etc. 

Participants are also paired with a volunteer “Super Mentor”, meeting several times throughout the program to discuss leadership, personal, and professional development skills, and to provide participants with knowledge from the mentor’s own experience and expertise.  

The initiative ends with our WMNtech Leaders Graduation on 6.14.23, to commemorate and celebrate this cohort of women leaders’ growth and accomplishments throughout the experience. 

An information session will be held on 1.11.23 from 10:00-11:00 AM CST for attendants to learn more about this hands-on and inclusive virtual experience.

Applications are open for participation in the next cohort of WMNtech Leaders. Deadline to apply is 2.3.23. More information and the application to become a participant or mentor can be found at https://1871.com/wmntech-leaders/. 

About 1871

1871 is Chicago’s innovation hub and the #1 ranked private business incubator in the world. It exists to inspire, equip, and support early stage, growth stage and corporate innovators in building extraordinary businesses. 1871 is home to ~400 technology startups, ~200 growth stage companies, and ~1,500 members, and is supported by an entire ecosystem focused on accelerating their growth and creating jobs in the Chicagoland area. The member experience includes virtual and in person access to workshops, events, mentorship, and more. The nonprofit organization has 350 mentors available to its members, alongside access to more than 200 partner corporations, universities, education programs, accelerators, venture funds and others. Since its inception in 2012, more than 850 alumni companies are currently still active, have created over 14,500 jobs, and have raised more than $3.5 billion in follow-on capital.

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CHICAGO, November 22, 2022 – 1871, a non-profit global innovation hub, announces its second Innovation Lab program — Cannabis Innovation Lab, the first tech program designed to bring startups, growth scalers, corporates, investors, and operators together to approach the Cannabis industry’s problems collectively, in partnership with Grown In and anchor partnered with Cresco Labs.

The program uniquely enables innovation across the business maturity curve with a 4-month immersive, yet hybrid, experience. Exclusively built to serve each stage respectively, and uniquely bringing everyone together in one entire group.

The Lab begins on 1.23.23 and is open to those with an existing tech solution, proven market fit, or are curious about partnering with a tech company. Program eligibility varies depending on which business stage you are at.

Applications are now open until 12.16.22. There will be a selection process to ensure those admitted to the program have proven readiness for their best possible outcome. 

Info sessions will take place on 12.01.22 and on 12.13.22, to provide more information and open up a Q+A on 1871’s latest program experience.

“Cannabis is a booming industry and is excitingly Chicago-centered,” said 1871 CEO, Betsy Ziegler. “The data is clear that as more and more businesses enter this space, technology advancements will be required to unlock new solutions. Our incredibly diverse community of innovators, combined with our partnership with Grown In and the unique positioning of Chicago as an axis point in Cannabis, means this is the time and the place to launch this Lab.” 

Innovating with industry experts as our guides

“We’re thrilled to combine our extensive cannabis industry knowledge and learning expertise with the robust resources and network of 1871,” said Brad Spirrison, CEO of Grown In. “Situated within Chicago, the commercial cannabis capital of the United States, this partnership will accelerate newly licensed startups in Illinois and modernize technical processes encumbered by federal regulation restrictions.”

“Chicago offers a global advantage to cannabis startups with our deep bench of cannabis ecosystem leaders, workforce, and innovators. We’re excited to partner with 1871 on this program, which will be critical to our success as a cannabis innovation powerhouse,” said Michael Fassnacht, President & CEO, of World Business Chicago. “From our diverse talent, economy, and strong transportation, distribution, and supplier network, to overall efforts driving equitable economic development in cannabis and all other industries—companies are best positioned for success in Chicago.”

Benefits  for joining the lab

  • Early stage
    • Share their product with Corporate innovators and VCs
    • Level up product and business strategy
    • Create a network of peers in their industry
    • Get advisory from the best cannabis operators tech companies
  • Growth scalers
    • Access to canna-curious corporations exploring their strategy
    • Emerge as a showcased thought leader
    • Connect with the largest operators + early startups innovating
    • Explore curated connections to potential partners and VCs
    • Network with leaders in the industry
    • Scale with new tech talent interested in cannabis 
    • Give back by mentoring early-stage startups
  • Corporates
    • Network with approved and vetted retailers
    • Amplify industry leadership with press, events, and more
    • Engage in curated networking and exclusive events
    • Activate employees with engagement points
    • Connect with tech talent interested in the cannabis industry
    • Give back by mentoring early-stage startups
    • Explore curated connections to potential partners and VCs
    • Sit on the 1871 Cannabis Innovation Advisory Council

The Cannabis industry and what it means for Chicago 

From a $10B US market in 2021 to projections of up to $100B by 2030, the Cannabis industry’s high growth rate signals a need for innovators to help unblock and mobilize products with digital solutions, nationally.

Chicago is quickly becoming a place of massive importance for the industry boom, according to World Business Chicago, a supporting partner in this new experience:

  • Funding, in Chicago alone, is growing with $265.9M raised in growth capital in 2021 with 9 deals, with a scaling trend for 2022. Accessibility to market present with 180 licenses granted
  • Chicago is the headquartered location to three of the top four public companies that exclusively cultivate, process, and sell medicinal and recreational cannabis: Green Thumb Industries, Verano Holdings, and Cresco Labs

“We’ve built this program with learnings from our first lab – Supply Chain Innovation Labs. But, we’ve customized it to scale with what each of our players in the ecosystem needs in order to solve their problems over 4 months  – whether it be content, support, resources, networking, or funding,” said Rachael Feuerborn, CPO of 1871. “This program is offered at the perfect timing, and we’re excited to see what influence the participants will have over the future of the Cannabis industry.”

The lab experience broken down

Four months long, with one week of involvement per month, and alternating in virtual and in-person experience, this lab is designed to connect the early stage, growth scalers, and corporates together, while also introducing VCs, Cannabis operators, and mentors. 

The program ends with the Cannabis Innovation Summit—taking place next year on 4.20.23, a public event similar to 1871’s recent Supply Chain Innovation Summit, which took place in October 2022. 

For inquiries about involvement in partnering with us or learning more about sponsor options for either our Cannabis Innovation Labs or Cannabis Innovation Summit, connect with our team.

To stay updated on all Cannabis Innovation Lab news, subscribe here.

A parallel program is currently being run by our partners from Grown In for new Illinois License Operators to help them grow their businesses. Apply here. 

About Grown In

Grown In is the go-to trusted source for cannabis industry news and compliance training. Their national team of journalists, subject experts, and learning designers transform key market insights into actionable knowledge and applicable skills to ensure employees are not only informed with cutting-edge articles and reports but also equipped to confidently navigate nuanced legal requirements and diverse workplace circumstances through credentialed online courses. They also offer media sponsorship opportunities and interactive product showcases to increase market awareness and product understanding.

About Cresco Labs Inc.

Cresco Labs is one of the largest vertically integrated multi-state cannabis operators in the United States, with a mission to normalize and professionalize the cannabis industry. Employing a consumer-packaged goods (“CPG”) approach, Cresco Labs is the largest wholesaler of branded cannabis products in the U.S. Its brands are designed to meet the needs of all consumer segments and comprised of some of the most recognized and trusted national brands including Cresco, High Supply, Mindy’s Edibles, Good News, Remedi, Wonder Wellness Co. and FloraCal Farms. Sunnyside, Cresco Labs’ national dispensary brand, is a wellness-focused retailer created to build trust, education, and convenience for both existing and new cannabis consumers. Recognizing that the cannabis industry is poised to become one of the leading job creators in the country, Cresco Labs operates the industry’s largest Social Equity and Educational Development initiative, SEED, which was established to ensure that all members of society have the skills, knowledge, and opportunity to work and own businesses in the cannabis industry. 

About 1871

1871 is Chicago’s innovation hub and the #1 ranked private business incubator in the world. It exists to inspire, equip, and support early stage, growth stage and corporate innovators in building extraordinary businesses. 1871 is home to ~400 technology startups, ~200 growth stage companies, and ~1,500 members, and is supported by an entire ecosystem focused on accelerating their growth and creating jobs in the Chicagoland area. The member experience includes virtual and in-person access to workshops, events, mentorship, and more. The nonprofit organization has 350 mentors available to its members, alongside access to more than 200 partner corporations, universities, education programs, accelerators, venture funds and others. Since its inception in 2012, more than 850 alumni companies are currently still active, have created over 14,500 jobs, and have raised more than $3.5 billion in follow-on capital.

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1871’s 13th Annual Tech Challenge, in partnership with Statefarm, brings the nations top student coders to Chicago to compete in an immersive weekend competition. 

From 9.01.22-9.23.22, global tech innovation hub 1871, hosted the 13th Tech Challenge coding competition in their hometown of Chicago, IL in partnership with Statefarm.

Over 150 students from the nation competed on our qualifying assessment in hackerrank, which assessed their ability to code in the form of accuracy, ability to solve problems speed, and more – in any coding laguage available on the hackerrank platform. 

20 students were from 10 universities, were thereafter invited to Chicago with all-expenses paid for, to more forward in the competition. The names of these students are confidential, as they are accessible only to those with talent benefits in our community, but the schools they attended are as follows: Georgia Institute of Technology; Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta; Harvard University; Purdue; UCSD; UIUC; University of Chicago; University of Illinois at Chicago; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and UW-Madison. 

Top place was awarded to 2-time champion Maxwell Zhang of Georgia Institute of Technology, scoring 100% and finished the final challenge in 17 minutes. The top 5 winners all had a score of 100, which meant top times became the main factor of their excellence. 

Tech Challenge supports two mutual goals for 1871’s – inspire young talent to support this very industry and supply high growth companies looking for the best developers new to the gig market. The competition includes elements beyond the hard skills, like exploring city, networking with other amazingly talented coders, touring 1871’s headquarters, and getting the chance to think-forward about their careers.

1871 is excited for 2023, where they’ll continue to support new talent with this university/student focused event under this vertical. 

Interested in partnering on this or another talent category? Let us know.

The competition experience

2022 Tech Challenge winner, Maxwell Zhang

Maxwell Zhang, winner of 2022 Tech Challenge, came to 1871 from Georgia Institute of Technology.

The coders

Here are some of the coders of the experience 

Our why and how

When thinking about building this experience and offering, our CXO Stephanie Miller said:

“Tech Challenge is a fantastic event for students who are rockstars in coding to compete on a national stage against top tier universities for prizes and career fast-track. It’s part of our talent pipeline, where access to these students resumes are limited to our growth-stage and corporate sponsors, looking to meet the best of talent in one room. We are committed to making 1871 a space for tech excellence even at the university level.”

View the whole playlist from the 2022 Tech Challenge! 

Learn more about Tech Challenge, donate to our mission, or browse our story to further engage.

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Jordyn Bonds  October 19, 2022

You’ve identified a pain point and you have an innovative software product idea to solve it. What now?

You might be tempted to jump immediately into scoping and building an MVP. We know the feeling! Once you see the opportunity, you have to assume others see it too and the race is on to be the first to market with a solution. This moment is precisely when slowing down can actually speed you up. Taking the time to validate the opportunity now will ensure you don’t waste time and resources building the wrong solution. Running a validation process will also help you identify the right solution to build instead.

What is validation?

Validation is the process of stress-testing your assumptions. Broadly, what you’re trying to uncover in this process is whether or not your product will be desirable to customers, viable for your business, and feasible to build.

The questions that a validation process can help answer include:

  • Does the pain point you identified exist?
  • Is the pain point widespread enough to present a market opportunity worth pursuing?
  • Does your product idea address the pain point?
  • Will people be willing to buy and use your product?
  • Is your product feasible to build?

Why would you not validate an opportunity?

If you’ve made it far enough to consider building an MVP, you are likely to already be emotionally invested in this pain point as well as your idea for solving it.

Because of that, you may feel like you can skip validation this time, or that your handful of casual conversations with friends and family is enough validation for you. It can be helpful to remind yourself that problems and solutions are in no short supply! Validation will help you figure out where you fit in the market, and in terms of your product, it clearly shows you what not to build and what to build instead.

Sometimes your original idea ends up being the right one. Validation is still important because it will arm you with the evidence you need to confidently invest resources in the idea or secure outside funding for it.

What’s at stake when you build the wrong thing?

Let’s say you do move forward with building and launching an MVP without first validating your approach. What are some of the risks to the business?

You may find that what you’ve built is valuable to some customers, but that the costs of maintaining the product outweigh that value. You may find that in the time you spent getting to market, a competitor emerged with a better solution. Catching up with them may require an even steeper investment. You may have redirected resources away from sales and support of your current offerings to a degree that their viability also suffers.

These types of risks will hold you back from continuous growth. They could make or break not just your product, but your entire business.

What should you build instead?

We are happy to report that validating your opportunity is not all doom and gloom! An equally important consequence of this process is discovering what to build instead.

The world is a work in progress. We have not built products to address every single human pain point or need yet. It is therefore very likely that during the validation process you will uncover a long list of additional pain points your customer is experiencing. One of those pain points may be more valuable to solve than the one you had initially focused on.

Validation will help you figure out which of those to pursue now, and which ones can wait until later. It will help you figure out how (and how much) to invest in the most important opportunity such that you meet the need with as little risk to your business as possible.

How to get started validating

To learn more about the validation process and how we approach it at thoughtbot, check out our new Research & Strategy Playbook. Inside you’ll find guides for:

  • Finding, learning from, and engaging your customers
  • Turning customer insights into innovative products
  • And more!

To chat more with us about doing a validation project together, contact us.

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1871’s inaugural 3-day event, in partnership with Accenture and World Business Chicago, convening supply chain innovators across the business maturity curve.

From 10.4 – 10.6, global tech innovation hub 1871, hosted the first-ever Supply Chain Innovation Summit in their hometown of Chicago, IL in partnership with Accenture and World Business Chicago.

Over 400 unique corporates, startups, VCs, universities, and others in the 1871 community connected over the possibilities of the Supply Chain Industry from around the world, sending the note out that innovation takes all the players in the space.

The Summit itself capstones 1871’s Supply Chain Innovation Lab experience, where 45 founders and their teams gathered to move through a curated, 4-week immersive program with the ultimate goal of furthering innovation within Supply Chain as we know it. United Airlines and AbbVie being a key program partner to the program experience.

1871 is excited to continue to expand offerings under this vertical, and is already designing Supply Chain Innovation Lab 2023. Again, each Innovation Lab ends in the Summit. 

Interested in partnering on this or another innovation category? Let us know.

Recap of Main Summit Day

Day two took place at the so-beautiful and new Accenture Tower, with opening words from 1871, Accenture, and World Business Chicago’s leadership, followed by a Q+A between 1871 CEO Betsy Ziegler and Former Cheif Customer Office and current leader of Flexport Fund Ben Braverman.

Thereafter, a pitch competition between startup founders kicked off across the following categories: Sustainability, End-to-End, Planning & Procurement & Manu, and Fulfillment (Trans + Warehousing). Attendees voted in real-time re: the best pitch of the day.

Next, juicy conversational breakouts happened regarding:

  • Sustainable Supply Chain – What does that truly mean? 
  • The Role of Data & AI in Supply Chain Transformation 
  • The Great Reinvention of Supply Chain 
  • Supply Chain Resiliency and Business Continuity
  • Chicago’s Startup-focused Economic Development Strategy
  • Building the future supply chain workforce: Human + Machines

In and out of the day, sat “Startup Alley,” where the startups of 1871’s Supply Chain Innovation Lab set booths up for public engagement, investor conversations, and product demos, as a fixture of the event.

All the while, the community was surrounded by emerging tech like the robot dog from Boston Dynamics, 3D printers, AR/VR wearable demos featuring 1871’s VX campus, and Accenture’s Maker’s Space. 

The day ended with a celebration of the winning pitches, closing remarks from 1871 and Accenture, and an afterparty at TheWit.

Winning pitches

Out of 30 supply chain startups pitching, 3 winners took home 3D-printed trophies from Accenture’s Makers Lab.

Kadeya

Agtools

Pollen Returns

Our why and how

When thinking about creating this Summit, our leaders said:

“Our community of innovators is uniquely equipped to come together to tackle today’s most pressing challenges because 1871 serves the entire business maturity curve, from idea all the way to Fortune 50” said Betsy Ziegler, CEO of 1871. “There is no problem we can’t solve when we activate the power of our collective brain. We look forward to bringing leaders , entrepreneurs together and empower them to create the supply chain solutions that will build a brighter future in our city and beyond.”

“There was no better city in the world than to launch the Supply Chain Innovation Lab in Chicago, one of the largest TDL industries in the nation,” said Renato Scaff, Senior Managing Director and North America Supply Chain and Operations Lead at Accenture. “And we’re connecting industry with founders and investors to meet the demands of the world’s economy with innovative technologies and solutions.”

[Source]

Rachael Feuerborn, CPO @ 1871 

Kris Timmermans,  Lead – Supply Chain & Operations @ Accenture

Stephanie Miller, CXO @ 1871

Jorie Sax, Head of Technology Innovation Lab  @ United Airlines

The ecosystem

From entrepreneurs, to startups building and scaling, leaders supporting and innovating, investors growing and developing, and community members cheering, our hold on passion for solving problems across the supply chain was extremely well-represented.

Are you an innovator? What’s innovation? We asked around, and found that we all have our unique answers, while we exist in a similar community.

Lead of Supply Chain & Operations @ Accenture Kris Timmermans welcomes the entire community.

Emerging tech and innovation was the theme of the event, where we’re pushed to envision what’s next or what’s never been done before to create a better tomorrow.

Lakhveer Jajj of startup Moselle shares his experience from the Summit’s Startup Alley.

Pitching startups

Sustainability focused

End-to-End focused

Planning & Procurement & Manu focused

Fulfillment (Trans + Warehousing) focused

Startup Alley

View the whole playlist from the Supply Chain Innovation Summit!

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