The 12th Annual Momentum Awards, hosted by 1871 and the Chicagoland
Entrepreneurial Center, is the city’s most anticipated tech and business event of the year. Celebrating Chicago’s extraordinary entrepreneurial community, this unforgettable event features keynote speeches, a special dinner, networking opportunities with the city’s best and brightest, and will culminate in the presentation of five awards to deserving leaders and companies that have made a significant impact on Chicago’s tech ecosystem.
For more information about our upcoming Momentum Awards, please email [email protected].
See the 2018 event photo album here.
Recognizes a corporation or business that has made an impact through community focused efforts throughout the Chicagoland area. Past recipients include A.T. Kearney (2015), Comcast (2016), and McDonald’s (2017).
Discover was recognized as the 2018 Corporate Champion.
Bestowed upon individuals or companies that exemplify the values of the Chicago entrepreneurial community, which include hard work, inclusion and commitment to collective opportunity. Past recipients include Impact Engine (2015) and Outcome Health (formerly ContextMedia) Co-Founders Shradha Agarwal and Rishi Shah (2016), and music artist Lupe Fiasco (2017).
Future Founders received the 2018 Chicagoness Award.
Given to an individual entrepreneur to recognize his or her personal dedication to the Chicago tech community through mentorship, civic leadership and economic contributions. Past recipients include James O’Connor, Jr., Jai Shekhawat, Jeff Aronin, J.B. Pritzker, Richard Melman, Tom Ricketts, Gordon and Carol Segal, Michael Ferro, Brad Keywell and Eric Lefkofsky.
Linda L. Darragh of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University
Ellen A. Rudnick of the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago are the 2018 Entrepreneurial Champion Award recipients.
The Momentum Award recognizes companies that are on track to become the next great companies to emerge in Chicago. Annually, the Momentum Awards are separated into two categories:
The first award is The Momentum Award, which honors a seasoned company that has demonstrated significant growth, received external funding, and has made a substantial impact on Chicago’s tech and startup community. Past recipients of the Momentum Award include Avant, kCura, Braintree, GrubHub, Eved, SAVVO, @properties, tastytrade, and Reverb.
The second award is The Rising Star Momentum Award, which recognizes a company that is early in its progression, but has a proven track record and the potential to grow into a leader in its industry. The Rising Star Award has been previously awarded to Civis Analytics, Tock, and FourKites.
Reverb received the 2018 Momentum Award.
FourKites received the 2018 Momentum Rising Star Award.
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