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1871 believes Chicago is the best place in the country for women entrepreneurs to start a business. With that in mind, we’ve created WiSTEM, a 12-week program that helps early-stage female founders develop, launch, and grow tech businesses faster. 

The WISTEM program offers:

• A tailored experience – WiSTEM is a rigorous, yet flexible program structured around the challenges and opportunities faced by female entrepreneurs
• Content and mentorship designed specifically around the individual companies admitted into the program
• Weekly 1:1 mentorship from WiSTEM’s EIR, a successful female-founder passionate about supporting early-stage female founders
• Access to the 1871 community and all of its resources, including office space
• Mentorship from some of Chicago’s top female (and male) business leaders
• Join WiSTEM’s alumni network of 100+ female founders
• Access to capital through 1871’s strong connections to the city’s top venture capitalists
• A dedicated Program Manager who curates mentors, investor introduction, networking & pitch events, and more specifically for the WiSTEM community

You qualify for WiSTEM if you:

• Have at least one woman as a co-founder
• Have a technology or tech-enabled business

 

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Balodana

Balodana is an online department store where women can find hundreds of unique designs from global designers that are all made-to-measure, precisely to your body.

Founder: Dana Todd (Founder/CEO/CMO) & Nisha Katti (Co-founder)
Twitter: @balodanafashion
Instagram: @balodana

 

Cloche Invest

Cloche is an online investment platform for millennial women that uses goal based investing to create a new generation of financially independent women.

Founder: Peyton Pritikin (Co-founder/CEO) &  Ari Carter (Co-Founder & CFO)
Instagram: @clocheinvest

 

emBorrow

emBorrow is a community built around a technology ecosystem to provide fertility financing, support and education tailored for women and couples.

Founder: Kati Deutschle (Co-Founder & CEO) & Michael Anzola (Co-Founder & CTO)
Instagram: @emborrow

 

Law Co

LawCo is a free app/website that instantly connects people in need of legal help to lawyers, on demand and in real-time.

Founder: Lauren Glennon (Founder & CEO)
Twitter: @lawco_
Instagram: @get_lawco

 

Honest Game PBC

Honest Game is a technology solution for high school student-athletes, school counselors and college coaches that delivers transparency via verified academic data to demystify and deliver equal access to academic eligibility.

Founder: Kim Michelson (Co-Founder & CEO) & Joyce Anderson (Co-Founder & COO)
Twitter: @honestgamencaa
Instagram: @honestgamencaa

 

LeveledPro

LeveledPro is a project management tool for homeowners and investors to conveniently track and fund their home renovation projects.

Founder: Tiffany Griffin (Partner) & Marvin LaBranche (Partner)
Instagram: @LeveledPro

 

LifeWeb

LifeWeb is a memorial tool that effortlessly curates a multidimensional celebration of a life lived.

Founder: Ali Briggs (Co-Founder & CEO) & Rachele Louis (Co-Founder & COO)
Instagram: @lifeweb360

 

Manifest Ledger

Manifest makes 401k transfers seamless.
Founder: Meenakshi Lakshmanan (Co-Founder & CTO)

 

Ride with Roady

Roady is the calendar for your social life.

Founder: Rebecca Klor (Co-founder & CEO) & Austin Jenkins (Co-founder & CCO)
Twitter: @ridewithroady
Instagram: @ridewithroady

 

Senior Checks & Balances

Concierge home, health & daily money management for seniors.

Founder: Jill Dillingham (Founder & President)