Award Highlights Commitment To Fostering Community And Opportunity Throughout The City; First Time Ever Being Awarded By CEC; Awardees Recognized For Outstanding Effort To Foster Economic Opportunity Throughout Chicagoland.
CHICAGO (OCTOBER 5, 2015) – The Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center today announced that it will unveil a new award at the 2015 Momentum Awards dinner, called the Chicagoness Award, and that this award will be bestowed upon Rishi Shah and Shradha Agarwal, co-founders of ContextMedia. Chicagoness, a term created by CEC, describes the unique spirit of the entrepreneurial community in Chicago, which values hard work, inclusion, and commitment to collective opportunity.
“Rishi and Shradha are exemplars of Chicago's entrepreneurial spirit,” said J.B. Pritzker, managing partner of Pritzker Group and 1871 founder. “They're driven not only by a desire to build ContextMedia into a powerhouse, but also by a commitment to lift the entire community, give a hand up to new entrepreneurs, and support innovation throughout Chicago.”
Rishi Shah and Shradha Agarwal are co-founders of ContextMedia, a health information services company that owns and operates a suite of digital healthcare networks delivering condition-specific content at the point-of-care in all fifty states. Both Rishi and Shradha are active in Chicago’s civic organizations and entrepreneurial community. Rishi serves on the Boards of Directors of many civic organizations, including Young Presidents Organization (YPO), the Institute for Student Business Education at Northwestern University and the Academy for Global Citizenship. In 2012, he co-founded a personal venture investment firm, Jumpstart Ventures, through which he has made over 40 investments in fast growing early to late stage startups. Additionally, Rishi serves as a mentor for numerous technology startup accelerators and incubators, including 1871. Shradha currently sits on the boards of OneGoal, Chicago Children's Choir, the Chicago Public Education Fund's Leadership Council, and invests in non-profits as a partner at SVP Chicago.
“The exceptional bond between Chicago’s entrepreneurial community makes the city an amazing place to build a business,” said Rishi Shah, co-founder and CEO of ContextMedia. “We are honored to accept the first Chicagoness Award, and look forward to supporting and creating opportunities for entrepreneurs throughout the city.”
The title award is particularly interesting in the context of CEC. CEC filed for and received a U.S. Registered Trademark on the term Chicagoness in early 2014. Last year’s dinner was themed Chicagoness and this is a term that is frequently used around 1871 and CEC to describe the broader commitment to community and collective opportunity that is fundamental to 1871 and CEC.
“Chicagoness is the special DNA of our city that leads to successful CEO’s giving back to the city by leading our civic organizations,” said Jim O’Connor, Jr., CEC Board Chair. “It is a no frills attitude that puts humility ahead of individual ego. 1871 is the best example of the spirit of Chicagoness, and its entrepreneurs benefit tremendously from the incredible community that it fosters.”
The Chicagoness Award is one of four awards that will be bestowed at the coming event, including the Momentum Award, the Corporate Champion Award, and the Entrepreneurial Champion Award. The event, which will take place at the Radisson Blu hotel, will draw 750 of the top supporters of business and entrepreneurship in Chicago together. It is the largest gathering of the tech community annually and the primary fundraiser for CEC, which supports the activities and operations of 1871.
1871 makes an effort to open up the dinner to entrepreneurs, and facilitates strong interactions between some of our best entrepreneurs and the attendees of the dinner. To learn more, visit http://www.1871.com/Momentum.
About ContextMedia
ContextMedia is a health information services company, building digital media technologies to deliver lifestyle education to patients to improve health outcomes. The company empowers healthcare professionals to engage patients while curating content personalized for each member office. Headquartered in Chicago, it is the fastest growing company in the industry impacting over ten million patient visits each month through contextual and actionable content in healthcare practices nationwide. To learn more, visit www.contextmediainc.com.
