Last week, local investors, corporations, and industry leaders came together at Cushman & Wakefield's Chicago office to celebrate 1871's inaugural Advanced Member Program (AMP) cohort. During the showcase, 11 seasoned entrepreneurs brought together six months of extensive training and mentorship to pitch their business ideas. In case you missed it, we've captured all of the highlights right here.  

1871 joined YWCA Metropolitan Chicago yesterday evening for a panel discussion on the key behaviors and strategies that foster safe and healthy workplaces. The panel featured industry leaders, including 1871 CEO Betsy Ziegler, who shared a number of best practices and procedures on how companies of all sizes can create -- and maintain -- a healthy professional culture. In case you missed it, we've shared some of the panel's most memorable highlights below.

Over 100 students from several Chicago-area universities gathered at 1871 from April 13 - 15 for the fifth annual Campus 1871 event; a weekend-long initiative that simulates the realities of launching and running a startup. The event, which is held once a year, includes hands-on training, workshops, mentorship and coaching, and culminates in a pitch competition – where participants can win a temporary membership at 1871.

On April 9, students at Walter H. Dyett High School were smiling ear-to-ear as they donned virtual reality headsets and dove into new worlds and educational experiences. Brought together by a common cause, 1871 and Alight Solutions partnered with 1871 member company EX3 Labs in its mission to donate and equip South Side schools such as Dyett with state-of-the-art technology. 

Last night, 14 Latinx entrepreneurs presented their businesses in front of a packed room at 1871. After 12 weeks of hard work, each entrepreneur celebrated their graduation from the Hispanic Technology Incubator as three of our core values -- innovation, inclusion, and economic growth -- intersected to create an evening full of unforgettable moments and ideas. 

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel stopped by 1871 last week to record the first live episode of Chicago Stories -- his weekly podcast -- with 1871 CEO Howard A. Tullman. The two local titans shared their thoughts on tech, entrepreneurship, and the importance of learning from failure and from life in front of a packed audience. In case you missed it, here are some of our favorite moments and highlights from the episode. 

On March 8th, 2018 -- powerful women from around the nation gathered at 1871 to participate in a full day of events, workshops, and panels that served to educate, inspire, and empower women across all industries. The event marked 1871's annual commemoration of International Women's Day and covered relevant topics for women in business such as authentic leadership, professional development, and gender equality. We've put together some highlights from the event in case you missed it, or you can follow this link to see all of the photos from this year's event.

Last night, a dozen women entrepreneurs took the stage to present their businesses in front of a packed audience at 1871. From a vacation rental cleaning service to an employee engagement platform, each entrepreneur celebrated 12 weeks of hard work, grit, and passion as they pitched their business ideas and officially graduated from our sixth WiSTEM cohort. Not to worry if you couldn't make it -- we've captured the evening's highlights right here. 

When's the last time you used a rotary-dial phone? How about a VHS player? Well, you might want to add your wallet to that list -- because a growing amount of currency experts believe that cash, as we know it, is going digital. That's the topic that 'Disruption' Joe Hernandez, Founder of the Chicago Blockchain Project, tackled to wrap up our Chicago Made series.

1871 recently held its fourth Fintech Forum, presented in partnership with Capco, to showcase thought leaders in the fintech space and increase interactions between 1871 startups and corporate partners around the topic of automation. The latest Fintech Forum, held on January 19th, discussed the arrival of automation to our current workforce — is it everything that we expected it to be?