Entrepreneurship is never easy. You start small - small resources, small team, small budget - but a big idea that could change the world. This is usually the case and although it’s not fair, it’s the reality of the world we live in. Along the way, you have to be careful about how you navigate and scale. In this guest blog, Harry Conley of Lucky Assignments, shares his tips from experience on how you can avoid a number of common startup mistakes. 

JOBS! Every week, we highlight a number of open jobs for our member companies. If you're looking for an exciting career in the tech industry or an opportunity to work alongside Chicago's best and brightest, then you've come to the right place. Here are the job openings for the week of June 10, 2019.

Starting a business can be the hardest journey taken in life.  While most of the conversations center around outside funding to make that journey easier, it can be worth exploring funding the business with customer revenue.  Even though it is not as sexy, it can often lead to a more sustainable business. In this guest post, 1871 alumnus Jamie Johnson -- Founder and CEO of Verde Energy Efficiency Experts, which helps companies find, implement, and maintain energy-efficient solutions, shares his insights on how you can effectively bootstrap your company. 

JOBS! Every week, we highlight a number of open jobs for our member companies. If you're looking for an exciting career in the tech industry or an opportunity to work alongside Chicago's best and brightest, then you've come to the right place. Here are the job openings for the week of June 2, 2019.

As a startup, your first customers have very few incentives to trust you or to return for further purchases. Why should they? You still need to establish your image as a brand and build a faithful following. Until then, you’ll have to work extra hard to earn repeat customers. In this guest post, Manish Dudharejia, Founder and President of E2M Solutions, shares a few tips on how you can establish brand loyalty with your first customers.

JOBS! Every week, we highlight a number of open jobs for our member companies. If you're looking for an exciting career in the tech industry or an opportunity to work alongside Chicago's best and brightest, then you've come to the right place. Here are the job openings for the week of May 26, 2019.

Your halfway through a busy workday and suddenly, your coworker comes back into the office with a slice of pizza. You take one look and see that it’s a sausage and pepperoni combo -- but what really gets you is the smell. It lingers and stays with you, and suddenly, your train of thought has shifted from the annual report you’re working on to a nice slice of sausage and pepperoni pizza. In fact, you can’t think about anything else at this point -- except maybe how wonderful it’d be if there was a way to eat and work at the same time. Thankfully, Maisha Burt, CEO and Founder of WorkChew, has a solution that you can find on the corner of hustle and hunger.

JOBS! Every week, we highlight a number of open jobs for our member companies. If you're looking for an exciting career in the tech industry or an opportunity to work alongside Chicago's best and brightest, then you've come to the right place. Here are the job openings for the week of May 20, 2019.

In today’s corporate society, a winning culture is everything. Company culture is the personality of the organization; it defines the environment in which employees work and establishes a standard for values, ethics, and expectations. In this guest blot post, Marie Johnson of Enlightened Digital shares a few tips on how you can create a positive company culture.

With 95 percent of U.S. single urban households willing to pay more for local food, you might be wondering why you haven’t seen more locally-sourced products at the grocery store or on restaurant menus. Thankfully, Alice Chalmers, Founder and CEO of Local Food Connection, is helping local food make its way into the mainstream. In this post, Chalmers talks about benefits of buying local, supporting farmers, and why grit is a must-have for aspiring entrepreneurs.