Twelve incredibly talented and passionate women founders and CEOs pitched their businesses at 1871’s WiSTEM Showcase February 7, capping off the cohort companies' 12 weeks of intensive mentorship, programming and workshops aimed at accelerating their businesses. Click inside to see them in action as they pitch to a full house at their culminating Showcase.

Twelve Latinx-led startups joined 1871 in late October for a 12-week accelerator program co-facilitated by 1871 and the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. As they progress through the cohort program and prepare for their Demo Day March 1, we’ll be posting Q&As with each company on the 1871 blog to introduce them to the community. This week, Jorge E. Samayoa, CEO of Tripmate, talks about the travel platform he and his co-founders are building to help travelers experience Panama like a local.

1871 and the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (IHCC) announced Friday that PNC Bank will be the title sponsor in 2017 for the 1871/IHCC joint accelerator program focused on fostering opportunities for Latinx-owned technology companies.

Applications are officially open for a new class of participants, who will begin at 1871 in March as part of an expanded offering of the incubator program made possible by a grant from JPMorgan Chase. The new cohort members will be part of the fourth cohort of the WiSTEM program, adding to the 37 companies and 45 entrepreneurs that have participated in the program to date.

While January may be National Mentoring Month, the value of having a dedicated group of talented mentors available to our members is something we celebrate on a daily basis. We sat down with some of our mentors to learn more about their time at 1871 working with the members of our community and what mentorship means to them. Learn more about the 1871 mentors featured in the video above: Andy Friedman | Anne-Michele Harrington | Mary Dombrowski | Rob Pasquesi 

1871 kicked off its 2017 series of Fireside Chats with CEO Howard Tullman in mid-January with an all-star entrepreneur -- FUBU founder and panelist on ABC's Shark Tank Daymond John. During their conversation, Daymond shared keys to startup success, what makes a good Shark Tank pitch, how he balanced working a day job while spending his off hours fulfilling merchandise orders in the early days of FUBU and talked about his new New York incubator, Blueprint+Co.

"Smart is the new handsome, and entrepreneur is the new rockstar." 1871 CEO Howard Tullman made his debut on member company AE Marketing Group's Brand Lab Series podcast this week, speaking with AE CEO Brian Walker. The pair talk about founders' dirty secrets, what makes advertising "boring" and why entrepreneurs are increasingly becoming role models for a younger generation.

1871 and the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center announced Monday that the 10th Annual Momentum Awards will be held November 2, 2017 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. The awards will honor the best and brightest of Chicago’s tech community in a variety of categories.

IHCC President and CEO Omar Duque and 1871 Incubator Director Manny Ozaeta took to the Tastytrade airwaves last week to chat about the latest news out of 1871's first incubator cohort for Latinx entrepreneurs. Appearing on the Bootstrapping in America program, the pair talked with host and Chicagoland Entrepreneurship Center Board Member Kristi Ross about the curated content and mentorship opportunities provided to the 12 Latinx owned startups by the joint 1871 and IHCC incubator. 

12 Latinx-led startups joined 1871 in late October for a 12-week accelerator program co-facilitated by 1871 and the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. As they progress through the cohort program and prepare for their Demo Day March 1, we’ll be posting Q&As with each company on the 1871 blog to introduce them to the community. This week, Ramon L. Rodriguez, Founder and CEO of Collaborate.biz, talks about his platform that matches businesses with strategic partners, which he describes as “LinkedIn meets Match.com.”