Women make up half of the total college-educated workforce in the United States yet only 29 percent of the overall science and engineering workforce. It’s an issue that Stephanie Hein, CEO of MakerGirl, is working to solve. In this article, she talks about why it’s important to show young women the value of STEM -- and have some fun in the process.
This Veterans Day, 1871’s Yun Tai -- an Army veteran -- takes a look at the intersection of the veteran and tech communities. In this post, he’ll reflect on why veterans are natural born innovators, excel at entrepreneurship, and continue to serve their communities even after they’ve left the military.
As the old Kenny Rogers tune goes, ‘you got to know when to hold’em and you got to know when to fold’em.’ Nobody understands that sentiment better than Sergio Suarez Jr., the former Co-founder and CTO of the popular ticket reservation platform dibit and the Co-founder of Tackle Ai, which uses artificial intelligence to extract key data points from any unstructured document. Along with his entrepreneurial endeavors, Suarez Jr. is also an accomplished poker player. In this post, Suarez Jr. shares his story along with his tips on to how to successfully play the hand your dealt.
1871 and BMO Harris Bank are proud to hold their second joint innovation program. The program provides participants with BMO mentors with various expertise, mission-essential resources across the bank, a working space at 1871 and the potential opportunity to pilot their technology with BMO Harris. To offer insight on what entrepreneurs can expect from the program, we spoke with some of its current members. This week, we talk to we talk to Shima Rayej, Co-founder and Chief Investment Officer at Safe Rate, about the importance of perspective and how the Chicago Bulls helped her connect with one of the nation’s most prestigious banks.
From soccer to tutoring to dance class to mentorship, many of today’s youth spend their after-school hours partaking in activities that will help them learn and develop new skills and build new relationships. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to after-school activities nor knows how to find specific programs of interest -- it’s an issue that Montana Butsch, Founder and CEO of Spotivity, frequently saw on the West and South sides of Chicago when running the Chicago Training Center ‘CTC’ – a non-profit he founded to bring rowing to inner city kids. Today, Montana is using his past experiences with CTC to help youth from all corners of the city find the activities that empower and inspire them. In this post, he talks about the need for greater education, the importance of community, and the significance of engagement.
Sales Assembly and 1871 are joining forces to enable VentureSCALE, the Midwest’s first and only sales and revenue focused accelerator, which operates exclusively out of 1871. We're excited to announce that VentureSCALE's Fall cohort launched yesterday with six amazing companies, which we've highlighted below.
With Halloween just around the corner, we thought we’d share a scary thought with you -- more than half of all Americans are not currently investing in the stock market. That’s why Brian Curcio and Myles Gage developed Rapunzl, an app that teaches young adults how to invest in the stock market through simulated competitions. In this post, Curcio and Gage talk about the need for financial education, what it’s like to be a young entrepreneur, and why you always get what you give.
Hunting, off-roading, camping -- these are just three of the many outdoor activities that you can’t do in a big city. What’s more, outdoor enthusiasts must enter long-term leases with exorbitant prices even if they’re just taking a weekend trip. Thankfully, Erik Johnson, Co-founder and President of PrivateAcre, is making it easier than ever for all of us to spend quality time in the great outdoors.
Globally, 2.7 million newborns die each year. It’s an unfortunate reality that is often more prevalent in developing regions and third world nations. To help combat the problem, Teresa Cauvel and Sona Shah launched Neopenda -- a medical device startup focused on emerging markets. Their first product is a device that monitors the vital signs of critically-ill newborns. In this post, they talk about where they came up with the idea for their company and why they’re working to improve medical outcomes in low-resource countries.
1871 and the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (CEC) are proud to host the 11th Annual Momentum Awards Dinner. The dinner will celebrate emergent technologies, leaders, and opportunities that are demonstrating change and innovation. Furthermore, five awards will be presented for outstanding contribution and impact to the Chicago Tech and entrepreneur community.
