Our 1871 is a series of articles, photos, and videos introducing you to the amazing people who power our community. Simple 1871 fact -- the people make the place. Today we chat with Davinder Kohli, Founder of XentStudios, a startup that uses virtual reality to help kitchen and bath retailers showcase their products.

Investment in EdTech reached record highs in 2015, and it didn’t stop there. GeekWire revealed that in 2017 EdTech investments reached the $1.2 billion mark. And industry experts expect this to continue to grow in the coming years, as new innovations are released to the market. In this guest post, EdTech blogger Dana Anderson shares her thoughts on how startups in this industry can secure funding.

Technology is constantly evolving, but Shayna Atkins, Founder, and CEO of AtkCo Inc., offers learning with in-person certification courses, online curated curriculum, and coaching for lean product development to prepare employees for tech’s next curveball. In this interview, Atkins shares her insights on the rapidly changing Fintech space, the importance of recruiting from underserved communities, and why it’s important to have great expectations.

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 July 24, 2018.

Most of us don’t need to know anything about our insurance other than a provider name and an identification number, but like a Swiss watch, there’s a whole lot going on beneath the surface than most of us realize. Unfortunately, the similarities stop there -- while most Swiss watches are efficient automated wonders of Swiss engineering, the insurance industry runs closer to the opposite end of the spectrum. Thankfully, Richard Perrott of WatchTower is bringing the industry into the 21st century.

Yesterday evening, 12 women entrepreneurs from Chicago's tech and entrepreneur community showcased their businesses in front of a full auditorium at 1871. The showcase, which helps each founder generate leads and connect with investors, officially marks their graduation from our seventh WiSTEM cohort. To celebrate this achievement, we asked them to share their experiences and most memorable moments with us in their own words. From tough moments and challenges to triumphs and business breakthroughs, we hope you enjoy hearing their stories as much as we did. 

Our 1871 is a series of articles, photos, and videos introducing you to the amazing people who power our community. Simple 1871 fact -- the people make the place. Today we chat with mentor Anjli Jain, Managing Partner at EVC Ventures, a $50 million Chicago-based venture capital fund.

Denise Umubyeyi and Jasmine Shells are putting their own spin on company culture with Five to Nine, a culture engagement solution that increases workplace connectivity and inclusion while providing analytics to drive people strategy. In this interview, Umubyeyi and Shells share their thoughts on community, culture, and confidence.

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 July 17, 2018.

There’s a lot of fake news out there today. Take Twitter as an example -- recent studies show that false information spreads six times faster than the truth on the social media giant. It’s an issue that Daniel Rendon, a former CBS employee and current CEO of SUJO, plans on solving. In this article, he takes a look at the very real impact of fake news and how we can prevent fiction from turning into fact.