Guest Author: Keanan Koppenhaver

Startups like to use trendy job titles such as Content King and Growth Wizard to create a fun company culture and communicate to the outside world that they’re a certifiably “cool” place to work. These titles, however, are often not very descriptive of the role itself.

A job title that sounds similarly trendy on the surface, but more accurately describes a crucial part of a company’s growth and function is the “Solutions Architect”. A Solutions Architect helps take new products from idea to implementation, fix existing problems in the most efficient way possible, and generally makes sure that the business and technical sides of a company understand each other.

On June 18th, IHCC and 1871 launched Cohort 7 of the Latinx Incubator.

The Latinx Incubator is a first-of-its-kind partnership between the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (IHCC) and 1871 with the mission of growing the pipeline of Latinx and underrepresented entrepreneurs participating in and contributing to the Chicago tech and innovation economy.

Guest Author: Terri Brax, CEO, Women Tech Founders

Valarie King-Bailey is CEO of OnShore Technology Group, an independent validation and verification consultancy. Under Valarie’s leadership, the company has become one of the leading independent validation and verification firms in Chicago and beyond.

King-Bailey recently spoke with Women Tech Founders to share how she's built a career in tech and why it’s important to constantly seek opportunities to innovate, find one thing to do really well, and never stop learning.

1871 will hold its WISTEM C10 Showcase virtually for the first time ever this July, with the customary founder pitches followed by introductions to WISTEM C11.

CONTACT:

J Blaszczykiewicz, Marketing Director, 1871
j@1871.com

CHICAGO (July 7, 2020) – On July 14th, 2020, 1871 will host its first virtual WISTEM Showcase, in which the founders of seven women-led startups from Cohort 10 will take the mic to pitch their ventures. The demonstrations will be followed by introductions to the newest cohort, C11, the largest and most diverse for the program yet.

Authors:

Five women-led startups selected from nationwide applicants

CONTACTS:

1871: 
J Blaszczykiewicz, Director of Marketing
j@1871.com

BMO Harris Bank: 
Kathleen Szot, Corporate Communications Manager, BMO Harris Bank
kathleen.Szot@bmo.com

CHICAGO (JUNE 24, 2020) – 1871 and BMO Harris Bank are proud to announce the five participating companies selected to join WMN•FINtech on June 15, 2020. WMN•FINtech is the latest evolution of the BMO Harris / 1871 Innovation Program, and the first iteration to be dedicated solely to women-led startups in fintech.

Guest Author: Dan Giaime, Chief Marketing Officer at Delight Rewards

Hi, I'm Dan.

I used to work at Microsoft and Facebook, and now I work on my own startup. Even now, I constantly find myself thinking I need other ways to make money, and have to curb those thoughts. Today, I hope to share a perspective I've found helpful in the past that could help stop you from YASH (Yet Another Side Hustle).

Guest Author: Brett Trainor, Founder & Host, B2B Founder Podcast

Research tells us that fewer than 5% of all startups reach a million dollars in annual revenue and fewer than 1% reach $10M in annual revenue.

The 5% club is more exclusive than it should be, and I believe this is an execution problem versus an idea problem. Growth is not a one-dimensional challenge.

Dear 1871 community, 

I’m reaching out to you today not just from my position as a CEO in the Chicago tech community, but also as a leader of a team who is distraught and fearful, and as a mom of a 7-year-old son who does not yet have the context or the experience or the language to understand why so many people are hurting.

First, we’d like to give a heartfelt thank you to all the attendees who came along with us on the adventure of ScaleUp Chicago 2020 ⁠— we are all navigating the new terrain of virtual events and conferences together. And, as we do so, 1871 is thrilled to have been able to bring our spring conference to you right in comfort of your home! For those who were not able to attend, we missed you and there's always next year.