With a network of more than 300 professionals from every industry, the mentor program is the crown jewel of 1871. Every day, mentors dedicate their time and expertise guiding our members from issues ranging from legal to tech and everywhere in between, forming valuable relationships and producing concrete outcomes. This week, we say hello to Rick Kottke, VP, Program Manager at BMO Harris Bank.

1871 announced today that Trinity Christian College will kick off an associate membership at 1871, which includes access to shared co-working space, conference rooms, and certain events, as well as the opportunity for students to participate in Campus 1871, a weekend-long event that brings together approximately 300 students from 1871’s university partners.

Today we kick off the sixth cohort of WiSTEM, the 1871 accelerator program that has graduated five cohorts, supported 64 companies and 72 individual women, and raised more than $10 million in capital collectively since the program’s inception in Fall of 2015. 

It is hardly one of the cool kids on the tech block, but in a world where data integrity and trust matters, the company's Azure cloud platform is a security blanket for big corporations.

Today marks the official launch of 1871.Live, a new streaming platform that will bring more than 17,000 hours of entrepreneurial and business-focused educational programming to multiple community center partners across the city. 1871 is one of eight community organizations awarded a grant by ChicagoNEXT and the Blackstone Charitable Foundation for the 2017 Blackstone Inclusive Entrepreneurial Challenge.

Many entrepreneurs skip the basics of marketing and struggle to find product market fit. 1871 member Solomon Thimothy is the co-founder of marketing intelligence platform Clickx and has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and clients implement effective marketing strategies. There is no cookie cutter way to success, but Thimothy shares certain themes that have emerged from his experiences.

This month, 1871 launched a three-month partnership with UNIQLO, a popular global fashion retailer located on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, featuring in-store displays by five incredible 1871 member companies. We visited the store this week with a few of our participating entrepreneurs to get the scoop.

Today, 1871  launches the 1871 Advanced Member Program (AMP), a program geared toward later-stage companies which are scaling and have reached specific industry benchmarks determined by 1871. This is 1871’s latest offering to ensure the best and brightest companies are supported with resources relevant to their stage of growth. 

Throwing your new hire into the fire without sufficient training is often seen as a rite of passage. But that's short-sighted and often costly, to both the employee and the company. 

Jeanne Reidy, VP of Events and Content Development at 1871, chats with the brightest founders, executives, educators, and wave-makers in the technology, business, and entrepeneurial landscape. See below for the full list of interviews or watch the playlist on YouTube.