The next speaker for our event series “1871 Talks” was none other than Howard Tullman, labelled by Inc. Magazine as “the most accomplished, best-connected entrepreneur you have never heard of.” A serial entrepreneur, investor, advisor, art collector, teacher, lecturer, lawyer, marathon runner, and friend of both Bill Clinton and Tyra Banks, Tullman has done it all.
This morning 1871 was lucky enough to have Mark Achler, Senior Vice President of New Business, Strategy, and Innovation of Redbox, come speak on the importance of integrating values into company culture. Starting off his early morning presentation with a round of heartwarming jokes, it was clear how important connecting with people is to him. A string of notable accolades under his belt, notably the serial entrepreneur of four companies, a partner at a venture capitalist firm, and currently an intrapraneur at Redbox, Achler could only stress the importance of values in helping him through every step of his career.
1871 is proud to announce today that Impact Engine is going to run out of the new startup center in the Merchandise Mart this fall led by Chuck Templeton along with managing members Linda Darragh, Dennis Barsema, Jamie Jones, and Tasha Seitz. This was announced tonight by Chuck during his Founders Stories appearance with Pat Ryan Jr.
When we were thinking about the many roles a space like 1871 could play in Chicago's startup community, one role was definitely a showcase of our entrepreneurs to both domestic and international leaders. Last week, we were visited by a Mayor of a major global city as well as a Governor of an important US state.
Today we hit a huge milestone in the early life of 1871 - we hosted a visit by a foreign head-of-government. And it wasn't just any head-of-government, this was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron!
Insights
Posted by: Jordan Gilman on 5/9/12 4:03 PM
When I was looking to move back to the Midwest two years ago, it struck me that
the startup community in Chicago was small in ways both bad and good.
As a member of Chicago’s tech community, I am honored to be a mentor for the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center and to be a part of 1871. I had the opportunity to get a sneak peak of the new space in the Merchandise Mart a few weeks ago and was absolutely blown away by what I saw.
As someone who has been involved in the Chicago tech community for the last 10 + years, it’s great to see the renaissance that is occurring in the digital community. It is my personal belief that a strong startup community needs continual contributions by the entrepreneurial / tech community to ensure a lasting impact on our tech community. The success or failure of Chicago will be determined by the willingness of people to contribute their time and energy to the community. I encourage everyone to get involved in some way - whether that be by being a mentor, meeting with people seeking advice, attending events, etc. I think that members of the community will find that 1871 provides opportunities to get involved via their workshops, seminars and office hours, events, etc. This programming will provide tremendous value to startups.
One of the biggest impediments for a startup can be space available to foster ideas, etc. Not only is 1871 helping to solve this issue for Chicago startups, but also it gives startups an environment to share ideas with one another and to receive the necessary feedback from peers / mentors to help iterate on their concept.
1871 is off to a good start with all 100 reserved seats allocated to 35 startups and 35 additional startups signed up for the shared space. It will be exciting to see the new companies that benefit from 1871. I’m excited about the hundreds of new jobs that will be created as a result of 1871.
A successful startup community can’t be created overnight. It’s going to take a lot of effort from many people over a long period of time to solidify our city as a hub for technical innovation. As a member of the tech community, I’m looking forward to the opening of 1871 and what it’ll mean to our city. Congrats to the CEC team on a wonderful start.
About the Author
Steve Sanger, VP of Business Development, GrubHub
Steve Sanger is a seasoned professional with experience in business / corporate development, strategy formulation, marketing, financial analysis, leadership, and project management. He received his MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Mr. Sanger has held various business / corporate development roles. He was Vice President of Business Development and a member of the senior leadership team for GrubHub (NYSE:GRUB). Mr. Sanger led business and corporate development activities for the company as well as helping to define and to execute the company’s overall strategy.
Prior to joining GrubHub, Mr. Sanger worked at Tribune Interactive where he proactively sought partnership opportunities to drive revenue and to minimize costs for the interactive division. At Diamond Management & Technology Consultants (now PricewaterhouseCoopers), Steve was an Associate who worked on various projects including M&A integration, strategic and competitive analysis. He also interned at Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company where he worked on developing the company’s go-to-market strategy for the Latino segment. Mr. Sanger has also worked at First Industrial Realty Trust.
By Todd Heiser, Design Director, Gensler
Insights
Posted by: Vanessa Yeh on 1/17/12 6:54 PM
Today we announced 1871, a center for digital entrepreneurs to instantly plug into a vibrant community of peers, mentors, partners, and investors. 1871 will be home to hundreds of entrepreneurs, developers, and designers who are building the next generation of successful digital technology companies in Chicago.
