We celebrated the hard work of the first Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce x 1871 Hispanic Tech Cohort. Right before the event kicked off we rolled a video that shed light on how the program impacted each member. Food and drink were provided by Felix's Famous Cookies, Amanecer Breakfast Tacos, Atzimba - Catering & Event Services and Dulcelandia/Yogolandia Sweet & Savory. All Hispanic owned businesses.

Check out this Polar Plunge recap video! Wondering where the GoPro footage came from? Our very own COO, Tom Alexander, strapped on a headband GoPro rig for a first person look at ALL the fun. BRRRRRR!!! The water was so cold, but it didn't phase us! We're proud of our team for sticking it out and taking the plunge for a great cause.

From our International Women's Day Battle Scars discussion with Feminist Fight Club author Jessica Bennett and WBEZ's Lauren Chooljian, DePaul Women's a Cappella (DWaC) perform MILCK's "I Can't Keep Quiet".

On February 28th, 1871 welcomed the incredible and inspirational Craig Kielburger, founder of Free the Children and WE Charity. What an amazing story and event! Watch the full event recap video linked here. Enjoy!

It was a Fight Club…but without the fighting and without the men. Every month, the women would huddle in a friend’s apartment to share sexist job frustrations and trade tips for how best to tackle them. These women weren’t just there to vent. They needed battle tactics. And so the Feminist Fight Club was born. Author Jessica Bennett shared with our community the bruises, scrapes, and scars that mark their experience – and ultimately their victories – in battling office sexism. 

At 1871, we pride ourselves on celebrating and fostering diversity every single day. For Black History Month, we took some time to speak with members on a variety of platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and video. We had one simple question: What black innovator, inventor or entrepreneur has inspired you?

Twelve incredibly talented and passionate women founders and CEOs pitched their businesses at 1871’s WiSTEM Showcase February 7, capping off the cohort companies' 12 weeks of intensive mentorship, programming and workshops aimed at accelerating their businesses. Click inside to see them in action as they pitch to a full house at their culminating Showcase.

While January may be National Mentoring Month, the value of having a dedicated group of talented mentors available to our members is something we celebrate on a daily basis. We sat down with some of our mentors to learn more about their time at 1871 working with the members of our community and what mentorship means to them. Learn more about the 1871 mentors featured in the video above: Andy Friedman | Anne-Michele Harrington | Mary Dombrowski | Rob Pasquesi 

1871 kicked off its 2017 series of Fireside Chats with CEO Howard Tullman in mid-January with an all-star entrepreneur -- FUBU founder and panelist on ABC's Shark Tank Daymond John. During their conversation, Daymond shared keys to startup success, what makes a good Shark Tank pitch, how he balanced working a day job while spending his off hours fulfilling merchandise orders in the early days of FUBU and talked about his new New York incubator, Blueprint+Co.

Check out this video featuring our amazing partners at Comcast, the 2016 Corporate Champion. Comcast was honored at the 9th Annual Momentum Awards this year at the Radisson Blu Aqua.