On August 3, 1871 hosted a company showcase as a part of ThinkChicago, the city's initiative to attract newly graduated talent from all over the U.S. to the booming Chicago tech scene. Over 200 students converged in downtown to visit tech offices, hear keynotes, and meet companies. Their last stop? Lollapalooza.
If you look beyond the headliners, each year Lollapalooza is bringing some seriously innovative ideas to Chicago. IoT solutions have allowed for cashless experiences and a much more seamless entry to the fest via recently upgraded wristbands, and location-based technology and push notification-enabled alerts have made the official app for the fest more and more relevant for users each year.
This tech-enabled advancement doesn’t happen on its own, and the innovative spirit of Lollapalooza is also on display outside of Grant Park each year. Such was the case when ThinkChicago -- an initiative led by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, World Business Chicago and the University of Illinois -- brought 200 recent graduates from around the country for a weekend of celebrating innovation and entrepreneurship.
As it has in the past, 1871 is proud to have played host to these students at a career fair and intern event on August 3, introducing them to some of our ecosystem’s emerging startups as well as large corporate partners. The students -- an even split of men and women -- represented 45 schools across 18 states withdegrees in 50 different majors. The students had the opportunity to speak with representatives and explore career opportunities with the following companies:
- Avant
- Sprout Social
- ITA
- World Business Chicago
- Microsoft
- Motorola
- 5th Column
- City of Chicago
- Clickx Marketing
- Hireology
- Holberg Financial
- Peeptrade
- Reality Bytes
- Sage Corps
- Sorc’d
- University of Illinois
The event hits at a core pillar of 1871’s values -- investing in the future of tech talent and showcasing the city of Chicago as a destination for innovation.
1871 COO Tom Alexander spoke to the crowd of students:
"Chicago has grown tremendously and some of the best entrepreneurs from around the world are coming here. Seriously consider Chicago as a career destination because we're growing fast and we need you. We need your talent, innovation and skills." —Tom Alexander
ThinkChicago also provides the students the opportunity to tour company headquarters throughout the city, attend keynote speeches from tech leaders as well as attend one day of Lollapalooza, complete with a backstage tour of the event.
For more information, visit www.thinkchicago.net.
