Startup Institute Talent Showcase at 1871

Startup Institute New Cohort at 1871

1871 CEO HOWARD TULLMAN SPEAKS AT ALUMNI EVENT FOR THE STARTUP INSTITUTE

Startup Institute is Moving its Campus to 1871

Startup Institute is Moving its Campus to 1871, Expanding Programing for Growth Companies

Jim Dallke

Jim Dallke - Staff Writer

09/05/14 @2:51pm in Tech

The Startup Institute is moving its Chicago headquarters to the Merchandise Mart as part of the expanded 1871 2.0.

The company, which helps future startup employees land tech jobs by teaching product and design, web development, technical marketing, and sales and account management, will move into a roughly 2,500 square foot dedicated space in 1871's growing office. They expect to be in by the first week in October, according to Startup Institute Director Jenn Yee.

The Startup Institute's team, along with the 10-15 students enrolled in each of its four tracks, are moving from their current location at 405 W. Superior. Yee said the chance to work inside 1871 was "incredibly attractive" to the company.

"I’ve seen an amazing evolution of the [Chicago tech] ecosystem and I think that 1871 has definitely anchored that in many ways," Yee said.  "It's clear they have a really great brand proposition and recognition throughout the city, so obviously this is big for us. There's the proximity to 1871 from an exposure perspective, but we'll also literally be proximate to some of the startups we’re partnering with."

Yee called the move a win/win for both the Startup Institute and 1871. Startup Institute students are looking for jobs upon completion of the 8-week program, and 1871 member companies are looking for talent. But Yee said the Startup Institute is planning to expand its programming to offer growth companies education as well, potentially bringing another benefit to the 1871 community.

Startup Institute Director Jenn Yee (via Linkedin)

"In addition to training employees, what we're trying to build is some thought leadership and programing around how to build a better organization," Yee said. "How to build a team. How to work with senior developers. How to evaluate senior talent. How to build culture at your growing company. We're experimenting with building educational models around those things."

Yee declined to comment on the financial terms of the move, but because of the complementary nature of the two organizations, the deal was "more than economic," she said.

"It was very beneficial for both of us to partner, so it ended up being pretty good for both," she said.

Ultimately, Yee feels the move will offer Startup Institute students more of why they took the courses in the first place: access to tech jobs.

"To be closer to the jobs that are being broadcast and to the companies that have the need for the talent--when you think about coffee chats and getting to know people and applying for those positions--it's such a great advantage to be able to access companies so close by."

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BE A ROLE PLAYER OR ROLL YOUR OWN?

There’s a lot of conversation these days about being an entrepreneur and starting your own business and it’s very reminiscent of the early dotcom days when everyone thought they’d spend a few dollars, quickly build a website, and just wait for the bucks to start rolling in. Everyone knows how well that worked out for the lion’s share of the companies, but many young people today haven’t taken the inescapable lessons of those frothy times to heart. They think that starting a business is like learning to swim the hard way – you jump (or a helpful parent or older sibling tosses you) into the deep end of the pool - and everyone (except maybe your older brother) hopes you quickly figure things out and that you don’t drown. To put this vignette into the proper perspective, the end of this particular fantasy would be that you’d swim a couple of lengths and then emerge as a slightly better swimmer than Michael Phelps.

In addition, there’s another strain of embarrassing arrogance floating around the West Coast where the “Y” guys maintain that they can identify a good, young and talented team of guys with a mediocre idea and then, by magic and the massive application of money, their “expertise”, and their network connections, invent a new and better business for the team to build. This is, by and large, utter BS and the few pivots and successful examples that have worked out shouldn’t mislead the vast majority of us into thinking that this approach makes the slightest sense. Your idea may change over time and, in many cases, it will have to, but at least it’s your idea. If you’re plowing someone else’s field or chasing another man’s dream, at the end of the day, you’re just a hired hand. So stick with making your own best ideas real – this start-up stuff is just too hard to be doing for someone else. And I get that everyone’s dream these days is to be working for themselves building an exciting new business. That’s where we’d all like to end up, but that’s not where the journey starts.

I spoke recently to a young man who said that he had decided that he really wants to work for a technology start-up. I, myself, would like to grow at least 10 inches and play center for the Celtics. I’d say we have about the same long-term prospects because just wanting doesn't make anything so.  It’s good to have desire, but the details don’t take care of themselves. Passion needs to be melded with preparation and planning. A goal without a concrete plan to get there is just a daydream or a delusion. Your plan doesn’t have to be the world’s greatest anything. It doesn’t have to be complete; it doesn’t have to be perfect; and it’s going to change a million times along the way, but it’s a place to start. As we used to say in the movie business, “the screenplay isn’t the movie that finally gets made, but it’s what gets the movie made.”

And, as many times as I have said that an entrepreneur’s ignorance can be a competitive advantage in some respects, the truth is that you don’t get into this crazy game simply by knocking on a business’s front door and asking nicely.  If wishes were fishes, every boy would be driving a Porsche. But hope alone is not a strategy for success. 

And that’s why, when I was asked the question about whether it’s better at the outset to be a founder or to work for a start-up and learn the ropes, it wasn’t even a close question. The odds of achieving some ultimate happiness and financial success are at least 1000% better if you take the time to learn your craft and develop a valuable set of skills in some area that interests you and where you’ve got some aptitude. After that, the sky really is the only limit.

So plan to be a great employee and to grow into an important role player first and build your future path and your next plan from there instead of from nowhere.  Just one note of caution – try to work for someone who can actually teach you something of actual value – not a person who’s being doing things the same way forever or someone who’s 15 minutes older than you and learning the job as he or she goes.  Also it’s a really good idea to try to work for someone who has fewer emotional and mental problems than you have.

So that’s job number one – get started, start learning, and go from there. Then, and only then, can you start thinking about your next step. Just like Cinderella, if you want to get a great job at a great company, you’ve got to bring something to the Ball. You’ll need the skills you developed in the jobs you’ve had before (not anything you learned in school) along with a killer work ethic as well as unbelievable persistence. With that kind of package, you’re actually worth hiring. 

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