1871 VETERANS INCUBATOR “THE
BUNKER” ANNOUNCES FORMAL START TO APPLICATION PROCESS
Applications open for
first tenants of The Bunker, an incubator for veteran-owned technology
businesses
CHICAGO (August 14, 2014)—1871 and The Bunker, the nation’s first veteran-focused
incubator, announced today the formal opening of The Bunker’s application
process. The Bunker was announced in June 2014 in conjunction with Mayor
Emanuel, Governor Quinn and the Pat Tillman Foundation with the purpose of
creating opportunities for veterans in the technology space.
“At 1871, we support companies that
are striving to make a difference in the world,” said 1871 CEO Howard A
Tullman. “We are proud to support The Bunker’s work in creating opportunities
for the men and women who have bravely served our country. Veterans have
precisely the set of skills it takes to become successful entrepreneurs, and we
look forward to helping them create thriving technology businesses in Chicago.”
Last month, The Bunker announced that
RideScout, an Austin-based startup founded by two Army veterans, will be the
incubator’s first tenant. RideScout plans to hire several veterans to support
its Chicago team, and will use its new location in 1871 to expand its presence
throughout the Midwest.
“I'm thrilled for RideScout to join The
Bunker because it serves two purposes,” said RideScout co-founder and CEO
Joseph Kopser. “First, it gives us
access to amazing talent in one of the most exciting startup scenes in the
United States. Second, it gives us a
chance to show veterans that they can create companies and solve problems
without having to send out resumes.”
Following its acceptance of RideScout,
The Bunker has approved applications from several additional veteran-owned
businesses. These new tenants include Sky-Farmer, a personal unmanned aerial
vehicle combined with software that allows farmers to gather data about their
crops, as well as The Premium Post, which enables digital publishers to easily
sell single articles of premium content from behind their paywalls.
CreditServe, a peer-to-peer lending platform that gives active duty service
members better access to capital, will also join The Bunker as a new tenant.
1871
and The Bunker will mark the formal opening of the application process with a Pre-Launch event in
the 1871 space. The event is set to bring in hundreds of guests, including
Senator Dick Durbin and John Edelman, President of the Daniel J. Edelman Family
Foundation and Managing Director of Global Engagement and Corporate
Responsibility at Edelman. During the Pre-Launch event, Edelman will present a grant
to The Bunker on behalf of the Daniel J. Edelman Family Foundation.
Vendors
for the Pre-Launch include a number of businesses owned by veterans and
dedicated to supporting veterans, including a veteran DJ, beer provided by Veteran Beer Company,
catering by Johnny Van’s Smokehouse, Bunker apparel created by Rags of Honor, and an artist from Ink Factory Studio who
will live-create a mural about veteran entrepreneurs.
"Today we not only announce the
formal opening of the application period for startups to join The Bunker in
October, but also the start of a new community here in Chicago of veterans
working across sectors who are coming together to connect, engage, and create
businesses,” said Bunker CEO Todd Connor. “The response and national interest
has been extraordinary. Investors are excited at the experience and commitment
of the founders that are reaching out to us, and the philanthropic community is
seeing an opportunity to bring a new model online to leverage the strengths and
entrepreneurial will of veterans."
Accepted applicants will join The
Bunker in 1871’s new 25,000-square-foot expansion space, set to open in
October. The Bunker will share the new space with a number of alumni companies,
venture capital firms, and incubators.
About 1871
1871 is an entrepreneurial hub for digital startups. Located in The
Merchandise Mart, the soon-to-be 75,000-square-foot facility provides Chicago
startups with programming, access to mentors, educational resources, potential
investors and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs that help them on their
path to building successful businesses. 1871 is the flagship project of the
Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center.
About
The Bunker
The Bunker will be the
nation’s first veterans-exclusive technology business accelerator and will
harness the leadership experiences of veterans as a strategic differentiator
for startup and early stage veteran-owned, technology-enabled businesses. It is
a veteran-operated, veteran-focused effort with an emphasis on finding and
offering entry points into the technology community. The Bunker looks to
explore and tap into the significant resources already available to veterans
from government organizations while emphasizing and amplifying the skills our
veterans have developed while serving in the military.
About
RideScout
RideScout is a
technology platform that aggregates public, private and social
rideshare on its free iOS and Android apps, allowing people to search and
compare ground transportation options on demand and in real time. Hailed as the
KayakTM of ground transportation, RideScout shows users transit,
taxi, ride share, car share, bike share, carpool, walking, biking, driving and
parking in one view. The company is based in Austin, TX, with a Washington, DC office at startup campus 1776.
About Sky-Farmer
Sky-Farmer provides an
affordable software platform and a mountable hardware device that allows
agricultural farmers to survey and gather data about their crops without
leaving the ground. The Sky-Farmer solution may be most easily
integrated with an affordable, personal unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Whether
helping a crop grower identify areas that need additional hydration, diagnosing
potential disease-risk areas, or simply providing high quality aerial
photographs, Sky-Farmer allows a farmer to gather
exceptional amounts of data and make timely adjustments to their crops. Accessing
this data through Sky-Farmer’s user-friendly proprietary software,
the farmer will save time, money, and produce higher yields.
About The Premium Post
The Premium Post allows
digital publishers to easily sell single articles of premium content
from behind their paywalls. The Premium Post allows
publishers to start selling single articles in three easy steps: post,
link, and sell. Users post a premium article to
their Premium Post page, link it to their paywall, and sell it
to the reader. The Premium Post Basic Service is free to use, or publishers can
upgrade to Pro or Enterprise for additional services.
About CreditServe
CreditServe uses a peer-to-peer lending platform that
leverages the relationship between America and its military to give active duty
service members better access to capital and investors a great return on their
investments. Using a proprietary algorithm that incorporates more than just
traditional FICO scores, CreditServe aims to accurately determine
creditworthiness of military members.
