1871 HOSTS FIRST EVER TRAVEL SUMMIT FOR GOOGLE FOR ENTREPRENEURS TECH HUB
NETWORK
Inaugural GFE Vertical Summit At 1871
To Focus On Travel And Hospitality Industries; Convenes Startups And Leadership
From Each GFE North American Tech Hub
CHICAGO (October 27,
2015) – 1871 joined
Google for Entrepreneurs (GFE) today to announce the launch of the first annual
Google for Entrepreneurs Vertical Summit, a new initiative from the GFE North
American Tech Hub Network to convene tech hubs and startups for an
industry-specific conference. 1871 is hosting the inaugural summit with a focus
on travel, tourism and hospitality on October 27 and 28. The summit is
sponsored by Sabre Corp.
“The Google for Entrepreneur Tech Hub Network provides
amazing opportunities for startup communities to collaborate and support one
another,” said 1871 CEO Howard A. Tullman. “This summit was an idea that 1871
had to bring together the tech hub community to explore an individual industry
on a more substantive level, and we are thrilled to host GFE and our tech hub
partners at the inaugural vertical summit.”
The two-day GFE Travel Vertical Summit at 1871 brings
all GFE tech hubs and their travel-focused member companies to Chicago to
discuss developments and trends in the travel, tourism, and hospitality
markets. Summit attendees have the opportunity to network with industry leaders
and learn about a vast array of industry topics including travel trends, best
practices, and new products and services. 1871 is also hosting a separate
meeting of the leadership of all the Google For Entrepreneurs technology hubs
in conjunction with this summit.
“We're thrilled to be a
part of 1871's inaugural Travel Vertical Summit, and look forward to
working with our tech hubs and their startups to promote collaboration and
innovation in the travel industry,” said Google for Entrepreneurs Program
Manager Nicole Froker. “This idea came about during our annual
global summit for GFE tech hub partners, and demonstrates the kind of
collaborative thinking and dedication to innovation that we strive to
foster throughout the network.”
Google for Entrepreneurs enables tech hubs by
providing them with technical content, business tools, and infrastructure
upgrades so that they can support increasing demand from developers and
startups. In addition to 1871 in Chicago, GFE tech hubs are located in
Minneapolis, Waterloo, Nashville, Durham, Denver, Detroit, Montreal, San
Francisco, and Austin.
“1871’s membership in the GFE network has given us a
number of opportunities to connect with resources and like-minded entrepreneurs
from across the United States,” said Georama founder and CEO Nihal Advani.
“Chicago is home to many of the world’s leading travel companies, as well as a
growing number of technology businesses that are changing the way the travel
industry operates. We look forward to highlighting innovative travel-focused
businesses like Georama throughout the summit.”
In addition to the programming, events, and support
that Google for Entrepreneurs provides to each of its North American Tech
Hubs, GFE provides a number of special opportunities to startups
within the hubs. Each year, startups are selected directly from
the hubs to pitch their companies to an audience of Silicon Valley
investors as part of the Google Demo Day. Members also have the
opportunity to participate in the GFE Blackbox Connect programs that
occur throughout the year. GFE has also partnered with CODE2040 to pilot
an Entrepreneur in Residence program fostering diversity in the technology
community at several of the North American tech hubs, including 1871.
“We are proud to support this inaugural event. The
travel industry is ripe with opportunities for emerging businesses to add new
value in the marketplace,” said Sean Arena, Executive Director of New Business Ventures
at Sabre. “Our mission is to provide the technology, platform, connections and
ecosystem to enable new ideas to get off of the ground at the speed that is
expected in today’s environment.”
About 1871
1871 is the home of more than 325 early-stage,
high-growth digital startups. Located in The Merchandise Mart, this 75,000
square foot facility is also the headquarters of nationally recognized
accelerators, Techstars Chicago and Impact Engine; half a dozen
industry-specific incubators in key areas such as real estate, education
technology, food and financial technology; several emerging tech talent schools
(Flatiron, The Fullbridge Program, Designation and the Startup Institute), and
the state's leading technology advocate, the Illinois Science and Technology
Coalition. It is the second home to Chicago-based VCs, Pritzker Group Venture
Capital, MATH Venture Partners, Hyde Park Angels, OCA Ventures, OurCrowd and
Chicago Ventures, as well as satellite offices for Northwestern University,
University of Illinois, University of Chicago, Loyola University Chicago,
Illinois Institute of Technology, and DeVry. 1871 has fast become recognized as
the hub for the city’s entrepreneurial/technology ecosystem and has been
featured in Inc. Magazine, TechCrunch, The Wall Street Journal, The New York
Times, Chicago Tribune and Crain’s Chicago Business among other top media. 1871
is the flagship project of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center.
About Sabre Corporation
Sabre Corporation is the leading technology provider to the
global travel industry. Sabre’s software, data, mobile and distribution
solutions are used by hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotel properties to
manage critical operations, including passenger and guest reservations, revenue
management, flight, network and crew management. Sabre also operates a leading
global travel marketplace, which processes more than $120 billion of estimated
travel spend annually by connecting travel buyers and suppliers. Headquartered
in Southlake, Texas, USA, Sabre serves customers in more than 160 countries
around the world.
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