ANOTHER 1871 ALUM TO BE FEATURED ON ABC’S SHARK TANK
Chicago Company Rent Like A Champion Will Be Featured On ABC’s Prime Time
Hit “Shark Tank” On October 30 At 9pm ET/8pm CT.
CHICAGO (OCTOBER 30,
2015) – 1871 alum
Rent Like a Champion will appear on the hit ABC entrepreneurship television
program Shark Tank on Friday, October 30, at 8:00pm CT. This will mark the second
time that an 1871 company has appeared on Shark Tank.
"We're super excited about the whole
experience," said Mike Doyle, CEO of Rent Like a Champion. "We can't
wait for everyone to see what happened. Going on the show has been an important
event for our company."
Rent Like A Champion was founded in 2006 as a student
housing company. The startup evolved into its current form when original
founders Drew Mitchell, Jordan Curnes, and Derrick Shenk discovered the massive
demand for home rentals on weekends when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were
playing in South Bend. The company has grown steadily from those early days,
and was recently named to the 2015 Inc. 5000 list as one of America’s fastest
growing privately-held companies (315% three-year growth).
Doyle has been the CEO of Rent Like A Champion since
2012. The company provides weekend vacation rental homes for major college
football games and other events. Doyle and co-founder Drew Mitchell pitched the
business in front of a group of potential investors that included Mark Cuban,
Lori Greiner, Kevin O’Leary, and more.
"Shark Tank has done a lot to raise awareness
about the importance of entrepreneurship around the country," said Howard
Tullman, CEO of 1871. "Our companies that have appeared on the show have
had great experiences and we're excited to watch and see what happens with Rent
Like a Champion. We're always proud of our alumni members when they go off and
do great things."
Previously, 1871 member Packback appeared on Shark
Tank and made a deal with Mark Cuban. Additionally, Cuban visited 1871 in 2014
and participated in a fireside chat with James Janega of the Chicago
Tribune. Daymond John, a regular judge on Shark Tank, also recently visited
1871.
The Rent Like A Champion team is presently working to
further increase growth and continue expansion beyond the twenty-one college
markets in which they currently operate. To book a home or find out more about
Mike and Rent Like A Champion, visit RentLikeAChampion.com. You can also keep
up with their recent news and events on Facebook (facebook.com/rentlikeachampion) and Twitter (twitter.com/rentlikeachamp).
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.