GOVERNOR BRUCE RAUNER MEETS WITH 1871 START-UPS IN ROUNDTABLE

Startup Incubators 1776 and 1871 to Bring Challenge Cup 2015 to the Windy City

Startup Incubators 1776 and 1871 to Bring Challenge Cup 2015 to the Windy City

Two of the world’s foremost incubators are partnering to identify Chicago’s most promising startups as part of global competition 

WASHINGTON, D.C. AND CHICAGO, IL (September 23, 2014)— Startup incubators 1776 and 1871 today announced that Chicago will participate as a host city in Challenge Cup 2015, a global competition that spans 16 cities in 11 countries to identify the most promising startups with the best ideas to solve the world’s biggest challenges, on October 28.

“We’re thrilled to join with 1871 and bring the Challenge Cup to Chicago, a city that has already established itself as a worldwide hub for compelling startups that are working to tackle our biggest, most intractable problems,” said 1776 co-founder Donna Harris. “This competition will not only help Chicago’s most promising startups succeed, it will further connect the Windy City to a global movement of innovators interested in solving our biggest problems.”

Challenge Cup participants compete for $650,000 in prizes in four categories—education, energy, health, and cities—as well as the chance to connect with mentors, corporate partners, policymakers, and potential investors.

“1871 is tremendously excited to bring the Challenge Cup back to our hometown,” said 1871 CEO Howard Tullman. “Chicago is building companies and startups that are tackling major challenges and trying to solve real problems. Last year, the Challenge Cup was an extremely valuable opportunity for dozens of Chicago startups to exchange ideas, connect with mentors, and impress investors. This year, it’s going to be even bigger and better.”

Last year, the winner of the Challenge Cup’s “health” category and one of four finalists was 1871’s own CancerIQ, a startup that created a suite of applications that allow oncologists to better collect genetic information from cancer patients and identify high-risk patients for preventative treatment—greatly simplifying the practice of genomic medicine.

“It was a great experience for us,” said Feyi Olopade, CEO of CancerIQ. “We got exposure to a number of top officials in the administration and in the industry.We had the opportunity to cross-pollinate ideas and growth-hacking strategies that have been tried and tested. This was the first time we got to share our updated traction story with the world and with investors."

In addition to Chicago, Challenge Cup 2015 will take place at 15 other regional sites, including Washington D.C., Sydney, New York City, Tel Aviv, Amman, Santiago, Nairobi, Mumbai, Austin, Toronto, Boston, Berlin, Dublin, San Francisco, and China. Each city will produce four regional winners in each of the four categories, with 64 regional winners chosen to compete in 1776’s Challenge Festival in May, a weeklong event in Washington, D.C. that gives these startups an opportunity to pitch investors, connect to new mentors, meet with policymakers, and compete for prizes and funding.

Additional dates and judges for the Challenge Cup Competition will be announced in the coming weeks. To power Challenge Cup 2015, and ensure the best startups and venture partners have a seat at the table, 1776 has forged partnerships with  NEA, the world’s largest venture capital firm, Revolution, the Case Foundation, Capital Factory, Rocketspace, Oasis 500, and many more to be announced in the coming weeks.

Candidates for the Challenge Cup competition are startups that are compelling, world changing, and highly scalable, and that aim to make tangible differences in people’s lives, not just build the hottest new app. Through Challenge Cup, entrepreneurs are not only connected to the investors and mentors they need to succeed, but corporations and policymakers in some of the world’s most entrenched industries and government entities are introduced to these innovators’ fresh ideas that have the potential to solve big, difficult challenges.

Last year’s inaugural Challenge Cup was enormously successful. Out of 5,000 applications, 480 startups competed in 16 cities in nine countries throughout the world. At Challenge Festival, out of the 64 startups that competed, eight startups were selected to receive funding from 1776 directly, several others received significant investment from other funds or partners, and 1776 set up more than 70 individual meetings between the startups and potential investors, corporate partners and policymakers .

This year, 1776 is taking the Challenge Cup to the next level by announcing ChallengeX, a feeder competition in which startup incubators around the world have the opportunity to host their own competitions, with the winners automatically entered as finalists into the nearest Challenge Cup regional competition. This means more cities, more startups, and more great ideas.Participating ChallengeX cities include Detroit, New Orleans, and Buenos Aires, with more locations to be announced at a later date.

“The Challenge Cup is the best platform out there for sharing innovative, world-changing ideas with the investors and mentors you need to be successful—and we’re absolutely thrilled to partner with 1871 to bring the competition to the Windy City,” said 1776 cofounder Evan Burfield. “And this year, the launch of ChallengeX, a new feeder competition, allows us to cast our net even wider, giving more startups the opportunity to present their ideas in front of mentors, judges and investors around the world.”

In addition to CancerIQ, winners from last year’s Challenge Cup are already enjoying remarkable success disrupting and innovating the world’s most entrenched industries, including:

• PlugSurfing, a Berlin-based mobile app that allows drivers of electric vehicles to quickly locate charging stations and process payments on their mobile devices—with the dual benefit of making energy-efficient vehicles more practical for German drivers while reducing fossil fuel consumption.
• RideScout, a mobile app that pulls together a host of transportation sources and allows users to quickly plan trips. RideScout was recently acquired by Daimler after 1776 fueled its early growth into a startup capable of innovating ride-share technology within Germany’s highly-regulated transportation sector.
• eduCanon, an online learning environment that creates and shares interactive video lessons to help teachers, especially those who are new to the profession, increase student engagement and improve their ability to plan the next day’s lesson. By helping teachers succeed early on, eduCanon is enabling a better experience for students and teachers.

ABOUT 1776

1776 is a global incubator and seed fund that finds promising startups focused on solving the world’s most fundamental challenges and helps engineer their success.

Just two years old, 1776 has helped more than 250 startups grow by vetting their viability and connecting them to a “swat team” of support, from investors to mentors, government officials, and institutional market partners that they need to succeed.

1776 focuses on startups in the most broken, entrenched industries and sectors that impact millions of lives every day – specifically education, energy, health and cities.

Because solving big challenges in entrenched industries requires a different approach, 1776 is revolutionizing the startup landscape. From its hub in Washington, D.C., it is sparking a global movement of “problem-solving’ startups through its Challenge Cup and Startup Federation, the premiere network of incubators throughout the world.

By creating a global community of startups, mentors, partners, and investors, 1776 is proving that its unique approach to incubation can create a sustained cycle of innovation that connects existing enterprises, corporations, and government entities to the startups that are solving the world’s biggest problems.

1776 was founded in February 2013 by Donna Harris, a serial entrepreneur and the former Managing Director of the Startup America Partnership, and Evan Burfield, founder of netDecide, a provider of enterprise wealth management solutions, and the consulting firm Synteractive.

ABOUT 1871

1871 is an entrepreneurial hub for digital startups. Located in The Merchandise Mart, the 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. Recently ranked 9^th in the world in the 2014 UBI Index list of top university-associated business incubators, 1871 has become a global leader in the entrepreneurial community. 1871 is the flagship project of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center.

1871 CEO HOWARD TULLMAN TO LEAD DELEGATION OF 1871 BUSINESSES TO WHITE HOUSE

1871 CEO HOWARD TULLMAN TO LEAD DELEGATION OF 1871 BUSINESSES

TO WHITE HOUSE

Five 1871 Businesses to Join National Meeting on Entrepreneurship on Thursday;

Will Meet with Congressman Jared Polis Earlier in the Day

CHICAGO, IL (April 8, 2014) -- Five of 1871’s most successful businesses will join 1871 CEO Howard A. Tullman on Thursday, April 10th to visit the White House as part of a national summit on entrepreneurship. This will mark the first ever formal trip by 1871 members to the White House.

“It is always exciting to be at the White House with the opportunity to help the administration understand the challenges facing technology entrepreneurs in the Midwest,” said Howard A. Tullman, CEO of 1871. “This will be a great event and a wonderful way to showcase five of 1871’s most talented companies on the national stage. And spending time with Jared Polis – probably our “techy-est” representative – will also be a great learning experience for our members. He’s been a good friend for a long time and a powerful supporter of 1871 as well.”

The entrepreneurs and businesses that will visit the White House are:

·       Feyi Olipade, CancerIQ

·       Lotika Pai, Q-It

·       Corbett Kull, 640 Labs

·       Canh Tran, Rippleshot

·       Rajesh Karmani, Zero Percent

“I am thrilled to have this opportunity to visit the White House and talk about the many opportunities facing entrepreneurs here in Chicago and how the government can help us,” said Corbett Kull of 640 Labs. “I expect to see some valuable examples about how things are working for entrepreneurs elsewhere in the country that can be useful as we continue to grow and expand our business. And, I’m sure we can teach them a thing or two about Chicagoness while we’re there.”

Business Forward is organizing the event. The day will start with a roundtable discussion with Congressman Jared Polis, of Colorado. Polis is the founder of bluemountainarts.com and ProFlowers. 1871 CEO Tullman spoke recently in Denver to several hundred entrepreneurs assembled there by the Built in Colorado team, which is an outgrowth of the Chicago-based media and community start-up, Built in Chicago.

In the afternoon, Tullman and the entrepreneurs will proceed to the White House, where they will meet with administration officials as well as officials from other cabinet departments. Past events have included officials from the Department of Commerce as well as the U.S. Small Business Administration. Past participants in the White House briefing have included Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President; Steven VanRoekel, U.S. Chief Information Officer; and Todd Park, U.S. Chief Technology Officer.

What: Roundtable Discussion on Capital Hill followed by White House Business Council briefing

When: Thursday, April 10^th from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Where: Rayburn House Office Building and The White House Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Washington, D.C.

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About 1871

1871 is an entrepreneurial hub for digital startups. Located in the famed Merchandise Mart, the 50,000-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 CEC.