Inno Approved is our weekly roundup of the upcoming tech and startup-focused events in Chicago that you need to have on your radar. We'll see you there...
Monday: 4/10
No events, but we do hear the Cubs host their home opener tonight!
Tuesday: 4/11
Small Business Basecamp: Join Salesforce, Facebook, Zenefits, Sage, Chase for Business, RelationEdge, and others for a powerful half-day growth extravaganza. Hear from experts and get hands-on advice about growing your business, running faster, and building strong connections with customers. Stop in anytime between noon and 6 p.m. Don’t miss out on this free, half-day-only event. Registration here.
Challenges in Navigation Safety for Self-Driving Cars: Part 2 of the Chicago Connected Car series with IIT. Matthew Spenko will lead a general discussion of his work in robotic mobility in challenging environments and focus on his work in navigation safety for self-driving cars. Professor Spenko is an associate professor in the Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering Department at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Free to attend, more information here.
Social Media Influencers Panel: General Assembly, Social Media Club Chicago, and Windy City Bloggers Collective are coming together to present a panel discussion with some of Chicago’s most influential movers and shakers. At this event, you’ll get a glimpse into the ever-changing blogger / influencer industry, and learn the inside scoop on how to adapt to the changes in today’s dynamic landscape. Free to attend, more information here.
Wednesday: 4/12
Jellyvision Women in Tech Launch Party: Celebrate the launch of Jellyvision* Women in Tech (JellyWIT) by joining the women of Jellyvision for a night of games and tacos presented with Built In Chicago. Come meet the tech-savvy women making Jellyvision awesome, including their CEO, Amanda Lannert. Check out their workspace and culture while mingling with members of the Chicago tech community, and find out about joining their team. Women, trans folks, gender nonconforming folks, and allies are all welcome. Free to attend, more information here.
EdTech Chicago Meetup: A Night of Virtual Reality Join Dev Bootcamp for an exciting night of conversation and networking for Chicago's first EdTech meetup. We are excited to welcome you to hear from two people working in the virtual reality realm and teaching students how to use it. Come with questions, stay for the refreshments. Free to attend, more information here.
April 2017 Chicago International Student Career Fair: The Chicago International Student Career Fair will provide a platform for your company to meet hundreds of talented, skilled professionals, students and alumni. Free to attend -- share the word with students in your network. Event at DeVry University, more information here.
Six Degrees Society Chicago Presents Instagram 101: How To Grow Your Following Organically: Have you ever wondered how brands have grown their instagram from 30 followers to 30k? What are they doing that you aren't? At this event you will learn from Meredith MacDougall on how she grew her company, Canary Lane, from 300 to 30k in 18 months and how you can too. Join to learn how to choose the right social media platform for your brand, create engaging content and expertly tag your posts so the right people can find you. $20 early bird, $25 standard. Register here.
Ms. Tech Group's monthly Mastermind meetups are organized in coordination of knowledge and effort working to a definite purpose of changing the landscape for women in tech and business. In Ms.Tech Masterminds, together we raise the bar by challenging each other to create and implement our individual ideas, and to do so with intention. Event free to attend at 1871, from noon-1pm. Register here.
GA Chicago presents: Inside the minds of brilliant designers: This inspiring panel event series invites key players in Chicago’s design community to offer a rare insider’s look at how they work and create. From branding to user experience to city planning, panelists will discuss how they approach projects from a design point of view, how design thinking methods help with problem-solving, and much more. Plus, they’ll cover opportunities within the field and their vision for the future of the industry. Free to attend, register here.
Thursday: 4/13
Cleantech Open Happy Hour: Join Coalition: Energy with Smart Grid Cluster to learn about the Cleantech Open Midwest. This happy hour will start with a brief introduction from Diego Fazi for the Cleantech Open accelerator program, followed by Q&A and networking. Free to attend, RSVP here.
The Garage Wildfire Demo Day: The Garage’s Winter Pre-Accelerator Program, Wildfire, presented in partnership with the Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Northwestern University is hosting its end-of-program Demo Day on April 13 from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. The five Wildfire teams will showcase and pitch their startups to an audience of Northwestern students, faculty, mentors and partners for a prize pool of $8,000, awarded Shark Tank style by our panel of judges! Free to attend, RSVP here.
Are we really going to live forever? The problems and perils of artificial intelligence: The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and Illinois Humanities invite you to join a panel of experts in the fields of art, science, theology, national security, and tech as they provide their insights on the promises and perils of AI and explore the answers to these questions. This event is free and open to the public, though seating is limited. More information and registration here.
Business Casual: Office Party: Five to Nine is having an office party and you're invited. Come join them at their Brad's Deals accelerator space for performances from recording studio Maek Music, drinks, ping pong, corn hole and a photo booth. More information here.
Friday: 4/14
Come join the Guard Llama team in celebrating their debut on Shark Tank. Guard Llama is a personal security company based in the heart of Chicago. For the past 3 years they've been building life saving technology to help people connect with emergency services with the tap of a button. It's been a long journey fraught with challenges. During that time they've been lucky to meet so many amaing mentors, investors, and friends from Chicago's constantly evolving startup scene. Event free to attend and co-hosted by 1871 and mHUB, more information here.
Event descriptions are from event host.
