Here are the best networking events, fireside chats and pitch sessions for the month of June. If you have a submission, feel free to email ugandhi@americaninno.com.
Week 1: June 1 - June 9
Thursday, June 1
Social Media Strategy for Your Small Business: Between the multitude of social media channels available today, startups and small businesses often have to prioritize where to focus their companies’ social media presence. Coworking space COCO and Dan Peterson of FlipSwitch Consulting will guide attendees at this event on how to best drive traffic to your business in the long run. The event is sold out, but follow on Twitter @exploreCOCO for more.
Friday, June 2
The Disrupters: Learn How Lyft, ParqEx, and Uber Are Changing Their Industries: Join the Chicago Area Public Affairs Group for a panel of representatives from Lyft, ParqEx and Uber to learn how they are reinventing their respective industries and causing changes in City Hall, Springfield and Washington. Hosted at the Union League Club, tickets start at $30. Register here.
Through the Techweek Gives campaign (powered by uBack), Killerspin in hosting a Ping Pong tournament with tech companies across the city, in support of STEM/STEAM education for Chicago youth. Each of the participating company teams (kCura, 1871, BCBSIL, Mesirow Financial, Capital One, etc.) will be paired with a student who is interested in a tech career, as a mentee.
Saturday, June 3
Bootcamp Admissions Prep Workshop: Preparing for a technical interview for a selective coding bootcamp? Gain insight into solving coding challenges at this workshop led by a Fullstack Academy instructor. Participants are encouraged to know programming fundamentals before attending. The event is free to attend and will be held at 1871.
Monday, June 5
#NotaPitch 3.0: Hosted at TechNexus, this is Future Founders' 3rd showcase focused on early stage founders that want to receive feedback from investors (InvestHER Ventures, Pritzker VC, TechNexus and Opternative) in a no-pressure environment. The point is to simply get feedback on pitching and the startup business model. Pitch ideas are no longer being accepted, but free to attend for anyone who just wants to watch, network and/or prepare for the next pitch event. Register here.
Tuesday, June 6
The Future of Clinical Trials: Join Dr. Samuel Volchenboum (affiliated with Austin, TX-based Litmus Health and theCenter for Research Informatics at the University of Chicago) and Dr. Samuel Blackman (with Silverback Therapeutics) for a webinar taking a deep dive into big technology changes driving academic and industry drug development research. Leaders in clinical trials, students and researchers are all invited to join. Organized by the Graham School at the University of Chicag, the webinar is free to join. Register here.
General Assembly’s “Talk Data to Me:” At this event, thought leaders from the Chicago data community (representing a wide range of industries -- Coyote Logistics, Pinterest, Braintree, Chicago Bulls and Farmer’s Fridge) will discuss possibilities that data brings to all streams of work. Intended for tech enthusiasts at all stages of career, the panel will cover how today’s wealth of data drives business and product decisions, and share their visions for the future. Free to attend, held at the Nerdery. Register here.
2017 Capstone Breakfast: Men & Women Innovating For Gender Economic Equity: Hosted at 1871, WeDesignThink will showcase human centered design solutions to confront the issue of gender economic inequity. The breakfast includes a keynote, a roundtable and a commitment to action. Tickets start at $15, register here.
Israeli Social Innovation Night: Hosted at 1871, the event will offer diverse perspectives on the Israeli social innovation ecosystem from an expert on Israeli innovation and four leading nonprofits operating there. Free to attend, register here.
Wednesday, June 7
Chicago Founders' Stories @1871 with Andrew & Thomas Parkinson of Peapod: This series showcases conversations with interesting and accomplished founders in Chicago. This month, it will host the brothers behind the largest e-grocer in the country serving the Midwest and the East Coast. The evening will feature networking, food & drinks, an opening act featuring startup Itemmaster, a moderated discussion, and then some more networking. Free to attend and held at 1871.
Career Advancement Strategies Webinar: In this lunchtime webinar, JJ DiGeronimo, President of Tech Savvy Women and a sought after speaker on helping women climb the career ladder, will share some of her action-based strategies from over two decades in tech-based roles and companies. The personal anecdotes and examples shared here are aimed at women at Director-level and above. Free to join, organized by the Anita Borg Institute (Chicago chapter). Only 25 spots are available, register here.
Thursday, June 8
Data-Driven Chicago (Avant, Civis Analytics, Groupon, Narrative Science, and Uptake): This is an after work “open house” hosted “by devs and for devs,” where engineers and other data-driven professionals at some of Chicago’s biggest tech startups will present some of the interesting work challenges they have overcame. Five 12-minute presentations will be followed by a 20-minute roundtable where all presenters will answer audience questions. Free to attend and held at Groupon’s HQ. Register here.
The First Chicago Google Cloud Platform User Group Meetup: In this presentation, Rob Schmit, Sales Engineer with Google Cloud Platform, will demonstrate how to quickly and seamlessly build a pipeline with serverless architecture based on the highly scalable Google Cloud Platform. The event is free and held at Google’s Chicago campus. Register here.
How to Start Your Business: At this seminar, the Illinois Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at UIC will showcase the necessary steps to start a business, what resources are available, and how it can help. Free to attend and part 1 in a series of 4. Register here.
Adapting Experiences for AR with Microsoft & EX3 Labs: This AR/VR meetup at 1871 will host two Chicago-based professionals in the space: Sarah Sexton, a Technical Evangelist at Microsoft “dedicated advocate for technology and committed to seeing more women and minorities get involved in game development” (from her bio) and Adam Wisniewski, Founder, EX3 Labs. Networking with beer and wine is part of the evening, followed by a social hour across the street. Free to attend.
Week 2: June 12 - June 16
Monday, June 12
Tech2Action: This group that was launched after the election to rally the tech community around positive, progressive change, will hold its second event "How to Have Compassionate Political Conversations in the Digital Age" at TechNexus. Featuring a panel consisting of academic practitioners researching human interactions on social media, interrelationships of social structures, as well as representation from the Chicago Regional Organizers for Anti-Racism, the event hopes to explore how we can engage in civil online discourse amid polarizing times. Register here.
Tuesday, June 13
Building Chicago: Join General Assembly and mHub for a conversation and showcase of organizations and individuals (General Electric, World Business Chicago, Black Tech Mecca, Illinois Technology Association, MINIMAL Design Studio and mHub) who are actively building Chicago to position it as a global contender in the business of technology. See in action interactive product demos of innovative ideas, and hear lightning talks about what makes Chicago a leader in innovation and enjoy beer & networking. Free to attend, register here.
Learn A Language Series: Intro to Ruby: This workshop is an Intro to Ruby where you will learn more about the programing language, participate in a fun exercise to get your feet wet. This event is organized by Anita Borg Institute’s Chicago chapter, and sponsored/hosted by HS2 Solutions in Ravenswood. Free to attend, register here.
WiSTEM Showcase: Join 1871 and Ms. Tech Group for a night of pitches and networking featuring 14 startups from WiSTEM's Spring 2017 cohort. Free to attend, register here.
Wednesday, June 14
Intro to Data Structures & Algorithms: In this meetup, Jay Wengrow, founder of Actualize and author of A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms, will introduce one of the fundamental courses of computer science education with a beginner-level deep dive. The event description suggests bringing a laptop (and a friend!), but no coding experience is required. Free to attend and held at Actualize’s location in River North.
EdTech Chicago Meetup: School's Out for the Summer Happy Hour: Join the meetup group for drinks and snacks as they commemorate 6 months of launch, at Aberdeen Tap close to River West. More information here.
SBIR/STTR Grant Writing Workshop: In times of uncertain scientific funding, entrepreneurs need to be even more strategic about how they frame their grant applications. Life sciences economic development group PROPEL is hosting this 2-day intensive workshop, covering all aspects of writing SBIR/STTR grants focused on life science technologies including: eligibility, sources of funding and agency differences, understanding what reviewers look for, and step-by-step instructions on how to write each section of your proposal. Hosted at MATTER, register here.
ITA Women in Tech Leadership Exchange Panel: This free event open to all women (Director-level and above only) will feature discussions on getting (and keeping) a seat at the table, communicating in a male dominated industry, leveraging mentorship and sponsorship as well as the big question -- can women really have it all? Dima Elissa of VisMed 3D moderates, with panelists representing Uptake and Gogo. Register.
Thursday, June 15
NewSpace Chicago Presents: Crowdfunding Your Space Startup: Crowdfunding is rapidly gaining popularity in Illinois as an alternative means of startup funding. For this event, NewSpace (“an open community for entrepreneurs, investors, engineers, scientists, students and others who are interested in the development of private companies commercializing outer space”, according to their Meetup profile) has gathered together a panel of crowdfunding experts to discuss the the pros and cons of different approaches to crowdfunding, how to best launch a crowdfunding campaign, and how crowdfunding can be used to finance a space start-up. Free to attend and hosted at mHub. More information here.
Saturday, June 17
Hebocon: Chicago’s annual crappy robot competition returns to mHub, as a fun, fast-paced afternoon of building and battling robots meant for all age and expertise levels. Join to participate or just watch what has traditionally been a fun afternoon. Register for free here.
Week 3: June 19 - June 23
Note: This week is also Techweek Chicago with programming all week. More information on Techweek here.
Tuesday, June 20
Startup Grind: Startup Grind is a global monthly fireside chat interview for startup enthusiasts. Hosted at WeWork’s Clark Street location, this month they will host long term investor Mark Achler of MATH Venture Partners. $10 to attend (early bird), register here.
Queer Tech Club Pride Month Edition: Join Queer Tech Club for a special Pride Month Meetup/Happy Hour at Networked Insights, a local big data startup transforming the way companies connect with their customers. More information here.
The Impact of Opportunity: Join sales and business development professionals from Outcome Health, LinkedIn and 1871 as they discuss their approach towards "selling into new markets, generating demand and transforming a marketplace" 9per event description). Moderating the panel will be Outcome Health's Chief Growth Officer, Vivek Kundra. Event held at Outcome Health's offices in the Loop and free to attend. RSVP here.
Wednesday, June 21
The Immersion of Tech into Real Estate for Better & Stronger Builds: Join mHub and the Anita Borg Institute as part of Techweek’s Chicago program for an interactive panel discussion on how technology is revolutionizing numerous industries relating to real estate. Panelists will represent Drone Media Chicago, @properties and CannonDesign. More information here.
Thursday, June 22
Looking AHEAD 2017: Network with like-minded peers, IT professionals, and industry sponsors, and learn about the current and future state of IT at this free one day technology innovation summit held at the Harris Theater downtown. Learn more and register for this full day event.
IAmAnImmigrant Tech Panel: June is celebrated nationwide as Immigrant History Month -- and Chicago will host a panel with immigrant entrepreneurs (BenchPrep, TripMate, Brave Initiatives, moderated by Kristen Sonday, Founder of Paladin) in the tech industry talking about their journey in creating their startups and how their immigrant experience influenced them. Hosted by Code2040 in partnership with 1871 and immigration advocacy group FWD.us. Free to attend.
Week 4: June 26 - June 30
Tuesday, June 27
Here's How: Step-by-Step Marketing Advice from Chicago's Top Startups: Organized by startup PR consultancy Propllr, Here’s How is where Chicago's top founders and startup marketers (kCura, Yello, Snapsheet and many more) will share the specific steps they took to achieve their biggest marketing wins. This half-day summit is hosted at TechNexus and costs $50 to attend. Register here.
Technori: The Future of Media: Chicago's premier startup showcase returns to the Chase Auditorium downtown, this time featuring early stage companies changing the digital media landscape. The event will also feature a keynote from Dose CEO Emerson Spartz, "one of the world's leading experts on internet virality," as well as plenty of time for networking. Tickets range from $10-20, register here.
Wednesday, June 28
Women in Inno: Filling & Funding the Pipeline: On June 28th at 5:30PM, Chicago Inno will host its next meetup, Women in Inno: Filling & Funding the Pipeline. The event will be keynoted by a panel discussion with local female venture capitalists, as they discuss funding and empowering women entrepreneurs in Chicago and how the tech and venture industries can work to become more inclusive. Preceding the panel will be an Inno Showcase where we'll hear from several exciting early-stage and student startups that are filling the city's 'Women in Innovation' pipeline. Register here.
