Here are the best networking events, fireside chats and pitch sessions for the month of July. If you have a submission, feel free to email ugandhi@americaninno.com.
Week 1: July 1 - July 9
Wednesday, July 5
What is Fintech in Chicago: Hear from David Carman, longtime Chicago financial industry professional, founder of the BNC Venture Capital Group and co-founder of the Midwest Emerging Tech Forum. He will give an overview of the fintech space in Chicago, and a portion of the event will also include networking. Held at FinTank, free to attend.
Thursday, July 6
500 Startups @UChicago: The community is invited to the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago to hear from Entrepreneur-in-Residence Mark Goldenson for a presentation on fundraising along with tips on applying to the the next cohort of 500 Startups, a global VC seed fund headquartered in Silicon Valley and the most active seed investor in the world. Goldenson will discuss how to create the best pitch deck. Free to attend.
Saturday, July 8
Women Innovators and their Stories: Hear from the founder of Toy & Game Conference, Mary Couzin, along with panelists and female founders Leia Avery and Ophelia Smith Evans who will tell their story regarding how they brought their inventions to life and their paths to entrepreneurship. Held at Blue1647, free to attend.
Week 2: July 10 - July 16
Tuesday, July 11
The Changing Landscape of Cybersecurity Regulation: The state of New York recently introduced new financial services cybersecurity regulation, launching into motion a possible push for national scale. Join regulation experts from Wipfli CPAs and Consultants, technologists from ThirdPartyTrust and financial services professionals in discussing possible implications in Chicago. Panelists will discuss how to implement and audit for these new cyber security regulations as well as how to communicate best practices throughout the organization and at the c-level. Event organized by industry association FinTEx and held at WeWork Kinzie, tickets start at $5. Register here.
Chi Hack Night hosts J.B. Pritzker: Chicago's largest civic hacking meetup group hosted gubernatorial candidate Alderman Ameya Pawar a few weeks ago, and has extended the invitation to all other candidates in the race. On July 11 it will host venture capitalist, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and private business owner based in Chicago, J. B. Pritzker. He will discuss his vision for the state, and field questions about what his candidacy means for the tech community and everyday citizens at large. Free to attend, held at Braintree's offices in the Merchandise Mart. More details here.
Wednesday, July 12
2nd Annual Incubate Illinois Conference: Join law firm Freeborn & Peters LLP for the Incubate Illinois Conference to learn more about how startup growth is contributing to economic development in the region. The conference will feature panels of fintech growth experts, early stage company founders, and investors from Illinois’ new “Growth Funds.” Register here.
2017 Chicago Innovation Summit: Join Chicago Innovation and the Chicago Public Library for a full day of programming dedicated to spotlighting public access to emerging technology. The summit features an afternoon of 20+ c-level speakers from some fast growing startups, along with an interactive technology expo showcasing latest innovations in virtual reality, drones, robotics and more. This will be followed by TED style talks and then interviews of prominent corporate CEOs. Following this, however, will be the first time a free and open tech panel is hosted -- "Tomorrow's Technology Today", with Microsoft Chicago, Narrative Science and World Future Society talking how latest technology can be made accessible. Register here for both the paid and free portions of the event.
Summer 2017 Chicago Design Systems Meetup: Inaugural meetup for the new group Chicago Design Systems will feature Arlo Bryan Guthrie (from Sprout Social) and Collin Miller as presenters. Hosted by Infrastructure's offices in the Loop, free to attend.
Edtech Chicago: To discuss incremental software development applications in education, Karl Hughes, CTO at The Graide Network, will join the meetup group. His startup connects teachers looking for help with grading assignments, to teaching assistants who are college students. Meetup is free to attend and held at Packback’s office, register here.
Thursday, July 13
Launch of Blue Lacuna: Join Blue1647 for the launch of Blue Lacuna, an “innovative and inclusive technology and entrepreneurial co-working space." At the launch their team will share more information on membership and resources available. Register here for the launch event, free to attend.
Glappitnova: Hear from prominent Chicagoans including many in the tech industry -- Haven Allen (mHub), Mike McGee & Neal Sales-Griffin (CodeNow), Brian Fitzpatrick (Tock), Alex Niemczewski (BallotReady) and many more at this two day conference. Glappitnova is known for its sharp, insightful programming and will be adding an on-site mentorship component this year as well. Learn more and register here.
Friday, July 14
Neutrinos are Everywhere: Join Fermilab’s Chief Research Officer for a talk on what makes the particles so unique and the lab’s experiments in the field -- including participation in the Higgs Boson discovery. Tickets are $7, learn more and register here.
Saturday, July 15 - Sunday, July 30
Codeverse Open House: As we reported in April, Codeverse is a new venture startup in Chicago that is both a coding school and education technology platform for kids aged 6-12 years old to learn coding. On July 15, the company celebrates the opening of its flagship state-of-the-art coding studio in Lincoln Park with several open houses throughout July and August for parents and kids alike, where kids will get to control everything in the room -- from robots, drones, 3D printing apps, laser cutters and more, all while learning to code with Codeverse's kid-friendly programming language and hackable classroom. Founders Katy Lynch and Craig Ulliott will be available to answer questions and provide tours of the space. Free to attend, see more information here.
Week 3: July 17 - July 23
Wednesday, July 19
Women in Bio presents “Become a Pitch Ninja”: Networking and industry support group Women in Bio Chicago invites startup entrepreneurs for this event a mHub to join startup pitch experts, Sara Myers and Mike Moyer, as they introduce the Super-Awesome Presentation Zone Program, which teaches how to properly “choreograph” your presentation for impact. Post-seminar coaching will also be available. Pricing starts at $15 for members, register here.
Founders Stories with TastyTrade’s Tom Sosnoff: Join 1871 and Chicago Founders Stories for a live taping featuring Tom Sosnoff, a Chicago-based online brokerage innovator and sought-after financial educator. Tom will talk the stories behind the various ventures he has launched. Free to attend, more information here.
Thursday, July 20
Data Streaming Panel Event: This panel hosted at Make Offices in the Loop will discuss the recent changes in data streaming and new streaming technologies specifically applicable to Chicago. Free to attend.
Intersection of Design and Technology: General Assembly and Trunk Club team up for for a panel discussion featuring designers and developers from the men's fashion startup. They’ll discuss how cross-functional collaboration and strategies can raise the bar for design and technology within an organization. Free to attend, register here.
Startup Grind Summer Launch Party: The Chicago chapter of the nationwide startup networking and education group will host a “demo day” style night where founders are invited to apply for a chance to present in front of an audience that will include investors. Free to attend, hosted at WeWork. Register here.
Argonne OutLoud: The national lab’s popular public outreach and education series returns with a presentation on “Science and the Future of Food.” Join researchers from the lab and its affiliate University of Chicago who are tackling some large scientific challenges in the food industry. Free to attend, register here.
Saturday, July 22
Intro to Animation: Through this drawing intensive one-time course, attendees will acquire an understanding of human emotions and movements, enabling them to practice fundamental animation techniques. The instructor, Darryl Hughes, has freelanced for Warner Bros., Tiny Toons, Encyclopaedia Britannica and also has experience in the gaming industry. Free to attend and organized at DePaul’s campus in the Loop. Learn more and register.
Week 4: July 24 - July 31
Tuesday, July 25
Fostering Employee Engagement and Culture: Join General Assembly for a panel at TechNexus, featuring talent recruitment and development leaders from some of Chicago’s top startups: Envoy, Rise Interactive and Enova. They will discuss strategies that have and haven’t worked in building the teams they are today. Free to attend, register here.
Wednesday, July 26
City Club of Chicago hosts UChicago’s John Flavin: Described as the premier public affairs forum in Chicago, the City Club has an active calendar inviting speakers from across disciplines over the year, for events open to the public. On July 26 it will host UChicago VP of Entrepreneurship and Innovation John Flavin who will talk about the Polsky Center’s expansion plans and efforts to cultivate technology-based economic development on the South Side of Chicago. Tickets start at $35 for members, and a livestream is also available. Register here.
AWS Summit: Bringing together the cloud computing community to connect, collaborate and learn about Amazon Web Service, this is a free conference held at McCormick Place for users of the software at every stage and expertise. Register here.
Embracing the Pivot: Ashish Rangnekar - CEO/Co-Founder of Benchprep: Chicago Enterprise Tech Meetup, hosted by Lightbank's Rick Zullo and Ali Afridi at TechNexus, will host a fireside chat with Benchprep CEO/Co-Founder. Benchprep has quietly grown into one of Chicago's emerging enterprise tech leaders, despite originally starting as a B2C company. At this event, learn more about Benchprep, its pivot and how to maintain/grow a great company culture post pivot. Food and drinks will be provided. Register here.
Women at the Mart: Everyday Negotiating to Get What You Want: Women At the Mart is a new "grassroots, multi-company collaborative initiative to share resources for programming that develops, retains and motivates female talent." Join them for their first lunchtime meetup at 1871 featuring a discussion on leveraging everyday negotiations for moving up professionally. Panelists include General Counsels (aka heads of legal departments) for Beam Suntory, Conagra, and Lenovo's Mobile Business Group (including Motorola Mobility), who will speak to how they handle life's negotiations and general expertise to improve your negotiation skills. Register here.
Encouraging Capital in Women Owned Businesses: Co-organized by national advocacy group Women Impacting Public Policy, the City of Chicago Treasurer’s Office, Women's Business Development Center, 1871, and supported by Comcast, this evening discussion and networking event will focus on the relationship between venture capital and women business owners—particularly exploring how to encourage venture capital investment in women and how women business owners can approach venture capitalists. Free to attend and held at 1871, register here.
Thursday, July 27
IIT Institute of Design Open House: Join one of the world's best ranked schools of design as their students present projects they’ve been working on, an evening cocktail reception and a short presentation featuring alumnus Sarah Ekblad, senior design researcher at IA Collaborative. Free to attend, more information here.
Fear Paradox Summit: Join Ms. Tech Group and partners SimplyBe, SoulCycle, Virgin Hotels, Kitchfix, Moto and more at a special three day experience for women entrepreneurs, futurists, executives, artists and technologists from across the country. Specially curated "to remove friction from the path of innovation, to inspire and lead women closer to their fears", the summit features prominent speakers and will have plenty of time for sharing best practices and networking, with the intention to help women ‘Show Up,’ ‘Team Up’, ‘Zero In,’ ‘Jump’ and ‘Jump Again.’ Registration information here.
Tech and Music: TECH AND...is a monthly series hosted by General Assembly, featuring thought leaders from a specific industry and exploring intersections between their field and technology. This month they’ll look at the evolution of the music industry in Chicago and how the growth of the tech sector in inspiring creatives in this field. Free to attend, more information here.
Saturday, July 29
Support the Girls: redesign the bra experience: Join a group of Chicago-based designers at mHub as they tackle the issue of how big corporations like Victoria’s Secret have not kept up with evolving women’s body shapes. Using design thinking, manufacturing, engineering and product development, their focus is on “empowering women to design new products, services, and experiences that benefit other women.” Free to attend and open to women of all levels of expertise, including non-design backgrounds. Free to attend, more information here.
Digital Adventures -- free coding event for kids: At this event, kids will be able to choose from a variety of coding projects of their choice. Instructors will be available to track progress, answer questions and most importantly, push students to tackle challenging but attainable goals. Digital Adventures' Lincoln Park learning studio combines individual iMac workstations & large flat screen displays to create a "safe, fun & interactive" environment for kids to code in. Free to attend, more information here.
