Since its inception, the Latinx Incubator at 1871 has always hosted a public demo day at the end of each cohort to give its entrepreneurs an opportunity to pitch the startup ideas they’ve been working on in the 12-week program.
The incubator invites friends and family of the entrepreneurs, 1871 members and Chicago’s tech community at large. But this year, the incubator hosted an additional and private demo day just for entrepreneurs to pitch their startups to investors.
The private demo day, hosted on Dec. 6, attracted more than 30 investors from big local firms like Pritzker Group Venture Capital, OCA Ventures and MATH Venture Partners, said Veronica Aguilar, the incubator’s director. Additionally, representatives from startup accelerators Techstars and gener8tor were in attendance.
The Latinx Incubator, which is a joint program between 1871 and the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, was originally founded in 2016. Since then, it has graduated 50 Latino entrepreneurs, raised more than $3 million and created 92 jobs, according to its website.
Aguilar said she chose to organize a private demo day for investors this year because it allowed the incubator’s entrepreneurs to better connect with VCs they usually don’t have access to. Many of the 11 startups that pitched at the demo day left the event with interest from and follow-up meetings with the investors in the room, she said.
“It’s not only about the money, though. It’s about being able to work with these investors to scale your business,” Aguilar said. “I want to start changing the narrative around what entrepreneurship looks like and what types of events venture capitalists across the country should be attending.”
Data shows that Latinx entrepreneurs receive significantly less venture capital funding than their white counterparts, and the statistics are even worse for female Latinx entrepreneurs.
Aguilar said she is gearing up to launch a nationwide innovation program to help other cities launch Latinx incubators of their own. She is still designing the program, but said it will kick off with a local event in April with tech companies from countries like Chile and Mexico.
“This is part of a larger movement to enable Latinx entrepreneurs to build scalable tech businesses,” Aguilar said. “In doing so, we need to build a standalone innovation hub that tailors to this demographic, because if we can do that, we can start connecting the ecosystem.”
As for the Latinx Incubator here in Chicago, Aguilar said she definitely wants to do the private investor demo day again in the future to give the program's companies the exposure they need.
Below are the 11 startups in 1871’s Latinx Incubator fourth cohort that pitched at the private investor demo day:
CabDash is an app for taxi and ride-share drivers that uses real-time data and logistics to take the guesswork out of locating their next fare.
DishRoulette is an app that allows users to search for and place orders for food by dish categories instead of restaurants.
HideIT creates discreet smart mouth retainer technology that can be used either by disabled individuals that can't communicate orally or by sign language, or by individuals participating in activities, like scuba diving, that hinder the ability to communicate.
Innovare makes a software that gives education leaders of K-12 schools more efficient methods to manage their institutions.
DNC567 is creating a platform to connect dance instructors to their students across all genres of music. Instructors now have the power to provide a personalized experience and manage more of their business in one place.
Modern Brown Girl is a digital media platform that curates written content for the modern Latina while partnering with brands looking to reach the Latina market authentically.
SubletInn creates inclusive living accommodations for ambitious young professionals to plug into and build communities.
Tackle AI uses artificial intelligence to comb through and read data in large sets of unorganized documents to help companies and organizations save time.
Opex Esports is an e-sports academy and physical community that teaches young gamers applicable and marketable skills for the e-sports industry and beyond.
XentStudios provides a virtual reality platform to help kitchen and bath retailers show customers what the final product would look like before they buy.
Comienzo Financial enables financially underserved consumers to learn about and gain access to affordable financial products.
