The 1871 Application Review Process

Earlier today, we notified the first companies whose 1871 membership applications have been accepted. More than 300 companies have applied to 1871 since the application process was opened in mid-January. An independent panel has been reviewing this pool of applicants to identify the most promising digital startups who have demonstrated the potential to succeed in executing their vision. We are very excited to welcome our first tenants to 1871 as soon as we open our doors.

The independent panel reviewing the applications consists of nine members who were selected by the board of directors of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center. They are entrepreneurs and developers and have each, in their own way, had considerable experience working with a large number of startups through their careers. The original five members were: John Bracken, Brian Fitzpatrick, Amanda Lannert, Dan Lyne and Neal Sales-Griffin. We now have a total of nine, including Adrian Holovaty, Harper Reed, Shawn Riegsecker and Genevieve Thiers. We are pleased to have this great group of people reviewing the applications and helping to make the decisions that will shape the 1871 community.

By the way, if you are reading this post and have applied for membership but have not heard, that means that your application is still being considered.