Chicago Startup Week Announces Return in 2021

The all-virtual experience will invite college students from across the city, region, and the country this March 15-19.

Chicago Startup Week (CSW) 2021 announced registration is now open for it’s a week-long celebration of the city’s thriving startup community. This year’s edition will mobilize Chicago’s entrepreneurial community to connect students from various universities and high schools in an empowering and engaging environment, ideal for networking and learning. Students can participate in CSW to develop their entrepreneurial mindset and make significant connections to student peers, mentors, and tech industry professionals that can move them forward in their entrepreneurship journey.

“Chicago is home to one of the most vibrant and fastest-growing tech scenes in the world, and Chicago Startup Week will serve to inspire our best and brightest students to take part in our global startup hub,” said Samir Mayekar, Deputy Mayor Economic Development & Neighborhoods. “From its many events, information sessions, leadership seminars, and more, this year’s experience will connect students with the fantastic opportunities available here in Chicago and help drive our city’s future for decades to come.”

The CSW organizing committee includes Techstars Chicago and Illinois Tech’s Intinium, in partnership with UIUC Founders, UChicago ILC-E&I, The Garage at Northwestern, Loyola Limited, Lane Tech Protostars from Chicago Public Schools, and the City Colleges of Chicago. Additional partners include ThinkChicago of World Business Chicago, Gokyo Solutions, and The Coleman Foundation.

“Intinium at Illinois Tech is delighted to lead the renewal of Chicago Startup Week,” said Justine Bracco, Project Lead of Intinium. “We can’t wait for students to enjoy the incredible speakers and events and learn more about the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Chicago.”

Chicago Startup Week will include around 30 individual events such as customer discovery, IP strategy, and women-in-entrepreneurship surrounding topics such as entrepreneurial behaviors and the Chicago startup & innovation ecosystem. Each day will also be themed to bring more cohesion to the programs, these include things like Mythbusters Monday where all the events will be either proving or disproving a common myth about entrepreneurship. CSW 2021 will also include larger programs that will span the entire week and even beyond including a Pitch competition, Startup Symposium, and mentorship program.

Chicago Startup Week is a five-day celebration of our local community,” said Neal Sales-Griffin, Managing Director of Techstars Chicago and local serial tech entrepreneur. “We’re calling all students to join our community in a new type of conference that builds momentum and opportunity around entrepreneurship, led by an all-student organizing committee. CSW 2021 is a reflection of Chicago’s diverse and unique entrepreneurial identity.”

CSW 2021 is free and open to the public, you can register via chicagostartupweek.com

About Techstars Chicago: The Techstars worldwide network helps entrepreneurs succeed. Founded in 2006, Techstars began with three simple ideas — entrepreneurs create a better future for everyone, collaboration drives innovation, and great ideas can come from anywhere. Now we are on a mission to enable every person on the planet to contribute to, and benefit from, the success of entrepreneurs. In addition to operating accelerator programs and venture capital funds, we do this by connecting startups, investors, corporations, and cities to help build thriving startup communities. Techstars has invested in more than 2,300 companies that today have a combined market cap valuation of more than $185 billion. Techstars Chicago is at the center of the Midwest startup community, one of the fastest-growing ecosystems in the country. Learn more at https://www.techstars.com/accelerators/chicago

About World Business Chicago (WBC) & ChicagoNEXT:  WBC is a public-private, nonprofit partnership that drives inclusive economic growth and job creation, supports business, and promotes Chicago as a leading global city. Its dedicated initiative ChicagoNEXT – launched in 2012 and supported by a council of 250+ tech community leaders—is WBC’s dedicated initiative driving inclusive growth and opportunity for Chicago’s technology economy and innovation ecosystem. Their flagship programs include Startup Chicago, the Chicago Venture Summit, and ThinkChicago. Learn more at www.worldbusinesschicago.com/chicagonext.