News Celebrating Black in Tech: Insight and Advice from Black Startup Founders Jasmine Shells, MBA ’21, founded her startup in Chicago with the intention of building it in Chicago as well. But when it came time to raise money, the checks were...
News Blackcurrant: An Online Marketplace for Alternative Fuel A startup in the inaugural cohort of Transform, a data science and AI accelerator, Blackcurrant is looking to accelerate its aggressive growth strategy and capitalize on opportunities for federal funding....
Page Venture Gallery Venture Gallery View startups founded from across the University of Chicago ecosystem in a range of industries. Welcome to the Venture Gallery! The Polsky Center provides “first look” and early...
News Innovating Hydrogen Trading: Blackcurrant Counts Another Win as the 2023 George Shultz Innovation Fund Awardee Blackcurrant adds to its accolades as the winner of the spring cycle of the 2023 George Shultz Innovation Fund – a win that follows its New Venture Challenge success and...
News Celebrating Chicago’s Black Tech Innovators: ‘Leverage the Digital World’ The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in partnership with the Chicago Chapter of the National Black MBA Association recently hosted the virtual panel “Celebrating Chicago’s Black Tech Innovators.” Moderated...
Page Where Are They Now? Episode 6 Episode 6: Power2Switch May 20, 2021 As a Black founder, Seyi Fabode, MBA ’10, has experienced the challenge of investors taking him seriously. Fabode, an immigrant from Nigeria, recalls an...
News Small Business Spotlight: Larvetta Loftin Built L3 Agency To Deliver Culturally-Aware Content, Showcase Black Female Talent Larvetta Loftin, founder and CEO of full-service influencer marketing and communications firm The L3 Agency, has coined a motto that guides how she approaches her career: “Doing what you love...
News Small Business Spotlight: Eventnoire Succeeds by Super Serving its Community Jeff Osuji knew his latest business venture had legs during the 2019 Black Alumni Ball in Washington, D.C. His platform, Eventnoire, served as the registration site for this annual event,...
News Small Business Spotlight: Sarah Ware, a Change Agent in Chicago Real Estate Real estate has historically been a white man’s game, and continues to be so at leadership levels. During its 139-year history, the Chicago Association of REALTORS® (CAR) has had only...
News Small Business Spotlight: ‘I Choose the Ladder’ Coaches Fortune 500 Companies on Employee Development, Retention Three years ago, Watchen Nyanue, MBA ’22 had a dream job as the senior vice president of marketing partnerships for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky. The only problem? It wasn’t...
News Small Business Spotlight: In the Age of Amazon, Kido’s Key to Retail Success is Knowing Your Community When Keewa Nurullah, a performing artist, had her first child, she encountered a whole new world of things her son needed – and was disappointed by what she found. Baby...
News Academia and Private Sector Meet at 10th Annual Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Conference The Polsky Center, in collaboration with the Chicago Booth School of Business and Northwestern Kellogg School of Management, hosted the 10th annual Booth-Kellogg Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) Conference this week....