Innovation hub 1871 is a nonprofit global innovation hub in Chicago supporting a large ecosystem of startups, corporates, and educators. This presents a sales opportunity to offer enterprise acceleration programs, co-development engagements, corporate partnerships, and sponsor-backed initiatives aligned with their mission to accelerate growth and job creation.

Scale-ready firms With a member base of approximately 500 early-stage, 250 growth/late-stage, and 60 corporates, there is potential to tailor outreach to growth-stage startups seeking enterprise software, talent solutions, fundraising support, and strategic partnerships, as well as to corporates seeking open innovation and collaboration with startups.

Extensive network Access to 350 mentors and over 200 partner organizations (universities, accelerators, venture funds, etc.) signals rich cross-sell opportunities for B2B services, SaaS tools, event sponsorships, and referral partnerships that can expand a solutions ecosystem.

Strong impact Historically, alumni companies have created 18,700+ jobs and raised 6.2B+ in follow-on capital. This track record demonstrates the hub’s effectiveness and can be leveraged in pitches for scalable products, performance analytics, and investment-focused programs.

Financial footprint Reported revenue between $500M-$1B with modest external funding (~$2.5M) indicates a robust, diversified ecosystem with potential demand for enterprise-grade platforms, sponsorships, and services that support community growth, program management, and measurable ROI for partners.