Over lunch today, Mayor Rahm Emanuel praised the success of six 1871 companies that have raised $8.3 million in early-stage funding. He was joined by 1871 leadership to celebrate that achievement, with special attention paid to three of the companies, who graduated out of the co-working space.
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Mayor Emanuel also announced the creation of a future 1871 alumni committee. For 1871, helping companies grow to the next stage of their business and move to their own location is a key goal.
“These companies are creating jobs and the technologies they are developing will shape the future of the city’s economic landscape,” said Emanuel in a statement. “I am proud of their success and I look forward to working with all of these companies as they continue to grow.”
The six companies honored today are:
Caremerge, whose mobile and web solutions help decrease costs in providing healthcare to senior: $2.1 million from European lead investor Entrepreneur Grazyna Kulczyk of Poland and Athena Heritage, a Switzerland based Financial Management Company
MarkITx, an online marketplace for secondhand IT equipment and one of the 1871 alumni: $2.1 million from inside angels
RocketMiles, a travel booking site that rewards hotel stays with airline miles: $2 million from two Cambridge, MA, venture funds and some Chicago angels
SimpleRelevance, a marketing optimization platform that works with clients’ existing tools to make email smarter and a TechStars company: $750,000 from various local investors
Tempesta Media, which provides managed services for digital content for businesses: $225,000 from local angels
Whittl.com, a portal for discovering local services and their prices: $1.3 million from local and national venture capital firms, as well as angels
To Jim O’Connor, interim CEO and Co-Chairman of the CEC Board of Directors, this level of funding exemplifies the strength of Chicago’s companies. “It’s incredibly rewarding to see 1871 startups progressing along their business path, hitting important milestones, raising outside capital and ultimately becoming part of our growing alumni contingency,” he said.
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