We wish to welcome you to Tech-kins land! (NOT!)

7.7.16
(Flashback to July!)

Yesterday was an exciting day—I went down to 1871 in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart.  1871 is “The largest tech startup” as the membership dude/tour guide mumbled. I almost immediately thought what I could bring---writing, sass, energy and pep to conversations if I was the tour guide.  I was there with my awesome PT, who, like me, was curious about what happened in 1871.

I LOVE the Merchandise Mart---and find each floor endlessly fascinating.  There are a million elevator banks, and each of them are labelled to go to only certain floors.  On the 2 main floors, there’s a killer food court, a ton of showrooms so you can buy a really expensive window shade, or look at mannequins made out of tiles, or get your nails done.  All the trim is beautiful---every elevator bank, every information desk---and best of all, there’s a Dunkin’ Donuts, as well as it’s own El stop.  Sometimes I "run" the stairs--there must be 14 or more banks of stairs and wander in the random showrooms on the 7th floor and see the very latest in outdoor furnitures displayed.  All the displays act like you live on the north shore, and have an old house, so that lines up with the preppy clientele I see walking around in their cardigans and $800 suede driving shoes and monogrammed LV bags.  I hate a monogram but I love this building!

So, on the side, I dream of being an entrepreneur—of working with the brightest minds of our day, and making some sweet cash, maybe having some impact and finding a boyfriend.

Anyway, aside from mumbly mouth tour guide, there was a pair of tech-bros looking for space, and a few other randoms there, too. 

1871 is laid out with a ton of “open” space that feels like a giant, indie coffee shop---concrete floors, signs and posters promoting upcoming 1871 events, tables and chairs populated with funky mini-entrepreneurs wearing Beats by Dre and pecking away at their Mac Power Books.  Only their eyes pop up as we pass, and then they fly back down to their screens.  The hallways here are all curves---I feel like Dorothy walking through munchkinland and asking “um, where the fuck do I go?” and these munchkins are like “figure it out, bitch, I have some coding to do” as we move through the space.    All of these tech-kins pay a monthly membership fee, allowing them 24-hour access to the space, wi-fi, and maybe some free coffee (unclear on that point?).  And, of course, community.  But since everyone had their headphones on, maybe not so much?  I think there are some happy hours and stuff.

As we move on, there are a few stadium-seating larger spaces, and one big auditorium/event space where Mumbly pauses, turns to the tour group and says “Here’s where we host Town Halls and tech-blah-blah-disrupts-centrifuge and have the biggest names in tech in one-on-one conversations. In the last month we’ve had Bill Bloopy-bloo, Kyle Not-Chandler, Eddie new new, and even big name another dude”.  The others in the group nod along like “oh sure, those dudes” and I raise my eyebrows like I am impressed.

We then weave back through the tech-kins, and find some back areas where the “Cohorts” are.  Mumbly informs us “cohorts are a big deal, we recently had over mumble hundred apply for this cohort, and only mummer smaller number got in”  A cohort means you get some extra, focused attention, and that you potential business has passed a few markers of consideration for funding.  Cool. 

Down the hallway are a few break-out areas that look like cubbies from King Library at Miami, where you can have calls.

There are also spots for mentors to have office hours and that’s neat.

Finally, we get to see the classrooms, and “university row” where local Chicago colleges have offices so they can chat with potential entrepreneurs and make connections and stuff.

We left with a sense of “cool, but where do I start” and I haven’t been back since then. 

In my brain, I could go there and take coding classes for fun (I always liked Algebra!), or sign-up for the Start-up institute, which seems like a pretty dramatic commitment, or buy “membership” for something like $300 or more a month, which seems weird to do when I don’t know what I want to do. 

So, we just left.

I think about the kind of work that happens here, and make a mental note to get back here in August,  attend some pitch sessions, etc, after my summer of fun.