Corporate Innovation/ Small Business Initiative Intern - 1871
1871 Member Companies, United States

About Us

The story of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 isn't really about the fire. It's about what happened next, A remarkable moment when the most brilliant engineers, architects, and inventors came together to build a new city. Their innovations born of passion and practical ingenuity shaped not just Chicago but also the modern world. What started 140 years ago continues to this day.

1871 exists to inspire, equip, and support founders, growth scalers, and innovators in building great businesses. We deliver unfair advantages at scale s. The team supports ~420 young companies. 300+ growth stage members and 100+ partners made up of Chicago's brightest digital designers, engineers, and leaders shaping new technologies, disrupting old business models, and resetting the boundaries of what's possible.

Come to a place where you can share ideas, make mistakes, partner with others, work hard, grow professionally, and change the world with a bit of luck if that sounds like you, join us!

1871 seeks a professionally driven, detail-oriented, and highly motivated intern to support its Small Business Initiative (SBI). 1871's Small Business Initiative is a free platform of resources, education, and mentorship to digitize small businesses. The 1871 SBI Team works closely with all business parts to manage and grow our existing small business ecosystem.

Duties and responsibilities

• Market Research: Contribute to identifying and evaluating specific business opportunities and market trends related to digitizing small businesses. Specific activities may include conducting competitive analysis, interviewing small business owners and subject matter experts.
• Partner Development: Contribute to the identification and management of long-term relationships with corporate partners, small business advocacy organizations, local government, and tech startups to pursue growth opportunities. Specific activities may include organizing and attending meetings, developing communications, and executing related projects.
• Customer Relationship Management: Manage 1871's CRM system to review applications, create CRM records, and onboard small business owners and mentors.

Projects May Include:

• Aiding in the development of proposals for prospective and existing partners and sponsors
• Outlining segments for digitizing small businesses and gaps in resources
• Sourcing new content providers for the SBI resource guide
• Identifying and recruiting small business mentors
• Onboarding small business owners and mentors

Requirements

• Strong interest in technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship
• Self-starter and ability to work autonomously and in cross-functional teams
• Strong attention to detail, organizational and time management skills
• Strong level of comfort analyzing large amounts of data
• Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills
• Basic computer processing skills, including Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides)
• College coursework or previous internship experience is preferred but not required
• Preference will be given to college students entering their junior or senior year of college or MBA candidates

Benefits

Benefits: Letters of recommendation from our leadership team, college credit ( upon school approval), work with the best and brightest entrepreneurs and startups in the country, develop in-demand skills, and flesh out your resume with Context, Action, and Results

Time: Monday - Thursday, 10 am-4 pm (hours and time commitment may be flexible if agreed upon by the supervisor and the internship candidate prior to the start of the internship)

Job Rewards and Benefits