Is your calendar chock-full of inspirational business events to get you out from behind your screens and into the proximity of other humans? If not, with all due respect, it’s not our fault.
Whether you plan and host events, attend them, or just like to read about them after the fact, Blue Sky has you covered with our sweeping new Events feature in the Vault, our portal for business resources.
If you plan events for your colleagues where you need something more than a table at a restaurant but less than, say, McCormick Place, we hope you’ll find our guide to venues helpful. They come in a variety of sizes and vibes — and you can sort by capacity, cost and special features — but all are appropriate for innovative gatherings.
Our calendar of community events around business-related tech and innovation is included, with new highlights on the biggest coming events of the week. And our reporters’ coverage of those events, where business and thought leaders discuss trends and make news, are now gathered in one place, too.
If you’re addicted to Pinterest and/or YouTube, you’ve probably seen plenty of DIY crafts and haul videos. See how locally based Ulta Beauty and arts and crafts e-commerce company Blitsy are getting in on those trends.
John Carpenter took a deeper look at the app battle to take over your restaurant experience, from reservation to payment. Amina Elahi was among our team descending on Microsoft Ignite, where she leaarned about the growing potential of data jobs for women.
Meg Graham took us on an Office Tour of Fieldglass, where CEO Jai Shekhawat talked “jammies,” and into the INTX “future of TV” conference, where the industry is figuring out how to get into our heads on what we want to binge-watch next.
Blue Sky hosted an event on hiring innovators this week and attended another one, too: The Chicago Innovation Awards celebrated women on Thursday, with a panel led by Tribune Content Agency president Joyce Winnecke.
Panelists told a sold-out crowd at Red Frog Events of their hurdles and successes in business, with FarmLogix CEO Linda Mallers emphasizing resilience and determination while Dough co-CEO Kristi Ross ?
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discussed the importance of grabbing opportunity even if you only feel half-ready.Chicago Urban League president Andrea Zopp shared an anecdote about receiving a big helping hand early in her career with some unexpected coaching before a job interview.
“All of us have chances to create an opportunity when we’re asked for, ‘I need help with something’ that we don’t do,” she said. “When you do that, think about that opportunity for a woman or woman-owned business. It’s about making sure that you’re opening the door every now and then for women. You simply have an obligation to do that.”
Cook County board president Toni Preckwinkle spoke a few words, too.
“It’s gratifying to see that Chicago’s profile is rising as a hub for innovation,” she said in a brief appearance. “But I will tell you what I said to the leadership at almost every single one of these tours [of innovation and tech hubs]: Where are the women? Where are the people of color?
“That’s why events like this one tonight are so important. We all need to celebrate role models who will encourage the next generation of women entrepreneurs.”
The world is short one of those now. Outside Chicago, the week in tech was defined by an exit that came too soon. Dave Goldberg, the CEO of SurveyMonkey, a much admired figure in Silicon Valley and the husband of Facebook COO and “Lean In” author Sheryl Sandberg, died in a treadmill accident while on vacation with his family, authorities say.
The New York Times called him “perhaps the signature feminist of his era.”
Email: [email protected] * Twitter: @andreahanis