The city’s brightest and hardest-working entrepreneurs stood victorious on stage in front of nearly 350 guests last fall at The Big Idea Awards, RedEye’s pioneer inaugural event to crown Chicago’s most innovative millennials.
Award-winning ideas covered every end of the spectrum: A reward-based lost and found service, a traveling oyster bar, a company focusing on team-building workshops for businesses via improvisation, and a non-profit organization creating short films and student outreach programs to bring awareness about gun violence.
And because of the event’s overwhelming success—thanks to your attendance and voting—we’re back to do it all over again. But this time? Even bigger.
On Nov. 5 at Morgan Manufacturing in front of as many as 600 people, we’ll crown four new winners in each category: food and drink, art and design, technology and community involvement and civic engagement.
But first, we need to hear from you.
Are you a Chicago-based entrepreneur between the ages of 18-34? Do you have a business idea, prototype or half-baked strategy that you need help with? Do you watch ABC’s “Shark Tank” and think to yourself, “Wow, I am a lot smarter than these people”? Do you work part- or full-time now and dedicate your free time to building your own business? You know you have an incredible idea, you just need help.
That’s exactly where this event—and its hand-picked mentors—come in.
You’ll stand a chance at winning several prizes, including a consultation with a mentor in an industry close to yours, to help get your idea to that next level.
We have created this process to turn your big idea into a reality. Chicago’s millennials are unlike any across the country: Energetic, smart and resilient. And at RedEye, we make it our job to find the most unique of them all.
So don’t wait. Submit your big idea in one of the four specific categories here.
Submissions will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 11. Then on Oct. 19, semifinalists will be announced and voting will be open to the public. Full rules can be found here.
On Oct. 23, voting concludes and RedEye’s video team will film video snippets of all 16 finalists (four per category) explaining their idea in their own work space to give readers and event-goers a snapshot of each idea.
On Oct. 26, finalists will officially be announced to the public. If you’re a finalist, you’ll be headed to the finals at Morgan Manufacturing to pitch your big idea to the public (in person) with one goal in mind: Tally the most votes in your category.
The event will feature meet-and-greets with each finalist and their potential mentors, beverages, appetizers and a keynote speech from Tom Alexander, chief operating officer at 1871, Chicago’s entrepreneurial hub and co-working space for digital startups.
The time is now. Submit your idea to us today. Who knows? In less than two months, you could be hoisting the trophy on stage at The Big Idea Awards.
Meet the mentors:
A mentorship consultation will be awarded to each category winner:
Community Involvement and Civic Engagement: Elliot Greenberger, general manager of Divvy in Chicago
Technology: Chris Taylor, general manager of Uber
Food and Drink: Justin Maynard (executive director at Illinois Craft Brewers Guild) and Kevin Cary (founder of Begyle Brewing and president of the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild)
Art and Design: Anna Hovet, founder and lead designer at Anna Hovet Designs
