GRAY MATTER

The Gray Matter Experience is a 9-week entrepreneurship exposure experience that gives select students across Chicago the opportunity to build their own business. During the program, students work together learning business concepts from Black entrepreneurs and professionals. They then take that knowledge and in groups, create a business to help impact South and West Side communities. Throughout the program, students also go on several interactive field trips to see hands on applications of entrepreneurship and behind-the-scenes processes of some of Chicago's coolest industries. All participating teams receive a portion of money to fund their businesses and are placed into internships and/or mentorships to start the businesses created during the program. Gray Matter aims to educate, empower and assist students in creating their own businesses, while providing them access to resources and support to ensure students understand that their ideas are valid and vital to the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Britney Robbins is the founder and CEO of The Gray Matter Experience. Britney has worked within Chicago's entrepreneurship and tech community for the past four years with some of Chicago's top venture capital firms and incubators, including Sandbox Industries, Lightbank and 1871. She is a graduate of The University of Illinois where she studied Rhetoric and Creative Writing. She has been recognized as one of Ariel Investment, BMO Harris and WVON's 40 Under 40 Gamechangers, featured on Fox32, Chicago Inno, BlackEntrepreneur.com, DNAInfo Chicago and in the Chicago Tribune for her work with Gray Matter. She was also recently named as one of five investees for Goodcity's Women's Innovation Fund.

Britney is passionate about the intersection of entrepreneurship, education and youth and believes in empowering others to use their passions and strengths to create opportunities for themselves. She recently authored and published her first book and is committed to inspiring youth to reach their full potential.