Success STORIES

Entrepreneur Update: Cade Pinalto

The idea for Sidelined Chicago was birthed in April of 2016 by Sidelined Founder Cade Pinalto and his mom, Sidelined Co-founder Christine Pinalto, after Cade experienced the heartrending loss of being permanently sidelined from the sport he loved due to a heart condition. When a high school basketball coach offered to teach Cade how to coach, Cade realized there was still a way that he could meaningfully participate in his favorite sport, even without being able to play. Cade found new joy and purpose in reconnecting with his sport and wanted to pass along that hope and opportunity to other permanently sidelined athletes. And so, the idea for Sidelined Chicago was born.

Congratulations, Sidelined Chicago ! Keep up the good work. 

Contexture Media Network

Lesley Martinez Etherly is a Chicago native with a passion for grassroots community development through the support of Strategic Marketing and Technology Resources. Lesley is the Founder and Executive Director of Contexture Media Network, a nonprofit media, web and tech organization working to support, grow and sustain economically challenged communities through digital education, production resources, and capacity support services. Contexture is Lesley’s direct answer to the ever-widening digital divide in low income and under-represented communities. Contexture’s team develops, trains and supports community development through the creation and strategic use of media, web and technology resources. Contexture is partnership focused and operates as an impact booster for organizations who are already committed to eliminating digital and economic gaps worldwide. Lesley believes in the ability to work together to sustain a 21st Century workforce development model and create a global media platform that is sustainable, inclusive and empowering.

NADIAH MOHAJIR

Nadiah Mohajir is the co-founder and Executive Director for HEART Women & Girls. For the last five years, she has led the organization to provide health education programming to over 5000 Muslim women and girls in the Chicagoland area as well as cities across the country, breaking many cultural barriers and raising awareness about important issues such as sexual and reproductive health, sexual violence and media literacy.

She has worked in healthcare for over ten years in a variety of settings, including, but not limited to research, academics, policy, and community health. In the past, she was a consultant for the Office on Women’s Health (OWH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, working on a variety of different projects focusing on minority health in the Midwest.

Prior to her work at OWH, Nadiah worked on a research project focusing on improving pregnancy outcomes of low-income Chicago women. Nadiah earned her Master’s degree in Public Health in 2009 from the University of Illinois at Chicago and her Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy Studies from the University of Chicago.

Nadiah is one of Goodcity’s 2017 Invest Chicago winners. The Invest Chicago initiative funds non-profit and for-profit business startups run by women. Grant recipients receive funding, as well as coaching, consulting and business management assistance (all provided through StartingUp Now) to help them grow and flourish.

TALENTFLOOD

TalentFlood is a paradigm-shifting method of hiring that gives an Employer the opportunity to look at the Talent through a powerful and sophisticated algorithm. “We allow Employers to see the Talent as a whole person, rather than just looking at a resume.”--TalentFlood

Co-Founder Angela Jackson and her team have been working on the product for several years. They officially launched the business in February 2017, after completing their first full software build with their web app builder Bolt Affect.

TalentFlood currently has 3 clients and is pursuing more clients and investment opportunities. They’re also launching their first campaign, called the Together Campaign, to match refugees and immigrants to jobs in Chicago.

These days there’s a tremendous need to find ways that bring us together, not tear us apart. The Together Campaign is a platform for unity. TalentFlood is partnering with outstanding refugee and immigrant organizations in Chicago, as well as with employers that stand in solidarity with hiring from this population. TalentFlood is simply that platform for matches to be made. Since the software only provides statistical matches based off best fit, an employer can be assured that no matter who the job seekers are, they are the best match for the company. Let's make Chicago a better, more unified place. Together.

CHICAGO LOOP CLEANERS

Chicago Loop Cleaners (CLC) is a high-end luxury house-keeping service that not only brings peace and rest to homes in downtown Chicago, but is also doing its part to participate in the economic development of Chicago's marginalized neighborhoods.

Emily Taylor is the founder and owner of Chicago Loop Cleaners. She began her housecleaning career in Colorado when she decided that she needed to look for work that was more meaningful. While working for the Everyday Task Company in Colorado Springs, Emily had the privilege of not only learning to clean, but to run a business, as well. She was involved in the marketing, sales, hiring, and training processes at ETC. When she left to start Chicago Loop Cleaners, she left with the blessing of the owners of ETC. Housecleaning is much more than a job to Emily. Her passion is to see other peoples’ lives improve. Cleaning is a unique way of doing just that, and Emily is most excited about giving people “space” in their lives. Emily finds her work as a cleaner so enjoyable that she often doesn’t even feel like she’s at work!

Emily always knew she wanted to use the business to teach people professional and personal life-skills, but it wasn’t until mid-2016 that she was really able to solidify what that would mean in her company. Now CLC is launching a year-long training program that will enable all employees to identify their vision for their own life and to develop professional and interpersonal skills that will make them highly desirable for future jobs. The first 3 months will teach the team members professionalism and cleaning skills. The next 6 months will focus on personal development. This will include training on self-esteem, life visioning, goal setting, conflict management, nutrition, and financial education. In the final months of the year, team members will be able to identify the direction they want to take their careers by using those skills within the company. While still cleaning, they will have opportunities to become more involved with social media marketing, blog writing, sales, management, employee training, accounting, and other career-building skills

CLC plans to hire 4 new employees this year and put them through a full internship program that not only involves becoming a highly skilled house cleaner, but will also put them on a path of professional and personal development, so that they can take the next step of success in their lives. If our communities are developed, then we all win.

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.