Windy City Times, StartOut, Center on Halsted and MB Financial Bank hosted a one-day seminar on entrepreneurship Feb. 28.
About two dozen LGBTQ and allied youth worked alongside MBA students and other volunteers, discussing ideas and the "how-to" of starting and running your own business. Some of the youth came through Chicago-area organizations that help those who are unstably housed.
Sam Kirk started the day discussing her own experience growing up on Chicago's South Side, and struggling through poverty to make it as a nationally acclaimed artist and interior designer.
Waverly Deutsch. clinical professor of entrepreneurship at Chicago Booth, gave a crash course in just what it takes to create a new business, and then the youth broke into groups to work with her MBA students on ideas for startups.
Bernard Bartilad, senior vice president at MB Financial Bank, gave the youth tools when seeking financing, but also practical advice about organizations that can help entrepreneurs one-on-one.
Investor Timo Kim spoke to the youth about what he looks for when investing, and entrepreneur Brian Mullins spoke about marketing and getting to profitability.
James Bain, president of the Chicago chapter of StartOut, a national network of LGBT entrepreneurs, coordinated the day's presentations. Center on Halsted hosted the seminar, and MB Financial Bank sponsored the event so the youth could be paid for their time attending.
The event was created as an outcome of the Windy City Times 2014 summit on LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness, as one of the initiatives youth asked to have.