TECHicago: Building for Good
A Chicago Tech Week event for founders building something that matters.
Most tech week events, you watch. This one, you're in.
Join us for an intimate evening on community building, building for good, and navigating the messy middle of social impact, the parts no one posts about. We'll start with a candid panel, open it up to your questions, and then get to the good stuff: small-group hot-seat coaching, where you bring your real challenge to the table and leave with an actual next step (and a few new people worth knowing).
✨ How the night flows
☕ Mingle + founder sampling — arrive, grab a coffee or bite, and discover what the builders in the room are making.
🎙️ The panel — Haley (Starting Line VC) moderates founders Mahika, Gwen, & Sophia on community, impact, and the hard parts of building for good.
🙋 Q&A — your turn to ask.
🔥 Hot-seat coaching roundtables — split into small groups, each led by one of us. Bring a real challenge; get coached by the table.
🤝 Takeaways & connections — leave with one next step and at least one new relationship.
👋 Your hosts
Mahika Hari — Founder, Centr. The app to help people be better villagers by showing up for the people who matter most. Community, built on purpose.
Sophia Huard — Co-Founder, Ghost Social. Building in the IRL economy by bringing people (and the rooms) together.
Gwen Wiscount — Co-Founder, Fabrik. Building social wellness spaces and experiences people remember.
Haley Kwait Zollo — Starting Line. VC backing early founders; your moderator and resident investor lens.
🙌 Who it's for
Founders, operators, and community builders, anyone making something with impact and wrestling with the real challenges of getting it off the ground. Come solo or bring someone worth introducing.