A group of Chicago’s next generation business leaders joined benefit chair John McCareins, who was named to Crains 40-under in 2013, at 1871 Auditorium for NFTE Chicago E-council’s Back2SchoolBack2Business benefit.
John McCareins
The evening which also served as a great networking opportunity amongst these next industry leaders was sponsored by such as The Coleman Foundation, Northern Trust Bank, Deloitte to name a few, SociaLifeChicago was media partner.
Related: Philanthropy Spotlight NFTE Chicago
Passed hors d’oeuvres, raffle and silent auction items kept guests in attendance occupied before the keynote remarks. Brandon Hummons, an NFTE Alum who was at any moment that evening expecting the birth of his new baby, was in attendance to share his NFTE story with the guests. He studied at Denison and now works as a commodity analyst at Allstate. Taking what he learned from NFTE, he has been able to use the idea from the business his started with a friend while in high into his new non-profit initiative.
The keynote speaker, Max Temkin co-founder of the wildly popular Cards Against Humanity game, kicked off his brief speech with a clip from Montgomery Burns of The Simpsons. He then spoke about how their business got its start from the big shipment of boxes of the products that sat on his parents lawn to loading them into u-haul truck and how they’ve not spent money on advertising but have been named best selling game on Amazon. In closing, he read a quote from another successful admired entrepreneur-Jason Fried of basecamp.
It wasn’t all wine and talks as this was indeed a fundraiser with raffle & silent auction items from Chicago Cut, Truck Club, Bottle & Bodega, courtside Chicago Bulls tickets, night out on the town package that guests bided on.
NFTE Chicago’s mission is to provide programs that inspire low-income students to stay in school, recognize business opportunities and graduate with a plan for success.
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images: Onasis Odelmo, Holly Myrick
