TechChicago: 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.