Don’t just sell a product once and then move on — turn that customer into an advocate who can yield longer-lasting benefits for your business.

So said a series of speakers at “How To Be Customer Obsessed in B2B,” a free event Tuesday at the 1871 tech incubator.

They recommended that companies build customer advocacy programs to formalize the process of getting existing customers’ support through word of mouth. A happy user is the best reference, after all. Publishing positive reviews on your website or encouraging users to recommend your software to others in their network are good strategies, they said.

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Chicago entrepreneurs are featured in a new Porsche campaign that rolls out this month, and it’s Howard Tullman who got them there.

The six “There Is No Substitute” videos highlight American entrepreneurs including 1871 CEO Tullman and Trunk Club CEO Brian Spaly, whose company announced its acquisition by Nordstrom last week.

The videos will appear on YouTube and be promoted on social media by Porsche.

Chicago’s prominence is no coincidence: The subjects were selected by Philo Broadcasting, a Chicago-based video content company in which Tullman’s VC fund, G2T3V, is invested. Tullman said the Philo team pitched an entrepreneurship-focused content marketing campaign to Porsche and approached him to appear in it.

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There’s a new incubator in town, and it aims to help social entrepreneurs grow sustainable businesses. The Goodcity Chicago social fellowship incubator will foster entrepreneurs from under-resourced communities around the city, said president Jimmy Lee.

The incubator, which launched July 26, connects for four months founders from 12 area organizations with coaches, financial planners and other experts. The group meets on Saturdays for three-hour sessions at the Blue 1647 tech innovation center in Pilsen. The founders receive training on everything from public speaking to developing a strategic funding plan.

“We want to see more of these incubators developed in the Humboldt Parks and Englewoods and Austins of the world,” Lee said.

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Trunk Club, a five-year-old Chicago-based e-commerce company, will be acquired by Nordstrom for an undisclosed amount in a deal linking two retailers with a shared stake in combining fashion with careful customer service.

Trunk Club provides personal styling, sending men trunks of clothes and accessories they can try on and decide to buy from home. CEO Brian Spaly said nothing will change for Trunk Club on the surface: Its headquarters will remain in Chicago, he and the team will stay on, and the mission to make it easier for guys to find the best clothes will continue to guide them.

“Chicago is a warm and welcoming city and it has a rich tradition of outfitting the nation,” Spaly said. “We are super pumped to continue that tradition and fill in for some of the holes in our industry.”

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Even a nudge can make all the difference to a fledgling entrepreneur. That was clear Wednesday evening as panelists addressed questions about entrepreneurship at LiftUp&UpLift, an event targeted toward women in technology, at the GeneXus USA office in Chicago.

The more experienced panelists — GeneXus co-founder and CTO Veronica Buitron, ProofX CEO Dima Elissa and Dough CEO Kristi Ross — answered most of the questions while Francesca Kress, founder and CEO of fashion app Tippity, listened and observed. Deep into the conversation, Elissa extended an arm to Kress, encouraging her to get involved.

Kress, 26, then gave the audience advice about networking.

“You only need a little experience to help someone below you,” Kress said.

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Techweek needs a strong leadership team, including a CEO, and should take more of an active approach to inclusion, according to a report from the organization’s new ombudswoman, Kelly Stickel.

Techweek named Stickel ombudswoman on June 20 after charges of sexism this year in the wake of a controversial Techweek event invitation that included images of women in flirty poses. “We have seen the need for an independent, third party ombudsperson to represent the interests of the community,” Techweek says on its website.

Stickel, co-founder, president and global community builder at Remodista, outlined several areas in which Techweek needs improvement. These included personnel changes, such as hiring a CEO, expanding the executive director role to COO and hiring community managers in each city where Techweek hosts a conference. That team, she said, needs a better understanding of inclusion in order to guide its young employees.

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These days, Jamal Afridi eats dinner around 8:30 p.m., well after his workday ends and more than 16 hours since he last had food or drink. Most nights, he cooks for himself or picks up Chipotle on his way home from work at 1871 as a product developer at online brokerage MortgageHippo.

Afridi is one of the estimated 400,000 Chicago-area Muslims observing Ramadan, the holy month during which many Muslims abstain from food, drink and sex during daylight hours.

While fasting offers personal and spiritual benefits, the workday presents unique hurdles: The need to schedule business lunches when one can’t eat, low energy without coffee breaks and curious questions — if not outright disbelief — from co-workers.

The ability to work from home a couple days a week gives Afridi respite, especially given that the fast, set by the Islamic calendar, falls in a month of long, warm days this year.

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Chicago-based Ignite USA LLC, a maker of travel mugs and water bottles, will be acquired by Newell Rubbermaid for $308 million.

Ignite, founded in 1999, sells its products under two brands: Avex and Contigo, whose net sales are predicted to reach $125 million this year. In 2010, Ignite introduced Autoseal technology, a proprietary closing apparatus that prevents spills.

The deal was announced Tuesday by Greenwich, Conn.-based North Castle Partners, a private equity firm that counts Ignite among its portfolio companies. Ignite has grown 35 percent year over year for the past four years, officials said.

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Innovation has been a major factor in the growth of productivity in the U.S. over the past 50 years, and for businesses and countries the world over it continues to grow in importance.

So says Andrew Taylor, partner and managing director at Boston Consulting Group. Taylor, who heads up the firm’s innovation strategy practice, gave the keynote address late last week at the 2014 Product Development and Management Association-UICInnovation Doctoral Consortium at the UIC Forum.

The weekend-long conference brought together academics, industry thought leaders and doctoral students from around the world. The goal: to shine light on the importance of fostering innovation.

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