CSE Community Contributors

Parul led the first-ever CSE Learning Series session, Customer Retention as a Growth Strategy. She brings deep expertise in customer success, retention, and helping companies build stronger, more durable customer relationships. Parul was also an Experience Sponsor for the CSE 1-Year Founder Celebration.

Brian led the sixth CSE Learning Series session, Scaling With Confidence: Operational Risks Early-Traction Founders Often Miss. He brings deep expertise in risk management and insurance strategy, helping startups and growth-stage companies identify operational, cyber, contractual, and management risks as their businesses become more complex.

Arushi has been an early and consistent supporter of Chicago Startup Events, contributing to the community as both a connector and active participant. A Computer Science graduate student at DePaul University and founder of Code Social, she builds community around helping people enter and grow within tech. Arushi also served as the Community Event Host for the CSE 1-Year Founder Celebration.

Monica was one of the earliest supporters of Chicago Startup Events, offering thoughtful feedback on the CSE calendar when it was first taking shape. Her early encouragement and perspective helped strengthen the earliest efforts.

Chrystal led the second CSE Learning Series session, Community-Driven Growth. She brings more than 10 years of experience helping early-stage founders build trust-driven communities, partnerships, and pathways that turn early users into advocates and referral engines.

Margot led the third CSE Winter Learning Series session, Pilot to Paid. She brings more than 20 years of experience building, scaling, and advising ventures, with deep expertise in go-to-market strategy, early revenue, and helping founders turn pilots into paid customer relationships without over-customizing or discounting.

Chris is leading the seventh CSE Learning Series session, The Legal Decisions That Become Expensive as Your Startup Gains Traction. He brings deep expertise in startup legal strategy, commercial transactions, emerging technology, and helping founders strengthen their legal foundation as traction and complexity grow. Chris and Vidar Law also supported the CSE 1-Year Founder Celebration by providing a Startup Legal Assessment as a founder raffle experience.

Alstork’s Lil Bundles supported the CSE Founder Celebration as our Dessert Partner, sharing their founder-built brand with the community while helping create a thoughtful and memorable experience for attendees.

CustomerXSuccess supported the CSE Founder Celebration as our Experience Sponsor, helping fund the mocktail experience and demonstrating what it looks like for a founder-led company to invest directly in creating a better experience for fellow founders.

Vidar Law supported the CSE Founder Celebration with a Startup Legal Health Check giveaway, giving one founder access to practical legal guidance to identify risks and strengthen their company’s legal foundation.

Three Cities Social supported the CSE Founder Celebration as our Host Partner, opening its River North space to bring founders, operators, and ecosystem leaders together for an evening of connection and celebration.

Workbox supported the CSE Founder Celebration with complimentary day passes for attendees and a two-month coworking membership for one founder, expanding access to professional workspace, community, and business-building resources across its Chicago locations.