The Chicago Innovation Exchange (CIE) at the University of Chicago announced today that JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is providing $100,000 along with experts for a series of workshops to be offered to University of Chicago and South Side entrepreneurs during the 2014-15 academic year.

The JPMorgan Chase Start-Up Workshop Series will cover a variety of financial and business topics for early-stage start-ups and entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs joining the first several workshops will learn about options for financing a start-up, ranging from traditional sources, such as small business loans, to unique and emerging solutions like crowdfunding. The workshops will feature panelists and speakers from JPMorgan Chase as well as local start-ups who will share their expertise and experience and answer entrepreneurs’ questions about these important topics. The series will complement and build on the success of workshops offered by the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and UChicagoTech, the University’s Center for Technology Development and Ventures.

“When an entrepreneur begins to create a start-up, they typically have expertise in their industry and passion for their venture, but they don’t always have all of the business or financial background necessary to build a successful start-up,” said John Flavin, executive director of the Chicago Innovation Exchange at the University of Chicago. “Through our partnership with JPMorgan Chase, we’re able to expand our offerings to help entrepreneurs bridge that gap in knowledge and give them access to experts and information.”

One of the primary goals of the CIE is to connect local entrepreneurs and UChicago students, faculty and staff to the existing resources available through the University of Chicago and to the broader innovation network in Chicago, including corporations like JPMorgan Chase. As the first Platinum Level sponsor, the JPMorgan Chase will be recognized in the CIE when it opens its primary 17,000 square foot co-working and incubation space this October.

“Supporting the Chicago Innovation Exchange and the Start-Up Workshop Series aligns perfectly with our mission of helping small businesses and start-ups acquire capital, expertise and other resources to help them grow their businesses,” said Melissa Bean, Chairman of the Midwest, JPMorgan Chase & Co. “We’re eager to be part of the exciting things happening in Hyde Park and at the CIE.”

The JPMorgan Chase Start-Up Workshops will be free and there will be openings in each workshop for the general public, as well as CIE members. The exact schedule of the workshop series will be announced in October, and registration information will be found on the CIE’s website: http://cie.uchicago.edu.

About the Chicago Innovation Exchange

The Chicago Innovation Exchange is the University of Chicago’s new center to help scholars and entrepreneurs translate their ideas and new technologies into start-up businesses and products. The CIE provides space for proof-of-concept work, business incubation, collaboration opportunities, and programming for new ventures by UChicago faculty, students, and staff, as well as local entrepreneurs. The University of Chicago’s Innovation Fund, managed by the CIE, invests in early business development and proof-of-concept work for ventures in a range of areas and helps UChicago faculty, students and staff translate scientific discoveries into scalable solutions to difficult societal problems. Bringing together the University’s distinctive strengths in research and resources from a network of world-class entrepreneurship programs, the CIE connects emerging entrepreneurs with Chicago’s broader innovation ecosystem and helps drive the creation of new businesses, jobs, and economic activity in the city and surrounding region.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.5 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.