Tech Roundup: Techstars announces new cohort, Recsolu rebrands and more

by Tessa McLean
July 9, 2015

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Rocketmiles launches new B2B product with Chicago startup scene in mind

Rocketmiles for Business, a new B2B venture from the team behind Rocketmiles, launched this month, allowing businesses to get in on the perks the company offers to consumers. Rocketmiles was bought earlier this year by Priceline and allows customers to find and book great hotels at good prices, all the while earning travel miles with a preferred loyalty program. [Built In Chicago]

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Paul Lee's new startup incubator Roniin explodes out of stealth with $3M seed round

On Wednesday, Paul Lee finally took his latest project out for a spin. In doing so, he’s caught the attention of the Chicago startup community, many of whom are eager to learn exactly what it is he’s spinning. As it turns out, it’s companies. Meet Roniin, Lee’s new platform for creating and spinning off startups. The nine-month-old company wants to marry the informed opinions of serial entrepreneurs—who don’t always have the time or desire to fully realize their next great idea—to the optimism, enthusiasm, and ambition of younger entrepreneurs who in turn may be lacking in experience or capital.  [Built In Chicago]
 

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Illinois named among best states in country for workers

How good is Illinois for making a living compared to the rest of the United States? According to the personal finance site MoneyRates, it’s one of the best. Illinois was ranked the 5th best state for making a living in America. We received high marks for a relatively high income ($48.78K) compared to our cost of living, and a low incidence rate of workplace injuries (3.5/100 workers). While the authors also noted our 'reasonable state tax rate’, we were held back by an above average unemployment rate of 6 percent. [Built In Chicago]
 

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Tech community leaders weigh in on Chicago's new 9% cloud tax

On July 1, the City of Chicago quietly announced it will now collect a 9% tax on streaming platforms like Netflix or Spotify as well as on cloud-based services like AWS, SaaS, and PaaS. The news, however, didn’t remain very inconspicuous for long and caused quite a ruckus in the flourishing Chicago tech community. [Built In Chicago]

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KnowledgeHound lands $1.2M seed round so marketers can stop wasting time

The company just announced it closed a $1.2 million seed round, with participation from Listen Ventures founder Jeff Cantalupo and Mitten Group founder Mark Mitten. The funding has been used to grow their human capital. [Built In Chicago]

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Say hello to Yello as Recsolu introduces new corporate identity

Recsolu, a leader in college recruitment management for everything from events, resume collection, and talent relations, is bringing its recruitment skills to professional and executive spaces and has now formally rebranded to Yello. Both the move to corporate spaces and the rebrand, according to Yello CEO and co-founder Jason Weingarten, is a natural and logical progression. [Built In Chicago]
 

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These 10 startups just got accepted into Techstars Chicago's next class

Techstars Chicago announced this week which startups have been accepted into its incoming 2015 class. This year’s ten-strong cohort was selected from a pool of about 900 prospective applicants, which is more than the program saw just last year. The majority of this year’s members companies are B2B. [Built In Chicago]
 

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SVB report: Chicagoans expect business to be even better in 2015

Those surveyed in the report include more than 1,100 business leaders and influencers in the innovation economy from across the globe. The report received about 100 responses from the Midwest, with the majority of participants coming from entrepreneurs, executives, and leaders from Chicago. [Built In Chicago]

Phil Nevels leaving World Business Chicago to launch NextGen Angels locally

Phil Nevels has announced his departure from World Business Chicago in order to launch a new angel-investment network in the city. Nevels will open the Chicago branch of NextGen Angels, which is based in Washington, D.C. and has operations in Austin, New York, and Boston. [Built In Chicago]

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