The following was originally posted on the World Business Chicago blog.
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Over the past year I’ve had the privilege of dipping a toe into the torrent of energy that is Chicago’s innovation ecosystem. This fast-growing and quickly evolving amalgamation of entrepreneurs, inventors, academics, designers, startup companies, business incubators, events, publications, and investors are collaborating across disciplines to make Chicago an epicenter of the technology world.
In September I was asked to speak on a “Gov 2.0” panel at the MidVentures Launch conference along-side Daniel X. O’Neil (Everyblock.com), John Tolva (IBM City Forward), Justin Massa (Metropolitan Chicago Information Center) and Ben Berkowitz (SeeClickFix). We discussed some of the possible business opportunities and benefits to the community that arise as governments continue to open up their data through portals like Data.gov and the City of Chicago Data Portal. We were also fortunate enough to have former Threadless CTO Harper Reed in the audience, who told his story of developing the Chicago Transit Authority's bus tracker API as a citizen hacker.
But what I was really struck by was the overall success of the conference. The scene was swarming with innovative thinkers discussing the state of entrepreneurialism in Chicago and the greater Midwest, presenting new business ideas, demoing their products, and some even competing for cash prizes. For example, Pek Pongpaet developed his excellent ShelfLuv instant Amazon book search website at the MidVentures Hackathon and then took the prize for “Best Overall App.”
One keynote panel I found particularly interesting was called “The Three Stages of Not Being Silicon Valley (Video).” The moderator, Jeff Leitner, Dean of Insight Labs, laid out the premise this way:
- Stage 1: We’re going to be the next Silicon Valley!
- Stage 2: There’s no way we can be Silicon Valley!
- Stage 3: What unique qualities do we have that position us to take over the world?
The conversation then went on to be about the unique assets that put Chicago at the front of the line: top notch universities and talent, big ideas, capital, etc.
Chris Sorensen of Lake Forrest Venture Management pointed out that many of the big companies out on the West Coast began in Chicago and Illinois. Following his comments, University of Chicago Booth School of Business Professor of Entrepreneurship, Steven Kaplan, suggested that Chicago now has some “big winners who are investing in the city” rather than leaving to find success elsewhere. This isn’t too different than many other tech hubs, but Kaplan suggested that “Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell [of Lightbank (co-founders of Groupon)] are the most successful entrepreneurs in the world in the last 8 years. These two guys started 4 companies in the last 8 years that are IPO material. There’s no one else in the world who has done that. That is a big deal ‘cause they are plowing money back in. They have a lot of stuff going on in Chicago, and I think people are more likely to stay now, once they have that kind of ecosystem.”
Sam Yagan, Founder and CEO of OkCupid.com and co-founder of Chicago-based tech incubator, Excelerate Labs, came back to Sorrensen’s remarks about Chicago-bred ideas moving west. “Just from my high school alone, one high school in Illinois, the founders of Yelp, the founders of YouTube, and the founders of PayPal all started and moved to California.”
So human capital isn’t the problem, but rather an awareness that a strong, interwoven support system has developed around Chicago’s vibrant tech community.
One of the best places to find information and network with this community is on the Built in Chicago website. Viewpoints CEO, Matt Moog started the site for just that reason, to help connect the community, and to begin to try and tell some stories about what’s going on here. The social network has over 2,000 users, from venture capitalists and CEOs to designers, students, engineers, and more.
Also worth noting are the multiple Chicago-based, online tech publications that have cropped up on the scene recently, including:
The draw of the coasts is strong for young computer science and engineering grads. The Valley is like Mecca. But as awareness grows that Chicago is not only an awesome place to live and raise a family, but also has a rich and supportive innovation ecosystem, the snowball grows.
