Don’t build your startup outside of San Francisco, New York City or Boston? We beg to differ and know we aren’t alone in this sentiment. PointDrive is a Chicago born and bred technology company and being from the Midwest hasn’t slowed us down.
Chicago is already a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship with homegrown technology companies such as Braintree, Open Table, Sittercity and Groupon. We have some of the finest resources around. Our community is supportive, influencers are accessible, and education and training are readily available.
The ability to successfully build, launch and scale a company is not solely dependent on the idea but on the ability to execute.
The three criteria below are frequent measures of every startup’s ability to succeed:
Stellar Talent
In the words of startup-loving dinosaur @FAKEGRIMLOCK:
MOST IMPORTANT PRODUCT IS TEAM. BUILD THAT FIRST. #STARTRIGHT
— FAKEGRIMLOCK (@FAKEGRIMLOCK) July 31, 2012
Chicago is home to many global technology companies employing thousands of well-trained team members who are passionate about innovative ideas and capable of implementing them.
Further, we have access to alumni from nationally ranked colleges and graduate programs. University of Chicago and Northwestern are consistently among the top five business schools in the country, while University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a leader among engineering programs.
Intimate training courses such as Starter League, Dev Bootcamp and Mobile Makers help feed the talent pool of local developers interested in and able to work on a great startup.
At PointDrive, we have been able to recruit top-level talent and alumni from these coveted institutions, programs and local businesses. Our team has allowed us to confidently launch and grow successfully.
Access to Funding
Whether you’re looking to raise your initial round of capital or you’re on track for acquisition, Chicago startups have proven that the right idea, data, traction and connections can lead to investment opportunities. Recent funding announcements include Spartz Media, Protein Bar, Optionsaway and CleverSafe.
For those in earlier stages, Chicago startups often find initial seed capital locally. In a recent BIC post, Seyi Fabode of Power2Switch explains,
"In 2012 Chicago Companies raising seed rounds got almost all of their money from Chicago investors. Only 13.2% of seed funding (of $18M reported) came from investors outside of Chicago and 86% from Chicago investors.”
Use your own network to pitch your idea, receive feedback and prepare to accept investments before approaching angel groups or VC firms. List your company on AngelList and use the site to identify independent angel investors in our community who might be interested in your industry.
At PointDrive, we have been able to leverage our personal networks and lean on local angel investors for our funding needs through product launch.
Customer Acquisition Strategy
The ultimate measure of success for any startup lies in the ability to gain traction and earn revenue. If you can sell your product and get customers excited about your idea, your location will hardly matter.
While we chose to launch PointDrive at DEMO in Silicon Valley last month, more than half of our subscribers to date are from the greater Chicago community. DEMO certainly provided us broader media coverage and the ability to establish relationships with influential early adopters, but it was our team’s proactive outreach to our network and an intuitive product has allowed us to obtain over 1,000 users in just three weeks.
Chicago has been an incredible community for us along the way. PointDrive is a proud Chicago startup and will continue to root for our fellow hometown heroes. We truly believe that startups do have options and can thrive in between the coasts.
