Last weekend, some of Chicago’s most monumental architectural gems welcomed visitors once again as part of Open Door Chicago’s in-person weekend. Over the last 12 years, the program has grown to encompass more than 100 locations, including Givins Castle in Beverly, OPEN Center for the Arts in Little Village, Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica in Garfield Park and The Forum in Bronzeville.
Elsewhere in the city, doors are open for those seeking a new role in Chicago’s tech scene.
At VTS, a robust Series E funding round is powering new hires, and Productive Edge’s work consulting across the healthcare and wellness industry continues to grow and thrive. Both companies are offering opportunities for professionals to find their fit in tech, as Kristy Alvarez, a resource development manager at VTS, told Built In Chicago last April.
Built In Chicago learned more about what’s next on the horizon at Productive Edge and VTS and the benefits they have to offer to their teams.
What they do: Productive Edge is a digital consulting firm that relies on a toolkit of design and research methodologies. Their expertise includes IoT, the blockchain and artificial intelligence. Currently, they are expanding their offerings in the healthcare industry. “We understand the healthcare industry’s challenges deeply, both on the business and the technology side, and we are a company that has aligned our people and our offerings to solve that industry’s most pressing problems,” Chief Strategy Officer Raheel Retiwalla said.
The perks: Productive Edge partners with nonprofits like UIC Black Tech Scholars, TechGirlz, Lincoln Park Conservancy and The Birthday Project. The company also offers matching for both 401(k) and charitable donations.
Flexible structure, unified culture: Since the pandemic, Productive Edge has moved to an hybrid structure within which employees are able to decide how much time they’d like to spend in the office. “When we were in the before times, we were together all the time, and the energy was palpable,” Zoe Jacobs, senior UX content strategist, told Built In Chicago in September. “But with the full flexibility of our new structure, we’ve done a great job of infusing that same feeling remotely.”
What they do: VTS wants people to be delighted with where they live and work, and their mission extends from their work as a real estate leasing and management platform to their company culture. “As per the latest employee engagement survey, 91 percent of employees feel included and accepted at VTS,” an employee told Built In Chicago in July.
The perks: VTS offers a hybrid work structure, and commuter benefits are available for employees heading into their West Loop office, where they can enjoy Golden Tee in the game room, a stocked kitchen and beer on tap.
Series E success: In September, VTS announced their Series E funding round totaled $125 million, led by existing VTS customer and CBRE Group, Inc., the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm. “We look forward to expanding upon our long-standing relationship with CBRE, which shares this same vision in providing their people and customer base with technology that delivers a modern, portfolio-driven experience across all asset types,” said CEO Nick Romito.
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