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Troy Henikoff
Techstars Chicago
Managing Director
Accelerator
Twitter profile:
"Serial Entrepreneur, Managing Director, TechStars-Chicago. Loves technology, startups, bicycles and interesting people..."
Considering starting a new company? Some great advice from @davidschonthal and Carter Cast on the first step… https://t.co/8TsAv5YOxM
— TroyHenikoff (@TroyHenikoff) December 21, 2014
Eric Lefkofsky
Groupon and LightBank
CEO and co-founder
Advertising
Twitter profile:
"CEO of Groupon, Co-founder of LightBank, President of Blue Media, Co-founder of Lefkofsky Family Foundation"
Financing a disruptive new business idea is like completing a renovation project on a house. It almost never, ever comes in on budget.
— Eric Lefkofsky (@lefkofsky) January 12, 2015
Publicis Groupe
Chief Strategist
Advertising
Twitter profile:
"Chief Strategist, Publicis Groupe. Chairman. The Tobaccowala Foundation."
"Technology itself is not good or bad but it enables people to leverage goodness or badness." #TEDGlobal https://t.co/NxD2Ze50Ul
— Rishad Tobaccowala (@rishad) October 21, 2014
Shawn Riegsecker
Centro
CEO and co-founder
Advertising
Twitter profile:
"CEO and Founder of Centro."
A/B testing is so yesterday--and so's your MBA @tullman https://t.co/EcRbKEOhqJ via @Inc
— Shawn Riegsecker (@ShawnRiegsecker) January 6, 2015
Stuart Frankel
Narrative Science
CEO
Automated Writing Software
Twitter profile:
"CEO of Narrative Science @narrativesci"
Just heard: answer to big data prob = data scientist + 'intuition.' What??? No way that machine-scale data + people will ever work.
— Stuart Frankel (@stuartfrankel) January 7, 2015
Justin Massa
Food Genius
CEO and founder
Big Data
Twitter profile:
"founder & ceo of @foodgenius | spouse of @atorg | dad of @marlowenola | NOLA transplant | maker of bitters"
third and final installation on pricing. The Cost of Outdated Pricing Strategies: Part 3 https://t.co/h1hh1g127H cc @foodgenius @qsqmagazine
— justinmassa (@justinmassa) November 21, 2014
Howard Tullman
1871 and g2t3v
CEO and Managing Partner
Incubation, co-working and investing
Twitter profile:
"CEO - 1871 & General Managing Partner - G2T3V, LLC"
Fence It and Forget It : https://t.co/ebafe4gH3V via @BuiltInChicago
— Howard Tullman (@tullman) January 2, 2015
WeDeliver
CMO and co-founder
Delivery
Twitter profile:
"CMO & CoFounder @WeDelivr @LocallyChi • @TechStars 14' • Passionate entrepreneur & Jill of all trades. #startuplife #mstech"
— Daniela @WeDelivr (@DanielaBolzmann) December 9, 2014
David Kadavy
Design for Hackers
Author and designer
Design
Twitter profile:
"Wrote Design for Hackers, which debuted at #18 on Amazon. Take my free email course..."
Start 2015 right and finally understand what makes beautiful design. Sign up for my free course: https://t.co/AIA9C1FWOs
— David Kadavy (@kadavy) January 2, 2015
Shanon Marks
MU/DAI
Chief Innovation Officer
Design
Twitter profile:
"Chief Innovation Officer at MU/DAI. Producing intended effects."
Data all day long. The 33 weirdest charts from the 538. https://t.co/nfITtUHG0F
— Shanon Marks (@madebyshanon) December 31, 2014
Jeff Judge
Signal (now Signal Engage)
Co-founder and former CEO
Digital Marketing
Twitter profile:
"I am pretty excited about a lot of things"
— Jeff Judge (@jjudge) January 6, 2015
Dave Hoover
Dev Bootcamp
Founder and angel investor
Education and investing
Twitter Profile:
"Latent human potential pisses me off. @DevBootcamp co-founder. @apprenticeshipp co-author. Angel investor. Squirrel."
— Dave Hoover (@davehoover) January 5, 2015
Neal Sales-Griffin
Starter League
Founder and CEO
Twitter profile:
"Co-Founder of @StarterLeague, launching @StarterSchool. I like video games. I build things. Would you kindly follow my twitter?"
— Neal Sales-Griffin (@nealsales) September 4, 2014?>
Jayna Cooke
EventUp
CEO
Event Website
Twitter profile:
"CEO & Founder @EVENTup | Former VP @Groupon | Founder of @Closet_Angels | jaynacooke.com"
— Jayna Cooke (@JaynaCooke) January 5, 2015
Sharon Schneider
Moxie Jean
CEO and founder
Clothing retail
Twitter profile:
"Be part of the solution! Taking resale mainstream with @moxiejeankids #collcons #mom #resalerockstars"
Thanks! RT @doughtrading: @sharonschneider, You made our list of 10 women impacting Chicago's tech & startup scene! https://t.co/ab39105RtP
— sharonschneider (@sharonschneider) October 30, 2014
Paul Lee
CEO and co-founder
Company is in stealth mode
Investing
Twitter profile:
"Co-founder & CEO Stealth Co, former GP at @Lightbank, former founding Partner at NBC's Peacock Equity, Lecturer at..."
— Paul Lee (@iPaulLee) November 17, 2014
Shawn Carpenter
YCharts
CEO and co-founder
Fintech
Twitter profile:
"CEO / https://YCharts.com , Xoogler"
— Shawn Carpenter (@shawncarpenter) January 13, 2015
Matt Maloney
GrubHub
CEO and co-founder
Food delivery
Twitter profile:
"I founded GrubHub, I know who delivers."
— Matt Maloney (@M3aloney) September 10, 2013
Adam Robinson
Hireology
CEO
Human Resources
Twitter profile:
"Entrepreneur and pathological optimist. Our product helps managers make better hiring decisions and build great teams."
— Adam Robinson (@adrobins) August 12, 2014
Adam Koopersmith
Pritzker Group
Partner
Investing
Twitter profile:
"Venture capital investor based in Chi, originally from the E. Coast. Still trying to get my kids to call them 'sneakers', but losing out..."
— Adam Koopersmith (@AKoopersmith) November 19, 2014
Guy Turner
Hyde Park Venture Partners
General Manager
Investing
Twitter profile:
"Early stage venture investor at @hydeparkvp. Big fan of fast growth looking for amazing entrepreneurs to work with."
— Guy Turner (@guyhturner) January 7, 2015
J.B. Pritzker
Pritzker Group
Managing Partner
Investing
Twitter profile:
"Culture that breeds nimbleness and yields excellence. Values matter too. See also @PritzkerVC"
— J.B. Pritzker (@JBPritzker) August 22, 2014
Jeffrey Carter
Hyde Park Angels
Managing Partner
Investing
Twitter profile:
"Former trader, angel investor Co-Founded Hyde Park Angels, West Loop Ventures, Trustee @wwiimuseum"
— Jeffrey Carter (@pointsnfigures) January 8, 2015
Kevin Willer
Chicago Ventures, 1871
Partner
Investing
Twitter profile:
Twitter profile: "husband, dad, VC, Xoogler, 1871'er, angel, @ChicagoVentures @1871Chicago"
— kevin willer (@kwiller) December 5, 2014
Sean Johnson
Founder Equity
Founder and partner
Investing
Twitter profile:
"Sean Johnson is a partner @founderequity. Professor @KelloggSchool. Very pale."
— Sean Johnson (@intentionally) April 17, 2013
Dan Sinker
Knight-Mozilla OpenNews Project
Director
Journalism
Twitter profile:
"I make stuff. Heading up the Knight-Mozilla OpenNews project, author of @MayorEmanuel, founder of Punk Planet magazine"
— dan sinker (@dansinker) January 9, 2015
Amanda Lannert
JellyVision
CEO
Marketing
Twitter profile:
— Amanda Lannert (@AmandaLannert) December 18, 2014
Andy Crestondina
Orbit Web Design
Co-founder and Strategic Director
Marketing
Twitter profile:
"Web strategist and co-founder of Orbit Media (@orbiteers). Speaker, content marketer, environmentalist and author"
— Andy Crestodina (@crestodina) June 25, 2014
Eric Lunt
Signal (formerly BrightTag)
CTO and co-founder
Marketing
Twitter profile:
"Signal CTO (formerly BrightTag), FeedBurner co-founder & CTO"
My mind kept going to this throughout the Apple announcements today. Anyone else? https://t.co/UIJpTQ4hgP
— Eric Lunt (@elunt) June 2, 2014
Shannon Downey
Pivotal Chicago
CEO and founder
Marketing
Twitter profile:
"Founder @PivotalChicago, DePaul Faculty, Advisor @GeekBarChicago. Globe Trekker, Geek, Whiskey Drinker, Feminist..."
— Shannon Downey (@ShannonDowney) October 29, 2014
Rishi Shah
Context Media
CEO and founder
Media
Twitter profile:
“Founder : Operator : Investor”
Anything honest enough, beautifully made, whether music, art or even a pair of shoes will ignite a following round' the world. @BucketFeet
— Rishi Shah (@RishiShah) October 22, 2014
Ross Kimbarovsky
Startup Foundry
CEO and founder
Media
Twitter profile:
"Founder & CEO at Startup Foundry. Founder @crowdSPRING, contributor@EntMagazine, mentor @TechStars..."
Well written by @ev on how media (and people) abuse/misuse metrics ... A mile wide, an inch deep - https://t.co/ZCzXEWATxt
— Ross Kimbarovsky (@rosskimbarovsky) January 6, 2015
Shradha Agarwal
Context Media
President and co-founder
Media
Twitter profile:
"Love building w/ purpose and people & designing from passion and experience. Co-Founder of ContextMedia & JumpStart Ventures."
Whoever wonders if entrepreneurship is execution business, or strategy... No "pivots" at @contextmediainc since 2006 pic.twitter.com/tDQaxVEhj3
— Shradha Agarwal (@shr4dha) November 6, 2014
Katy Lynch
Manifest Digital
Portfolio Director
Media Agency
Twitter profile:
"Founder of SocialKaty, Inc. (now @ManifestDigital). Creator of #TravelTuesday. Named @CrainsChicago Top Tech 50..."
Super interesting stat! "89% of 18-29 year-olds are active on social media, as are 43% of adults 65 & older." - Jeff Bullas #socialmedia
— Katy Lynch (@thekatylynch) December 11, 2014
J Schwan
Solstice Mobile
CEO and founder
Mobile Apps
Twitter profile:
"My mission is to usher enterprises into the era of contextual computing. Founder, Solstice Mobile."
"The problem with the CurrentC system is that it’s based more around solving the retailers’ credit card fee problems…https://t.co/fYnruzxLut
— J Schwan (@jschwan) October 28, 2014
William Ready
CEO
Braintree and Venmo
Digital payments
Twitter profile:
"CEO of @Braintree/@Venmo. Creating the easiest way to pay or get paid - online or on mobile."
Some of my thoughts on the future of commerce and mobile via @pandodaily "Hello, smart commerce" https://t.co/ctBBKkntcZ @braintree @venmo
— William Ready (@williamready) January 23, 2014
Desiree Vargas
GiveForward
CEO
Online fundraising
Twitter profile:
"CEO GiveForward (fundraising for medical expenses), zumba aficionado, stepmom, chicago social entrepreneur..."
I just published “The Best Ways to Give on #GivingTuesday” https://t.co/HImKd8gLB6
— Desiree Vargas W. (@DesireeGF) December 1, 2014
Jared McKiernan
ParkWhiz
SEO
Parking App
Twitter profile:
"I love the Internet, search marketing, analytics, math/stats, freestyle rhyme flow, craft beer & helping startups..."
Yahoo does seem to have picked up a decent amount of search traffic due to the Firefox deal. From 4.2% of our traffic LY to 7.6% TY dec-jan.
— Jared McKiernan (@jaredmckiernan) January 8, 2015
Jason Fried
Basecamp
CEO and founder
Design
Twitter profile:
"Founder & CEO at Basecamp (formerly known as 37signals). Co-author of Getting Real, Remote, and NYT Bestseller REWORK."
Great design touch from Google —> https://t.co/cLV1m5V1fa
— Jason Fried (@jasonfried) January 7, 2015
David Hansson
Follow @dhh //
Ruby on Rails and Basecamp
Creator, CTO and founder
Programming
Twitter profile:
"Creator of Ruby on Rails, Founder & CTO at Basecamp (formerly 37signals), NYT Best-selling author of REWORK and REMOTE, and..."
Start With No: https://t.co/FDCjxbV7zH
— DHH (@dhh) January 7, 2015
Josh Inglis
Propllr
CEO and founder
Public Relations
Twitter profile:
"I connect reporters with innovative people and companies / @CatapultChi partner / @Moneythink advisor / @1871Chicago Mentor..."
3 Reasons to Hire a Startup PR Firm – or Not To (so sayeth me) https://t.co/xzDAqojbb5
— Josh Inglis (@Propllrhead) December 2, 2014
Matt Moog
Power Reviews & Built In Chicago
CEO and founder
Consumer Review Software
Twitter profile:
"CEO of @powerofreviews and founder of @builtinchicago"
The Art of the Amateur Online Review https://t.co/XSP4jtaakP "...found online reviews to be remarkably well written." cc: @powerofreviews
— Matt Moog (@mattmoog) December 1, 2014
Logan LaHive
Belly
CEO and founder
Rewards
Twitter profile:
"Founder/CEO of @BellyCard. From the Bay, but firmly planted in Chicago. Love startups and the 49ers. Besides living life, those fill up my time."
Smart. RT "At @Quirky, we measure employees on impatience, ability to embrace conflict...& how much stuff to you get done." @BenKaufman
— Logan LaHive (@loganlahive) December 9, 2014
Harper Reed
Obama for America & Modest
Former CTO, currently CEO
Social Media
Twitter profile:
"I am pretty awesome. Check out this simple guide to my tweets // former CTO @ Obama for America // founder of Modest"
brb. analyzing my .zsh_history file: https://t.co/XVFqMiczH8 Nice work @brandondamos
— harper (@harper) December 24, 2014
Justyn Howard
Sprout Social
CEO and founder
Social Media
Twitter profile:
"CEO Sprout Social (@SproutSocial). New dad. Enjoy brainstorming ideas with smart people, solving hard problems."
Decreasing customer churn and increasing customer retention are two very different efforts. A lot of co's focused on the wrong one.
— Justyn Howard (@Justyn) October 31, 2014
Maria Katris
Follow @mariakatrisBuilt In
CEO
Tech jobs and news
Twitter profile:
The list is out! The 2014 Top 100 Digital Companies in Chicago: https://t.co/U6LyYX0PCB via @BuiltInChicago
— Maria Katris (@mariakatris) October 30, 2014*full disclosure: Maria Katris is the CEO of Built In, which operates Built In Chicago.
David Rush
Earshot
CEO and founder
Social Media Advertising Software
Twitter profile:
"CEO and Co-Founder of @earshotinc"
Why Data Is the New 'Oil' https://t.co/OGBB3Ehuev
— David Rush (@davidmrush) October 29, 2014
Irv Shapiro
Ifbyphone
CEO and CTO
Telecommunications
Twitter profile:
"I build technology companies."
— Irv Shapiro (@irvshapiro) November 10, 2014
Golli Hashemian
UX designer, Startup Institute
UX researcher
User experience
Twitter profile:
"UX research and design strategist. Organize @chiDUXX & @ixdachicago. Teach @StartupInst..."
I think designers are overusing progressive disclosure for mobile and it will soon go the way of the carousel. #ux
— Golli Hashemian (@golgolli) April 4, 2014
Rob DeMento
Mira Fitness
CEO
Wearables
Twitter profile:
"Chicago-based growth company enthusiast. Student of digital. Mira Fitness CEO. Proud canine/human dad & husband. Music fan..."
Interesting concept. Call it the Warby Parker of wearable fitness and sleep trackers: https://t.co/S1wakAAge5
— Rob DeMento (@RobDeMento) January 13, 2015
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