Crain's will be hosting it's yearly Entrepreneurs Luncheon next week, with J.B. Pritzker as the keynote speaker. As many of you know, J.B. has been one of Chicago's leading tech investors since the mid-90s, when he launched New World Ventures. In addition to building technology businesses, J.B. has dedicated considerable time and resources over the last 15 years to building Chicago's technology community. He helped found the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, the Illinois Venture Capital Association, and the Illinois Innovation Accelerator Fund -- and he and the partners at New World Ventures support and are represented on almost every organization in the city that supports technology entrepreneurs.
Previous speakers at the Crain's Annual Entrepreneurs Luncheon include such great Chicago business leaders as Gordon Segal of Crate & Barrel, Larry Levy, the restaurant entrepreneur, and Bryant Keil of Potbelly's. But this year is the first time that Crain's is featuring a speaker at their Annual Entrepreneurs Luncheon who is part of Chicago's technology community. It's a sign that something is changing here in Chicago - something I'm sure you are all feeling. You could feel it last week at the launch of Startup Illinois, or the week before at the ITA's annual CityLights gala. Chicago has achieved a critical mass of first-time entrepreneurs and serial entrepreneurs, angel investors and seed funds and venture capitalists, and entrepreneur-focused support associations.
It's a great time to be a technology entrepreneur in Chicago. And many of the foundational pieces of the tech ecosystem that is bearing so much fruit today were built or supported by J.B. So sign up now for the annual Crain's luncheon and come hear J.B. offer his perspective on what's happening in Chicago today.
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