Global Spotlight on Chicago Innovation

Last week World Business Chicago hosted a delegation of visiting journalists from the United Nations Press Corps. The global contingent of reporters came from Chinese newspapers, Japanese magazines, Swedish public radio and more.

We took them on a behind-the-scenes tour into the exciting world of Chicago’s innovation ecosystem, including Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy, 600 West Chicago (home of Groupon & Lightbank) and the startup incubator, Excelerate Labs. 

At Tribeca Flashpoint, CEO, Howard Tullman wowed the group with a sophisticated presentation of the technologies available to students and teachers at his school. The journalists asked questions about whether the technologies developed there are commercialized and what kinds of jobs the students get after graduation. Tullman explained their tech commercialization process and discussed the school’s industry connections with Hollywood, major videogame companies and more.

At 600 West Chicago we were given a tour of the former Mongomery Ward Catalog Warehouse which, when it was built over 100 years ago, was the largest concrete structure in the world.

After Wards left, it was redeveloped into a massive high-tech-friendly facility. The City of Chicago’s investment of TIF money into the project turned out to be a wise one. Nearly 10 years later the site is one of the most successful mixed-use redevelopments in the nation, right in the heart of a formerly struggling area of the city.

While we were there we had an opportunity to meet with the co-founder and Executive Chairman of one of the most prominent companies at 600 West; Groupon. Eric Lefkofsky (also a co-founder of Groupon’s parent company, Lightbank and a WBC board member) sat down with us to discuss a few of his ideas about business. Our meeting came at an interesting moment as Groupon is in a “quiet period” leading up to their initial public offering of stock.

Eric answered the journalist’s questions very artfully so as not to be perceived as attempting to inflate Groupon’s status, but he still had very enlightening things to say about his other very successful companies like Echo Global Logistics and Inner Workings. 

After touring through some of the Lightbank companies we headed over to Infinium Capital Management, a financial trading startup also located at 600 West. Their huge space is filled with hundreds of traders watching trades on thousands of monitors. It’s an awesome sight.

The final stop on our trip was Excelerate Labs, a Chicago-based startup incubator currently in the middle of launching their second class of companies. Each year Excelerate culls though hundreds of applications to find 10 innovative companies that they think have what it takes to succeed. The companies are given work space, $25,000 and access to an incredible list of mentors. Last year 8 of the 10 companies received outside funding after completion of the program and 9 of the 10 are still running. It’s a great track record for the new program.

Excelerate CEO, Troy Henikoff spoke to the group about what the organization does, and then asked each of the startups in the program to give us their “elevator pitch.”

And wow, I’d be very surprised if more than one of those companies don’t become household names nationally, if not globally.

Henikoff then handed the stage over to JB Pritzker who is, among other things, the founder of New World Ventures, one of Chicago’s largest technology investment funds (also a WBC board member). I’ve heard Pritzker speak on a number of occasions now, and each time I’m energized by his level of passion for helping innovative ideas to grow in Chicago. He believes strongly that in order for our region’s innovation ecosystem to thrive there needs to be a strong foundation and a connected support system. This is why he’s an ardent supporter of projects like Lightbank and Built in Chicago.

All in all, the UN press delegation saw a deep cross section of Chicago’s innovation ecosystem, from education to incubation to fast-growing startup companies. There’s a lot of energy going on in this sector right now and it was an honor to be able to share it on the global stage.