For companies to innovate and scale as quickly as the current tech ecosystem demands, a stellar team is priority number one. If you’re a CEO and you want to hire the best talent in the world –– and I do mean the world –– then you need to understand the political climate, the bureaucratic…
Chicago-based startup Aegis AI is using technology to create a workaround that allows people to protect themselves regardless of what the government or anyone else does about gun control. Essentially, the company’s AI software hooks into a building’s existing security camera infrastructure and automatically detects a firearm the moment it’s visible on screen.…
Without getting into the cryptocurrency stuff, my natural instincts tell me that blockchain technology is about identity. We work, spend, invest, and socialize digitally, but when it comes to some of the most important stuff of life –– birth certificates, passports, driver’s licenses, titles, deeds, college transcripts –– we revert to analog. The ways…
Chicago-based ActiveCampaign is absolutely crushing it in the CRM, sales, and automated marketing space. But it didn’t come out of nowhere –– the company is a 13-year “overnight” success story. When he started back in 2003, Jason VandeBoom was just trying to pay for college. For more than a decade, he and his small…
“As travelers, we focus on the journey,” says Jeff Katz of his new travel startup, Journera. “None of us are just focused on the flight or the hotel. It’s about the entire journey, whether it’s for work or for play.” Jeff’s own journey has spanned nearly 40 years in travel and tech. An…
“There were a million babies born to Millennials last year, and that number’s growing,” says Elizabeth Harz, CEO of Sittercity. (I happen to know this firsthand). “Digital natives are used to running everything from their phones and expect a data-centric, efficient, beautiful user experience to manage their whole lives. “There’s also a sense of…
Equity crowdfunding can help bridge the funding gap for underrepresented founders. It’s no secret that starting and investing in businesses has long been reserved for wealthy white men. In 2017, the funding given to female founders in the United States was higher than in years past, but accounted for only 2.2 percent of total funding given.…
No matter what audiences think, improv isn’t about being funny — though it’s a relief when people react positively. It’s about handling a million things at once, working with a team, accepting failures, and moving forward despite the beads of sweat trickling down your back. In other words, it’s a lot like being a corporate…
Innovation is expensive — there’s no denying that. No matter how you go about it, innovation takes considerable money, time, talent, and effort. Trying to drive it in-house can be a significant drain on resources, yet many companies make that their sole focus. But really, one of the most efficient ways companies can accelerate innovation is…
Technori takes equity investment to launch Technori Co-op, a non-traditional startup incubator, focused on disrupting how startups are launched and funded. DV Partners, led by SMS Assist Founder and Chairman Mike Rothman, today announced a seven figure investment in Chicago’s largest and most active startup platform, Technori. The funds will be used to expand…