While Silicon Valley has always been considered the entrepreneurship capital of the United States, it’s no longer the only option. Startups are popping up in every city, and that’s especially true for Chicago.
Chicago is an often-overlooked Midwestern city. It may be one of the largest cities in the country, but it has a small-town vibe, which makes it perfect for entrepreneurs.
For years, it was considered the “second city” because it could never beat New York in size or prestige. Though it was meant as a derogatory nickname, today Chicago happily accepts the moniker and bills itself the “second city” behind Silicon Valley.
Chicago is embracing startup culture and entrepreneurship with unprecedented enthusiasm. Not only are business professionals in the city getting involved with programs such as 1871 and Matter, two of the country’s leading incubators, but the universities are getting involved as well.
The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
The University of Chicago Booth School of Business has always been committed to innovation and entrepreneurship. In fact, entrepreneurship education and venture creation is the #1 concentration among Booth students. That’s thanks in large part to the expanding Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
The Polsky Center at Chicago Booth seeks to advance the knowledge and practice of entrepreneurship and innovation through a broad range of activities. The Center, developed in 1998, has always focused on academics, research, conferences, competitions and outreach. Now, it’s expanding and consolidating its efforts, thanks to a $50 million commitment from Michael Polsky, MBA ’87.
The donation will be used to streamline access to venture support resources for faculty, students, staff, alumni, community entrepreneurs and corporate partners. It will also focus on creating new programs and fellowships for CEOs, as well as helping individuals turn their ideas into solutions by bringing together innovation activities across the university and its affiliates.
The Polsky Center will take a fully integrated approach to supporting entrepreneurs at the university and in the city of Chicago. The goal is to position the University of Chicago as the leader in driving innovation and new startups. However, it’s just one piece of the puzzle. The Chicago entrepreneurship scene is much larger.
Chicago Booth School Entrepreneurship
To date, the Chicago Booth School of Business has helped launch more than 250 startups in the Chicago area, including some well-known successes such as GrubHub and Braintree. The launch of these startups can be attributed to three additional entrepreneurship initiatives on top of the Polsky Center:
- New Venture Challenge: Celebrating 20 years this June, the New Venture Challenge has helped transform hundreds of student ideas into thriving businesses. It has also resulted in more than 140 companies raising $434 million in venture funding. It’s the top-ranked accelerator program in the nation.
- Chicago Innovation Exchange: Opened in 2014, the Chicago Innovation Exchange, now renamed the Polsky Innovation Exchange, has more than 2,200 members. It’s also currently incubating 20 companies and providing more than $20 million in startup capital.
- UChicagoTech: Soon to be under the Polsky umbrella, UChicagoTech has helped launch more than 100 startups by providing in-depth expertise and resources.
John Flavin, the executive director of the university’s Chicago Innovation Exchange, spoke about the new Polsky Center, in a press release. “Uniting our innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialization efforts under a singular brand in one center will make it easier for faculty, student, alumni and community entrepreneurs to accelerate their ideas down a clearly defined pathway from concept to commercial validation,” he said. “I’m thrilled to lead this one-of-a-kind center and increase Chicago’s position as a global destination for entrepreneurship and innovation.”
Chicago Entrepreneurship
However, the University of Chicago isn’t the only hub for entrepreneurs in the city. While Chicago Booth brings in young talent and pushes out new company leaders, 1871 and Matter are developing Chicago entrepreneurs specifically in the fields of tech and healthcare.
- 1871: 1871 is a not-for-profit community endeavor that brings together the best and brightest of Chicago’s tech startups. The program provides education and inspiration, co-working spaces, and a community of designers, coders and business leaders.
- Matter: Matter is a community of healthcare innovators that helps turn brilliant healthcare ideas into industry-changing solutions. It offers various programs including resource curriculum, office hours and mentors-in-residence to help healthcare entrepreneurs and innovators.
The Impact
There’s no doubt that the new Polsky Center will have a large impact on the Chicago entrepreneurship and innovation scene. Not only will it help bring new talent to the area, but it will also help nourish that talent before releasing the startups into Chicago. Then, once developed, the city will take over.
According to Entreprener.com, Chicago is the new B2B venture capital of the nation. “It used to be difficult to source capital, mentors and talent,” said Steven Collens, the CEO of Matter. “But that’s not the case today. The Chicago startup community is validating technology, providing tremendous opportunitiesand helping acquire customers and funding like never before.”