Chicago startups to watch in 2015

Post by untog » Sat, Feb 07, 2015, 4:59 AM UTC

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #11

bruceb wrote: post #3

From the list: Mac & Mia is an online, custom clothing boutique for kids with soul & style. The company has a team of personal stylists that create looks for newborns to kids up to six. To get started, you create a style profile for your child and then, wait for the magic to happen. Once you decide to make the purchase, Mac & Mia will send you a box full of clothing customized for your child -- if your baby isn’t int…

Let's not be classist. There's probably a market for this. I live in a trendy part of the city and boutiqe baby stores are a thing and have been a thing for at least ten years now. This is just a personal shopper for those stores. I don't see how this really is more ridiculous than owning a current gen 3D printer or other expensive geek friendly frivolous toy. In fact, if you're part of the wealthy crowd, what your k…

Post by adam » Sat, Feb 07, 2015, 12:09 PM UTC

xasos wrote: post #16

kevinmchugh wrote: post #6

I appreciate BuiltInChicago as an effective way to promote knowledge about the Chicago tech scene and I looked there the last couple times I was job-searching, but this list is really uninspiring. Uber for [moving, dry-cleaning, beauty needs], clones of better-known startups, clones of startups that have already failed. There should be more focus on what Chicago's uniquely good at, and what makes us not just a worse-…

Super uninspiring list for me also. And the only YC company ever in Chicago wasn't even included.

Post by joezydeco » Sat, Feb 07, 2015, 3:41 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #38

stox wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chicago has been, and will continue to be, one of the largest tech hubs in the world. We just are not as dominant as we used to be. (speaking as a former Chicago startup founder)

On what axis is Chicago competitive with SFBA or NYC as a "tech hub"? On the obvious ones, like dollars of VC funding or number of tech employers, it doesn't even look close.

Post by illini123 » Sat, Feb 07, 2015, 5:58 PM UTC

joezydeco wrote: post #55

tptacek wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On what axis is Chicago competitive with SFBA or NYC as a "tech hub"? On the obvious ones, like dollars of VC funding or number of tech employers, it doesn't even look close.

IMO, Chicagoans like to lean on their prior history of being a technological and manufacturing center. You had some serious engineering here: Western Electric, Teletype, Bell Labs/Lucent, Stewart-Warner, Illinois Tool Works, USRobotics, Admiral Radio, Shure, Abbott Labs, Baxter, Rockola, Seeburg, Williams Electronics, Bally, Zenith, and of course Motorola. Motorola alone seeded lots of other small companies in the ar…

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Feb 08, 2015, 9:04 PM UTC

ahoog42 wrote: post #46

xasos wrote: post #24

Not a big fan of the list, as they left out some great companies. Some of my favorite Chicago startups: 1. TempoDB - Database for IOT and sensor data 2. 640 Labs - Precision agriculutre platform 3. Opternative - Online Eye Exams 4. ShipBob (YC S14) - Easy shipping for businesses and personal (Disclaimer: Currently work here) 5. Basecamp - Project Managment Software

We're Chicago-based startup [1] that helps secure mobile apps and devices and recently completed a 12.5m Series A. If you're interested in mobile security, you can get an idea about our work in a recently vulnerability we helped Samsung patch impacting 200m+ devices. [2] Over 50% of our company is remote and we're hiring 30+ people this year. If you're interested in mobile and/or security, would love to hear from you…