The folks at Fast Company have a series on articles on starting up companies in different regions of the US. I had a chance to talk with them about Chicago, my home town. Below is the beginning and link to the article Why You Should Start a Company in…Chicago.
Why You Should Start a Company in… Chicago
By Laura Rich
Chicago may lack the crackling energy of other startup hotspots like Seattle [1], Austin [2], Boston [3] or Boulder [4], and its reputation for back-office, white-collar companies such as the former Andersen Consulting firm doesn't help much. But Chicago is where many Internet mainstays were launched, from the jobs site CareerBuilder and travel service Orbitz to RSS technology innovators Feedburner (bought by Google in 2007) and the online audience measurement outfit comScore. One hot startup right now is the coupon site Groupon [5].Health-care companies also have realized great potential in the area, led by Abbott Laboratories. And lest one forget, it was at nearby University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where Marc Andreessen developed Mosaic, the Web browser that paved the way for the commercial Web. So there's that.
These days Chicago's startup culture is aimed at the steady and sure. As Matt McCall, a partner at New World Ventures and managing director at DFJ Portage, notes, Chicago is home to many of the largest companies in the country, including Accenture, Boeing, Integrys Energy, MillerCoors, McDonald's, ACNielsen, Trans Union, and Fortune Brands. The list is long and comprehensive. For startups, it means a rich source of customers for products that fill a need or enhance their businesses.
McCall spoke with FastCompany.com about what makes Chicago's startup scene so strong.
What makes Chicago a great place for startups?