CHICAGO | Economic & Business Development

[OrdoSeclorum]

Originally Posted by okparker

I remember when this home was initially listed as needing gut rehab. Laughed when I saw this place listed. Cringed when I said the paint. Was in absolute disbelief when I saw this place sold.. buyers threw over 50% down and got a mortgage on it, but doubt it appraised appropriately. Sellers made out like bandits on this property.

That's how it starts. One or two developers get a little more return than they should, but that encourages a few more to take stab at an investment and rehab. Maybe they will get lucky too. And the sale and now nearby rehab activity makes a few buyers slightly more comfortable with buying there themselves. And a few more realtors who are chuckling over the price at the water cooler might pitch a place down there to their clients who've been priced out of Pilsen...

[marothisu]

Biz intelligence firm raises $90 million, plans to hire 400


https://www.chicagobusiness.com/tech...apital-funding

Tegus, a business intelligence tech company that’s been on a hiring spree over the past several months, raised $90 million in venture capital funding.

The company, which moved to Chicago from San Francisco in 2018, connects customers to experts in a given field or topic for research or hourly consultation.

Tegus, founded in 2016 in San Francisco by twin brothers Tom and Mike Elnick, said in a statement Monday that it now serves more than 1,000 customers, a 300% increase from last year. Clients include investment firms and consultancies.

Crain’s reported in August that the tech company had subleased 47,000 square feet of offices across two floors at 200 N. LaSalle St. from digital job-listing company CareerBuilder. At the time, Tegus said it employed about 230 people, up from 115 in 2020. On Monday, Tegus said headcount has grown to more than 300 people.

With the new funding, Tegus said it plans to hire an additional 400 employees across its sales, product and engineering teams. Employees will be added to the Chicago office, as well as a new office in Waterford, Ireland, as the company begins an expansion into Europe.

[the urban politician]

First the Bears, now United Airlines?

Arlington Heights is poised for a boom.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

First the Bears, now United Airlines?

Arlington Heights is poised for a boom.

Apples to Oranges. Bears are trying to completely vacate the city. UAL is keeping 2500 people downtown and also wants to renovate their downtown space while spending a bunch of money doing so.

[Kngkyle]

My understanding is that there are operational benefits to having the NOC (network operations center) on a single floor instead of spread over many. I believe that is the main reason for the relocation. The recent flooding and subsequent power outage at Sears probably didn't help considering the NOC is a critical 24/7 operation. Social unrest downtown is also a risk given recent events. It's a unique use case and I wouldn't consider it a sign of much.

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by Kngkyle

My understanding is that there are operational benefits to having the NOC (network operations center) on a single floor instead of spread over many. I believe that is the main reason for the relocation. The recent flooding and subsequent power outage at Sears probably didn't help considering the NOC is a critical 24/7 operation. Social unrest downtown is also a risk given recent events. It's a unique use case and I wouldn't consider it a sign of much.

Exactly. Couple that with modified office floor plans due to COVID and spacing employees out of this type of operation on skyscraper floor plate comes at a very high cost and complexity.

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by Kngkyle

My understanding is that there are operational benefits to having the NOC (network operations center) on a single floor instead of spread over many. I believe that is the main reason for the relocation. The recent flooding and subsequent power outage at Sears probably didn't help considering the NOC is a critical 24/7 operation. Social unrest downtown is also a risk given recent events. It's a unique use case and I wouldn't consider it a sign of much.

I find it completely surprising they had a NOC in Willis Tower in the first place...

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

I find it completely surprising they had a NOC in Willis Tower in the first place...

It's so sad it's almost funny.


Kind of amused at how many people resort to thinking it has to do big time with the city, leadership, etc. Do people honestly think the situations and complexities of a business down to office space for an operation this big is so simple?

[tjp]

Has anyone heard how tourism / hotel occupancy has fared in Chicago versus other major cities?

[Tom In Chicago]

^Yep. . . me too. . .

. . .

[marothisu]

Crypto Robo-Advisor Startup Stacked Raises $35M in Funding

https://www.builtinchicago.org/2021/...eries-a-hiring

By now, plenty of everyday people have dabbled in cryptocurrency, but one thing that still intimidates people about crypto is its volatility. Bitcoin makes headlines whenever it hits all-time highs (or whenever it drops dramatically). This can make inexperienced crypto investors sweat, but volatility is just the name of the game for crypto.

To help deal with these wild swings, Chicago startup Stacked created a crypto robo-advisor that lets people automate their investing.

On Monday, Stacked announced that it raised $35 million in a Series A funding round led by Alameda Research. This follows a $1 million seed funding round from September 2020, and brings the company’s total funding raised to nearly $40 million, according to TechCrunch. The news was confirmed by the company’s CEO on Twitter.

..

Stacked launched its product in April 2020, and already the company has seen significant traction. The company says it has thousands of users and over $100 million in connected crypto assets. Stacked has also helped automate over 1 million trades worth over $10 billion collectively.

..

The company told TechCrunch that it was able to grow to where it is now without any formal marketing spend. So this new funding will be the first time Stacked uses paid marketing to attract new users.

In addition, Stacked plans to use the new funding to double its employee headcount. Right now the company sits at around 40 employees, so it plans to hire another 40 or so over the next few months. The company currently has a handful of open job listings for roles across engineering, product and HR.

[marothisu]

Moving its HQ from downstate IL to the Chicago area


Tankless water heater firm raises $50M ahead of Chicago HQ move

https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/...lihot-50m.html

A tankless water heater company has raised $50 million in new funding as it prepares to move its headquarters from downstate Illinois to Chicago.

Intellihot, a commercial tankless water heater company, raised the new funds from Aegon Asset Management and the Avenue Sustainable Solutions Fund. The financing comes as the company plans to hire 50 new employees in the next two years and move its headquarters from Galesburg to the Chicago area next year.

..

The company sells its water heaters to hotel chains like Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt, restaurants like Benihana, and Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers.

Itellihot was one of Chicago Inno's 20 Startups to Watch in 2020.

Founded in 2009, Intellihot has more 100 employees. Its earlier investors include the Clean Energy Trust, Energy Foundry and Central IL Angels.

[marothisu]

I was taking a look at how metro areas in the US have fared and recovered so far..comparing October 2021 employment numbers for metro area residents vs. October 2019. The percentages are the changes from Oct 2019 to Oct 2021 in terms of employed persons living in each metro area.

MSAs..
Tampa: +4.32%
Austin: +4.28%
Phoenix: +4.22%
Jacksonville: +3.84%
Portland: +1.69%
Dallas: +1.62%
Oklahoma City: +1.48%
San Antonio: +1.32%
Kansas City: +1.21%
Atlanta: +0.79%
Denver: +0.3%
Milwaukee: +0.01%
Charlotte: -0.06%
Indianapolis: -0.68%
Nashville: -0.75%
Memphis: -0.98%
Riverside, CA: -1.1%
Seattle: -1.28%
Columbus, OH: -1.37%
Houston: -1.56%
Cincinnati: -1.81%
Sacramento: -2%
Miami: -2.1%
San Jose: -2.99%
Louisville: -2.99%
Orlando: -3.06%
Minneapolis: -3.14%
Chicago: -3.49%
St. Louis: -3.71%
Boston: -3.96%
San Diego: -4.08%
Philadelphia: -4.39%
Detroit: -4.5%
Washington DC: -4.98%
Los Angeles: -5.31%
Pittsburgh: -5.45%
San Francisco: -5.52%
Honolulu: -5.56%
Cleveland: -5.73%
New Orleans: -5.79%
Las Vegas: -6.09%
NYC: -6.14%
Baltimore: -6.51%

[sentinel]

New Editor-In-Chief of Chicago-based AV Club has told editorial staff to relocate to LA or leave their jobs/get fired.

https://www.gawker.com/media/av-club...ose-their-jobs

Chicago cultural erasure continues..

[Handro]

Originally Posted by sentinel

New Editor-In-Chief of Chicago-based AV Club has told editorial staff to relocate to LA or leave their jobs/get fired.

https://www.gawker.com/media/av-club...ose-their-jobs

Chicago cultural erasure continues..

The film industry here is rapidly growing—that says a lot more than a staff of seven being forced to relocate.

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by Handro

The film industry here is rapidly growing—that says a lot more than a staff of seven being forced to relocate.

I feel like these small news and entertainment outlets come and go. Whether it’s print or website or YouTube channel. They have a handful of staff and the original founder will move on / get promoted / sell to another company and the outlet eventually dies out.

They can be replaced by another news and entertainment source

[left of center]

That's terrible. I actually enjoy the AV Club from time to time. I'm surprised they aren't owned by The Onion. I thought they were, or at the very least started by them?

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by left of center

That's terrible. I actually enjoy the AV Club from time to time. I'm surprised they aren't owned by The Onion. I thought they were, or at the very least started by them?

It was started by the Onion, left Madison for Chicago, then NYC when they became part of Gawker media, which was then dissolved and the remains reformed as Kinja (?) and returned to Chicago, which was then bought by G/O (including the Onion), which led to the current situation of now moving to LA.

[left of center]

Oh wow. Is The Onion moving as well? Or is this simply limited to the AV Club?

[galleyfox]

Deere details its Fulton Market tech plans
As the maker of tractors and construction equipment goes high-tech, Deere seeks deeper pools of talent—and looks to hire 300 tech workers in Chicago.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/john...orkers-chicago