CHICAGO | Economic & Business Development

[emathias]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

I seriously need to get a startup going. Maybe I’ll get into money lending.

Who wants a loan?

Do you offer no income verification and no payback options?

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by emathias

Do you offer no income verification and no payback options?

Sure, which means my business will last about....3 days

[ardecila]

Good! This is a beautiful old warehouse building, I'm glad to see it finding new tenants instead of getting torn down for more Amazon truck parking like the land to the north and south.

Actually this whole stretch along 37th and S. Iron is a hidden gem (north part of Central Manufacturing District).

[SamInTheLoop]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Good! This is a beautiful old warehouse building, I'm glad to see it finding new tenants instead of getting torn down for more Amazon truck parking like the land to the north and south.

Actually this whole stretch along 37th and S. Iron is a hidden gem (north part of Central Manufacturing District).

Wishful thinking. I think you're confusing it for the long, narrow building next door, at 3701 S Ashland - and yes, that building is absolutely stunning. This is new construction, on the site of that spectacular winter fire from several years back that encased everything in 1' thick ice - https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/20...g-fire/100445/ .

At least they put a mural up on the Ashland side of the new building - vast improvement over a huge blank white wall https://rejournals.com/urban-infill-...es-public-art/

Still a pretty cool type of new use for what is essentially your standard new infill logistics building.

[marothisu]

Nature's Fynd raises $350 million, plans fall debut on shelves

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/cons...-debut-shelves

Nature’s Fynd, a Back of the Yards-based startup growing meat from a microbe, just became a Chicago unicorn.

The company had already secured big-name investors, including firms backed by Al Gore, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and ADM. Its latest round of funding is $350 million, bringing its total funding raised to more than $500 million. The round was led by a new investor, the latest fund from SoftBank, and drew new and repeat investors, according to a press release.

..

Nature’s Fynd isn’t disclosing its exact valuation, but chief marketing officer Karuna Rawal said the new round of funding puts Nature’s Fynd “firmly in the unicorn status.” Unicorn is industry jargon for a startup that is valued at $1 billion or more. Nature’s Fynd marks the 10th Chicago company to reach the status this year, according to World Business Chicago.

..

The protein Nature’s Fynd produces is made from a microbe in the fungi kingdom found in a Yellowstone National Park hot spring more than a decade ago. The microbe was discovered on a NASA-supported research mission with the initial goal of figuring out what type of extreme environments could foster life on other planets.

The protein is called Fy and is grown through a fermentation process. It is a complete protein, with all 20 amino acids, and is sustainable to produce. It is also versatile. In the company’s test kitchen, it has been made into meatless chicken nuggets, sausage patties and hot dogs; crafted into dairy-free chocolate mousse and cheese dips; smeared on bagels; and put inside pot stickers.

..

Nature’s Fynd released its first products directly to consumers earlier this year. The $15 breakfast bundle, which included vegan cream cheese and breakfast patties, sold out in 24 hours. In the press release today announcing the new funding, CEO Thomas Jonas said the response “clearly showed that we can meet our consumers’ expectations for delicious meat and dairy alternatives with no trade-offs.”

The company plans to release its first products at retail locations this fall, Rawal said. Its breakfast items will likely be first, she said, with other products to follow.

..

Nature’s Fynd employs about 100 people and plans to double headcount over the next few quarters, Rawal said. The company recently added teams in Singapore and India and plans to expand into other regions. Jonas said in the press release that there will be a special focus on Asia, “where there is substantial demand and need for sustainable protein.”

SoftBank saw the “tremendous global opportunities in front of” Nature’s Fynd and wants to help the company scale, Angela Du, investment director at SoftBank Investment Advisers, said in the press release.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

Wishful thinking. I think you're confusing it for the long, narrow building next door, at 3701 S Ashland - and yes, that building is absolutely stunning. This is new construction, on the site of that spectacular winter fire from several years back that encased everything in 1' thick ice - https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/20...g-fire/100445/ .

At least they put a mural up on the Ashland side of the new building - vast improvement over a huge blank white wall https://rejournals.com/urban-infill-...es-public-art/

Still a pretty cool type of new use for what is essentially your standard new infill logistics building.

Weird for that building to have a 3711 address, it looks like it should be more like 3740 or something. The mural is good though, we should make these required for new warehouse development.

[marothisu]

Chicago might have another tech unicorn but the valuation number is private for now..

LogicGate raised $113M and has now raised $156M total. They are planning to double headcount from 175 to 350 in the next 12 to 18 months. Apparently in the last year, they doubled headcount..

The CEO states that revenue grew by 80% last year. Their software is used to help companies manage risks in many different things.

[marothisu]

2 more Chicago companies going public via SPACs

* Fast Radius (3D printing) - Valued at $1.4B
* Kin Insurance - Valued at $1B

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/john...g-public-spacs

[aaron38]

This is just a shout out because I didn’t know it was there.
My wife had lunch yesterday at the Cabana Club in the Hotel Robey. It’s on the 6th floor of the old Northwest Tower at Milwaukee/North/Damen.

She said they have a great skyline view. Next time I’m in the area I’m going up there for a drink.
https://www.therobey.com/#robey

[marothisu]

Here's a success story of a bootstrapped company who did $50M in revenue last year..

https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/...across-us.html

A Chicago bitcoin ATM operator is expanding rapidly across the U.S. as it looks to make crypto buying and selling more accessible to the masses. And it's doing tens of million in revenue without any venture funding.

CoinFlip, founded in 2015, has become one of the dominant players in the cryptocurrency ATM space with around 2,500 machines spread out across 47 states. It did more than $50 million in revenue last year, CEO Ben Weiss said, growing to more than 200 employees.

Led by Weiss and co-founder Daniel Polotsky, two 26-year-olds who attended Deerfield High School together, CoinFlip is trying to make bitcoin available to anyone, including the unbanked and under-banked, Weiss said. It's different than Coinbase, for example, in that it operates mostly in cash rather than linking to your bank account. It's also faster to get onboarded for first time users, allowing people to purchase bitcoin in minutes, rather than the week or so it takes to create a Coinbase account, Weiss said.

..

CoinFlip is 100% bootstrapped, Weiss said. Investors have approached the startup, but Weiss has been hesitant to bring on outside funding, though he didn't rule it out down the road.

[OrdoSeclorum]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Here's a success story of a bootstrapped company who did $50M in revenue last year..

https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/...across-us.html

I reluctantly agreed to pay a $200 debt in bitcoin and these ATMs ended up being the easiest way to do it. Several other apps like Coinbase were much harder. Though I learned that if Bitcoin ever becomes a common method of paying for stuff other than heroin or ransom, I will go through five new stages of grief. I’d be surprised, followed by stunned, followed by bargaining, acceptance and not buying stuff.

Not only did it cost me $16 (!) to get $200 into a bitcoin wallet, I wasn't permitted to make a transaction for a week, during which time my $200 turned to $180 for some dumb, bitcoin related reason. Then the transaction wouldn't go through after processing forever for some other dumb, bitcoin related reason. I gave up and went to one of these ATMs (twice. You need to scan your ID) where I had to pay an 11% fee (!) to turn my dollars into bitcoin. The whole process cost me about $40 and a few hours of frustration.

[Handro]

Originally Posted by OrdoSeclorum

I reluctantly agreed to pay a $200 debt in bitcoin and these ATMs ended up being the easiest way to do it. Several other apps like Coinbase were much harder. Though I learned that if Bitcoin ever becomes a common method of paying for stuff other than heroin or ransom, I will go through five new stages of grief. I’d be surprised, followed by stunned, followed by bargaining, acceptance and not buying stuff.

Not only did it cost me $16 (!) to get $200 into a bitcoin wallet, I wasn't permitted to make a transaction for a week, during which time my $200 turned to $180 for some dumb, bitcoin related reason. Then the transaction wouldn't go through after processing forever for some other dumb, bitcoin related reason. I gave up and went to one of these ATMs (twice. You need to scan your ID) where I had to pay an 11% fee (!) to turn my dollars into bitcoin. The whole process cost me about $40 and a few hours of frustration.

Wow hopefully you got a new heroin dealer after that headache

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Handro

Wow hopefully you got a new heroin dealer after that headache

No doubt, pawn shops are easier and could be cheaper than that ...

[marothisu]

Startup Hologram just raised another $65M. They are looking to go from 70 employees to 210 in the next 18 to 24 months.

[Klippenstein]

^Not sure

https://rejournals.com/chicago-area-witnesses-20-year-record-low-industrial-vacancy/

Chicago area witnesses 20-year record low industrial vacancy

Investment in industrial has far outpaced other asset classes, particularly office buildings, the report illustrates. For example, there was $4.4 billion in industrial investment from the beginning of 2020 through the end of Q2 2021 in the Chicago area whereas downtown office saw just $2 billion of investment in the same period.
[...]
Within the Chicago region, there are currently 15 projects under construction that will be 750,000 square feet or larger when completed. Additionally, base rents have increased by 11.7% since the start of the pandemic. Not only does the demand mean big business for industrial property developers, but the report indicates that employment in transportation, warehousing and utilities rose by over 76,000 jobs between May 2020 and May 2021, representing the second highest job growth sector in the region.

[marothisu]

Interesting..

What's your data worth? Payday-advance startup raises $60 million.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/john...s-60-million-0

Brian Mandelbaum had a hunch that cash-strapped consumers would be willing to give up some financial privacy in exchange for cash.

He was right. His startup, Klover, which provides consumers advances on their paychecks, has signed up 1.7 million consumers in about 18 months. The company just raised $60 million.

Borrowers don’t pay interest. Instead, they give Klover real-time access to their banking transactions. Companies such as Wayfair, DoorDash and GoodRX, pay Klover to advertise their products to borrowers based on their spending habits.

“What’s remarkable is how willing people are to share their personal information,” says Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. “People talk about the importance of privacy, but when there’s a reason to share it, they do it. There’s a certain school of thought by some people that all my information is out there anyway.”

The average borrowers are millennials between 25 and 35 with an average income of $50,000 to $60,000 who borrow less than $250, Klover says.

"We believe consumers’ data is an extremely valuable asset and should be used to their benefit," Mandelbaum says. “We don’t sell the raw data. (Marketers) come to us to match their customer data with our customers. Mostly they want to find new customers."

Klover plans to double its headcount of 30 by year-end. Mandelbaum says the app company raised $30 million in equity and $30 million in debt to fund the advances to customers. He declined to disclose revenue.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Did anyone post this a while ago? Songfinch, a local cameo like startup for custom songs, raised $2 million in funding headed by The Weeknd and his agent. Then I saw they were featured in Rolling Stone:


https://www-rollingstone-com.cdn.amp...sic-1196163%2F

[tjp]

[deleted]

[Tom In Chicago]

Cisco consolidating midwest offices to OMPO. . .

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/comm...ce-lands-cisco

https://www.chicagotribune.com/busin...ypa-story.html

. . .

[animositisomina]

Not directly related to Chicago, but Rivian has been mentioned in this thread a number of times, and because of their presence in Normal, Samsung is considering building a new battery plant nearby that could employ up to 3,200 people. Bloomington-Normal is one of three finalists.

https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2021...-battery-plant

Rumors about a potential massive economic development project have swirled in Bloomington-Normal for the past week. Economic Development Council chief Patrick Hoban teased the project Aug. 5 during an event at Illinois Wesleyan, as WGLT first reported. He didn’t specify which industry or company was involved, but said a potential “billion-dollar deal” was possible, and that Bloomington-Normal was one of three finalists for the project.