CHICAGO | Economic & Business Development

[emathias]

Thought some of you might be interested in this report about Airbnb in the Midwest:

https://www.scribd.com/document/322086053/Airbnb-report-on-Midwest-growth

[Justin_Chicago]

Home Chef raises $40 million for meal-kit delivery service

Home Chef, a Chicago-based meal-kit delivery service, has whipped up $40 million in Series B funding.

The company, founded by Pat Vihtelic in September 2013, provides ingredients and instructions for meals like Mozzarella-Stuffed Meatball Sliders or Thai Red Curry Chicken for $9.95 a serving. Customers subscribe to deliveries and can choose how many they’re cooking for and flag any dietary preferences, then Home Chef delivers ingredients once a week.

Article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/or...series-b-funding-bsi-20160929-story.html

[HowardL]

As much as I want to see the big exchange grow and eat the competition, I appreciate CME's attention to growing smartly. CME is not interested in being a hodge-podge of markets rather it wants to be the world's definitive go-to market for risk management.

That's fucking smart.

This article makes a valid point when it comes to reg, CFTC versus SEC. More importantly, margins in the derivatives markets are pretty sweet in comparison to the equities marketspace.

CME has some smart women and men at the helm. I expect them to keep steering our city's unique, definitive, home-grown industry in the right direction.

CME disappears from dealmaking, and that may not be bad

[jpIllInoIs]

Don't know where else to post this, but Netflix has a good series 'Easy" filmed in Chicago with Chicago actors and plenty of interior and exterior shots in Wicker Park and elsewhere including Double Door, Handle Bar, Millennium Park etc.

[Justin_Chicago]

Originally Posted by jpIllInoIs

Don't know where else to post this, but Netflix has a good series 'Easy" filmed in Chicago with Chicago actors and plenty of interior and exterior shots in Wicker Park and elsewhere including Double Door, Handle Bar, Millennium Park etc.

Thanks for the heads up. I will start watching! If Chicagoans rally with eyeballs, people will continue to film here and it will support a micro-economy.

[Justin_Chicago]

Tock raises $7.5M to reimagine restaurant reservations, and maybe more

Tock, the online platform that aims to help restaurants better manage reservations and reduce no-shows, has raised $7.5 million in new funding as it plans to expand and take on OpenTable — and beyond.

The Series A round, announced Tuesday, was led by Chicago-based Origin Ventures. Other local investors included Chicago Ventures, Hyde Park Ventures and the Pritzker Group

Article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/originals/ct-tock-series-a-funding-bsi-20161004-story.html


TurboAppeal adds $4 million to help people fight property taxes

TurboAppeal, a Chicago-based startup that makes software to help property owners appeal taxes, has raised a $4 million Series A funding round, the company announced Tuesday morning.

It will use the money to expand nationally and introduce new products, said CEO and co-founder Badal Shah.

Guaranteed Rate, the Chicago-based mortgage company that recently gained naming rights to the White Sox ballpark, led the round, which brings the company's total funding to $7.2 million, Shah said.

Article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/or...-million-funding-bsi-20161004-story.html

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Justin_Chicago

Thanks for the heads up. I will start watching! If Chicagoans rally with eyeballs, people will continue to film here and it will support a micro-economy.

Interesting question. I think the increase in filming has much more to do with tax incentives than with the viewing choices of Chicago residents and ex-pat Chicagoans.

Remember that before Dick Wolf came along and decided to mythologize the city as "real America", many of the movies filmed in Chicago were set in other places. That's still the case, in fact.

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Interesting question. I think the increase in filming has much more to do with tax incentives than with the viewing choices of Chicago residents and ex-pat Chicagoans.

Remember that before Dick Wolf came along and decided to mythologize the city as "real America", many of the movies filmed in Chicago were set in other places. That's still the case, in fact.

yea, i would say it boils down to tax incentives, period. obviously having a diverse amount of locations and backdrops helps. but overall, you can film anywhere today and turn it into somewhere else if you really want to. at the end of the day, Dick Wolf shows are as generic as they come. theyre surface level cop/firefighter/ER dramas. if the film office wasnt offering incentives, i doubt they would have shot as many shows here regardless of the skyline.

its not like the Wire which was dealing with social and political issues of Baltimore, was written explicitly for that locale, and took employing locals off the street as a point of pride.

[ithakas]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

yea, i would say it boils down to tax incentives, period. obviously having a diverse amount of locations and backdrops helps. but overall, you can film anywhere today and turn it into somewhere else if you really want to. at the end of the day, Dick Wolf shows are as generic as they come. theyre surface level cop/firefighter/ER dramas. if the film office wasnt offering incentives, i doubt they would have shot as many shows here regardless of the skyline. its not like the Wire which was dealing with social and political issues of Baltimore, and was written explicitly for that locale.

No, it's not simply about tax incentives. The tax incentives are sort of a prerequisite for seeing film production at all, but it's not like we're outgunning other states/locales with an aggressive incentive, in places where film production is REALLY being driven by incentives more than anything else (Louisiana, Michigan, Georgia – see Barbershop 3 filmed in Atlanta but set in Chicago).

What's driving film production in Chicago is a mixture of tax incentives, a pool of talented actors, the Cinespace ecosystem, the unique features of the cityscape, and a constant pool of young aspiring filmmakers from a number of local universities (including Columbia College, which has the most film majors of any school in the country).

Dick Wolf set his shows here because we're the largest metro that isn't jaded by media coverage. He got a built-in audience that wouldn't have cared in LA or NY.

[sukwoo]

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/2...s&utm_campaign=ccb-breakingnews-20161006

Mars Wrigley Bringing Candy HQ to Chicago

Corporate Chicago is about to get a little sweeter.

Mars Wrigley, the firm which bought Chicago's hallowed Wrigley chewing gum in 2008, has decided to locate its global confectionery in Chicago, the company is announcing today.

[Randomguy34]

^ I like reading this quote from the article

The new unit will be based on Goose Island, where Wrigley now has its global innovation center.

The company says it is not receiving any incentives from the city for the move.

The company is confirming that, as part of all of this, Warren Buffett's minority share in Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. is being acquired.

City Hall was quick to welcome the news. Said Mayor Rahm Emanuel in a statement, “Mars Wrigley Confectionery could not have chosen a better city to establish their global hub.”

[the urban politician]

What the hell else does Mars sell but candy?

If the global confectionary HQ is in Chicago, then what the hell is going on at the corporate headquarters? Might as well move those people to Chicago as well

[sukwoo]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

What the hell else does Mars sell but candy?

If the global confectionary HQ is in Chicago, then what the hell is going on at the corporate headquarters? Might as well move those people to Chicago as well

They make a bunch of pet food products as well as Combos and Uncle Ben's rice.

[HowardL]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

What the hell else does Mars sell but candy?

If the global confectionary HQ is in Chicago, then what the hell is going on at the corporate headquarters? Might as well move those people to Chicago as well

Wrigley, I believe was the gum and such. Mars was the chocolate treats and such.

The new unit will be based on Goose Island, where Wrigley now has its global innovation center.

To me this is important. While the global HQ remains in suburban DC bla-bla somewhere indistinguishable from any other North American auto sewer, this HQ is at the tip of Goose Island which will continue to develop as an innovation center, melding into River North and Lincoln Park and over the river into River West and on into Fulton Market.

Baby steps for a big future. Keep this seemingly back page news shit coming.

[Justin_Chicago]

I read that Kellogg's Snack Foods President purchased a property in Wilmette. Maybe they will move their Executive HQ to Chicago like the other Food processing companies. Battle Creek, Michigan is not that far away so it could be a weekend getaway.

Update - The individual was the former CMO of Kraft. Probably nothing.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Justin_Chicago

I read that Kellogg's Snack Foods President purchased a property in Wilmette. Maybe they will move their Executive HQ to Chicago like the other Food processing companies. Battle Creek, Michigan is not that far away so it could be a weekend getaway.

Update - The individual was the former CMO of Kraft. Probably nothing.

Being from Battle Creek, that city would fight tooth and nail not to lose Kellogg's

[Justin_Chicago]

ActiveCampaign raises $20 million after 13 years of bootstrapping

ActiveCampaign, a marketing and customer management software provider based in Chicago, has raised $20 million — its first outside funding since it was founded 13 years ago, the company said Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of businesses use ActiveCampaign, and the company's revenue is more than $10 million annually, said founder and CEO Jason VandeBoom.

The company employs more than 75, up from 14 in 2015. VandeBoom said he hopes to hit 100 employees by year-end and double the company's headcount within nine months.

ActiveCampaign is a software-as-a-service company that offers tools for email marketing, customizable automated marketing campaigns and customer retention. The pricing depends on how many features and contacts a customer has.

Article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/or...-million-funding-bsi-20161011-story.html

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Justin_Chicago

ActiveCampaign raises $20 million after 13 years of bootstrapping

ActiveCampaign, a marketing and customer management software provider based in Chicago, has raised $20 million — its first outside funding since it was founded 13 years ago, the company said Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of businesses use ActiveCampaign, and the company's revenue is more than $10 million annually, said founder and CEO Jason VandeBoom.

The company employs more than 75, up from 14 in 2015. VandeBoom said he hopes to hit 100 employees by year-end and double the company's headcount within nine months.

ActiveCampaign is a software-as-a-service company that offers tools for email marketing, customizable automated marketing campaigns and customer retention. The pricing depends on how many features and contacts a customer has.

Article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/or...-million-funding-bsi-20161011-story.html

Just another company that has quietly increased its headcount over 5X since sometime last year and will double even that....

[Justin_Chicago]

FourKites gets $13 million in additional funding

Logistics-software maker FourKites just tracked down $13 million in fresh capital.

FourKites was launched three years ago by Mathew Elenjickal, who was getting his MBA at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. The company's software is on electronic devices inside trucks that companies now are required to install to monitor how much time drivers are behind the wheel. FourKites' software allows companies to track shipments from the warehouse to their final destinations.

The company has grown to 40 people, from a dozen a year ago. Elenjickal plans to hire another 100 workers in the next year, especially in support and operations, to handle an influx of customers. Elenjickal recently hired a new chief operating officer, Stephanie Kolaczynski, from San Francisco-based Zenefits.

Chicago is a hotbed of logistics companies, such as CH Robinson, Echo Global Logistics and Coyote Logistics, as well as related tech companies, such as Project44.

Article: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/2...p-fourkites-gets-13-million-funding-from

[the urban politician]

Wow, great stuff