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Articles by Sandler Training-Chicago
As search engines grow up, this startup helps companies adapt to new expectations
Google’s search engine, launched nearly 20 years ago, completely changed how consumers discover information. By using links to a website as a proxy for its importance, the scrappy upstart proved significantly more adept at unearthing relevant information than its competitors, who subsequently fell out of relevance.
From fireteam to founder: The Victor app makes life after the military easier for vets
For all the cutting-edge technology the U.S. military employs to fight wars, the process of transitioning from active duty back into the civilian world is decidedly low-tech. The startup community hasn’t been much help either, although that tide is starting to turn. Former Marine and Victor app founder Greg Jumes is part of that change. Victor connects active duty service members and veterans with local military-friendly businesses and support programs.
Wanna give back? These companies give employees time off to volunteer
Giving back to the local community is something we’d all like to do more of, but finding the time to do so alongside a full-time job and responsibilities outside of work can be a hassle. Thankfully, some employers recognize that challenge, offering their teams the opportunity to volunteer during working hours. If that’s a priority for you, here are some companies you might want to check out.
ActiveCampaign opens new office to double its headcount (again)
Chicago marketing technology provider ActiveCampaign just moved offices to make room for 150 additional hires. The new offices, which officially opened on Monday, span 50,000 square feet and is located in the One North Dearborn building, which used to house the Sears flagship store. The space is equally divided between an open office and dedicated meeting and gathering spaces.
5 Chicago tech events worth getting excited about this week
Every week we highlight five Chicago tech events guaranteed to make your work week a bit better. This week’s events include an event for “doers” hosted by freelancer startup Fiverr and a Built In Brews hosted by Trunk Club. If you’re looking for more to do, be sure to check out our full events calendar. “Vault Unlocked” is a new discussion event series from mobile development studio Vault Innovation.
This on-demand startup is taking the first crack at a $32B market
If you want to order organic quinoa and meat from a free-range farm where animals are allowed to die of old age, there is a handful of apps you can use. But if you want to order smoked goat meat or Ghana yams, you’re probably out of luck. Recognizing that Chicago’s immigrant communities were underserved by existing grocery delivery platforms, Boyede Sobitan and Fola Dada decided to build a solution. “OjaExpress is an on-demand ethnic grocery delivery platform.
Too many dinner options? This app helps you narrow the field
Have you ever found yourself looking for a cool new restaurant, only to become trapped in an hourlong spiral of indecision that ultimately leads to eating frozen pizza at home? But if you have friends who struggle with indecision, they might want to check out Sugr — a Chicago startup that uses machine learning to recommend new restaurants, bars and events. Founder and CEO Ruben Flores Martinez said Sugr was born out of his own struggles to break out of his bubble.
Find your dream job: These 6 companies are hiring this month
If one of your summer goals was to find a new job in the tech industry, you’re in luck. These six Chicago tech companies are all hiring now for multiple positions — so stop sunbathing and start applying. What they do: Yello’s software helps multinational enterprise companies streamline their recruiting and hiring efforts. Its tech puts a special focus on the human aspect of hiring, something that’s easily lost as companies grow and begin hiring en masse.
Tech roundup: Tullman to leave 1871, Grubhub and Groupon join forces and more
On Wednesday the Chicago Sun Times broke the news that 1871 CEO Howard Tullman was stepping down after four years. The paper learned of Tullman’s departure via a memo sent by James J. O’Connor, the board chair of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, the organization that founded 1871. Tullman told Crain’s that it was the right time for him to step down. “I'm a builder. I enjoy (1871), but there are a lot of other things I enjoy, as well,” Tullman said.
Why Outcome Health is building its new sales team like a startup
For Outcome Health, the path from scrappy startup to a multi-billion-dollar company involved a lot of hard-earned deals. Its early sales team grew the business by contacting one doctor’s office at a time, eventually getting its technology into 20 percent of the country’s physician practices. After closing its $500 million Series A earlier this year, Outcome Health aims to expand that number to 70 percent over the next three years.
Do androids dream of AI-designed hotels?
In the not-too-distant future, you may find yourself staying in a hotel designed by a computer. As it turns out, crunching numbers is as important to hotel design as getting the “feel” of the lobby just right. But experimenting with layout tweaks and checking how they’ll impact the bottom line is exactly as tedious as it sounds. So Parafin, a new Chicago startup that just joined the Elmspring real estate accelerator program, wants to automate the process altogether.
These 5 startups helped Chicago tech pull down $58M in new funds this month
Chicago’s tech companies have been fundraising like crazy this summer. May saw an incredible $558 million in fresh investor funds come through, and July wasn’t too shabby either with $125 million in new capital. Things cooled off a bit in July with just $58.1 million raised. July was less about big fundraising rounds and more about smaller companies getting seed funding. A handful of startups raised seed rounds just north of $1 million, including Shawn Carpenter’s new venture, RepIQ.
Kin raises $4M to bring homeowners insurance to the digital age
Kin Insurance, a Chicago-based startup making it easier to get homeowners insurance, officially launched today and announced a $4 million seed round. Kin’s round was backed by a handful of VC firms and angel investors. Commerce Ventures, Omidyar Network, 500 Startups and Chicago Ventures all participated, as did angel investors from companies including Avant, Square, Capital One, LinkedIn and Facebook. “Insurance is a huge part of the economy that hasn’t seen much tech innovation.
HealthJoy wants you to talk to an A.I. chatbot when you wake up sick at 2 a.m.
For many people, the most difficult aspect of the United States healthcare system is all of it. After that, one of the biggest struggles is navigating and understanding all that an insurance plan offers. In addition to being frustrating, this groping in the dark can be costly. HealthJoy, a Chicago-based startup, believes the answer to this problem is a chatbot. More specifically, it’s an A.I.-powered chatbot named Joy. “We found over the years that people really don’t understand what they need.
5 Chicago tech events that'll make you glad it's only Monday
Each week we highlight five tech events that should be on your radar. This week’s list includes an inspirational keynote from “Survivor: Africa” winner Ethan Zohn at 1871 and a panel on the skills needed to start a career in the digital world. If you’re looking for more things to do please be sure to check out our full events calendar.
SkinIO's plan to combat skin cancer? A mobile app
Seen by many as the key to self-driving cars, computer vision is one of the tech industry’s fastest-developing fields. But can those advances also help with the detection and treatment of skin cancer? The founders of SkinIO, a Chicago-based healthtech startup, certainly think so. “For all skin cancers, if you catch it early enough, you will have a cure rate of 99 percent or higher,” said co-founder Dr. Jean Christophe Lapiere.
Take more leaps: Women in tech share their top career tips
The tech industry has gained a reputation for a male-dominated culture, which is often particularly pronounced in technology and engineering departments. For women who are building their careers within the field, that can present challenges their male colleagues aren’t faced with. For this two-part article series, we asked technologists at eight Chicago companies what advice they would offer other women who are starting their career journeys.
Tech roundup: Outcome Health names new COO, PhysIQ raises $8M and more
Outcome Health names one of its own COO On Tuesday, Outcome Health named Vivek Kundra COO. Kundra joined the company back in January as executive vice president of provider solutions. Before that, he was an EVP at Salesforce and served as the first CIO of the United States under President Obama. As COO, Kundra will lead Outcome Health’s revenue, product and operations efforts, in addition to continuing his work in provider solutions.
Day 1, Week 1, Month 1: Here's what it's like for newbies at 6 Chicago tech companies
For many Chicago companies, onboarding is an opportunity to show new employees what truly makes their culture, people and work unique. To learn more about the value of an awesome onboarding process, we talked to recently hired employees at six Chicago tech companies about their first day, week and month at work. BenchPrep’s enterprise e-learning software leverages data-based personalization and gamification to make learning faster and more efficient.
Why Enova’s tech recruiters look beyond the languages on your resume
An early adopter of the Ruby on Rails framework, Enova is one of the city’s biggest Rails shops. But for developers looking to get a job with the online lender, prior Ruby experience is by no means a prerequisite. Enova hires for aptitude and personality, rather than resume bullet points. To support that effort, the company has developed a thorough introductory program that teaches new hires the ropes.
Summertime startups: 4 tech companies coming to Chicago this summer
It can be tough to stay on top of all the new startups expanding to Chicago this summer because, well, it’s summer. After all, it’s more fun to be at the lake or park than to be an early adopter. That being said, there are a few tech companies launching services this summer that should be on your radar. Rinse is a San Francisco-based laundry and dry cleaning startup that announced its expansion to Chicago after closing a $14 million Series B round.
Shawn Carpenter's RepIQ announces funding, official launch
If you wonder what Chicago serial entrepreneur Shawn Carpenter’s been working on for the past year, now’s your chance to finally take a peek. His new startup, RepIQ, announced on Tuesday that the full version of its sales intelligence platform is officially open to the public. “We signed up a couple of thousand users since we opened our private beta in January, and now we’re finally in a place to release it,” said Carpenter.
PhysIQ raises $8M for AI-powered health monitoring platform
PhysIQ, a Chicago company that makes technology for monitoring at-risk patients, announced on Tuesday that it has raised an $8 million Series B round of funding. PhysIQ will use the funding to launch a new product, VitaLink, that combines IoT and artificial intelligence technologies to let caregivers continuously monitor patients at home.
5 Chicago tech events you need to make time for this week
Each week we find five Chicago tech events that should be on your calendar. This week’s list features a fireside chat with BenchPrep’s CEO, a panel on how to effectively scale businesses and a developer meetup over dinner and drinks. If you’re looking for more things to do, be sure to visit our full events calendar. To Be or Not To Be... Authentic, July 25 at 6:30 p.m. The tech industry talks a lot about authenticity, but what does that mean in practice?
This startup uses data to drive employee engagement
A banking veteran who worked through one of the industry’s most tumultuous times in history, Deepa Kartha learned a thing or two about the forces driving employee morale. “When a company is in a state of change, it’s important make sure that people feel that they can drive some of those changes rather than just be affected by them,” she said. Kartha is the founder and CEO of Zinda — a Chicago startup whose software helps companies drive employee engagement.
This startup brings Netflix-style recommendations to travel
Exploring a new city is one of the most enjoyable parts of going on vacation. But when you live in a city the size of Chicago, there’s plenty to explore during stay-at-home weekends, too. Chances are you turn to the internet for recommendations when you’re looking to discover exciting new places. But most of the tools out there build on the premise that establishments and attractions can be neatly fit into categories and ranked in accordance with the wisdom of the crowd.
How ActiveCampaign turned its back on revenue - and still saw massive growth
Four years ago, Jason VandeBoom had a difficult decision to make. His marketing technology company, ActiveCampaign, had been growing steadily and profitably for the past decade selling perpetual software licenses, but the industry was rapidly pivoting toward subscription-based services. VandeBoom knew that transitioning to SaaS was the right move for his business in the long term, but he also knew that the pivot would mean turning his back on steady revenue.
Your new career is here: 8 Chicago tech companies hiring this month
If you’re looking for an opportunity to can kick your career into overdrive, you’ve come to the right place. These Chicago tech companies are hiring in a big way, and they’d love to have a look at your resume. What they do: Groupon’s on-demand marketplace connects consumers with local merchants offering deals on products and experiences. To do so efficiently, the company’s engineers stay on the cutting edge of mobile technologies, data science and machine learning.
Tech roundup: Outcome Health's historic funding round, Cars.com goes public and more
Bootstrapped since 2006, Outcome Health just became one of the best-funded companies in our tech ecosystem’s history. The company, which helps patients get better by providing actionable health information at the point of care, announced on Wednesday that it has raised its first round of funding ever at a valuation of more than $5 billion pre-money.
With $558M raised, Chicago tech just had one of its best months ever
Thanks in large part to the announcement of Outcome Health's $500 million round, May clocked in as one of Chicago tech's biggest funding months ever. A whopping nine companies raised more than $1 million each, bringing in a total of $558 million. That figure does not include Vivid Seats’ new investment from private equity firm GTCR, the details of which were not disclosed when the startup announced the partnership in the middle of May.
5 Chicago tech events you don't want to miss this week
Every week, we bring you the best events in Chicago tech. Read on for details, and check out our events calendar for more events. Build a Band of Misfits: The Art of Creating Powerful Innovation Teams, May 30 at 5 p.m. What does it take to build a team of innovators?
Tech roundup: Big fundings, university pitch competitions and more
On Wednesday, B2B software review platform G2 Crowd announced that it has raised a $30 million Series B round of funding led by Accel. The funding will be used to scale the company across all departments and expand its reach in the industry. The company’s newest lead investor is headquartered in Silicon Valley and counts companies like Facebook, Dropbox, Slack and Atlassian among its portfolio companies. Pritzker Group Venture Capital and LinkedIn also participated in the round.
With $30M Series B, G2 Crowd will boost headcount from 100 to 350
Upon signing the term sheet for its most recent round of funding, G2 Crowd joined one of the tech industry’s most star-studded investment portfolios. On Wednesday, the Chicago-based B2B software review platform announced that it has raised a $30 million Series B round of funding led by Accel. The funding will be used to scale the company across all departments and expand its reach in the industry.
Halo Investing uses tech to take on the biggest investing market you've probably never heard of
The highest-ranked newcomer in a recent Deloitte report on global fintech hubs, Chicago counts the strength of its financial sector among its biggest advantages. For Halo Investing co-founder Jason Barsema, whose startup seeks to make more complex financial products available to everyday investors, the ecosystem’s blend of financial and technological expertise made it a no-brainer as a home for his fledgling fintech company.
Meet the 11 finalists in the University of Chicago's 21st New Venture Challenge
In the 21 years since its first iteration, the University of Chicago’s New Venture Challenge has been a launching point for some of Chicago’s biggest tech pillars including Grubhub, Base and Braintree. Graduates from the program have landed more than $4 billion in mergers and exits, and landed more than $575 million in funding, according to the university.
Corazon's newest portfolio company stops online fraud before it happens
Rolled out in the U.S. following the 2013 Target credit card hack, chip credit cards make it harder for criminals to use stolen credit card information in brick-and-mortar establishments. But instead of going away altogether, much of the country’s fraudulent credit card usage simply transitioned online, where fraudsters only need to know the numbers on the card and a few pieces of information about its owner.
7 Chicago developers explain why side projects make a big difference
For developers, side projects are an opportunity to experiment with something new and hopefully learn a thing or two in the process. And even though those experiments aren’t always born out of a business need, the products and experiences born out of them tend to make themselves useful sooner or later. To learn more about why that is, we asked seven Chicago developers to explain how their side projects make a difference in their day-to-day work.
UPshow brings the jumbotron effect to your friendly neighborhood bar
Timing is everything. Sometimes, brilliant startup ideas flop because the market isn’t ready, or because of new products that render their technologies obsolete. Other times, technological developments can take an idea to the next level by making it scalable. For UPshow, the release of the $39 Amazon Fire TV Stick was a game changer of the latter sort.
Don't miss out: 5 Chicago tech events to spice up your week
Every week, we bring you the best events in Chicago tech. This week’s events include an open house at Solstice’s headquarters and a celebration of women in innovation. Also, don’t miss the STAR Annual Symposium, Guaranteed Rate's hiring event or our very own Built In Brews. Read on for details, and check out our events calendar for more events. If you're interested in joining Guaranteed Rate's sales team, you might want to check out the hiring event the company is putting on this Monday afternoon.
How a dilapidated school building inspired this Bunker Labs startup
Neighborhood fundraisers are a time-tested method for funneling additional resources to schools for new projects and equipment. But raising money can be a lot harder for schools in underprivileged areas. HowDoWe, a startup working out of 1871, has built a crowdfunding platform that lets those schools tap into a bigger pool of resources.
Better than a bonus: 6 tips for creating an options plan that motivates employees to think like an owner
If cash is king, a well-designed stock options plan can truly steal the throne. That’s because it does more for your company than a cash bonus ever could, changing the way your employees think about your business — and their role within it. “A cash bonus is worth what you get that day,” said Sean Condon, wealth advisor at Windgate Wealth Management. “An option is worth what you build the company into with your colleagues. Employees thrive when the business thrives.
A brief history of the Moxie Awards
That’s how Grubhub CEO Matt Maloney put it in 2012 after picking up an award for CEO of the Year at the very first Moxie Awards. “When Mike [Evans] and I started Grubhub back in 2004, this community didn’t exist. The community, though it was nascent when we started, has grown and amplified over the years and it’s been really exciting to watch it grow,” he said at the time. Fast forward a few years, and the community Maloney was so energized by has evolved into something even more powerful.
Hey, product pros: These 5 Chicago tech companies are hiring
Good product managers can be hard to come by. In addition to the technical know-how required to translate a vision into specifications, the product manager needs the communication skills to facilitate dialogue between technologists, clients and business departments. But for those who've got what it takes, there's no shortage of opportunities out there.
Why hackathons make a difference at these Chicago companies
Technology moves fast — sometimes too fast. With many Chicago startups focused on iterating and improving their products, they often need some structured time to step away and think of other problems they can be solve. We talked to three Chicago companies about how their hackathons work and what has come out of them. NowSecure is a mobile app security technology company that focuses on the needs of enterprises with mobile workforces.
COOs to know: How behind-the-scenes operators keep Chicago tech running smoothly
Behind the world's most successful CEOs are behind-the-scenes operators who constantly work to keep their companies headed in the right direction. But what does that work actually entail? We spoke with the heads of operations at three of Chicago's most exciting tech companies to find out. Nick Beil was an investor in Narrative Science before he came on board as its chief operating officer in 2011.
DRIVIN acquired for $43M
DRIVIN, a Chicago-based startup that helps automotive dealers buy and sell used cars, is being acquired by KAR Auction Services. KAR, which provides a broad range of technology solutions for the used car industry, said the acquisition will help it meet increasing demand for data-driven technologies. "Translating the power of data into actionable insights is a strategic imperative for KAR. It's what our customers need and expect," said Jim Hallett, chairman and CEO of KAR in a statement.
To Enova's COO, fostering productivity starts with caring about people
A former consultant and a Harvard MBA graduate, Enova chief operating officer Greg Zeeman spent 15 years in a number of banking industry departments, including sales, operations and general management. In Zeeman’s view, this cross-department experience provides a solid foundation for his current job, which is to constantly look for ways to streamline Enova’s operations. That can mean anything from ensuring compatibility between different tech systems to ensuring his team is happy and motivated.
MortgageHippo secures $2.25M to bring more mortgages online
The company will use the funding to expand its salesforce and software development team. MortgageHippo’s flagship product, Swift, is a white-label solution for lenders looking to offer mortgages online. Founded as a consumer-facing business in 2013, the company shifted its focus to white-label software in early 2016.
CraftJack's VP of operations talks the biggest challenges of scaling a startup
An architect by training, CraftJack VP of operations Noah Mishkin discovered early on that the entrepreneurial aspects of architecture held more appeal for him than building design did. But upon making the transition to the startup world, Mishkin found that many of the skills he honed in architecture school applied just as well to the day-to-day of running a startup.
Narrative Science's secret weapon? Promoting from within
Nick Beil was an investor in Narrative Science before he came on board as its chief operating officer. The former CEO of Performics, Beil led the company's sale to Publicis Groupe, where he worked on digital strategy as president of VivaKi before joining Narrative Science in 2011. To Beil, one of the keys to getting Narrative Science's culture right has been its efforts to promote from within. What does a typical week look like for you?
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