# HPA

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Top Early-Stage Investor in Midwest

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## Posts

- [News](https://hpa.vc/news/)
- [HPA Backs AI-Native Production Intelligence Platform Revolutionizing Continuous-Flow Manufacturing](https://hpa.vc/hpa-invests-in-shelfmark/): HPA invests in Shelfmark’s $3.5 million seed round. Shelfmark is an AI-native production intelligence platform for continuous-flow manufacturing. The round was led by Armory Square Ventures, with participation from HPA, Grand Ventures, Argon Ventures, and Cultivation Capital. This financing brings Shelfmark’s total capital raised to approximately $5 million. Shelfmark is bringing greater autonomy to one
- [HPA Announces Acquisition of Portfolio Company Moonnox by Certinia](https://hpa.vc/moonnox-certinia/): We are excited to share that HPA portfolio company Moonnox, an AI-native automation platform purpose-built for the professional services sector, was successfully acquired by Certinia, the leading global provider of AI-powered Professional Services Automation (PSA) and is backed by private equity firm Haveli Investments. Certinia provides Moonnox the platform and distribution to scale what the
- [HPA Backs AI-Native Cardiovascular Platform Revolutionizing Heart Care Delivery](https://hpa.vc/hpa-invests-in-karoohealth/): HPA is pleased to announce its participation in the oversubscribed $16.2 million Series A financing round for Karoo Health, the cardiovascular technology company building the operating system for cardiac care. The round was co-led by 7wire Ventures and Allumia Ventures, with additional participation from HPA, First Trust Capital Partners, and SpringRock Ventures. As part of
- [Empirical Security Raises $25M Series A for Next Generation Vulnerability Management](https://hpa.vc/hpa-invests-in-empirical-series-a/): HPA is excited to announce its follow-on investment in Empirical Security's $25 million Series led by Brightmind Partners with participation from previous investors HPA, Costanoa Ventures and others. The round brings Empirical's total funding to $37 million. HPA first backed Empirical in its $12 million Seed round in July 2025, and we're proud to continue
- [HPA Portfolio Company Handspring Health Raises $19M Series B to Expand High-Quality Mental Health Care for Children and Families](https://hpa.vc/handspring-b/): HPA is excited to share that Handspring Health, an HPA portfolio company, has announced $19 million in Series B financing led by RPS Ventures, with participation from new investor Angelini Ventures and continued backing from returning investors HPA, Cobalt Ventures, NextView Ventures, nvp capital, Cornucopian Capital, and others. This financing brings Handspring's total capital raised
- [Join the HPA Team: We're Hiring a Venture Operations Manager!](https://hpa.vc/join-the-hpa-team-were-hiring-a-ventureopsmanager/): About HPA HPA is a leading early stage investor. Our People First model leverages world-class operating expertise, a powerful business network, and venture capital to fuel startup success. As a result, our founders transform their businesses into industry leaders, our investors generate best in class returns, and our community experiences job creation and economic growth.
- [HPA Invests in Digit's AI Operating System for Manufacturers and Distributors](https://hpa.vc/digit-follow-on/): HPA is excited to announce its follow-on investment in Digit’s $3M Seed Round, bringing total funding to $6.3M. This round was led by Tech Square Ventures, with participation from Barrel Ventures and Service Provider Capital, and continued support from Assembly Ventures and Grand Ventures. HPA previously co-led the company’s pre-seed round that was announced in
- [Chowbus Raises $81M to Scale its AI-powered Restaurant Platform](https://hpa.vc/chowbus-round/): HPA is pleased to share that Chowbus, an HPA portfolio company, has announced an $81M financing round led by Prysm Capital and Left Lane Capital, with participation from Dutchess, Fika, and Avid Bank. HPA has supported Chowbus since its Series Seed investment in 2019, and we are excited to see the company reach this important
- [Digit Raises $2.5M](https://hpa.vc/digit-seed-2/): HPA is excited to announce its co-lead investment in Digit’s $2.5 million Seed Round alongside Assembly Ventures, with participation from Grand Ventures. This investment leverages HPA's operating expertise in the manufacturing sector to support Digit’s vision of delivering a next-generation enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform specifically designed for small and mid-sized manufacturers. Digit’s cutting-edge ERP platform integrates essential operational tools—such as
- [HPA Backs AI-Native DFIR Platform Revolutionizing Catastrophic Breach Recovery](https://hpa.vc/cydelphi/): HPA is pleased to announce its participation in the $3 million seed funding round for Cydelphi, the pioneering AI-native Digital Forensics & Incident Response (DFIR) platform company. The round was led by Glasswing Ventures, with additional participation from Blu Ventures and Merlin Ventures. Cydelphi is addressing a critical and rapidly expanding pain point in enterprise
- [Simple Mills Earns IVCA Company of the Year Honor](https://hpa.vc/simplemills-ivca/): HPA is proud to announce that Simple Mills, an HPA portfolio company and leading clean-label food brand, has been named the 2025 Venture Capital Portfolio Company of the Year by the Illinois Venture Capital Association (IVCA). This honor recognizes Simple Mills’ exceptional growth, purpose-driven leadership, and transformative impact on both the food industry and Chicago’s innovation
- [Better Trucks Receives Strategic Investment from Uber Freight to Accelerate Last-Mile Expansion](https://hpa.vc/bettertrucksuber/): HPA is excited to celebrate a major milestone for our portfolio company Better Trucks, which has received a strategic investment from Uber Freight alongside an expanded commercial partnership. This collaboration strengthens Uber Freight’s end-to-end logistics capabilities while accelerating Better Trucks’ growth as a next-generation last-mile carrier. Traditional parcel networks continue to face mounting pressure as
- [HPA Invests in Iris Finance's $6.2M Series Seed, a CFO Platform for CPG](https://hpa.vc/irisfinance/): HPA is excited to announce its participation in Iris Finance $6.2 million Seed round co-led by Glasswing Ventures and Founder Collective, with participation from Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Barrel Ventures, Rosecliff, and others. Physical product businesses face mounting financial pressure, with cash flow mismanagement contributing to most small business failures and many
- [HPA Invests in Empirical Security’s $12M Seed Round to Stop Attacks with Custom Cybersecurity AI Models](https://hpa.vc/hpa-invests-in-empirical/): HPA is excited to announce its investment in Empirical Security’s $12 million Seed Round alongside Costanoa. The round also saw participation from DNX Ventures, Sixty Degree Capital, and strategic investors Jonathan Cran, founder of Intrigue (acquired by Google/Mandiant), Wade Baker, creator of the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report and founder of The Cyentia Institute, and
- [Moonnox Raises $2M](https://hpa.vc/moonnox-seed/): HPA is excited to announce its investment in Moonnox’s $2 million Seed Round alongside M25, with participation from Early Light Ventures and Service Provider Capital. This investment leverages HPA's operating expertise in AI to support Moonnox. Moonnox is an AI-native platform designed for professional services firms to streamline their delivery processes by enabling the creation
- [HPA Invests in Handspring's $12M Series A, Expanding High Quality Mental Health Care for Kids](https://hpa.vc/hpa-invests-in-handsprings-12m-series-a-expanding-high-quality-mental-health-care-for-kids/): HPA is excited to announce its participation in Handspring’s $12 million Series A led by Cobalt Ventures with support from NextView Ventures, NVP Capital, 25Madison, Arkitekt Ventures, Cornucopian Capital, two regional health plans, and others. This investment joins other HPA portfolio companies NOCD and Array Behavioral Health that are focused on increasing access to high quality behavioral
- [HPA Announces Acquisition of Portfolio Company AmpliFund by Euna Solutions](https://hpa.vc/amplifund/): We are excited to share that HPA portfolio company AmpliFund, a leading grant management platform provider, was successfully acquired by Euna Solutions, a provider of best-in-class SaaS solutions purpose-built for the public sector. AmpliFund's purpose-built grant management platform is designed for state, local, and tribal governments to manage every phase of the grant management process.
- [HPA Announces Acquisition of Portfolio Company Simple Mills by Flowers Foods, Inc.](https://hpa.vc/simplemills/): Chicago, IL - January 8, 2025 - Hyde Park Angels (HPA), a premier early-stage venture capital group specializing in investing through its unique People First model, is pleased to announce that its portfolio company, Simple Mills, has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO) for $795 million in
- [Zengines Announces $9M Series Seed Preferred Funding and Major Software Release](https://hpa.vc/zengines-seed-software-release/): HPA is pleased to share that Zengines, an innovative AI-powered data management company, has announced closing their oversubscribed $9M Series Seed round and a major software release. HPA invested in the round, which was led by Hyde Park Venture Partners. The new capital will be used to accelerate product development and fuel market growth. Zengines
- [Paccurate Raises $8.1 Million Series A Round](https://hpa.vc/paccurate-raises-8-1-million-series-a-round/): HPA is excited to announce our investment in Paccurate’s $8.1M Series A Round, which was led by High Alpha, and includes co-investors Grand Ventures, Springtime Ventures, Las Olas Venture Capital, Tech Square Ventures, and Royal Street Ventures. Paccurate is a parcel intelligence platform specializing in packing optimization. Paccurate’s platform helps shippers identify their ideal carton suite and enables them
- [Packback Announces Strategic Investment from PSG Equity](https://hpa.vc/packback-announces-strategic-investment-from-psg-equity/): We are thrilled to share that Packback, an AI-driven writing and discussion platform within the HPA Portfolio, has received a strategic majority investment by PSG Equity, a prominent growth equity firm. Packback's proprietary AI technology provides inquiry-based online discussion and long-form writing support. The company’s mission is to harness the power of AI to help
- [Fuel Me Raises $18 Million Series A Round](https://hpa.vc/fuelme-raises-18-million-series-a-round/): HPA is excited to announce our investment in Fuel Me’s $18M Series A Round, which was co-led by Pritzker Group Venture Capital and Tribeca Venture Partners and includes co-investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Interplay Venture Capital, and FJ Labs. Fuel Me is a first-of-its-kind platform that revolutionizes fuel procurement and management. Focusing on mission-critical energy needs across
- [HPA Announces Key Leadership Promotions in Investment Team](https://hpa.vc/teampromotions/): CHICAGO, Illinois - March 13, 2024: Hyde Park Angels (HPA) is excited to announce the promotion of four outstanding investment professionals. Bess Goodfellow, Stephen Ross, and Michael Sachaj have been promoted to Partners, while Michelle Rogoff has advanced to an Associate role. Collectively, Goodfellow, Ross, and Sachaj have been pivotal in shaping HPA's distinctive People
- [Alphathena Raises $4 Million Series Seed Round](https://hpa.vc/alphathena-raises-4-million-series-seed-round/): HPA is excited to announce our participation in Alphathena's $4M Series Seed Round, which was led by ETFS Capital. The investment will fund Alphathena's mission to empower advisors with accessible and customizable direct indexing solutions. Alphathena introduces a robust AI-driven direct indexing platform empowering RIAs to craft distinctive personalization strategies for their clients. The software streamlines the process of creating and
- [Racing Against Time: Why Scientists May Use AI ‘Research Assembly Lines’](https://hpa.vc/racing-against-time-ai/): Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly outpacing scientific research due to the latter's inherent limitations. Addressing this issue is crucial to seize significant opportunities. Failure to do so may result in the United States falling behind scientists from other countries. America's scientists and researchers must harness the power of AI. The technology's ability to collect and
- [Blumira Raises $15 Million Series B Round](https://hpa.vc/blumira-raises-15-million-series-b-round-2/): HPA is excited to announce our participation in Blumira’s $15M Series B Round, which was led by Ten Eleven Ventures, and joined by Mercury Fund, RPS Ventures, and Duo Security co-founder Jon Oberheide. Blumira has seen tremendous momentum over the past year with 100% year-over-year customer growth, including an 8x growth in the MSP channel,
- [Congrats John Higginson, CTO of Chief, a Freshly Minted Unicorn!](https://hpa.vc/john-higginson-cto-chief/): John Higginson is the CTO at Chief, the social network that recently raised a Series B and joined the unicorn club as a female-founded startup.
- [Bloomfilter Raises $7 Million Seed Round](https://hpa.vc/bloomfilter-raises-7-million-seed-round/): HPA is excited to announce our participation in Bloomfilter’s $7 Million seed round, which was led by Magarac Venture Partners. The funding included $5.5M of equity financing and $1.5 of venture debt.
- [Aqua Cultured Foods raises $5.5M to bring its seafood alternatives to market](https://hpa.vc/aqua-cultured-foods-raises-5-5m-to-bring-its-seafood-alternatives-to-market/): We’re excited to share that Aqua Cultured Foods, a food tech startup, is bringing its ultra-realistic seafood alternatives to market thanks to its $5.5M in Seed funding. HPA participated in the round, which was led by Stray Dog Capital, a VC fund specializing in alternative protein investments. The round included participation from H Venture Partners, Aztec Capital Management and Amplifica Capital,
- [Zengines raises $5M for AI-powered data conversion](https://hpa.vc/zengines-raises-5m-for-ai-powered-data-conversion/): We’re excited to announce that Zengines, the first AI-powered data conversion platform, raised $5M in funding. HPA participated in the round, which was led by Hyde Park Venture Partners. The funding will be used to expand product, engineering, and go-to-market capabilities. Zengines has created an entirely new way of converting data. When organizations migrate data
- [HPA Member Hardik Bhatt Appointed as CEO at SDI Presence](https://hpa.vc/hpa-member-hardik-bhatt-newly-appointed-as-ceo-at-sdi-presence/): Congrats to HPA Member Hardik Bhatt for being appointed as CEO at SDI Presence! Hardik joined SDI in June 2021 as the firm’s President and Chief Growth Officer.
- [Elate raises $4.9M in Series A funding to strengthen its rapidly growing strategic planning platform](https://hpa.vc/elate-raises-4-9m-in-series-a-funding-to-strengthen-its-rapidly-growing-strategic-planning-platform/): We’re excited to announce that Elate, a cloud-based strategic planning software, raised $4.9M in funding. HPA participated in the Series A round, which was led by WestWave Capital. Additional new investors included The Pritzker Group and Capital Midwest Fund, with support from previous investors Elevate Ventures, Serra Ventures, M25, and the Flywheel Fund. Elate’s all-in-one platform helps businesses
- [NanoGraf raises $65M Series B to scale production of silicon anode products](https://hpa.vc/nanograf-raises-65m-series-b-to-scale-production-of-silicon-anode-products/): We’re excited to announce that NanoGraf, an advanced battery materials company and enabler of the world’s most energy-dense lithium-ion 18650 cell, raised $65 million in Series B funding. HPA participated in the Series B round, which was co-led by Volta Energy Technologies and CC Industries (CCI) with participation from GIC, Emerald Technology Ventures, Material Impact, Arosa Capital,
- [NOCD raises $34M to end the global OCD crisis](https://hpa.vc/nocd-raises-34-m-in-new-funding/): HPA is excited to announce that NOCD, the world’s leading provider of obsessive compulsive-disorder (OCD) treatment, raised $34M in new funding. The round was co-led by Cigna Ventures and 7wireVentures, with participation from new investor Longitude Capital and other existing investors. HPA first invested in NOCD’s $4M round in 2019 and in the $12M Series
- [Pimly Raises $5M to scale its product information management platform](https://hpa.vc/pimly-raises-5m-to-scale-its-product-information-management-platform/): We’re excited to announce that Pimly, a product relationship management tool designed to close the gap in modern e-commerce, has raised $5M in funding. HPA participated in the round, which was led by High Alpha. Pimly is the industry’s first fully Salesforce-native solution making Salesforce the source of truth for critical product information allowing employees,
- [How Discovery Partners Institute is Driving Tech Talent in Chicago](https://hpa.vc/how-discovery-partners-institute-is-driving-tech-talent-in-chicago/): Finding tech talent to fuel the growth that investors expect right now is a challenge. With distributed workforces, the Great Resignation, and layoffs in certain industries, the employee market continues to adapt. The Discovery Partners Institute is working to provide a solution. With a vision to be a magnet for the most ambitious talent Illinois
- [ShipBob co-founders featured in Crain's 40 Under 40 List](https://hpa.vc/shipbob-co-founders-featured-in-crains-40-under-40-list/): Congrats to Divey Gulati and Dhruv Saxena, the co-founders of ShipBob, for being listed in the 40 Under 40 Class of 2022 list from Crain's Chicago Business. Gulati and Saxena created ShipBob in 2014 as they saw a need for more efficient shipping for ecommerce businesses. After raising a $200M Series E round last year,
- [LandscapeHub Raises $9M Series A](https://hpa.vc/landscapehub-raises-9m-series-a/): LandscapeHub raises $9M in Series A funding to expand its national footprint.
- [What Drives The University Of Michigan’s Entrepreneurial Success](https://hpa.vc/what-drives-the-university-of-michigans-entrepreneurial-success/): In preparation of speaking at the Michigan Tech Week (MTW) on October 12 and 13, I discovered so many connections to the University of Michigan (U-M) that I decided to dig into what powers U-M’s entrepreneurial success. Seemingly everyone knows that the University of Michigan (U-M) is the world’s leading public research institution. What’s not as widely known is
- [The Midwest’s Best Enterprise Software Companies](https://hpa.vc/the-midwests-best-enterprise-software-companies/): I’ve previously written about Chicago’s rise as one of the top innovation hubs in the country. There is no doubt that Chicago’s success helps shine the spotlight on the strength of the Midwest, but innovation is not confined to the Windy City. It is emerging everywhere in the Midwest, so I wanted to zoom out a
- [Why Chicago Is Home To The Future Of Logistics Tech](https://hpa.vc/why-chicago-is-home-to-the-future-of-logistics-tech/): Uniquely positioned as the nation’s crossroads for moving freight via air, rail, and truck, the Windy City has long been a global leader in the Transportation, Distribution and Logistics (TD&L) industry, so it is no surprise to learn that Chicago has become a Logistics Tech leader. Chicago’s TD&L sector is one of the largest in
- [20 Top Innovators Building The Chicago Crypto And Web3 Ecosystem](https://hpa.vc/20-top-innovators-building-the-chicago-crypto-and-web3-ecosystem/): From NFTs to token sales and memes, there is no shortage of hype around crypto. Beneath this noise, though, Chicago has been hard at work creating a premier crypto and Web3 ecosystem driven by purposeful public and private leadership. Building on the momentum of being recognized as one of the country’s leading innovation hubs last year, Chicago
- [How tastytrade Helps Retail Investors Navigate Uncharted Markets](https://hpa.vc/how-tastytrade-helps-retail-investors-navigate-uncharted-markets/): The pool of self-directed investors has surged during the past few years. By some estimates, 20 million new retail investors have entered the market thanks to a combination of several factors —the rise of mobile trading apps and online communities, the gamification of investing, and COVID-19 lockdowns. Most of this new class of investors only
- [Why The University Of Illinois Is A Top College For Entrepreneurs](https://hpa.vc/why-the-university-of-illinois-is-a-top-college-for-entrepreneurs/): The University of Illinois has an incredible history of producing world-class startups and cutting-edge technologies. The university is also renowned for cultivating bright, purpose first entrepreneurs who are making a positive impact on the world. These innovators have founded companies that are among the most recognized brands around the globe. The university’s entrepreneurial ecosystem supports idea development
- [The Future Of Food Starts In Chicago](https://hpa.vc/the-future-of-food-starts-in-chicago/): Chicago is a leader in food and agriculture innovation. From high-profile startups to the established industry leaders, the city is uniquely poised for continued innovation within the food ecosystem as demonstrated by the Chicago Venture Summit Future-of-Food event last week. To provide some background, Chicago's food and beverage manufacturing industry is the nation's largest, generating
- [Tractor Zoom Raises $5M in New Round](https://hpa.vc/tractor-zoom-raises-5m-in-new-round/): We’re excited to announce that Tractor Zoom announced that it raised $5M in Series A funding. HPA participated in the round, which was co-led by Builders VC and Bienville Capital. Additional investors include Next Level Ventures and Wintrust Ventures, among other existing investors. Tractor Zoom’s platform helps all agriculture stakeholders – farmers, OEM's, equipment dealerships, and
- [HPA Member John Lewis Appointed as CEO at InMoment](https://hpa.vc/hpa-member-john-lewis-appointed-as-ceo-at-inmoment/): Congrats to HPA Member John Lewis for being appointed as CEO at InMoment! This role is in addition to the Chairman role he has been serving in over the past few years.
- [oak9 Raises $8M in New Round](https://hpa.vc/oak9-raises-8m-in-new-round/): We are excited to share that oak9, the leader in cloud native security, announced raising $8M in new funding. HPA participated in the round, which was led again by Menlo Ventures and included new investor partners Cisco Investments and Morgan Stanley’s Next Level Fund. We first invested in oak9’s $5.9M round in 2021, and we
- [FourKites secures strategic investment from FedEx](https://hpa.vc/fourkites-receives-investment-from-fedex/): We are excited to announce that FourKites, the global supply chain visibility platform, received a strategic investment from FedEx. The amount was not disclosed publicly. This alliance will provide both businesses with additional robust real-time visibility capabilities to help solve their most pervasive supply chain challenges, become more efficient, and unlock new growth opportunities.
- [oak9 Raises $5.9M in Series Seed Round](https://hpa.vc/oak9-raises-5-9m-in-series-seed-round/): Hyde Park Angels participated in oak9’s $5.9M Series Seed round, which was led by Menlo Ventures. Uncorrelated Ventures also participated in the round. The oak9 platform accelerates the delivery of cloud-native applications while providing comprehensive security. The infrastructure-as-code security platform seamlessly integrates into the DevOps pipeline, enabling developers to have security implemented through the development
- [HPA Welcomes New Analyst](https://hpa.vc/hpa-welcomes-new-analyst/): HPA is excited to announce our continued growth with a new addition to the team. The firm welcomes Michelle Rogoff as an Analyst.
- [Rheaply raises $20M in new funding](https://hpa.vc/rheaply-raises-20-m-in-new-funding/): We are excited to share that Rheaply, an award-winning resource management and asset exchange platform, today announced raising $20 million in funding. HPA participated in the round, which was led by Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund with participation from John Doerr and Coupa Software, in addition to other previous investors.
- [Sifter raises $5M in Series Seed Round](https://hpa.vc/sifter-raises-5m-in-series-seed-round/): We’re excited to share that Sifter, the industry-leading Nutrition as a Service™ platform, today announced raising $5M in funding. HPA participated in the Series Seed round, which was led by Valor Siren Ventures with additional participation from Wintrust Ventures. The new round of funding will help Sifter accelerate the growth of the Nutrition as a Service™(NaaS) platform and launch of Sifter Retailer Solutions.
- [Chicago:Blend Spotlight Series: Option Pool Strategy](https://hpa.vc/developing-a-more-equitable-tech-ecosystem-through-a-purposeful-option-pool-strategy/): Highly motivated employees are a critical driver to support founders in the growth of the business. So how do you incentivize talent at a startup? Teams are a critical component to business growth. When talented people are in the right roles with the proper incentives, startups are poised for success. Option pools help drive companies forward, which leads to better results for everyone involved.
- [S.I. Container Builds Raises $1.7M in Series Seed Round](https://hpa.vc/si-container-builds-raises-seed-round/): We’re excited to share that S.I. Container Builds, a startup that converts recycled shipping containers into living, rental, and working spaces, today announced raising $1.7M in funding. HPA led the Series Seed round, which will enable the company to facilitate production facility expansion, accelerate production, and grow its team.
- [Out of Office Raises $3.5M in Series Seed Round](https://hpa.vc/out-of-office-raises-seed-round/): We’re excited to share that Out of Office, a social commerce application focused on travel, today announced raising $3.5M in funding. HPA participated in the Series Seed round, which was led by Hyde Park Venture Partners.
- [Branch Secures Over $540M](https://hpa.vc/branch-secures-over-540m/): Branch, a startup that helps businesses accelerate payments to empower working Americans, announced it has secured over $540 million to fuel its momentum in delivering flexible workforce payments. Hyde Park Angels is excited to announce our participation in Branch’s $48M Series B round, which was led by Addition Capital. Participation from other investors include Drive
- [Leaf Trade Raises $12.5M in Series B Round](https://hpa.vc/leaf-trade-raises-12-5m-in-series-b/): We’re excited to share that Leaf Trade, the leading wholesale cannabis ecommerce platform, today announced their Series B financing. HPA participated in the $12.5M round, which was led by Artemis Growth Partners.
- [Celebrating HPA Success with Launch of New Website](https://hpa.vc/celebrating-hpa-success-with-launch-of-new-website/): Our new, powerful HPA website features success stories of our Founders, Members and Partners as we celebrate how our community works together to build a stronger ecosystem.
- [BriteCo Raises $9M in Series A Funding](https://hpa.vc/briteco-raises-9m-in-series-a-funding/): BriteCo raises $9M to expand its innovative jewelry insurance platform
- [Cisco Intends to Acquire Kenna Security](https://hpa.vc/cisco-intends-to-acquire-kenna-security/): Hyde Park Angels is excited to announce that Cisco announced their intent to acquire our portfolio company Kenna Security, risk-based vulnerability management software. The acquisition is expected to close in Cisco’s fourth quarter of fiscal 2021. Since the Series A in 2011, HPA has been an investor in Kenna Security. Over the past decade, we
- [Sifter Raises $4.6M in Series Seed Round](https://hpa.vc/sifter-raises-4-6m-in-series-seed-round/): Hyde Park Angels and Valor Equity Partners, through their Valor Siren Ventures fund, led Sifter’s $4.6M Series Seed round. Sifter is a personalized nutrition data and technology platform that helps consumers find and buy products that match their specific dietary, medical and lifestyle priorities. This personalization drives value for the retailer, brands and consumers. Growing
- [Market Wagon Raises $5M in Series Seed Round](https://hpa.vc/sifter-raises-4-6m-in-series-seed-round-2-2/): Hyde Park Angels participated in Market Wagon’s $5M Series Seed round, which was led by Hyde Park Venture Partners. This investment is focused on expanding Market Wagon’s presence to more than 50 markets by the end of the year. Market Wagon is an Indianapolis-based startup that is an online farmer's market. By deploying an innovative
- [HPA Member Kayne Grau Appointed as CEO at Uptake](https://hpa.vc/kayne-grau-appointed-as-ceo-at-uptake/): HPA Member Kayne Grau was announced as the new CEO of Uptake. He was appointed in the role after joining as President last year.
- [HPA Member Bill Watkins Announced as New CRO at Pinterest](https://hpa.vc/hpa-member-bill-watkins-announced-as-new-cro-at-pinterest/): Congrats to HPA Member Bill Watkins for being announced as the new CRO at Pinterest! Bill most recently was responsible for the Mid Market & Small Business Sales teams across North America, LATAM, EMEA, and APAC. His career involves nearly two decades in the technology sector, with a focus on digital media. In 2014, Bill
- [Join the HPA Team: We're Hiring an Analyst!](https://hpa.vc/join-the-hpa-team-were-hiring-an-analyst/): About HPA HPA is a leading early stage investor. Our People First model leverages world-class operating expertise, a powerful business network, and venture capital to fuel startup success. As a result, our founders transform their businesses into industry leaders, our investors generate best in class returns, and our community experiences job creation and economic growth.
- [Factor Acquired by HelloFresh](https://hpa.vc/factor-acquired-by-hellofresh-2/): We are excited to announce that our portfolio company, Factor, a ready-made meal delivery company serving premium customers focused on health and nutrition, was acquired by HelloFresh. The total purchase price is up to $277M, including earn-outs and incentives. This transaction enables Factor to partner with HelloFresh, a global leader in meal-kit delivery, to leverage
- [YCharts Acquisition Fuels Next Stage of Growth](https://hpa.vc/ycharts-acquired-by-llr-partners/): YCharts, a cloud-based investment analytics and communications platform for registered investment advisors, broker-dealers and asset managers, prepares for its next stage of growth with the acquisition by LLR Partners. The growth recapitalization by LLR Partners will help fuel the firm's market expansion through increased investment in the company and complementary acquisitions. "This is a big win
- [HPA Member Jason VandeBoom Recognized as the EY 2021 Entrepreneur of the Year](https://hpa.vc/amanda-lannert-inducted-into-the-chicago-innovation-hall-of-fame-2/): Congratulations to HPA Member Jason VandeBoom for being recognized as the EY 2021 Entrepreneur of the Year! As the Founder & CEO of ActiveCampaign, Jason embodies EY’s “human spirit of unstoppable ambition”. This award highlights ActiveCampaign, a leader in customer experience automation, and the accomplishments made in the past year toward transforming the way businesses
- [HPA Member Dr. Cheryl Rucker-Whitaker's New Board Role](https://hpa.vc/hpa-member-dr-cheryl-rucker-whitakers-new-board-role/): Congrats to HPA Member Dr. Cheryl Rucker-Whitaker for being added to the Board of Directors at Equality Health! "Dr. Rucker-Whitaker has spent the past two decades working to eliminate health disparities by creating and implementing solutions that help close the health disparities gap. In 2013, she was a co-founder of Chicago-based NextLevel Health, an African
- [HPA Member Hardik Bhatt Joins SDI Presence as President & Chief Growth Officer](https://hpa.vc/amanda-lannert-inducted-into-the-chicago-innovation-hall-of-fame-3-2/): Congrats to HPA Member Hardik Bhatt for joining SDI Presence as President and Chief Growth Officer! Most recently, Hardik led Amazon Web Services (AWS)' public sector startup business, launching startup accelerators and incubators globally. Prior to AWS, Bhatt was the State CIO for the State of Illinois where he built the State’s first $1.2 billion
- [Congrats to HPA Member Corey Ferengul (CEO of Yello) for Announcement of Merger](https://hpa.vc/amanda-lannert-inducted-into-the-chicago-innovation-hall-of-fame-2-2/): WayUp, a sourcing platform for diverse candidates, is merging with Yello, a Chicago HR tech firm. Congrats to HPA Member Corey Ferengul, CEO of Yello, for this exciting announcement! “In addition to offering a powerhouse of data, recruiters will benefit from the automation opportunities of two solutions from a single company,” said Corey. The two
- [Amanda Lannert Inducted into Chicago Innovation Hall of Fame](https://hpa.vc/amanda-lannert-inducted-into-the-chicago-innovation-hall-of-fame/): Congratulations to HPA Member Amanda Lannert for being inducted into the Chicago Innovation Hall of Fame! As the CEO of Jellyvision, Amanda has been a key figure in driving the company since its founding in 2001. Under her leadership, Jellyvision has become one of Chicago's fastest growing tech companies. Additionally, Amanda continues to provide thoughtful
- [PagerDuty to Acquire Catalytic](https://hpa.vc/pagerduty-to-acquire-catalytic/): We are excited to announce that our portfolio company Catalytic will be acquired by PagerDuty, a global leader in digital operations management. Catalytic is the no-code workflow automation platform for efficient and digitized operations. HPA has been an investor in Catalytic since the Series Seed investment in 2016. We'd like to thank HPA Deal Lead
- [Lightricks Acquires Popular Pays](https://hpa.vc/lightricks-acquires-popular-pays/): We are excited to announce that our portfolio company Popular Pays has been acquired by Lightricks, a growing platform for content creators and developers of the world’s leading photo and video editing tools. HPA has been an investor in Popular Pays since the 2017 Series A. We’d like to thank HPA Deal Lead and Board
- [metaMe Health Raises $2.2M in Funding](https://hpa.vc/metame-health-raises-2-2m-in-funding/): metaMe Health raises $2.2M to bring its IBS solution to market.
- [Midwest Startup & VC Market Analysis (2019)](https://hpa.vc/midwest-startup-vc-market-analysis/): The HPA team is excited to bring you the 2019 edition of our annual Midwest Startup and Venture Capital Market Analysis. In partnership with PitchBook, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), and CBRE, our team conducted a deep dive analysis into the Midwest VC ecosystem. We leveraged these partners' data and data from the U.S. Census, the
- [Midwest Startup and Venture Capital Market Analysis (2017)](https://hpa.vc/midwest-startup-and-venture-capital-market-analysis-2017/): The Hyde Park Angels team conducted a deep dive market analysis into the Midwest Venture Capital ecosystem by aggregating and analyzing data from Pitchbook, the U.S. Census, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Illinois Venture Capital Association. We defined the Midwest, also classified as the Great Lakes Region, as Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota,
- [Midwest Startup and Venture Capital Market Analysis (2018)](https://hpa.vc/midwest-startup-and-venture-capital-market-analysis-2018/): The Hyde Park Angels team is excited to bring you the 2018 Midwest Startup and Venture Capital Market Analysis, a follow-up to our successful inaugural launch of the report in 2017. Our team conducted a deep dive analysis into the Midwest VC ecosystem by leveraging data from Pitchbook, the U.S. Census, the Bureau of Economic
- [Rheaply Raises $8M in Series A](https://hpa.vc/rheaply-raises-8m-in-series-a/): Rheaply is the technology for connecting organizations with resources and catalyzing the circular economy.
- [Cohesion Raises $15M Series A](https://hpa.vc/stagetime-raises-1-5m-series-seed-2/): Cohesion, a leader in smart building and digital twin SaaS technology, announced raising $15M in a Series A round co-led by HPA and Morgan Stanley Next Level Fund. By creating one of the world’s largest repositories of commercial real estate data, Cohesion will lead the industry’s transformation to autonomous buildings. The company will use the
- [Stagetime Raises $1.5M Series Seed](https://hpa.vc/stagetime-raises-1-5m-series-seed/): Stagetime announced raising a $1.5M Series Seed round, which was led by HPA. M25 and IU Angel Network also participated in the round. Stagetime is a networking platform for the performing arts industry. Stagetime empowers creatives to create a comprehensive professional story about their past performances and skill sets. Stagetime is an online network where
- [Aqua Cultured Foods Raises $2.1M](https://hpa.vc/aqua-cultured-foods-raises-2-1m/): Food tech startup Aqua Cultured Foods announced a $2.1M Pre-Seed Round. HPA participated in the round, which included participation from other investors including Supply Change Capital, Aera VC, Sustainable Food Ventures, Hanfield Venture Partners, Lifely VC, Conscience VC, Kingfisher Capital, Big Idea Ventures, among others. This funding round was a milestone in the category of
- [Stacked Raises $35M Series A](https://hpa.vc/stacked-raises-35m-series-a/): We are excited to share that Stacked, a cryptocurrency investment platform, announced raising a $35M Series A round. HPA participated in the round, which was led by Alameda Research and ByBit Ventures. With the Stacked platform, investors manage assets across exchanges and invest in pre-built portfolios and strategies from leading hedge funds and traders. Retail
- [Provi Raises $100M in New Funding](https://hpa.vc/provi-raises-100-m-in-funding/): HPA is excited to share that Provi, a technology platform connecting restaurants, distributors and suppliers in the alcohol industry, today announced $100M in new funding on $750M valuation. The recent $75M Series C round was led by D1 Capital, a NY-based hedge fund with $34B AUM, and the $25M Series B round was led by
- [NOCD Raises $33M in Series B](https://hpa.vc/nocd-raises-33-m-in-series-b/): HPA is excited to announce that NOCD, a telehealth app focused on providing care to people with OCD, announced it raised a $33M Series B Round. The round was led by F-Prime Capital, an investor in digital health, and included participation from other investors such as Eight Roads and Kaiser Permanente Ventures. HPA first invested
- [Tenacity Raises $3M Series Seed](https://hpa.vc/tenacity-raises-3-m-series-seed/): Tenacity announced raising a $3M Series Seed Round, which was led by HPA. As a cloud infrastructure management platform, Tenacity provides asset management, budget intelligence, and compliance monitoring for public cloud environments. Tenacity provides visibility into every asset and service deployed across all cloud accounts. By prioritizing cloud misconfigurations that need remediation, Tenacity creates focus
- [Hologram Raises $65M in Series B Round](https://hpa.vc/hologram-raises-65m-series-b/): Hyde Park Angels is excited to announce our participation in Hologram’s $65M Series B round, which was led by Tiger Global. Bullpen Capital, NextView Ventures, and Mucker Capital also participated in the round. Hologram is a cellular connectivity platform for IoT devices that allows companies to manage fleets of devices globally. The company is currently
- [ShipBob Raises $200M Series E](https://hpa.vc/shipbob-raises-200m-series-e/): ShipBob, the leading cloud-based ecommerce logistics platform, announced $200 million in funding at over $1B valuation. The Series E financing was led by Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from Hyde Park Angels, SoftBank, Menlo Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners and Silicon Valley Bank. After record growth, ShipBob now operates a global logistics network with 24
- [OROS Raises $14.5M in Series A](https://hpa.vc/oros-raises-14-5m-in-series-a/): OROS, a performance apparel brand utilizing materials technology, announced raising a $14.5M Series A round. The round was led by Elizabeth Street Ventures and Enlightenment Capital, which included participation from Hyde Park Angels and other investors. OROS is using first-to-market insulation technology to transform advanced thermal materials into technical fabrics. The NASA-inspired technology is used
- [Clearcover Raises $200M in Series D](https://hpa.vc/clearcover-raises-200m-in-series-d/): Clearcover, a next generation insurance company, today announced a new $200 million Series D round of funding. The financing round was led by Eldridge, with participation from existing investors including Hyde Park Angels; LightBank; American Family Ventures; Cox Enterprises, owner of AutoTrader and Manheim auto auctions; and OMERS Ventures, the venture arm of a Canadian
- [FourKites Raises $100M in Series D](https://hpa.vc/fourkites-raises-100m-in-series-d/): FourKites, the #1 real-time supply chain visibility platform, today announced a new $100 million Series D financing round. The growth financing is led by Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL), with participation from Qualcomm Ventures, Volvo Group Venture Capital AB and Zebra Technologies, as well as existing investors Hyde Park Angels, August Capital, CEAS Investments, Hyde
- [Leaf Trade Raises $5.5M in Series A](https://hpa.vc/leaf-trade-raises-5-5m-in-series-a/): Leaf Trade, the leading wholesale cannabis ecommerce platform, announced their Series A financing. Hyde Park Angels participated in the $5.5 million round, which was led by Artemis Growth Partners. Leaf Trade connects licensed wholesale cannabis retailers and suppliers and standardizes operational practices that enable them to scale in a rapidly-expanding industry. This round of funding
- [K4 Mobility Raises $5.7M Round](https://hpa.vc/k4-mobility-raises-5-7m-2/): We are excited to share that Hyde Park Angels participated in K4 Mobility's $5.7M equity round, which was led by Hyde Park Venture Partners and included other notable investors. K4 Mobility is a digital platform that provides Off-Grid Internet (OGi) solutions with an initial focus on the maritime market. In-flight WiFi maker Gogo brought the
- [NOCD Raises $12M in Series A](https://hpa.vc/nocd-raises-12m-in-series-a/): NOCD is a burgeoning telehealth company that specializes in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) identification and treatment. The online therapy app announced a Series A fundraising round of $12 million. Hyde Park Angels participated in the round, which was led by Health Enterprise Partners (HEP), a healthcare-focused fund based in New York. Previous investors also participating in
- [ShipBob Raises $68M in Series D](https://hpa.vc/shipbob-raises-68m-in-series-d/): ShipBob, an ecommerce enablement technology company that provides fulfillment by bringing fast shipping options to ecommerce businesses, announced that it raised $68M in a Series D funding round. This Series D financing was led by SoftBank Vision Fund. Hyde Park Angels has been an investor in ShipBob since the Series A, and other previous investors include
- [Trala Raises $3.5M in Series Seed](https://hpa.vc/trala-raises-3-5m-in-series/): Trala is an AI platform that teaches users the violin through video tutorials and simultaneous feedback. The music education platform recently completed its Series Seed round of funding, securing $3.5M. Hyde Park Angels participated in the round, led by Next Play Ventures, an early-stage fund founded by LinkedIn Executive Chairman Jeff Weiner. Other investors included
- [Chowbus Raises $33M in Series A](https://hpa.vc/chowbus-raises-33m-in-series-a/): Chowbus, a food-delivery platform providing high-quality authentic Asian food, announced a $33M Series A funding round to fuel platform growth and expand into new markets. Hyde Park Angels participated in the round led by Silicon Valley-based Altos Ventures and NYC-based Left Lane Capital. Other investors include Fika Ventures, FJ Labs and Silicon Valley Bank. The
- [Cohesion Raises $6.5M in Series Seed](https://hpa.vc/cohesion-raises-6-5m-in-series-seed/): Cohesion, a leading Intelligent Buildings software solution, raised $6.5M in seed funding to further invest in its IoT-enabled platform. Cohesion creates a suite of constant visibility solutions for landlords that helps them manage efficiencies across their portfolio, driving additional profit for landlords and value for tenants. Led by Hyde Park Angels, the seed round includes investments
- [Dispatch Raises $11M in Series B](https://hpa.vc/dispatch-raises-11m-in-series-b/): Dispatch, a B2B marketplace for courier services, recently completed its Series B round of funding, securing over $11 Million to focus on team growth. The round of funding was led by Trinity Private Equity Group with participation from HPA, Revolution's Rise of the Rest, Great North Labs, Labora and other previous investors. Dispatch allows industrial
- [Equilibria Raises $2M in Series Seed](https://hpa.vc/equilibria-raises-2m-in-series-seed/): Equilibria is a Chicago-based company offering premium, farm-fresh, full-spectrum CBD products. The startup announced a Series Seed funding round of $1.97 million. HPA led this round of funding along with Salveo Capital, a firm specializing in the legalized cannabis industry. Equilibria offers premium CBD products, including topical creams, ingestible oils and softgels, targeted to women.
- [Havoc Shield Raises $1.45M in Series Seed](https://hpa.vc/havoc-shield-raises-1-45m-in-series-seed/): Havoc Shield is a technology company whose all-in-one cybersecurity platform is built specifically for startups and small businesses who need to secure their remote workforce, address cyber attacks and win large customers. The company announced that it raised $1.45 million in Series Seed funding. Hyde Park Angels led the round, with participation from Techstars, Active
- [Tractor Zoom Raises $3M in Series A](https://hpa.vc/tractor-zoom-raises-3m-in-series-a-round/): Tractor Zoom, an Iowa-based auction marketing and equipment pricing company, announced that it raised $3 million in funding to scale their transparent pricing and analytics platform, Iron Comps. Hyde Park Angels participated in the Series A round, which included participation from Innova Memphis, ISA Ventures, Ag Ventures Alliance, Ag Startup Engine and other strategic angel
- [NestEgg Raises $7M in Series A](https://hpa.vc/nestegg-raises-7m/): NestEgg, a startup building the future of residential rental property management, raised $7 million in Series A investment funding from a strategic group of fintech and proptech investors. Hyde Park Angels participated in the Series A round, which was led by Hyde Park Venture Partners. Other investors include Bonfire Ventures, BAM Ventures, Financial Venture Studios
- [Ocient Raises $40M in Series B](https://hpa.vc/ocient-raises-40m-in-series-b/): Ocient is a data analytics solutions (DAS) company serving companies struggling with massive datasets. The company announced raising $40 million, bringing total invested capital to $65 million. Hyde Park Angels participated in the Series B round, which was led by Chicago-based OCA Ventures and Greycroft. Other participating investors include Valor Ventures, PSP Partners, Pritzker Group
- [HPA's People First Approach Stands with Black Lives Matter](https://hpa.vc/hpas-people-first-approach-stands-with-black-lives-matter/): First and foremost, as an organization, HPA stands with the Black community and supports the pursuit of justice and equality for all. We speak out against the racism and social injustices in our society, and show our support that #BlackLivesMatter. Our nation has watched the recent acts of racism unfold with the murders of George
- [HPA MD Transition Indefinitely Postponed](https://hpa.vc/hpa-md-transition-indefinitely-postponed/): When the Hyde Park Angels Board of Directors and Pete Wilkins made the decision to start a Managing Director transition plan, we certainly did not anticipate a global pandemic. HPA, and the portfolio, were both in a great position, especially as we were coming off an incredible year. In 2019, we invested a record $17.4
- [Hyde Park Angels Announces Managing Director Transition](https://hpa.vc/hyde-park-angels-announces-managing-director-transition/): Pete Wilkins has informed the Hyde Park Angels Board of Directors that after much reflection, he intends to pursue the next chapter in his career and transition from his Managing Director role this summer. With nearly six years leading the organization, his contributions to HPA have been numerous and significant. To ensure continuity and our
- [HPA Welcomes New Marketing & Community Manager](https://hpa.vc/hpa-welcomes-new-marketing-community-manager/): HPA, the most active early-stage investor in the Midwest, is excited to announce its continued growth with a new addition to the team. The firm welcomes Cate LeSourd as HPA’s new Marketing & Community Manager to focus on driving and strengthening the HPA brand. In this role, Cate will invest in HPA’s internal and external
- [Principal Promotional Announcement](https://hpa.vc/principal-promotional-announcement/): HPA believes world-class organizations are built by giving people the resources and opportunities to be successful. Whether it's our members, our partners, or our portfolio companies, HPA is committed to helping build a stronger Midwest entrepreneurial ecosystem by supporting people. In that same vein, we’re excited to announce the promotion of our two Associates, Bess
- [HPA’s Talent and HR Resource Guide During COVID-19](https://hpa.vc/hpa-talent-hr-resource-guide-during-covid-19/): HPA recently created a resource guide that aggregated information on finance assistance and business operations. Meanwhile, we continued to monitor news and developed this secondary resource guide that focuses on HR and talent topics, decisions and best practices. Due to the financial impacts of the pandemic, companies are having to make tough business decisions. As
- [HPA Resource Guide During COVID-19](https://hpa.vc/hpa-resource-guide-during-covid-19/): Over the last couple weeks, HPA has been working diligently to build a resource guide with aggregated content. As an organization, we hope to help keep you informed on the latest news with how COVID-19 is affecting our nation and the marketplace. As we all navigate this unprecedented time, we wanted to equip you with
- [Build the Right Media Relations Strategy for Your Startup](https://hpa.vc/media-relations-strategy-startup/): PR – nearly every startup wants it. But getting good PR in a competitive market where the gatekeepers are understaffed and pressed for resources is a tough proposition. In today’s climate, the winners focus time and attention on developing real strategies and architecting robust PR programs. At HPA Corporate Sponsor 3Points Communications, Principal Drew Mauck
- [How Chicago Fuels Food-Focused Innovation](https://hpa.vc/how-chicago-fuels-food-focused-innovation/): Today, Chicago’s newest food business accelerator, The Hatchery, will celebrate its grand opening. A non-profit incubator supported by companies like Conagra and Kellogg’s, The Hatchery will support entrepreneurs in growing successful food- and beverage-based businesses. The incubator’s launch marks the city’s newest development in a long history of food-based entrepreneurial support, the likes of which spans business development assistance,
- [Practical Fundraising Tips from Repeat Entrepreneur Ann Deters](https://hpa.vc/blog-ann-deters/): Get to know Ann Ann Deters is CEO & Founder of Vantage Technology, which has provided cataract services to hospitals and surgery centers throughout the United States for the past 28 years. In addition, she has started several healthcare ventures, such as surgery centers, medical billing services, and software technology. Currently, she sits on four
- [Why Educating Startup Employees About Equity Is As Important As Giving It](https://hpa.vc/educating-on-equity/): This is the final article in a three-part series on the benefits of giving all startup employees equity. See the first piece here and the second one here. A year after I moved to Chicago, I attended a women’s networking event, where an employee of a recently-acquired startup entered the room. Folks were excited to see her, congratulating
- [How Livongo Just Opened the Floodgate to a Digital Healthcare Wave](https://hpa.vc/how-livongo-just-opened-the-floodgate-to-a-digital-healthcare-wave/): In the future, when we analyze moments in time when true innovation transformed an industry, we’ll remember an event that happened just a couple of weeks ago: Livongo’sIPO. By the end of its trading debut — which left the company valued at $3.4 billion — Livongo proved two things: that it’s possible to empower people to live healthier
- [Why Michigan Could Become a Startup Powerhouse](https://hpa.vc/why-michigan-could-become-a-startup-powerhouse/): The unicorns in Michigan demonstrate a fertile startup ecosystem with unlimited opportunities. A couple weeks ago, StockX became the state’s newest in a quickly-growing cohort of unicorns, which includes two other startups that also earned the elite status this year. In February, OneStream Software announced that it had not only become a unicorn but that it is profitable as well, an achievement
- [Video Games, a Single Mom, and “Brilliant Assholes”: How this CTO Became a Successful Tech (and Diversity) Leader](https://hpa.vc/blog-john-higginson/): Get to know John John Higginson is the CTO at Enova, a large publicly-traded Chicago FinTech company that's extended over $20B in credit to customers worldwide. At Enova, John is responsible for driving the company’s technology strategy to leverage advanced digital experiences and data science to deliver on its mission to help hard-working people access
- [Why The Midwest Drives Top Venture Returns](https://hpa.vc/why-the-midwest-drives-top-venture-returns/): While startup and venture performance in the Bay Area is a valuable datapoint that provides meaningful insights into our industry, I recommend a different strategy for evaluating our respective ecosystems’ health. To get an actionable — not to mention less daunting — perspective of our performance, we must look beyond the Bay and across all
- [How Startup Equity Can Impact the Average Tech Employee](https://hpa.vc/how-startup-equity-can-impact-the-average-tech-employee/): When the first startup I worked for was acquired in 2010, my equity—which I did not have full appreciation of up until that point—cashed out on the lower end of the four-figure range. That is not the level of value that we tend to get excited about when we talk about startup equity, but it
- [Why Chicago Needs to Be More Vocal About Equity to Compete Nationally](https://hpa.vc/why-chicago-needs-to-be-more-vocal-about-equity-to-compete-nationally/): This is the first article in a three-part series on the benefits of giving all startup employees equity. The next article will explore the opportunity Chicago has to leverage equity to create more founders and people capable of taking risks on very early-stage companies. Last month, Chicago Inno published an article on why some startups choose to bootstrap rather
- [Why This Executive Challenges Startups to Get Engineers in Front of Customers](https://hpa.vc/blog-anjoo-rai-marchant/): Getting to know Anjoo Anjoo Rai-Marchant served as the COO at HighGround, which was acquired last year by YouEarnedIt. With her combination of business and technical acumen, she currently advises companies and entrepreneurs in addition to serving as an independent board member of SciArt Software, a company focused on generative design. With over 20 years
- [11 Under-The-Radar Chicago VCs You Should Know About](https://hpa.vc/11-under-the-radar-chicago-vcs-you-should-know-about/): In my most-recent Forbes article, I shared about 12 Chicago-based VCs that are behind hot startups both within our region, like G2 Crowd, and beyond, like SpaceX. These firms tend to get a lot of buzz and make national headlines, but they are far from being the only venture investors in Chicago that fuel entrepreneurs. There
- [12 Chicago VCs You Should Know About](https://hpa.vc/12-chicago-vcs-you-should-know-about/): Chicago is quietly becoming a hotbed of venture capital that fuels technology startups — not just in Chicago but across the country and in a wide range of industries. For example, did you know that Calm, SpaceX, and Coinbase all received funding from Chicago VCs? There are dozens of top VCs in the area that
- [These 10 Women are Driving Detroit’s Entrepreneurial Growth](https://hpa.vc/10-women-driving-detroit-entrepreneurial-growth/): Last week’s report about the state of women leadership in Chicago tech was a powerful reminder of where our successes are and where we can continue to improve. The data creates actionable opportunity for everyone — from individual contributors, to executives, to investors — to catalyze our city and industry toward fostering a more equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem for
- [How this Executive Applies Her Startup Expertise to Help Rewrite Women's History](https://hpa.vc/blog-susan-whiting-applies-her-expertise-to-help-rewrite-womens-history/): Getting to know Susan Now retired from her role as the Vice Chair of market research giant Nielsen, Susan Whiting has helped organizations grow for 35+ years by leveraging her experience in operating, leadership, data analytics, marketing, and media. She now serves in Board and Executive Advisory roles and works with senior leadership at publicly-traded,
- [How This Successful Self-Taught Engineer and Repeat Founder Approaches Success](https://hpa.vc/blog-david-nelson/): Getting to know David David Nelson has started and scaled three startups, most recently Motion AI, a software platform to help businesses create chatbots and develop their conversational strategy. Motion AI was acquired by HubSpot in 2017, and today David works on the company's product team. He's also an active member of HPA and invests
- [Early UBER Leader Shares Insights on Executing as an Entrepreneur](https://hpa.vc/execution-wins-and-other-entrepreneurial-insights-from-an-early-uber-leader/): Getting to Know Kenny An expert in mobility and two- and three-sided marketplaces, Kenny Tsai was an early employee and director/General Manager at Uber, where he led various business units such as Uber Freight and Uber’s rides in the Central U.S. Leveraging what he learned at Uber, Kenny became the COO of JUMP, which he
- [Dreaming Big with One of Chicago's Most Successful CEOs](https://hpa.vc/dreaming-big-with-amanda-lannert/): Getting to Know Amanda If you haven't met Amanda Lannert, you should. She is the CEO of Jellyvision — which makes ALEX and is one of Chicago's most successful tech companies. Beyond her own entrepreneurial success, however, Amanda invests in the success of emerging entrepreneurs as well. She invests in startups through HPA, where she serves as
- [The Top Enterprise Software Companies in the Midwest](https://hpa.vc/the-top-enterprise-software-companies-in-the-midwest/): Last week, enterprise software marketplace G2 Crowd announced the winners of its Best Software Awards 2019. This is a list of the best software products and companies, according to G2 Crowd’s algorithm that analyzes 500,000 verified customer reviews of nearly 60,000 products. Among that list are 11 Midwest companies that are not only top in the region
- [Breakdown of biggest VC raises in Midwestern states in 2018](https://hpa.vc/breakdown-of-biggest-vc-raises-in-midwestern-states-in-2018/): As the new year gets underway, 2018’s fundraising numbers are rolling in, allowing us to get a snapshot of how the Midwest’s top startups fared. It was a good year for the Midwest, which we define here as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Here is a list of each Midwest state’s top VC
- [5 Midwest Tech Startups that Can Help You Live Healthier in 2019](https://hpa.vc/5-midwest-tech-startups-that-can-help-you-live-healthier-in-2019/): I kicked off 2018 by telling you about 5 Chicago startups that would help you keep your New Year’s resolutions. Those startups were focused on helping you eat better. To bookend the year, I want to focus on 5 Midwest startups whose technology will help you live better in 2019. We are witnessing an interesting and
- [G2 Crowd Raises $55M to Transform the Way Businesses Buy Software](https://hpa.vc/g2-crowd-raises-55m-to-transform-the-way-businesses-buy-software/): Chicago-based startup G2 Crowd announced that it raised a $55 million Series C round, which it will use to increase its headcount by 500% and further disrupt the $3.7 trillion enterprise technology market. The round was led by IVP, with participation from Accel and Emergence Capital, and brings the company’s total funding raised to $100 million. This is one of the
- [How Chicago Plans to Be a Global Tech Player Following Amazon HQ2 News](https://hpa.vc/how-chicago-plans-to-be-a-global-tech-player/): Although Chicago’s bid to become the site of Amazon’s second headquarters (“HQ2”) didn’t win, the tech giant inspired Chicago leaders to build more than a landing spot for one company; leaders are now on a quest to build a landing spot for the most innovative technology companies in the world. The leadership committee that the city assembled
- [5 Startup Trends that Shaped the Midwest in 2018](https://hpa.vc/5-startup-trends-that-shaped-the-midwest-in-2018/): 2018 is quickly drawing to its close, but the Midwest’s venture capital activity is still buzzing. Just this week, celebrity shoutout marketplace startup Cameo announced that it closed a $12.5 million round of funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Cameo’s round is one of several marketplace startups to gain strength this year, which highlights a broader
- [Chicago’s Startups Continue to Lead the Nation in Returns](https://hpa.vc/chicagos-startups-lead-nation/): PitchBook revealed its 2018 Chicago VC Ecosystem report, released in conjunction with ChicagoNEXT’s Chicago Venture Summit. This report finds that Chicago continues to outpace other U.S. venture ecosystems — including the Bay Area — in median multiple on invested capital (MOIC). Chicago startups give investors a median MOIC of 5.6 times, considerably exceeding the city’s coastal counterparts. (MOIC is calculated
- [Chicago's Multiple on Invested Capital is Highest in the Country](https://hpa.vc/pitchbook-reveals-chicago-highest-moic/): This week, PitchBook published its 2018 Chicago VC Ecosystem report, released in conjunction with ChicagoNEXT’s Chicago Venture Summit. This report finds that Chicago's ecosystem is strong and, among other achievements, continues to outpace other U.S. venture ecosystems — including the Bay Area — in median multiple on invested capital (MOIC). Download the report here.
- [Chicago Unites To Showcase The Midwest Venture Ecosystem](https://hpa.vc/chicagounitestoshowcase/): U.S. News recently reported on why Chicago has become a top city for startups and entrepreneurs, highlighting the organization that works to promote the city’s technology industry, ChicagoNEXT. On Tuesday, ChicagoNEXT will host its fourth Chicago Venture Summit, the region’s flagship VC conference, where VC firms from coast to coast convene with Chicago’s top entrepreneurs and community supporters to highlight and nurture the
- [Pitching Lessons from Applying to Shark Tank](https://hpa.vc/pitching-lessons-applying-shark-tank/): Note: Since their successful pitch on Shark Tank, the entrepreneurs of Packback have evolved the startup to seize greater market opportunity. Packback is now a learning platform powered by proprietary artificial intelligence that both quantifies and improves college students' critical thinking skills. The Packback story nicely illustrates the value of a great team of entrepreneurs
- [The Top 2018 VC Investment Trends in the Midwest](https://hpa.vc/top-2018-vc-investment-trends/): Last week, Chicago-based startup Tempus announced that it raised a $110 million Series E round led by Baillie Gifford. This is the biggest VC round the Midwest has seen so far in 2018, and it prompted me to take a closer look at the other large Midwest VC deals this year and which industries received the most dollars.
- [3 Unexpected Outcomes of Having All Women Speakers at a Tech Conference](https://hpa.vc/all-women-speakers/): In addition to my role as the Director of Platform at Hyde Park Angels, I'm also the Co-founder and President of Intermitten, a conference that highlights and nurtures Midwest entrepreneurship through diversity & inclusion, conscious community engagement, and creative collaboration. The following article was originally featured on Intermitten.org. A few weeks ago, Intermitten hosted our
- [Get the Information You Need to Raise Venture Capital](https://hpa.vc/get-information-need-raise-venture-capital/): Join Hyde Park Angels at 1871 on Wednesday, June 8 from 6:00 pm — 8:00 pm to learn from the seasoned entrepreneurs and investors behind heading up the Midwest’s biggest startups and venture firms, including Avant, CME Ventures, Drive Capital, Hyde Park Venture Partners, and Rithmio. Hear how these Chicago tech heavyweights worked together to raise capital
- [The Midwest’s Best-Kept Secret is its Vibrant Cybersecurity Community](https://hpa.vc/midwest-cybersecurity/): Cisco’s announcement this month that it intends to acquire Ann Arbor-based cybersecurity startup Duo Security for a whopping $2.35 billion shines a light on the Midwest’s increasing strength in the cybersecurity space. Given that Ann Arbor is relatively small compared to cities like Chicago and New York, such a large exit might come as a surprise to some.
- [What We Learned About Emerging Innovation Trends in the Midwest from the Chicago Venture Summit](https://hpa.vc/learned-emerging-innovation-trends-midwest-chicago-venture-summit/): Since launching eighteen months ago, the Chicago Venture Summit has quickly become a mecca for venture capitalists across the country to learn more about and meet with Midwest tech startups on the rise. Last year’s participating startups alone have raised $220.87M since presenting, and this year’s lineup will likely be on pace to do the
- [Why Midwest Capital is Fueling Rockets, Electric Cars, and the Heartland](https://hpa.vc/why-midwest-capital-is-fueling-rockets-electric-cars-and-the-heartland/): I’ve talked about how Midwest startups with coastal connections attract capital and why investors outside the Midwest want in. In fact, a recent analysis of PitchBook data shows that Chicago startups alone received $1.7 billion in venture capital funding last year through deals with at least one non-Illinois investor. While this is certainly noteworthy, what is perhaps more
- [Why Michigan is the Midwest’s Most Improved Startup Community](https://hpa.vc/why-michigan-is-the-midwests-most-improved-startup-community/): PitchBook’s recent report on the 3 critical factors for a strong venture ecosystem — density, resources, and talent — led me on a quest to find where, beyond the typical major cities discussed in the venture world, we see these factors crystallizing in emerging ecosystems. I didn’t have to go far; my research led me across Lake Michigan to the
- [How the Entrepreneurs Behind Chicago's Top Exits are Fueling the Next Startup Wave](https://hpa.vc/chicago-entrepreneurs-are-fueling-the-next-startup-wave/): In a Forbes article I wrote earlier this year, I analyzed why 2017 was a great year for Chicago exits and investments. Inspired by these recent successes, I traced the data back a bit farther and examined Chicago’s exits from 2012 to 2017. Using PitchBook data and SEC filings, I found that the following exits positioned
- [The Hyde Park Angels Partner Network](https://hpa.vc/hyde-park-angels-partner-network/): The Hyde Park Angels Partner Network is a comprehensive network of businesses, venture capitalists and community partners that collaborate with Hyde Park Angels to provide entrepreneurs the relationships and resources they need to be successful. So what does that mean for you? In a nutshell, you have access to business expertise, services, resources, and relationships
- [Chicago’s strongest startup sector is online marketplaces](https://hpa.vc/chicagos-strongest-startup-sector-online-marketplaces/): As an investment leader in Chicago, I get asked about startup trends on a regular basis. Most often the question I’m asked is, “What is the strongest startup sector in Chicago?” It’s a hard question because one of Chicago’s core advantages nationally is that we are consistently strong everywhere (except when it comes to finding
- [Why Top VCs from Outside the Midwest Want In](https://hpa.vc/why-top-vcs-from-outside-the-midwest-want-in/): As the Midwest startup ecosystem continues to grow, top investors from outside the region increasingly show that they are watching and want in — especially when a repeat entrepreneur is at the helm of a budding startup. To validate this assertion, my firm, Hyde Park Angels, decided to dig into the numbers. Between 2016 and today, coastal
- [My Journey Into Supporting Midwest Startups](https://hpa.vc/my-journey-into-supporting-startups/): I'm a few weeks into my role as Hyde Park Angels' new Director of Platform, and yet I didn't plan to be here. In fact, my start in tech was unintentional—avoided even. My master’s thesis chair convinced me to consider a contract tech writing role at a former student’s startup, Arbor Networks. Although I was
- [Sell More Faster with an Ideal Customer Profile](https://hpa.vc/ideal-customer-profile/): Having a clearly defined market is one of the most important components to any startup’s success. Without a clear market in mind, product development, marketing tactics, and sales strategy become disjointed and unfocused. In fact, many successful founders have gone as far as to say that focus on a single, specific market is the key
- [How RepIQ Uses AI and Data Analytics to Make Sales Easy, Seamless, and Effective](https://hpa.vc/repiq-uses-ai-data-analytics-make-sales-easy-seamless-effective/): The Hyde Park Angels “New Investment Series” profiles our most recent investments by examining the portfolio company and its future trajectory from two perspectives: the portfolio company’s CEO and the HPA leader who made the deal happen. This edition focuses on RepIQ. RepIQ is an AI-powered sales intelligence platform that recently raised a Seed Round
- [7 Essential Entrepreneurial Resources to Build Your Startup](https://hpa.vc/7-essential-entrepreneurial-resources-build-startup/): So much of succeeding in the entrepreneurial ecosystem is constantly learning from others who’ve been there before. At Hyde Park Angels, we spend as much time teaching as we do learning, and we encourage all entrepreneurs to seek out resources to help them grow. Here are seven essential resources we think every entrepreneur (and investor)
- [How Chicago’s startup exits stack up against 4 other major cities](https://hpa.vc/how-chicagos-startup-exits-stack-up/): While 2017 was a strong year for Midwestern startup exits in general, a deeper analysis demonstrates that Chicago in particular is among the nation’s leading cities for top exits and IPOs over the past five years. This indicates the city has evolved and is now presenting a recurring pattern of startup successes that drive attractive venture
- [Why Midwest Startups With Valley Connections Attract Funding](https://hpa.vc/why-midwest-startups-with-valley-connections-attract-funding/): A trend is emerging in venture capital that is good news for the Midwest startup ecosystem: Companies led by seasoned entrepreneurs who strategically opened major offices in both the Midwest and Silicon Valley attract funding from top-tier VC firms. While it is too early to determine whether this will be the next big wave in
- [Illinois nonprofits hope mentors and real-world projects will improve diversity in STEM classes](https://hpa.vc/illinois-nonprofits-improve-diversity-stem-classes/): Illinois has the unique distinction of producing more top STEM talent than almost any other state, and it continues to produce a record number of STEM degrees each year. But when it comes to the diversity of STEM talent, it’s a different story. A report from the Illinois Science and Technology Association found that in computer science, 16.7 percent
- [More Answers to Your Build the Perfect Pitch Questions](https://hpa.vc/more-answers-build-perfect-pitch-questions/): The Hyde Park Angels Entrepreneurial Education Series takes you through the early stage investment process from start to finish – and the foundation of that process is pitching. Your pitch deck is the most important sales tool in your arsenal – and not just for investors, but also for finding customers and hiring top talent.
- [How Tiz Landed Its First Investment: Advice for Entrepreneurs Everywhere](https://hpa.vc/tiz-investment-advice/): The Hyde Park Angels “New Investment Series” profiles our most recent investments by examining the investment process and the individual company’s future trajectory from two perspectives: the portfolio company’s CEO and the HPA leader who made the deal happen. This edition focuses on Tiz. We recently invested in Tiz, which makes online ordering for bars,
- [How to Raise Venture Capital](https://hpa.vc/raise-venture-capital/): We launched the second program in our Entrepreneurial Education Series, “How to Raise Venture Capital,” on June 8th with our partner 1871. The event brought together world-class entrepreneurs and investors Al Goldstein (CEO, Avant), Rumi Morales (Executive Director, CME Ventures), Nick Solaro (Partner, Drive Capital), Adam Tilton (Founder & CEO,Rithmio), and Guy Turner (Managing Partner, Hyde
- [5 Signs You Should Crowdfund](https://hpa.vc/5-signs-crowdfund/): This post is part of the Hyde Park Angels Entrepreneurial Education Series, which brings together successful, influential entrepreneurs and investors to teach entrepreneurs everything they need to know about early-stage investment through events, articles, videos, and more. If you are interested in learning more about whether to raise a fund, register for “Are You Ready
- [Illinois tech organizations are working to close the diversity gap](https://hpa.vc/illinois-tech-organizations-working-close-diversity-gap/): Diversity is a major topic of conversation in tech, but so far, that conversation hasn’t significantly improved representation of women and minorities in the industry. In a recent survey conducted by First Round Capital, nearly 68 percent of founders across the country believe that the tech industry will not become representative of the general population in terms
- [Moneyball for Startups](https://hpa.vc/moneyball-for-startups/): More and more, investors are using the “Moneyball” model — an evidence-based, algorithmic approach — to make investments. The idea is that they can use analytics and success metrics to predict the future, and as a result, make better investment considerations. So far, it seems like it’s working. Assuming you don’t already have close relationships with investors, which will
- [How Branch Messenger Raised $10M to Offer Employee Self-Service for Shift Workers Everywhere](https://hpa.vc/branch-messenger/): The Hyde Park Angels “New Investment Series” profiles our most recent investments by examining the portfolio company and its future trajectory from two perspectives: the portfolio company’s CEO and the HPA leader who made the deal happen. This edition focuses on Branch Messenger. Branch Messenger is an employee self-service platform that allows hourly shifts workers
- [How Illinois Universities Power the Chicago Startup Ecosystem](https://hpa.vc/how-illinois-universities-power-chicago-startup-ecosystem/): Ten years ago, Chicago was not a major player in the startup ecosystem. Now, it’s one of the most important cities in tech. In fact, the overall Illinois rate of startup growth is 68.85%, and Chicago itself has been consistently ranked first for VC returns. It’s been named alongside Boston, Los Angeles, and Austin as one of
- [Midwest tech organizations working to increase number of female founders](https://hpa.vc/midwest-tech-organizations-working-increase-number-female-founders/): How bad is the diversity in tech problem? Seriously bad. And seriously long-standing. For almost 30 years, women have made up less than 10 percent of the entrepreneurial and venture capital market labor forces, while Hispanics hovered at 2 percent and African Americans below 1 percent, according to a recent Harvard Business School paper. What’s more,
- [Illinois tech companies working to retain local engineering grads](https://hpa.vc/illinois-tech-companies-working-to-retain-local-engineering-grads/): Illinois is the second largest producer of computer science graduates in the country. In fact, in 2016, Illinois produced a record 40,400 STEM degrees. Yet research collected by the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition shows Illinois still has room to grow. Specifically, while Illinois ranks 15th in the country for retaining computer science graduates, 45 percent of
- [Get the Tools You Need to Raise a Round](https://hpa.vc/tools-raise-round/): The next program in the Hyde Park Angels Entrepreneurial Education Program is almost here! Our experienced panel of entrepreneurs and investors will take you through the mechanics to raise a round. You’ll also have the opportunity to meet other entrepreneurs and build valuable connections in the community. Read on more information about the event. Early-Stage
- [Are You Ready to Raise?](https://hpa.vc/are-you-ready-to-raise/): This post is part of the Entrepreneurial Education Series, which brings together successful, influential entrepreneurs and investors to teach entrepreneurs everything they need to know about early-stage investment through events, articles, videos, and more. If you are interested in learning more about raising a round, save the date for “Early Stage Investment 101” on June
- [The Ultimate Investor Meeting Toolkit](https://hpa.vc/ultimate-investor-meeting-toolkit/): This post, the Ultimate Investor Meeting Toolkit, is part of the Entrepreneurial Education Series, which brings together successful, influential entrepreneurs and investors to teach entrepreneurs everything they need to know about early-stage investment through events, articles, videos, and more. If you are interested in learning more about raising a round, save the date for “Early
- [Hyde Park Angels Lead Follow-On Investment in UICO](https://hpa.vc/hyde-park-angels-investment-uico-inc/): Hyde Park Angels (HPA), a Chicago-based angel network, led a second round of funding for UICO, Inc., headquartered in Glendale Heights, IL. UICO designs and manufactures innovative user-interface (UI) and Human Machine Interface (HMI) solutions, such as capacitive touchpads and touchscreens, for the durable goods markets. UICO’s customized OpacoTouch™ and ClaroTouch™ user interface product solutions
- [Hyde Park Angels Overview Video](https://hpa.vc/hyde-park-angels-overview-video/): About Hyde Park Angels: Entrepreneurs are people who don’t see the status quo as “good enough”. They want to make changes, they want to improve things, they want to innovate, they want to change, they want to disrupt. Working with them is a benefit to us as much as we are a benefit
- [Public Good Software Raises $1.6M to Revolutionize Online Philanthropy](https://hpa.vc/public-good-software-raises-1-6m-seed-funding-revolutionize-online-philanthropy/): Chicago, IL — January 27, 2015 — Public Good Software, Inc. is expanding its revolutionary online donations marketplace, PublicGood.com, with $1.6M in seed funding from an A-list of Chicago and Silicon Valley angel investors. Chicago’s Hyde Park Angels; Firestarter Fund; Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress; Chuck Templeton, founder of OpenTable; Mike Sands, former COO/CMO of Orbitz and current CEO
- [Hyde Park Angels Teams up with 1871 and The Wall Street Journal to Launch Entrepreneurial Education Series](https://hpa.vc/hpa-1871-wall-st-journal-launch-entrepreneurial-education-series/): Chicago, IL– February 17–Hyde Park Angels is launching a four-part early-stage investment education series for entrepreneurs of all levels in collaboration with partner 1871 and series sponsor The Wall Street Journal.The Entrepreneurial Education Series will consist of four panels headed up by the best and brightest entrepreneurs and investors in the Midwest, which will be
- [Hyde Park Angels & 1871 Entrepreneurial Education Series](https://hpa.vc/hpa-1871-entrepreneurial-education-series/): Hyde Park Angels is bringing together successful, influential entrepreneurs and investors to teach you everything you need to know about early-stage investment. Attend all four programs and walk away with a thorough understanding of the early-stage investment cycle from start to finish or pick and choose programs to supplement existing knowledge. In either case, you
- [Inno Approved: Tech Events to Check Out this Week](https://hpa.vc/inno-approved-tech-events-hyde-park-angels/): THURSDAY PowerPoint Karaoke WeWork Fulton Market: 220 N Green St. Chicago, IL 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. On Thursday at WeWork's Fulton Market office, Chicago Inno is hosting PowerPoint Karaoke, an improv-style pitch meetup where challengers have 2 minutes to deliver a completely unprepared pitch. Competitors will pitch their made up startup, which will be accompanied by
- [Hyde Park Angels Invests in Gradebeam, LLC](https://hpa.vc/hyde-park-angels-invests-gradebeam-llc/): Hyde Park Angels, a Chicago-based angel investor network, has completed a round of financing for GradeBeam, LLC, headquartered in Chicago. GradeBeam.com is an exclusive communication network designed by and for construction professionals. As a fully-managed online contractor database, electronic file sharing and bid invitation service, GradeBeam is designed to facilitate pre-construction communication, secure information sharing
- [The Best of the Rest: More Answers to Your Term Sheet Questions](https://hpa.vc/best-rest-answers-term-sheet-questions/): Hyde Park Angels recently hosted The Ultimate Entrepreneur's Guide to Term Sheets, led by our Principal, Michael Sachaj. In the webinar, Michael broke down and demystified term sheets. The full recording is now available, but we wanted to share an added bonus. During the webinar, Michael answered several questions from the audience, but missed out
- [How SkinnyPop Led the Better-for-You Trend](https://hpa.vc/skinnypop-led-better-trend/): People First is the Hyde Park Angels podcast dedicated to deconstructing entrepreneurial success into actionable takeaways you can use today. Hyde Park Angels is the most active early-stage investor in Chicago with a commitment to taking a “people-first approach” to investing. By matching our members’ expertise with entrepreneurs’ needs, we help develop top-performing companies that are delivering
- [Why Ohio health care startups saw a 206% funding increase](https://hpa.vc/ohio-health-care-startups-saw-funding-increase/): While there are a number of Midwestern cities that are home to promising health care startups, including Minneapolis and Chicago, Ohio is quickly positioning itself as a major player. The state has seen an influx of funding to health care and life sciences startups, and it produced one of the biggest Midwest startup exits of
- [How female founders are faring in the Midwest](https://hpa.vc/how-female-founders-faring-midwest/): Women remain underrepresented in tech, even as the industry tries to address jaw-dropping statistics about their absence in tech’s upper echelon. Less than 3 percent of female founders raised venture capital in 2017, even though in the first quarter of 2017, 17 percent of startups reported having a female founder. On the venture capital side, less than
- [Who Invests in Social Impact](https://hpa.vc/invests-social-impact/): The idea of “making an impact” has exploded into our everyday vernacular. Millennials want to make an impact in their personal and professional lives, startups want to make an impact on the world, and investors want to provide the financial capital to support both. Since 2007, impact investing has grown tremendously, with funds of all different
- [This is How You Win the Term Sheet Negotiation Game](https://hpa.vc/win-term-sheet-negotiation-game/): As an entrepreneur you might not even think about a term sheet until you are late into the fundraising process. However, understanding term sheets is essential to coming from a position of strength in the negotiations process and ensuring you make the right decisions for your business. We sat down with Michael Sachaj, Principal at
- [Illinois Technology Association Partners with Hyde Park Angels to Drive Collaborative Ecosystems](https://hpa.vc/ita-partners-hyde-park-angels/): The Illinois Technology Association (ITA) and Hyde Park Angels are excited to announce a new collaborative partnership that will provide additional resources for local technology startups. Drawing on its nearly 500 growth-stage and late-stage members, the ITA will provide access and exposure to successful entrepreneurs and executives who have built and grown their own ventures. As
- [How to Measure Valuation](https://hpa.vc/how-to-measure-valuation/): As an early-stage entrepreneur, one of the first things you learn is that the valuation of your company is important. Every Shark Tank episode focuses on the drama and negotiations around valuation. In fact, the beginning of every Shark Tank pitch starts off in the following way: Entrepreneur: “I am seeking a $## investment in
- [How to Manage World-Class Advisors, Investors, and Board Members](https://hpa.vc/manage-world-class-advisors-investors-board-members/): If you missed the event or just want a quick recap, read on for highlights from the discussion. The event brought together world-class entrepreneurs and investors Jim Gray (CEO, G-Bar Limited Partnership; Co-Founder, OptionsXpress), Amanda Lannert (CEO, Jellyvision), Badal Shah (Co-Founder and CEO, TurboAppeal), Michael Small (CEO, gogo), and Kevin Willer (Partner, Chicago Ventures) to
- [Hyde Park Angels Strengthens People-First Approach to Investing with New Director of Platform](https://hpa.vc/new-director-of-platform/): Chicago, IL – December 7, 2016 – Alida Miranda-Wolff has taken on the role of Director of Platform at Hyde Park Angels. As the early-stage investment group’s first-ever Director of Platform, Alida will drive and strengthen the HPA brand across all channels through a variety of unique strategies and initiatives directed towards key stakeholders in
- [How PartySlate Spotted an Opportunity and Transformed It into a Venture-Backed Business](https://hpa.vc/investment-series-partyslate/): The Hyde Park Angels “New Investment Series” profiles our most recent investments by examining the investment process and the individual company’s future trajectory from two perspectives: the portfolio company’s CEO and the HPA leader who made the deal happen. This edition focuses on PartySlate. Hyde Park Angels invested in PartySlate, a two-sided platform that
- [The HPA 2017 Midwest Startup and Venture Capital Market Analysis](https://hpa.vc/hpa-2017-midwest-vc-market-analysis/): The Hyde Park Angels team conducted a deep dive analysis into the Midwest Venture Capital ecosystem by aggregating and analyzing data from Pitchbook, the U.S. Census, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Illinois Venture Capital Association. We defined the Midwest, also classified as the Great Lakes Region, as Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, and
- [How IOT is Growing and Why We Need to Adapt to Its Changes](https://hpa.vc/hardik-bhatt-iot-founder/): People First is the Hyde Park Angels podcast dedicated to deconstructing entrepreneurial success into actionable takeaways you can use today. Hyde Park Angels is the most active early-stage investor in Chicago with a commitment to taking a “people-first approach” to investing. By matching our members’ expertise with entrepreneurs’ needs, we help develop top-performing companies that
- [How to Build a Team that Copes with Extraordinary Change from a Telecom Leader](https://hpa.vc/michael-small-gogo-podcast/): People First is the Hyde Park Angels podcast dedicated to deconstructing entrepreneurial success into actionable takeaways you can use today. Hyde Park Angels is the most active early-stage investor in Chicago with a commitment to taking a “people-first approach” to investing. By matching our members’ expertise with entrepreneurs’ needs, we help develop top-performing companies that
- [How to Read a Term Sheet](https://hpa.vc/read-term-sheet/): If you’ve never seen a term sheet or before — or have for that matter — it can have a dizzying effect. There’s a lot of complex language and terms you’ve likely never seen before. To help ensure best practices and simplicity in your current and future rounds, use National Venture Capital Association’s sample term sheet or one that’s
- [How to Build, Scale and Exit a Cloud Company in Today’s Market](https://hpa.vc/build-cloud-companies/): People First is the Hyde Park Angels podcast dedicated to deconstructing entrepreneurial success into actionable takeaways you can use today. Hyde Park Angels is the most active early-stage investor in Chicago with a commitment to taking a “people-first approach” to investing. By matching our members’ expertise with entrepreneurs’ needs, we help develop top-performing companies that are delivering
- [6 Killer Mistakes to Avoid in Your Pitch](https://hpa.vc/6-killer-mistakes-avoid-pitch/): This post is part of the Entrepreneurial Education Series, which brings together successful, influential entrepreneurs and investors to teach entrepreneurs everything they need to know about early-stage investment through events, articles, videos, and more. If you are interested in learning more about raising a round, save the date for “Early Stage Investment 101” on June
- [Build and Maintain Strong Advisor, Board Member, and Investor Relationships](https://hpa.vc/build-maintain-strong-advisor-board-member-investor-relationships/): We launched the final program in our Entrepreneurial Education Series, “How to Find Advisors, Board Members, and Investors,” on November 12th with our partner 1871 and sponsor The Wall Street Journal. The event brought together powerhouse entrepreneurs and investors Bruce Barron (Co-Founder & Partner, Origin Ventures), Corey Ferengul (CEO, Undertone), Constance Freedman (Founder & Managing
- [State of Midwest Investments Series: Chicago Edition](https://hpa.vc/state-midwest-investments-series-chicago-edition/): The State of Midwest Investments Series assesses top startup rankings culled from sources like award ceremonies, revenue growth lists, and holistic predictions to evaluate how Midwest startups are performing six months, one year, and two years out from being ranked. We specifically evaluate additional capital raised, new stage of investment, new hires, and current investors
- [Disrupt an Established Market with the Right Blend of People, Process, and Tech](https://hpa.vc/disrupt-established-market-right-blend-people-process-tech/): The Hyde Park Angels “New Investment Series” profiles our most recent investments by examining the portfolio company and its future trajectory from two perspectives: the portfolio company founders and the HPA leaders who made the deal happen. This edition focuses on Truss. Truss is a commercial real estate technology platform that allows tenants looking for
- [Where the Alternative Finance Market Is Headed](https://hpa.vc/alternative-finance-market-headed/): As technology continues to disrupt, transform, and enhance established industries like finance, education, and healthcare, we have tracked the resulting intersections and developments to better understand the different market landscapes. Recently, we brought together leaders in the alternative finance market Al Goldstein (Founder and CEO, Avant), Rumi Morales (Executive Director, CME Ventures), Scott Rose (Leader,
- [Lessons Learned from the 20th Annual New Venture Challenge](https://hpa.vc/lessons-learned-20th-annual-new-venture-challenge/): For the last ten years, Hyde Park Angels has been an active partner of the New Venture Challenge, the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the University of Chicago. Our members and Managing Directors have served as judges, mentors, and instructors for the New Venture Challenge, and we have invested in winners and finalists like
- [The Heart of Every Business: Data Analytics – Past, Present, and Future](https://hpa.vc/data-analytics/): John Lewis is an information services and data analytics leader who has served as Global President of Nielsen and CEO of Knowledge Networks. Now, as an Executive Partner at Madison Dearborn Partners, John works on finding the best investments and opportunities in the space, leveraging his experience to understand the current landscape. At Hyde Park
- [Podcast: What it Takes to Lead Startups & Multimillion-Dollar Companies](https://hpa.vc/joe-beatty/): People First is the Hyde Park Angels podcast dedicated to deconstructing entrepreneurial success into actionable takeaways you can use today. Hyde Park Angels is the most active early-stage investor in Chicago with a commitment to taking a “people-first approach” to investing. By matching our members’ expertise with entrepreneurs’ needs, we help develop top-performing companies that
- [How Regroup Therapy Found and Seized a Huge Telehealth Market Opportunity](https://hpa.vc/telehealth-market-opportunity/): The Hyde Park Angels “New Investment Series” profiles our most recent investments by examining the portfolio company and its future trajectory from two perspectives: the portfolio company’s CEO and the HPA leader who made the deal happen. This edition focuses on Regroup Therapy. Regroup Therapy provides virtual staffing of psychiatrists and mental health professionals to health
- [Blueprint to Your Team's Onboarding Success](https://hpa.vc/onboarding/): Filling an open position is no easy task. A lot of time will go against hiring the perfect employee. It can be easy to forget that there is still more work to be done after the person accepts a job offer. However, there is a reason this new team member decided your company was the
- [The IOT Opportunity: How to Achieve Its Growth Potential](https://hpa.vc/iot/): This post was contributed by HPA Member Hardik Bhatt, who has spent the last decade in the Internet of Things (IOT) space, previously heading up Cisco’s global business development for IOT for the public sector and currently serving as the CIO of the State of Illinois. Hardik has worked on both the seller and buyer
- [How to Successfully Pitch Your Team to Investors](https://hpa.vc/successfully-pitch-team-investors/): Last year, DocSend — a startup focused on sharing secure files — partnered with the Harvard Business School professor Tom Eisenmann to study over 200 pitch decks as a means of determining how entrepreneurs should optimize their pitches to increase the chances of funding. The study contained many interesting results, as well as actionable takeaways from entrepreneurs raising rounds
- [The Rise of Content Creators and How Popular Pays is Leading the Charge](https://hpa.vc/popularpays/): The Hyde Park Angels “New Investment Series” profiles our most recent investments by examining the portfolio company and its future trajectory from two perspectives: the portfolio company’s CEO and the HPA leader who made the deal happen. This edition focuses on Popular Pays. Popular Pays is the largest and most active marketplace for brands to
- [Podcast: Developing Product and Hiring Technical Talent with John Higginson](https://hpa.vc/john-higginson/): People First is the Hyde Park Angels podcast dedicated to deconstructing entrepreneurial success into actionable takeaways you can use today. Hyde Park Angels is the most active early-stage investor in Chicago with a commitment to taking a “people-first approach” to investing. By matching our members’ expertise with entrepreneurs’ needs, we help develop top-performing companies that
- [Breaking Down the Logistics Industry: Challenges, Trends, and Opportunities](https://hpa.vc/logistics/): This post was contributed by HPA Member Eddie Leshin, who has spent over 25 years in the logistics industry, including serving as COO at Coyote Logistics. Eddie has served in a variety of leadership roles, including at C.H. Robinson and American Backhaulers. Here he explains the logistics technology ecosystem and highlights key emerging trends. Logistics
- [Podcast: Creating a Goal-Driven Culture with Eddie Leshin](https://hpa.vc/eddie-leshin/): People First is the Hyde Park Angels podcast dedicated to deconstructing entrepreneurial success into actionable takeaways you can use today. Hyde Park Angels is the most active early-stage investor in Chicago with a commitment to taking a "people-first approach" to investing. By matching our members’ expertise with entrepreneurs’ needs, we help develop top-performing companies that are delivering extraordinary
- [How to Create Your Talent Strategy](https://hpa.vc/talent-strategy/): A business is nothing without its people. Success in business can always be tied back to the people who are building it ‘hands-on’. No matter the size of the company, each person has a significant impact. Whether it is your fifth hire or your 500th, every employee contributes to the team dynamic, productivity, office environment
- [An Unexpected Part of Growing Your Team: Employee Benefits](https://hpa.vc/employee-benefits/): Entrepreneurs hear that they need to grow their teams and plan for bigger and better things every day. They develop plans centered on bringing in talent, creating new organizational structures, and putting that talent to work in core growth areas for the business. However, another key part of growing a team is planning for the
- [Finding the Right Investors](https://hpa.vc/finding-right-investors/): This post is part of the Entrepreneurial Education Series, which brings together successful, influential entrepreneurs and investors to teach entrepreneurs everything they need to know about early-stage investment through events, articles, videos, and more. If you are interested in learning more about raising a round, register for “Early Stage Investment 101” on June 17. As
- [The Biggest Opportunities in Food Entrepreneurship and Investing in Chicago](https://hpa.vc/food-entrepreneurship/): The Food and Beverage landscape is a behemoth, and one that until recently has remained relatively unchanged, creating enormous opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors to innovate, disrupt, and technologize its vast subcategories. In particular, Chicago’s Food and Beverage industry, which is currently the second biggest in the United States behind Los Angeles, is on the
- [Protecting Your Business from Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Setbacks](https://hpa.vc/protect-your-business/): In a resource-strapped, lean, and agile environment like a startup, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that you are just as vulnerable to business risks as other types of companies. Anything from an employee slip and fall to a security breach can turn into a major liability. For a startup, it’s
- [How to Choose the Right Service Providers for Your Startup](https://hpa.vc/choose-right-service-providers-startup/): Whether to hire a service provider is a tricky question for many entrepreneurs. Startups are expected to run lean and be scrappy, mostly due to limited resources. Consequently, there’s a distinctive DIY mentality to startup culture, and in a lot of cases, it breeds extraordinary results. But not all the time. Frankly, sometimes you don’t
- [Building the Perfect Pitch](https://hpa.vc/building-perfect-pitch-deck/): This post is part of the Hyde Park Angels Entrepreneurial Education Series, which brings together successful, influential entrepreneurs and investors to teach entrepreneurs everything they need to know about early-stage investment through events, articles, videos, and more. If you are interested in learning more about raising a round, save the date for “Early Stage Investment
- [HPA’s 5 Biggest Lessons from 2016](https://hpa.vc/hpas-5-biggest-lessons-2016/): 2016 was an incredible year for entrepreneurship and innovation in Chicago and the Midwest, in large part due to our ecosystem’s willingness to share resources and provide the tools necessary for success. In that spirit, we looked back on all of our blogs from 2016 and hand-picked the top 5 most read and shared to
- [How to Build a Content Strategy Completely From Scratch](https://hpa.vc/content-strategy/): Content. It’s an ominous word for companies of all sizes, but especially so for startups. You know you need strong content to help establish your brand, attract new users and showcase your products or services, but exactly how do you go about doing so? As with most well-executed parts of your business, effective content starts
- [How the Co-Founder of Trustwave Prices SaaS Products](https://hpa.vc/co-founder-trustwave-prices-saas-products/): As any entrepreneur knows, pricing is a critical component of successfully bringing a SaaS product to market. Even after determining your revenue model and pricing strategy, finding the price that customers are willing to pay for can be a challenge. That’s why we spoke with an expert on SaaS pricing, Trustwave Co-Founder, Truss Co-Founder, and
- [How to Read a Safe Term Sheet](https://hpa.vc/read-safe-term-sheet/): As an entrepreneur seeking funding, you have a variety of term sheet options, including the safe (simple agreement for future equity). Originally created by Y Combinator as an alternative to convertible notes, the safe maintains the flexibility of a convertible note but addresses many of its problems. It does not collect interest or have a
- [Ups & Downs: Predicting the Direction of Your Next Round](https://hpa.vc/ups-downs-predicting-direction-next-round/): The tech world is presently rife with analyses on the perceived valuations crunch in 2016, and in particular, a few examples of startup giants that apparently aren’t immune to it after all. But what does that mean for early-stage entrepreneurs that are just getting out of their seed and Series A rounds and onto the
- [How to Seal a Venture Debt Deal](https://hpa.vc/seal-venture-debt-deal/): As the technology startup landscape has developed and transformed in the last two decades, so have the backers and investment vehicles behind it. From micro-VCs to equity crowdfunding, there are an abundance of funding options that either never existed before, or did in very different forms. Take venture debt. In the early 2000s, there were
- [The Biggest Trends in Angel Investing](https://hpa.vc/biggest-trends-angel-investing/): Every year, the Angel Resource Institute works together with Pitchbook and Wilamette University to put together the Halo Report, an in-depth analysis of individual angel and angel group investment activity across the country. As members of the Angel Capital Association and the larger angel community, we are proud to be featured in this year’s report
- [How to Fund Your Early-Stage Startup](https://hpa.vc/fund-early-stage-startup/): We launched the first program in our 2016 Entrepreneurial Education Series, “When to Raise Venture Capital or Bootstrap,” on March 3rd with our partner 1871. The event brought together powerhouse entrepreneurs and investors Bill Pescatello (Partner, Lightbank), Pam Netzky (Co-Founder, SkinnyPop), Kristi Ross (Co-CEO & President, dough), Katlin Smith (Founder & CEO, Simple Mills), and
- [What We Learned About Innovation Trends from SXSW Interactive](https://hpa.vc/learned-innovation-trends-sxsw-interactive/): Since launching the SXSW Accelerator eight years ago, SXSW Interactive has increasingly become a hub for investors and entrepreneurs alike to immerse themselves in emerging trends and make critical connections. Since the first Accelerator, SXSW has grown its startup focus considerably, expanding Startup Village and the number of startup-specific panels, meet-up’s, and exhibitions. This year,
- [Regroup Therapy Raises $1.8M to Transform Behavioral Health Need Market](https://hpa.vc/regroup-therapy-raises-1-8m-transform-behavioral-health-need-market/): Regroup Therapy, an on-demand provider of virtual mental health teams to health entities, raised over $1.8M to grow its sales and engineering teams and expand its partnerships with healthcare entities, therapists and prescribers like psychiatrists and Advanced Practice Nurses. Hyde Park Angels led the Series Seed round, with participation fromOCA Ventures, Impact Engine, New Stack
- [Hyde Park Angels Finances User Interface Startup UICO, LLC, in Chicago](https://hpa.vc/hyde-park-angels-finances-user-interface-startup-uico-llc-chicago/): Hyde Park Angels (HPA), a Chicago-based angel network, has completed a round of financing for UICO, LLC, headquartered in Glendale Heights, IL. UICO develops and manufactures innovative user-interface (UI) solutions, such as touchscreens, for the appliance, industrial and medical markets. As an integrator of emerging and innovative user interfaces, UICO leverages appropriate technologies to deliver
- [Hyde Park Angels Appoints Private Equity Veteran Sam Guren as New Managing Director](https://hpa.vc/hyde-park-angels-appoints-private-equity-veteran-sam-guren-new-managing-director/): Hyde Park Angels (HPA), a Chicago-based angel investment network, today named Sam Guren as its Managing Director to continue to advance the angel network’s efforts in support of early stage investing and start-up companies in the Midwest. Sam Guren is a venture capital and private equity veteran with over thirty years of investment experience. Former
- [Hyde Park Angels Event Brings Globally-Known Experts to Chicago](https://hpa.vc/hyde-park-angels-event-brings-globally-known-experts-chicago/): Investors from across the country found standing-room-only availability at a Hyde Park Angels event designed to stimulate investment activity in the Chicago region. The Angel Excelerator conference, presented by the Hyde Park Angels and Excelerate Labs, a Chicago-based bootcamp for startups, attracted more than 120 people to the August 30 event. Open to accredited investors
- [Is Your Business a Venture?](https://hpa.vc/hello-world/): This post is part of the Hyde Park Angels Entrepreneurial Education Series, which brings together successful, influential entrepreneurs and investors to teach entrepreneurs everything they need to know about early-stage investment through events, articles, videos, and more. Before you begin the long, complicated quest for investment, you need to make sure it’s the right decision
- [Identifying the Right Metrics to Measure Traction](https://hpa.vc/identifying-right-metrics-measure-traction/): This post is part of the Hyde Park Angels Entrepreneurial Education Series, which brings together successful, influential entrepreneurs and investors to teach entrepreneurs everything they need to know about early-stage investment through events, articles, videos, and more. Like market size, traction is a term that gets thrown around in investment and entrepreneurial circles all the
- [What You Gain When You Bootstrap](https://hpa.vc/what-you-gain-when-you-bootstrap/): This post is part of the Hyde Park Angels Entrepreneurial Education Series, which brings together successful, influential entrepreneurs and investors to teach entrepreneurs everything they need to know about early-stage investment through events, articles, videos, and more. If you are interested in learning more about whether to raise a fund, register for “Are You Ready
- [Investor Metrics](https://hpa.vc/investor-metrics/): This post is part of the Entrepreneurial Education Series, which brings together successful, influential entrepreneurs and investors to teach entrepreneurs everything they need to know about early-stage investment through events, articles, videos, and more. If you are interested in learning more about raising a round, save the date for “Early Stage Investment 101” on June
- [Pitch Your Startup in 30 Seconds](https://hpa.vc/pitch-startup-30-seconds/): This post is part of the Entrepreneurial Education Series, which brings together successful, influential entrepreneurs and investors to teach entrepreneurs everything they need to know about early-stage investment through events, articles, videos, and more. If you are interested in learning more about raising a round, save the date for “Early Stage Investment 101” on June
- [What the Best Angels from Around the World Look for in Entrepreneurs](https://hpa.vc/best-angels-around-world-look-entrepreneurs/): This post is part of the Entrepreneurial Education Series, which brings together successful, influential entrepreneurs and investors to teach entrepreneurs everything they need to know about early-stage investment through events, articles, videos, and more. If you are interested in learning more about raising a round, save the date for “Early Stage Investment 101” on June
- [Understanding the Early Investment Stages](https://hpa.vc/understanding-early-investment-stages/): This post is part of the Entrepreneurial Education Series, which brings together successful, influential entrepreneurs and investors to teach entrepreneurs everything they need to know about early-stage investment through events, articles, videos, and more. If you are interested in learning more about raising a round, save the date for “Early Stage Investment 101” on June
- [3 Foolproof Ways to Get the Most Out of Office Hours](https://hpa.vc/3-foolproof-ways-get-office-hours/): This post is part of the Hyde Park Angels Entrepreneurial Education Series, which brings together successful, influential entrepreneurs and investors to teach entrepreneurs everything they need to know about early-stage investment through events, articles, videos, and more. If you are interested in learning more about raising a round, save the date for “Early Stage Investment
- [Announcing Early-Stage Investment 101](https://hpa.vc/announcing-early-stage-investment-101/): Register Today In the second program of our four-part Entrepreneurial Education Series in partnership with 1871, Early-Stage Investment 101, we will pull back the curtain on the investment cycle to teach you the in’s and out’s of raising a round. You’ll walk away from the session having learned: · The differences between funding stages (seed,
- [The 4 Best Tech Tools to Use for Investor Meetings](https://hpa.vc/4-best-tech-tools-use-investor-meetings/): This post is part of the Entrepreneurial Education Series, which brings together successful, influential entrepreneurs and investors to teach entrepreneurs everything they need to know about early-stage investment through events, articles, videos, and more. If you are interested in learning more about raising a round, register for “Early Stage Investment 101” on June 17. Investor
- [What Does It Take to Get Funded?](https://hpa.vc/take-get-funded/): Getting funded is often more art than science. Some companies can and do get funded within hours, though contrary to what you might think, this is certainly more exception than rule, especially in the early stages. However, there is one factor that can significantly aid you in raising your round. Finding a Lead Investor Your
- [4 Ways to Negotiate with Your Investors Like a Pro](https://hpa.vc/4-ways-negotiate-investors-like-pro/): You’ve done the work — from building the actual company to meeting investors and pitching them. What comes next? For a lot of entrepreneurs, term sheet negotiations are the most opaque part of the whole funding process. Consequently, they don’t know how to deal with negotiations or the investors on the other side of the table. But
- [Early-Stage Investment 101](https://hpa.vc/early-stage-investment-101/): We launched “Early-Stage Investment 101,” the second program of our four-part early-stage investment education series for entrepreneurs in collaboration with partner 1871 and series sponsor The Wall Street Journallast week. The event brought together powerhouse entrepreneurs and investors Sach Chitnis (Jump Capital), Aashish Dalal (ParkWhiz), Rishi Shah (ContextMedia), Ira Weiss (Hyde Park Venture Partners, Chicago
- [Navigating the Series A Crunch](https://hpa.vc/navigating-series-crunch/): From our work with Visible.VC developing an index of investor sentiment and predictions for future investment, we’ve seen that investors believe there is plenty of funding available for seed rounds, but a much more limited amount for Series A rounds. You might fall into a number of categories: not raising any capital yet, still gathering
- [Find and Network with Investors](https://hpa.vc/find-network-investors/): There’s no question that finding the right investors and building relationships with them early on is one of the key components of successfully raising capital and building your business. But where do you even start? How can you pinpoint the right investors and convince them you’re worth spending time with if you can’t even find
- [Where the Early-Stage Investment Market is Headed According to Investors](https://hpa.vc/early-stage-investment-market-headed-according-investors/): In partnership with Visible, a Chicago-based company, we surveyed dozens of top angel investors and venture capitalists from around the world to provide insights into market trends in the early-stage investment ecosystem. As an entrepreneur, understanding the investor perspective puts you in a better position to make smarter business decisions, prepare more effectively for investor
- [Hyde Park Angels Launches Comprehensive Partner Network](https://hpa.vc/hyde-park-angels-launches-comprehensive-partner-network/): Hyde Park Angels (HPA), the largest and most active angel network in the Midwest, recently launched its comprehensive partners network at its Annual Summit on July 23rd, 2015. The network brings together corporations, investors, and service providers to foster increased innovation, stimulate more investments, and create a comprehensive network of resources and supporters for entrepreneurs
- [TurboAppeal Acquires Realytics, Appoints New Chief Technology Officer](https://hpa.vc/turboappeal-acquires-realytics-appoints-new-chief-technology-officer/): TurboAppeal continues its fast-paced growth trajectory since it raised $1.5M from investors @Properties, Hyde Park Angels, and Hyde Park Venture Partners earlier this year with two new strategic additions. Namely, the real estate technology company best known for its highly accurate, inexpensive, big data-powered property tax appeal solution has recently acquired another real estate tech
- [Unlock Metrics on Your Investors and Your Competitors](https://hpa.vc/unlock-metrics-investors-competitors/): Investors care about metrics, especially your startup’s metrics –number of non-paying customers versus paying customers, customer’s lifetime value, growth rate, total revenue month over month, and the list goes on and on. A lot of times, they’re using data tools to evaluate these metrics even before you pitch them. For example, Mattermark allows investors to
- [3 Key Terms in a Term Sheet to Understand](https://hpa.vc/3-key-terms-term-sheet-understand/): Receiving a term sheet from an investor can be an exciting time for you as a founder. But you shouldn’t let that excitement keep you from understanding and thinking critically about that term sheet. The better your grasp the terms presented, the more chance you’ll have of effectively starting your long-term investor relationship on the
- [Why You Don’t Need to Be a Unicorn](https://hpa.vc/dont-need-unicorn/): Understanding investors’ perspectives on risk will provide insights into how they make investments, build their portfolio, and even evaluate your business. Despite deep due diligence, and in most cases — especially among angels — a deep desire to provide the tools and resources necessary for a business to succeed, investors can’t always pick winners. Consequently, many aim to intelligently
- [Build and Fund Your Startup through Corporate Partners](https://hpa.vc/build-fund-startup-corporate-partners/): Join Hyde Park Angels at 1871 on September 24 for a dynamic event focused on teaching you how to leverage Chicago’s rich corporate landscape to grow your startup. Our experienced panel of entrepreneurs and corporate venturers will take you through landing corporate clients, building strategy partnership, and even attracting corporate investment. You’ll also have the
- [How to Read and Understand a Cap Table](https://hpa.vc/read-understand-cap-table/): Understanding all of the technicalities of investment — how you should calculate your valuation, what your term sheet actually says, and what a cap table is, let alone should demonstrate — can an often feel like the most difficult part of the process. Even more than pitching and finding the right investors, understanding the technicalities of investment requires learning and
- [Fund Your Startup through Corporations](https://hpa.vc/fund-startup-corporations/): We launched the third program in our Entrepreneurial Education Series, “Connecting Corporations and Startups,” on September 24th with our partner 1871 and sponsor The Wall Street Journal. The event brought together powerhouse entrepreneurs, corporate venturers, and corporate executives Jacob Babcock (CEO & Co-Founder, NuCurrent), Hardik Bhatt (CIO, State of Illinois), Rob Diebold (Strategic Business Development
- [Understanding Your Cloud Options](https://hpa.vc/understanding-cloud-options/): Cloud may be a buzzword, but it isn’t a fad. In business and life, people are relying on the remote technology of cloud computing to keep their data accessible and secure. As an entrepreneur building a business, especially a tech-enabled business, you need to understand the different cloud options available and how they fit into
- [How to Get an Angel Investment](https://hpa.vc/get-angel-investment/): To really succeed at building relationships with angel groups and getting investments from them, you have to understand how they work. If you match an angel group’s investment criteria, the next step is to go through their process. But for a lot of entrepreneurs, that process is opaque. While some angel groups might provide you
- [Find and Work with Advisors, Board Members, and Investors](https://hpa.vc/find-work-advisors-board-members-investors/): Join Hyde Park Angels at 1871 on Thursday, November 12 from 6:00 pm — 8:00 pm to learn from the expert investors, executives, and board members behind Chicago’s biggest exits and most successful investments. Discover how startups like Grubhub, Answers.com, and others found the advisors, board members, and investors that helped them drive growth and achieve success,
- [How Option Pools Work](https://hpa.vc/option-pools-work/): In the first post of our cap table series, we broke down a cap table into its most basic parts and defined each one. As a quick refresher, cap tables all of the shareholders in your business and lay out who owns what, how much each one owns, and what value is assigned to the
- [Understanding Your Term Sheet Options](https://hpa.vc/understanding-term-sheet-options/): Up until now, our ongoing term sheet series has focused on how to read an equity term sheet and a convertible debt term sheet. But before you learn to read term sheets, you need to know what your financing options are. Specially, as an entrepreneur, what kind of deal structure makes the most sense for your
- [Build a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign in 5 Steps](https://hpa.vc/build-successful-crowdfunding-campaign-5-steps/): As an early-stage entrepreneur, your first instinct might be to go straight to angels or venture capital firms to help accelerate you from the idea or prototype stage to a successful launch. However, that can be a losing strategy with investors looking to see market traction of some kind and measure your product-market fit. At
- [Understand Venture Debt](https://hpa.vc/understand-venture-debt/): Entrepreneurs need capital to support their businesses, but they often think venture capital is the only way despite a number of other options. One of those options is venture debt, which startups can qualify for once they’ve raised a venture capital round. We spoke with Bailey Moore, Vice President of Wintrust Ventures, about how venture
- [2015 in Review: Our Top 3 Entrepreneurial Resource Series](https://hpa.vc/2015-review-top-3-entrepreneurial-resource-series/): 2015 in Review: Our Top 3 Entrepreneurial Resource Series We launched the official Hyde Park Angels blog in late January with one central goal — to demystify the early-stage investment process for entrepreneurs so they could successfully navigate the process and build their companies. Since then, we’ve broken down difficult concepts like term sheets, option pools, and
- [2015 in Review: The 4 Most Important Lessons from the Entrepreneurial Education Series](https://hpa.vc/2015-review-4-important-lessons-entrepreneurial-education-series/): 2015 in Review: The 4 Most Important Lessons from the Entrepreneurial Education Series In March of this year, we launched our Entrepreneurial Education Series, a series that takes entrepreneurs through the early-stage investment from start to finish. We explored every nearly relevant funding topic, including what makes a startup investable, how to find investors, how
- [2016 Hyde Park Angels & 1871 Entrepreneurial Education Series](https://hpa.vc/2016-hyde-park-angels-1871-entrepreneurial-education-series/): Hyde Park Angels is bringing together successful, influential entrepreneurs and investors to teach you everything you need to know about early-stage investment for the second year in a row. Attend all four programs and walk away with a thorough understanding of the early-stage investment cycle from start to finish or pick and choose program to
- [Get the Most Out of Your Investors](https://hpa.vc/get-the-most-out-of-your-investors/): The relationship with your investors shouldn’t start and stop with each round you raise. In fact, depending on who your investors are, neglecting the relationship could dramatically decrease their chances of participating in your next round. More importantly, when you don’t maximize your relationships with investors, you leave opportunities for growing your startup and strengthening
- [Learn When to Raise Venture Capital or Bootstrap](https://hpa.vc/learn-raise-venture-capital-bootstrap/): Join Hyde Park Angels at 1871 on Thursday, March 3 from 6:00 pm — 8:00 pm to learn from the seasoned entrepreneurs and investors behind Chicago’s biggest startups, including SkinnyPop, dough, cleverbridge, Geofeedia, and others. Hear how these Chicago tech heavyweights started, sold, and scaled their businesses, and how raising venture capital or bootstrapping fundamentally impacted their
- [Find the Right Midwest Accelerator to Grow Your Startup](https://hpa.vc/find-right-midwest-accelerator-grow-startup/): In the last few days, a lively discussion over accelerators has cropped up, with industry thought-leaders like Sam Altman warning entrepreneurs to pick just one really strong accelerator and actually accelerate their companies, and others arguing that entrepreneurs can benefit from trying out multiple accelerators, so long as the fit is right each time. In
- [5 Newsletters Every Entrepreneur Should Read](https://hpa.vc/5-newsletters-every-entrepreneur-read/): There is a true wealth of resources out there for entrepreneurs, which is exactly the problem. How can you effectively manage your very limited time if you’re inundated with a sea of options, and worse, have to actively seek them out? We come up against this challenge all of the time, and we have learned
- [Prism Analytical Technologies Raises $1.8M to Change the Face of Analytical Used in the Field and Laboratory](https://hpa.vc/prism-analytical-technologies-raises-1-8m-change-face-analytical-used-field-laboratory/): Prism Analytical Technologies, a provider of cutting-edge technology solutions for measuring trace compounds in the field and laboratory, raised $1.8M to ramp up sales and expand R&D efforts for MAX technology. Prism’s CTO, Marty Spartz, is one of the pioneers of emissions testing technology and previously developed a number of market-leading analytical instruments. Hyde Park
- [How to Find the Right Talent to Grow Your Startup](https://hpa.vc/find-right-talent-grow-startup/): When you’re running an early-stage company, the worst thing you can do is hire the wrong person. It’s a waste of time and money, which are an entrepreneur’s two most valuable and most limited assets. Conversely, a good hire can help hit major milestones, create new market opportunities, and reach inflection points that make or
- [The Eastman Egg Company Raises $1.5M to Seize on Enormous Fast-Casual Opportunity](https://hpa.vc/eastman-egg-company-raises-1-5m-seize-enormous-fast-casual-opportunity/): The Eastman Egg Company­, the technology-enabled restaurant line at the intersection of the fast-casual and breakfast markets, raised $1.5M to open two new locations, launch the next version of its mobile app, and accelerate its already rapid growth. Hyde Park Angels led the Series A-1 round, with participation from both new investors SLoFIG(Sustainable Local Food
- [Announcing New HPA Entrepreneurial Resource Series](https://hpa.vc/announcing-new-hpa-entrepreneurial-resource-series-4/): Last year, we focused on building a library of resources for entrepreneurs around pitching, term sheets, and cap tables. This year, we have focused on enriching this existing library and adding new resources geared towards exploring the fundamental building blocks of a business, the trends, expert advice, and insights into how to launch and grow
- [3 Key Steps to Assessing Your Capital Raise](https://hpa.vc/3-key-steps-assessing-capital-raise/): Taking on capital has a cost and an inherent risk. Specifically, when you take on capital, you’re giving up equity and entering into an agreement with your shareholders to ultimately work towards delivering value back to them. There are risks associated with raising more capital than you can return that could materially impact the health
- [Win the Startup PR Game](https://hpa.vc/win-startup-pr-game/): At Hyde Park Angels, we spend a lot of time working with our portfolio companies on developing and executing communications strategies that help them achieve their unique goals, whether they are attracting new partners, generating leads, or launching a new product in the market. With over forty portfolio companies, we have worked on a variety
- [Accelerate Your Investment Timeline](https://hpa.vc/accelerate-investment-timeline/): As an entrepreneur, you often have more control over investment timelines than you know in the early stages. You can drive the discussions and the timing by being prepared, anticipating commonly asked questions, and managing the investment process as professionally and strategically as you manage your business. Specifically, by actively preparing for a fundraise before
- [New Investment Series: Luxury Garage Sale](https://hpa.vc/new-investment-series-luxury-garage-sale/): The Hyde Park Angels “New Investment Series” profiles the companies we most recently funded by examining the investment process and the future trajectory from the perspectives of the new portfolio company’s CEO and the HPA leader who made the deal happen. This month we invested in Luxury Garage Sale, an omni-channel consignment startup, in a
- [Land an Investment in 5 Steps](https://hpa.vc/land-investment-5-steps/): At the early-stages, entrepreneurs are concerned with a host of problems and uncertainties surrounding the development of their company from how to hire talent to what it takes to get that product built and sold to customers. But overwhelmingly, we see entrepreneurs struggle to understand how the early-stage investment process works, and what they need
- [New Investment Series: Quikly](https://hpa.vc/new-investment-series-quikly/): The Hyde Park Angels “New Investment Series” profiles our most recent investments by examining the investment process and the individual company’s future trajectory from two perspectives: the portfolio company’s CEO and the HPA leader who made the deal happen. This month we invested in Quikly, a Detroit-based digital marketing platform for retailers, in a Series
- [Why Cap Tables Matter: Ownership and Exit Values](https://hpa.vc/cap-tables-ownership/): Cap tables and venture capital go hand-in-hand. Without them, determining ownership, control, and exit returns would be nearly impossible. That’s because a capitalization table is a table that takes all of the shareholders in your business and lays out who owns what, how much each one owns, and what value is assigned to the stock
- [New Investment Series: Catalytic](https://hpa.vc/new-investment-catalytic/): The Hyde Park Angels “New Investment Series” profiles our most recent investments by examining the investment process and the individual company’s future trajectory from two perspectives: the portfolio company’s CEO and the HPA leader who made the deal happen. This edition focuses on Catalytic. We recently invested in Catalytic, a SaaS company automating business processes
- [Land Corporate Clients, Partners, and Investors](https://hpa.vc/land-corporate-investors/): We launched the third program in our Entrepreneurial Education Series, “Fund Your Startup through Corporate Sales, Partners, and Investment” on September 21st with our partner 1871. The event brought together experienced corporate investors Steve Garrou (Executive Vice President, Westcon), Reese Schroeder (Managing Director, Motorola Solutions Venture Capital), and Lily Yeung (Director of Corporate Development, Molex), the
- [New Investment Series: TransparentCareer](https://hpa.vc/new-investment-series-transparentcareer/): The Hyde Park Angels “New Investment Series” profiles our most recent investments by examining the investment process and the individual company’s future trajectory from two perspectives: the portfolio company’s CEO and the HPA leader who made the deal happen. This edition focuses on TransparentCareer. We recently led an investment in TransparentCareer, a career management platform
- [How to Set Up Vesting Shares with Co-Founders](https://hpa.vc/vesting-shares-work-co-founders-matters/): When a founding team starts a business, the members have to ask themselves a critical question: how should we make sure they divide the value of the company fairly? There are many ways to do this, but often the simplest is to structure the initial shares as vesting. Vesting shares means an individual does not
- [New Investment Series: Occasion](https://hpa.vc/new-investment-series-occasion/): The Hyde Park Angels “New Investment Series” profiles our most recent investments by examining the investment process and the individual company’s future trajectory from two perspectives: the portfolio company’s CEO and the HPA leader who made the deal happen. This edition focuses on Occasion. Aksh, why did you start Occasion? What problem were you trying
- [How to Make the Most of Your Strategic Partners](https://hpa.vc/make-strategic-partners/): As part of HPA’s efforts to build opportunities for growth and success across our portfolio and our partners, we connect them to one another to drive results. We connected our portfolio company Xaptum with one of our partners, Westcon-Comstor, to do just that. Almost a year later, we spoke with Steve Garrou, EVP of Corporate
- [Growth Stories: The Eastman Egg Company Hits Its Latest Milestone](https://hpa.vc/2803-2/): Growth Stories is a new HPA blog series focused on profiling what happens to our portfolio companies after they raise venture capital. This first edition focuses on The Eastman Egg Company’s latest expansion. When Hunter Swartz first landed on the fast-casual breakfast concept in 2014, he started by opening a food truck. Two years later,
- [How to Read a Convertible Debt Term Sheet](https://hpa.vc/read-convertible-debt-term-sheet/): Register for “How to Work with Your Advisors, Board Members, and Investors” on November 12 at 6:00 pm at 1871 to learn more about this and other topics on our blog. As an entrepreneur raising capital, you have many options on what type of round to pursue: equity, safe, or even convertible debt. Especially in

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- [Hyde Park Angels Announces Managing Director Transition](https://hpa.vc/internal-hyde-park-angels-announces-managing-director-transition/): Pete Wilkins has informed the Hyde Park Angels Board of Directors that after much reflection, he intends to pursue the next chapter in his career and transition from his Managing Director role this summer. With nearly six years leading the organization, his contributions to HPA have been numerous and significant. To ensure continuity and
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- [Term Sheet — Tuesday, February 28](https://hpa.vc/term-sheet-tuesday-february-28/): Answer and solution: Term Sheet readers are aware that the private equity industry is increasingly facing an inventory problem – viable targets are too expensive, activist shareholders are forcing companies to do PE-style cost-cutting while they’re public, and corporate buyers have so much cash they can afford to pay high premiums. The data shows private
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## Leadership

- [Sapan Shah MD, JD](https://hpa.vc/leadership/sapan-shah-md-jd/): Sapan Shah's background includes a range of experience in entrepreneurship, medicine, law, insurance, angel investing and politics. Sapan is the Managing Partner of Alera Group’s HPL Division and a Board Director of Alera Group, a national insurance and financial services firm. Sapan joined Alera in 2017 when Alera acquired Flagship Healthcare, which he co-founded in 2007.
- [Peter Layton](https://hpa.vc/leadership/peter-layton/): Peter J. Layton is an entrepreneur, investor, and executive with extensive experience across financial markets, global trade, venture investing, and environmental restoration. Mr. Layton serves as Chief Executive Officer and an owner of the Global Supply Chain Exchange (GSCX), an initiative focused on expanding participation by developing countries in the international trade ecosystem by facilitating
- [Matt Darnall](https://hpa.vc/leadership/matt-darnall/): Matt Darnall retired in July 2021 from his position as Managing Director, Industrials Group of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (a financial institution). Over a 36-year career at Goldman Sachs, Mr. Darnall advised companies on strategic, financial and corporate structure matters across a variety of industries, spending the last two decades leading the midwestern Industrial's Group.
- [Jeff Kleban](https://hpa.vc/leadership/jeff-kleban/): Jeff Kleban is an active angel investor in early-stage companies. Before investing, Jeff co-founded Syclo, an enterprise mobility software company, in 1995. Over 17 years he built the sales, marketing and alliance organizations that led to the company's sale to SAP in 2012. After leaving SAP, Jeff set his sights on becoming an angel investor
- [Dipa Mehta](https://hpa.vc/leadership/dipa-mehta/): Dipa Mehta is the Co-founder and Managing Partner at Valeo Ventures. Valeo is the investment manager for Cobalt Ventures, the strategic venture capital arm of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. She serves on the boards of Bicycle Health, Handspring Health, MedArrive, and OncoHealth. Currently, Valeo is developing a new venture capital fund
- [Michelle Rogoff](https://hpa.vc/leadership/michelle-rogoff/): Michelle Rogoff is a Senior Associate at HPA. In her current role, Michelle is responsible for identifying and investing in high-growth companies while supporting HPA's investment opportunities throughout their life cycles. Prior to joining HPA, Michelle's professional background spans experience in CPG, adtech, and early-stage startups. She graduated from the Kelley School of Business at
- [Aditya Burra](https://hpa.vc/leadership/aditya-burra/): Aditya Burra is the Venture Operations Manager at HPA. In this role, Aditya supports deal sourcing and marketing, and drives workflow automation across the organization. Prior to joining HPA, Aditya played key roles in organizations spanning accounting, policy research, and SaaS, where he architected AI-driven products and workflows. He holds a Master of Public Policy from
- [Pete Wilkins](https://hpa.vc/leadership/pete-wilkins/): Pete Wilkins is an accomplished entrepreneur, investor, and AI innovator. He serves as Managing Partner of Hyde Park Angels (HPA) and founder of Omaxn, the premier Midwest AI forum. As HPA’s leader, Wilkins spearheaded its evolution from a traditional angel network into an institutional-grade venture investor, cultivating HPA into one of the top early-stage venture
- [Bess Goodfellow](https://hpa.vc/leadership/bess-goodfellow/): Bess Goodfellow is a Partner at HPA. Bess is passionate about empowering founders as they build transformative companies. In her current role, Bess is tasked with sourcing high growth companies across the Midwest and supporting those investments through their lifecycle. Her portfolio of investments spans a broad spectrum of industry including enterprise, fintech, consumer, and
- [Stephen Ross](https://hpa.vc/leadership/stephen-ross/): Stephen is a Partner at HPA. Stephen joined HPA as an Analyst in 2016 following his time as the Director of Sales for a consumer electronics startup where he managed omnichannel sales and supply chain. In his current role as a Partner, Stephen is tasked with finding high growth companies across the Midwest and supporting
- [Michael Sachaj](https://hpa.vc/leadership/michael-sachaj/): Michael is a Partner at HPA and manages and supports HPA’s investment opportunities through their lifecycle. Michael has led investment in a number of HPA’s top performing investments including Provi, Hologram, FourKites, and Motion AI. Prior to joining HPA in 2013, Michael attended Northwestern University and worked at strategy consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton supporting
- [Joe Beatty](https://hpa.vc/leadership/joe-beatty/): Joe is an investor and advisor to numerous startups and growth companies in the technology space. Prior to that, he was President, Chief Executive Officer and a board member of Telular Corporation, a publicly held, “Internet of Things” company based in Chicago. Previous to that, Joe was the CEO of Concourse Communications, a P.E. owned,
- [Pete Wilkins](https://hpa.vc/leadership/pete-wilkins-2/): Pete Wilkins is a Purpose First leader committed to creating a positive impact on the world. Before he was thirty, he was a critical part of two technology startups that sold and IPO-ed for more than $2.8 billion. He later went on to lead the turnaround of a medical education company from record losses to record
- [Ann Deters](https://hpa.vc/leadership/ann-deters/): Ann Deters is the CEO & Founder of Vantage Technology, providing cataract services to hospitals and surgery centers throughout the United States for the past 30 years. In addition, she has started several healthcare ventures, e.g. surgery centers, medical billing services, and software technology. Currently, she sits on two corporate boards, i.e. Xformative (New York

## News Articles

- [8 companies making Chicago a booming hub for cybersecurity](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-cybersecurity/): In many respects, laptops, smart phones and servers have become our closest confidants, holding all of our most critical information. Thankfully, cybersecurity companies are working tirelessly to protect that data, and many of the industry's most innovative players are located right here in Chicago. Trustwave view open jobs View Profile » One of Chicago’s biggest tech
- [LandscapeHub raises $4.4M seed round to make cities more beautiful](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/landscapehub-raises-4-4m-seed-round-to-make-cities-more-beautiful/): If you think about it, tree-lined streets and perfectly landscaped parks and public spaces are a logistical miracle. A single city block can contain plants shipped in from every corner of the country. Professionals in the landscaping industry still manage most of those logistics manually. But that won’t last long, if LandscapeHub has its way. “Landscaping is a sleeper industry
- [Minnesota is becoming the center of the Midwest’s retail tech universe](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/minnesota-is-becoming-the-center-of-the-midwests-retail-tech-universe/): Minnesota is home to a number of Fortune 500 retail companies like Target, Best Buy, and Supervalu. It also boasts a number of Fortune 500 companies that build out the entire retail ecosystem, including supply chain companies such as CH Robinson and CPG manufacturers such as General Mills and 3M. These companies are all within
- [ParkWhiz Names Beyond the Rack Founder as Its CEO](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/parkwhiz-names-beyond-the-rack-founder-as-its-ceo/): Chicago on-demand parking startup ParkWhiz has a new CEO. The company announced Tuesday that it has appointed Yona Shtern as its next chief executive. He replaces Aashish Dalal, ParkWhiz’s founder, who will transition to chairman of the company’s board. Shtern has been ParkWhiz’s chairman for the past year. He was previously the co-founder and CEO of Beyond the Rack, an e-commerce
- [FourKites Raises $35M as It Lines up More Big-Name Customers](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/fourkites-raises-35m-lines-big-name-customers/): Chicago logistics startup FourKites just snagged some new funding to expand and improve its technology that helps trucking companies predict shipping times. FourKites announced Tuesday that it has raised $35 million in new funding in a round led by August Capital, a Menlo Park, CA-based venture firm that has also invested in Chicago startups Avant and Rocketmiles. The
- [FourKites to double headcount after closing $35M Series B](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/fourkites-double-headcount-closing-35m-series-b/): FourKites will be a lot bigger by year’s end. On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the freight tracking and logistics technology company has just raised a $35 million Series B. August Capital led the round, which also included existing investors Hyde Park Ventures and Bain Capital Ventures — the lead investor on FourKites’ $13 million Series A. FourKites has
- [Startup FourKites Raises $35 Million to Expand Abroad, Improve Shipping-Time Prediction](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/startup-fourkites-raises-35-million-expand-abroad-improve-shipping-time-prediction/): FourKites Inc., a startup that tracks freight shipments in real time, said it has raised $35 million to expand its operations abroad and improve its ability to predict shipping times. The Chicago-based company makes software that shows shippers and logistics companies the location of their cargo and alerts them to potential delays. The technology helps retailers and
- [Introducing Chicago Inno’s 2018 Tech Madness Finalists](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-innos-2018-tech-madness-finalists/): Get ready, folks. We’re only three weeks out from our annual Tech Madness bracket reveal event. Each year, the Chicago Inno team hosts a reader-driven bracket competition in the spirit of March Madness to drive awareness and excitement for Chicago’s startup ecosystem. On March 7, we’ll unveil the official 2018 Tech Madness bracket at our reveal party
- [How to be a Mission-Driven COO](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/mission-driven-coo/): At Farmer's Fridge, Shayna Harris finds the value in listening and purpose. Why It Matters In a growing company, leaders who focus on priorities, mission, and culture help define what the organization is about — and what its future holds. When’s the last time you browsed a vending machine and ended up selecting the
- [Unsafe At Any Speed? Seatbelts For Online Learning](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/unsafe-speed-seatbelts-online-learning/): In early January I received the sad news that a college friend had passed away at the untimely age of 46. Although I’ve never mentioned him in this Letter, I’ve been tempted on many occasions. Shohei “Speed” Kuga was the most colorful character I’ve ever known. In relaying the news, his college roommate said, “It
- [Packback raises $4.2M Series A after doubling down on student engagement](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/packback-raises-4-2m-series-doubling-student-engagement/): Packback’s decision to double down on student engagement appears to be paying off. The edtech startup, whose AI-driven learning platform lets college students explore topics more deeply by asking and answering questions, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $4.2 million in Series A funding. University Ventures led the round, in which celebrity investor Mark
- [Mark Cuban, Other Investors Put More Money Into AI Startup Packback](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/mark-cuban-investors-put-money-ai-startup-packback/): As Packback continues its pivot away from an online textbook platform and into artificial intelligence software for college courses, Mark Cuban and other investors are pouring more money into the Chicago startup. Packback announced Wednesday that it has raised a $4.2 million Series A round of funding led by University Ventures. Cuban, the Dallas Maverick’s owner and
- [NuCurrent Names New VP of Sales As It Prioritizes Product Expansion](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/nucurrent-names-new-vp-sales-prioritizes-product-expansion/): Chicago-based NuCurrent, which develops antennas for wireless technology like phone chargers, has appointed Tim Tumilty its new vice president of sales and marketing, the company announced Wednesday. Tumilty, who has 25 years of experience in semiconductor and electronic industries, will be responsible for leading NuCurrent’s commercialization efforts, which includes ramping up sales of their product. According to his
- [6 industries on the verge of VR disruption](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/6-industries-verge-vr-disruption/): The last few months have been exciting for those interested in the advancement of virtual reality technology. Two leading headsets (the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive) saw permanent price cuts, following reported sales jumps from the Rift’s temporary price cut this summer. Now, both devices are significantly less expensive than the newest iPhone, meaning that the technology is
- [2017 was a big year for Midwestern tech exits, and two of the biggest were in Ohio](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/2017-big-year-midwestern-tech-exits-two-biggest-ohio/): For Midwest tech exits, at least, 2017 was a very good year. VentureBeat reports that Hyde Park Angels, using data from Pitchbook, Mattermark and other sources, turned up some eye-popping numbers among the biggest disclosed exits of 2016 and 2017 in what the publication considers the Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. In 2016,
- [Groupon Users Can Now Book a Parking Spot with ParkWhiz](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/groupon-users-can-now-book-parking-spot-parkwhiz/): Chicago-based tech companies Groupon and ParkWhiz have partnered up to make redeeming a Groupon and finding a place to park while you do it much simpler. The Groupon app now allows users to find and pay for a ParkWhiz parking spot, a move that shows how Groupon is positioning itself to be a platform that serves “just about any
- [Farmer's Fridge introduces two new grain-based bowls](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/farmers-fridge-introduces-two-new-grain-based-bowls/): Chicago-based Farmer’s Fridge, known for selling fresh salads and breakfast goods out of vending machines, is adding two grain-based bowls to its offerings for those days when you need something heftier. “I love salad, but I eat Farmer’s Fridge on average more than once a day, so it’s a great opportunity for me, personally, to
- [Five Ways Virtual Technology Is Making Higher Profits A Reality](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/five-ways-virtual-technology-making-higher-profits-reality/): There’s no denying the impact virtual reality (VR) is having on industries outside of entertainment. What was originally perceived as basically a gimmick for hardcore gamers, VR quickly found its way into practical uses in industries one wouldn’t have originally thought possible. With VR, businesses outside of the gaming industry are finding ways to operate in
- [Bloomberg terminal alternatives popular with advisers](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/bloomberg-terminal-alternatives-popular-advisers/): YCharts used by planners for investment research, screening and charting. When YCharts debuted in 2009, the cloud-based financial portal billed itself as a potential threat to the Bloomberg Terminal's dominance over real-time market data. Bloomberg remains a powerhouse eight years later, but YCharts, and other startups with similar products, have found success with financial advisers, a segment of
- [VR Isn’t Just for Gamers in 2018](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/vr-isnt-just-gamers-2018/): This guest post is by Mark Hardy, CEO of Chicago-based InContext Solutions, a provider of virtual reality solutions for retailers and CPG manufacturers. It’s not often a technology comes along that has the potential to transform nearly every aspect of our lives. The internet certainly did. The steam engine did. And in 2018, it’s likely that
- [Safer, faster, more efficient: How Chicago IoT companies are shaping the world around us](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/safer-faster-efficient-chicago-iot-companies-shaping-world-around-us/): From Motorola’s founding nearly 80 years ago to Uptake’s meteoric rise as an industrial analytics provider, few tech ecosystems have done more than Chicago’s to turn connected devices into indispensable business tools. But the city’s contribution to the IoT innovation landscape doesn’t stop there. Chicago tech companies are working on every aspect of the emerging
- [5 Chicago VCs predict 2018’s top funding trends](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/5-chicago-vcs-predict-2018s-top-funding-trends/): Predicting the future is never easy, especially when it comes to business. As so much is based on the economy, politics, and other factors, guessing what industries will thrive or take a back seat can be difficult. But to try to get a sense of what to expect in 2018, ChicagoInno talked to five Chicago venture capitalists
- [Chicago companies fear unknown in net neutrality repeal](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-companies-fear-unknown-net-neutrality-repeal/): Federal regulators’ decision to end net neutrality and roll back regulations that some say kept data flowing freely on the internet has left some Chicago business owners concerned for their companies’ futures. While it’s still unclear exactly what the repeal of the Obama-era rules will mean, proponents of net neutrality fear internet service providers will
- [18 Chicago Startups to Watch in 2018](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/18-chicago-startups-watch-2018/): 2017 has been quite a year for Chicago tech startups. In between the highs and lows, we’ve seen plenty of early-stage startups that are on the rise throughout the city. To find Chicago Inno’s latest crop of startups to watch, we reached out to roughly a dozen Chicago VCs, CEOs, tech organization leaders and other startup
- [Assistance from investors helps digital marketing platform Quikly thrive](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/assistance-investors-helps-digital-marketing-platform-quikly-thrive/): Investors can provide strategic assistance as well as funding Choose investors who can bring specific skills to your company Entrepreneurs should be sure their vision aligns with their investors' Phil Okun, chief strategy officer of Detroit-based Quikly, a digital marketing platform for retailers, said the company's investors have provided strategic assistance that has been instrumental
- [Driving Loyalty Through Virtual Brand Experiences](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/driving-loyalty-virtual-brand-experiences/): Brand loyalty is a funny thing: It’s incredibly difficult to establish, but it’s also incredibly valuable. Yet one wrong move — or lack thereof — can ruin the relationship. There are certain marketing tactics, such as experiential marketing, that have proven to generate brand affinity through fun and engaging events. Experiential marketing is not a
- [Making an entrance: 5 local startups that burst out of stealth mode in 2017](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/making-entrance-5-local-startups-burst-stealth-mode-2017/): Some companies just know how to make an entrance. Between major launches, stealth exits and early funding announcements, a number of Chicago startups emerged out of stealth and onto the scene this year. These rising stars made the biggest headlines. Clearcover Unveiled: September What they do: Customer acquisition costs contribute significantly to what consumers end up paying
- [32 Books Anyone Who Wants to Succeed Should Read](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/32-books-anyone-wants-succeed-read/): The most successful people typically work hard, practice the right habits every day, and often are readers who strive for self-improvement. If reading is something you're willing to do to sharpen yourself, take some suggestions from more than two dozen executives who highly recommend these titles. 1. Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman "Nobel Prize Laureate Kahneman packs in gems like, 'We
- [Produce or Else: Wal-Mart and Kroger Get Tough With Food Suppliers on Delays](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/produce-else-wal-mart-kroger-get-tough-food-suppliers-delays/): The country’s biggest grocers are increasingly demanding their suppliers deliver on time, imposing fines for late shipments as they try to keep customers satisfied and better compete with online retailers like Amazon.com. Kroger Co. is fining suppliers $500 for every order that is more than two days late to any of its 42 warehouses, and
- [How to get mental health help where there are no doctors](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/get-mental-health-help-no-doctors/): Textbook economics teaches that, in a free market, supply rises to meet demand until price reaches an equilibrium. When it comes to mental health services, though, the supply of psychiatrists is declining despite widespread need, resulting in patients not getting treatment in a timely manner. "Every single state suffers from a shortage," says David Cohn, CEO
- [Here Are Chicago Inno's 2017 50 On Fire Winners](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-innos-2017-50-fire-winners/): We launched Chicago Inno in 2014 because we felt like the city’s tech scene was growing fast, and there were more stories that needed to be told. In three and a half years we’ve written thousands of stories, sent hundreds of newsletters, hosted dozens of events—all in an effort to keep up with the amazing
- [30 Under 30: 2018](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/30-30-2018/): Corbett Drummey Cofounder, Popular Pays Cofounder of Popular Pays, a Chicago-based startup that connects brands and content creators via an online marketplace. Their 37-person team recently completed a Series A fundraise, with a total raise of over $6 million to date. Popular Pays graduated from Y Combinator in the winter 2015 batch and was recently named
- [Expanding telepsychiatry to combat the opioid crisis](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/expanding-telepsychiatry-combat-opioid-crisis/): The United States has been experiencing an “opioid epidemic” of crippling magnitude that has led the Government on October 26, 2017 to declare the opioid crisis “a public health emergency.” Millions of people have been diagnosed with opioid use disorder (OUD) over the past few years, with a surge in death rates due to drug
- [Why so many Chicago startup founders are moving on](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/many-chicago-startup-founders-moving/): Among the reading material Gabe Vehovsky gives to students in his entrepreneurship class at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management is "The Founder's Dilemma," a Harvard Business Review article detailing the long odds that a founder will remain CEO. Vehovsky didn't think much about it until he found himself out of the CEO job, four
- [He's 'the ultimate support' at YCharts — and the company supported him when he needed it](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/hes-ultimate-support-ycharts-company-supported-needed/): What's it really like to work at Chicago startups and tech companies? Blue Sky's Inside Job lets people on the ground tell us in their own words. James Han, 33, Director of Customer Success at YCharts We’re a financial data provider. Our biggest clients, percentage-wise, would be registered investment advisers. We provide the data so
- [Mark Cuban Talks About Funding Packback And The Future Of EdTech](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/mark-cuban-talks-funding-packback-future-edtech/): Mark Cuban was first introduced to Packback when the company’s founders, Kasey Gandham and Mike Shannon, pitched investors on ABC’s Shark Tank in March 2014. At the time, Packback was an e-textbook rental operation. Cuban liked what he saw and gave the company $250,000 in funding in exchange for 20% equity. After Cuban’s initial investment, Packback Inc. went on to raise $900,000 in seed
- [5 Startups That Will Hugely Impact Holiday Shopping (You've Probably Never Heard Of)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/5-startups-will-hugely-impact-holiday-shopping-youve-probably-never-heard/): 4. From Storeroom to Your Doorstep: ShipBob ShipBob makes fulfilling e-commerce simple, automatically managing and fulfilling orders placed through retailers’ online stores. They enable the ability to provide two-day shipping, which can mirror the fulfillment strength and power that top retailers provide -- regardless of your size, too. Gathering quotes from all the major carriers before shipping every order,
- [SpotHero, Bela Fleck and a skyscraper: Here's who Chicago Innovation Awards honored this year](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/spothero-bela-fleck-skyscraper-heres-chicago-innovation-awards-honored-year/): After years of feting local innovators, Chicago Innovation Awards co-founder Tom Kuczmarski ⇒ found himself the recipient of an honor himself Monday night, as well-wishers celebrated his recovery from an accident this summer that broke his neck and spine, leaving his right leg paralyzed. "We are in awe of your strength, your perseverance, your willpower — everything
- [Who took home the Chicago Innovation Awards](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/took-home-chicago-innovation-awards/): Companies that are tackling everything from the Zika virus and glutens to the hassles of shopping for musical equipment, restaurant reservations and parking all shared the spotlight tonight at the Chicago Innovation Awards. Since this is Chicago, a building can be an innovator, too. The awards, now in their 16th year, highlight inventions from startups
- [Market Researchers Are Now Using VR to Get into Your Head](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/market-researchers-now-using-vr-get-head/): Lately, we keep hearing about the impact of virtual reality (VR) on shopping and retail. Whether it's a VR fashion show or virtual changing rooms, or even the world's first virtual reality department store, VR is enjoying a wild ride at the moment. But far less is known about how VR is changing retail shopping behind the scenes. Forward-thinking businesses
- [The 13 Chicago Food Startups You Need to Know](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/13-chicago-food-startups-need-know/): Over the last decade, a food innovation community has been established in Chicago’s greater startup and tech ecosystem. The area is home to legacy food and beverage companies like McDonald’s, MillerCoors and Gatorade, and more recently, has been home to some of the most successful food startups. In 2010, Andy Friedman and Pam Netzky launched
- [SonarMed Completes $3 Million Series C Preferred Stock Financing](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/sonarmed-completes-3-million-series-c-preferred-stock-financing/): CARMEL, Ind., Oct. 24, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SonarMed today announced the completion of its Series C financing with proceeds totaling $3 million. The round was led by South Coast Angel Network, with participation from many of the Company's initial investors, including VisionTech Partners, Spring Mill Venture Partners, and BioCrossroads through the Indiana Seed Fund
- [Chicago’s Food Innovation Continues to Deliver](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicagos-food-innovation-continues-deliver/): RXBAR’s $600 million sale this month to Kellogg was a dream exit for any entrepreneur. Co-Founder Peter Rahal launched the business just four years ago, when he began making protein bars in his parents’ kitchen in the Chicago suburbs. The company grew fast, especially in the last year. RXBAR expects to do around $120 million in revenue this
- [How Artificial Intelligence Will Play a Big Role in HubSpot’s Future](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/artificial-intelligence-will-play-big-role-hubspots-future/): HubSpot has a new edict: enable businesses to “help customers however they want whenever they want with whatever they want.” That was a phrase from HubSpot CTO and co-founder Dharmesh Shah when he was revealing the Cambridge company’s “biggest project we have ever undertaken,” a conversational platform for marketing, sales and customer support that unites all
- [Why You Need to Add DevOps Leaders to Your Engineering Organization](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/need-add-devops-leaders-engineering-organization/): This is a guest post from Alida Miranda-Wolff, the Director of Platform at Hyde Park Angels. Dan Murray is the Swiss Army Knife of software startups, heading up everything from engineering to operations and sales as a founder of three successful companies, two of which went public. Most recently, Dan built Workiva, a cloud platform for reporting,
- [What $600M RXBar Acquisition By Kellogg's Says About Chicago's Simple Food And Beverage Industry](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/600m-rxbar-acquisition-kelloggs-says-chicagos-simple-food-beverage-industry/): In the summer of 2014, RXBar went from a basement project to a real business. Last week, it sold to Kellogg’s for $600M. That’s the kind of timeline to exit and acquisition price investors across geographies look for, and it’s one that came directly from Chicago. But the RXBar acquisition is more than just a one-off win. It’s
- [Online-content startup makes CEO switch](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/online-content-startup-makes-ceo-switch/): Veteran Chicago ad-buying executive Lisa Weinstein is stepping in as CEO of a digital-media startup. Weinstein took over Curiosity.com, a Chicago-based spinout from the Discovery Channel. The site focuses on stories that educate readers about a particular topic or person. Current selections include: "To maximize your focus and achieve your goals, try Warren Buffett's 2-list
- [Intel makes the case for wireless PC-based high-end virtual reality](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/intel-makes-case-wireless-pc-based-high-end-virtual-reality/): Intel recently hosted a 100-year-old man at its virtual reality lab in Hillsboro, Oregon. Lyle Becker was a big fan of the VR flight simulator, which reminded him of the planes that he flew in World War II. That kind of first-time experience evokes a sense of wonder at the immersiveness of VR, and that’s why Kim Pallister,
- [Luxury Garage Sale Brings in Former SpotHero Exec to be CEO](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/luxury-garage-sale-brings-former-spothero-exec-ceo/): Luxury Garage Sale, a Chicago consignment startup that sells gently used designer brands, just plucked a top executive from fellow Chicago startup SpotHero to be its CEO. On Tuesday, Luxury Garage Sale named Trish Lukasik, the former COO at SpotHero, as its chief executive. She’ll be tasked with leading the six-year-old startup, which has raised $6.5
- [Announcing the Finalists for Chicago Inno’s 50 on Fire 2017](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/announcing-finalists-chicago-innos-50-fire-2017/): Chicago is on FIRE. Not in the literal sense, of course. (This city is all too familiar with that.) What we’re talking about is the city’s innovation class—the entrepreneurs, startups, organizations, makers, doers, ass-kickers, and more—who are working to change Chicago for the ntotter. Each year, Chicago Inno honors the people, companies and organizations that
- [Why Top VCs Are Betting Big On Chicago](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/top-vcs-betting-big-chicago/): In the last few days, Chicago has popped up in the news around venture capital, startups, and technology. Not only has it been garnering attention for the $70M raise by Tempus and as a likely site for the new Amazon headquarters, but earlier this month hundreds of top-tier coastal venture capitalists came to the city for the
- [Two startup guys who are taking on Amazon](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/two-startup-guys-taking-amazon/): Dhruv Saxena and Divey Gulati spent a lot of time standing in line at the Willis Tower post office in 2013. Boyhood friends fresh out of grad school, the two had launched a side project called SnailMailPics that mailed printed copies of cellphone photos that customers ordered via text message. Technology made the whole operation
- [Need more social media buzz? This guy knows a guy who knows a guy...](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/need-social-media-buzz-guy-knows-guy-knows-guy/): If you want to generate social media buzz, Corbett Drummey is your guy. He has assembled an army of people with big followings on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snap and other platforms who are willing to spread the word about you to their followers—for a price. His company, Popular Pays, sprang from an idea he had
- [HubSpot acquires Motion.ai to launch marketing bot platform](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/hubspot-acquires-motion-ai/): Marketing and sales company HubSpot today announced it has acquired bot creation platform Motion.ai. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition will bring bots to HubSpot’s more than 34,000 customers for the first time. “We are going to bring the two products together and make sure that it comes as part of the core
- [HubSpot acquires chatbot builder Motion AI](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/hubspot-acquires-chatbot-builder-motion-ai/): HubSpot announced this morning that it has acquired chatbot startup Motion AI. Motion AI launched in 2015 and offers an editor for building chatbots that work on websites, Facebook Messenger, SMS and Slack, no coding required. Even before the acquisition, the tool was already integrated into HubSpot Free CRM. The entire Motion AI team, including founder and
- [HubSpot Is Acquiring Chicago Chatbot Startup Motion AI](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/hubspot-acquiring-chicago-chatbot-startup-motion-ai/): HubSpot just scooped up a Chicago startup that creates artificial intelligence chatbots for businesses. Publicly traded HubSpot announced Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire Motion AI, a software startup that launched in 2015 that makes it easy for brands to launch their own chatbot service. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Motion AI will join the
- [With a New Focus on Artificial Intelligence, Mark Cuban-Backed Packback Raises $1.5M](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/packback-raises-1-5m/): Chicago startup Packback looks a little different today than it did in 2014 when it went on Shark Tank and scored a $250,000 investment from Mark Cuban. Back then, Packback was all about online textbooks, offering 24-hour e-textbook rentals for $5 a piece. Since then, the company has gone through a considerable pivot, and it’s now using artificial intelligence to
- [Who took home the hardware at ITA CityLights](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/took-home-hardware-ita-citylights/): The Illinois Technology Association started shining a light on Chicago tech before most people knew Chicago had tech. Its 2017 awards banquet shows the city has plenty these days. Here's who took home the hardware at last night's 18th CityLights awards: CEO of the year: Rishi Shah of Outcome Health (formerly ContextMedia), which has seen explosive growth,
- [Want better ROI? Come to Chicago](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/want-better-roi-come-chicago/): Unlike many cities across the country, Chicago has no intention of trying to become the next Silicon Valley. The Windy City is happy doing what it does best: nurturing startups to leverage abundant opportunities amidst the nation’s most diverse economy. Yet, in one key measure important to venture capitalists, Chicago already surpasses Silicon Valley: return
- [Truss, a chatbot-powered commercial real estate platform, lands $7.7M](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/truss-chatbot-powered-commercial-real-estate-platform-lands-7-7m/): Chicago-based Truss, an AI-powered platform that simplifies the process of finding and leasing small- to medium-sized office space, announced Wednesday that it has raised $7.7 million in new funding. The Series A funding round brings the total capital raised for Truss to more than $9 million since launching in March of 2016. Among its co-founders
- [Truss raises $7.7M for its commercial real estate tech platform](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/truss-raises-7-7m-commercial-real-estate-tech-platform/): Truss, a Chicago-based commercial real estate (CRE) tech platform, today announced that it has raised a $7.7 million Series A round led by Navitas Capital, with participation from Hyde Park Venture Partners, which also invested in Truss’ seed round. The round also includes debt financing from The PrivateBank. This round brings Truss’ total funding to $9 million.
- [Truss Raises $7.7 Million Series A Round](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/truss-raises-7-7-million-series-round/): CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Truss, a Commercial Real Estate (CRE) tech platform, today announced the close of a $7.7 million Series A round led by Navitas Capital. Additional investors include Hyde Park Angels with a board seat to Jeffrey Hammes, Chairman of Kirkland & Ellis and a board observer role by Meredith Mendes, COO and Executive Director of
- [Truss Raises $7.7M to Help Small Businesses Find Office Space](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/truss-raises-7-7m-help-small-businesses-find-office-space/): Commercial real estate tech startup Truss just raised a new round of funding to help small companies use technology to find office space. Truss announced Wednesday that it has raised a $7.7 million series A, bringing its total funding to more than $9 million since it launched in 2016. The round was led by Navitas Capital, with participation
- [Catching Up With Branch Messenger One Year After Techstars](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/catching-branch-messenger-one-year-techstars/): Atif Siddiqi has been busy. Since his company, Branch Messenger, graduated from Techstars‘ first retail accelerator class last year, the company has increased its staff, moved operations from Pasadena, California to Downtown Minneapolis and raised $10 million in funding, exceeding Branch’s Techstars classmates. Branch makes a software that helps hourly workers manage their schedules. The company’s shift managing and
- [Branch Messenger helps hourly workers swap shifts on mobile](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/branch-messenger-helps-hourly-workers-swap-shifts-mobile/): Branch Messenger has created a self-service platform that hourly workers can use to schedule their shifts and manage their time. To further that goal, it has raised $10 million in funding. The Branch app enables workers at places such as Target to use their mobile phones to quickly pick up or swap shifts. The idea is
- [Susan D. Whiting Joins Kemper Corporation Board of Directors](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/susan-d-whiting-joins-kemper-corporation-board-directors/): CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Board of Directors of Kemper Corporation (NYSE: KMPR) announced today the appointment of Susan D. Whiting as a director of the company, effective immediately. Ms. Whiting’s appointment expands the Kemper Board of Directors to ten directors. “I welcome Susan’s talent, judgment and counsel to our Board.” Tweet this Ms. Whiting served as Vice Chair of
- [RepIQ, a tool for sales reps from YCharts' founder, launches with $1.1M in funding](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/repiq-tool-sales-reps-ycharts-founder-launches-1-1m-funding/): RepIQ, a platform that aims to give sales reps better leads, announced Tuesday that it’s publicly launching after closing a $1.1 million seed funding round. Founded in 2016 by Shawn Carpenter ⇒, a serial entrepreneur, and Jonathan Suchland, a former Amazon software development manager, Chicago-based RepIQ crawls the internet to create a database of more than 1
- [Shawn Carpenter's RepIQ announces funding, official launch](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/shawn-carpenters-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
- [RepIQ Raises $1.1M to Launch Its Smart Sales Intelligence Platform](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/repiq-raises-1-1m-launch-smart-sales-intelligence-platform/): A Chicago sales tech startup just raised a seed round to make the process of lead generation smarter. RepIQ announced it raised a $1.1 million seed round Tuesday. The startup, cofounded by former Google and YCharts founder Shawn Carpenter and former Amazon executive Jonathan Suchland, received investments from Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Amicus Capital, Arba, Hyde Park Angels, Tao Huang
- [How the State of Illinois Is Becoming a National Technology Leader](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/state-illinois-becoming-national-technology-leader/): This is a guest post from Alida Miranda-Wolff, the Director of Platform at Hyde Park Angels. Hardik Bhatt is a veteran IOT leader, pioneering the Chicago Smart Cities program as City CIO, managing the global Smart Cities program at CISCO, and now serving as the Chief Digital Officer and State CIO for Illinois. As an
- [The 3 Surprising Impacts of Amazon's Whole Foods Acquisition](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/3-surprising-impacts-amazons-whole-foods-acquisition/): Rumors about Whole Foods being on the acquisition block were circulating among the industry and media. Several company investors were vocal about wanting a sale. Hints that talks were taking place with major legacy retail grocers were abundant. But what nobody anticipated was Amazon making the deal. It's a business move that won't just change Amazon and Whole
- [7 YC startups find success in the heartland](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/7-yc-startups-find-success-heartland/): Setting up camp in Silicon Valley may seem like the obvious choice for tech startups, and one common way to get there is through an accelerator. Each year, these programs churn out hundreds of freshly minted companies, dispersing seed money across a wide range of sectors. Yet for alumni of the Y Combinator (YC) accelerator,
- [OSF Ventures invests in company working to end mental health care shortages](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/osf-ventures-invests-company-working-end-mental-health-care-shortages/): OSF Ventures, the corporate investment arm of OSF HealthCare, led the latest investment round in Regroup Therapy, a Chicago company that provides behavioral health services over live video conferencing technology to health care systems and other providers of mental health services. OSF HealthCare was already working with Regroup Therapy on providing medication consults to embedded
- [Tech roundup: Uptake named Technology Pioneer, startups raise over $80M and more](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/tech-roundup-uptake-named-technology-pioneer-startups-raise-80m/): Uptake selected as World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer On Wednesday, Uptake announced that it has been chosen as one of the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers. A selection of the world’s 30 most innovative young companies, the award comes with an invitation to the prestigious World Economic Forum this summer. Award recipients were chosen by
- [Coming off a year of nearly 4,000 percent growth, Regroup Therapy just raised a $6M Series A](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/coming-off-year-nearly-4000-percent-growth-regroup-therapy-just-raised-6m-series/): Regroup Therapy has had a whirlwind of a year. The Chicago-based startup, which uses video technology to deliver mental health services to underserved areas, announced on Thursday that it has raised a $6 million Series A round of funding led by OSF Ventures. Regroup Therapy, which raised a $1.8 million seed round last spring, has seen
- [Regroup Therapy lands $6M to give mental health care over video chat](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/regroup-therapy-lands-6m-give-mental-health-care-video-chat/): Chicago-based Regroup Therapy, which lets mental health professionals virtually meet with patients at a variety of institutions, has raised more than $6 million in Series A funding, it announced Thursday. It has been a period of notable growth for Regroup, which was founded in 2011 and bootstrapped until last year. Revenue at the telehealth company
- [Chicago tech kicks off summer with $70M raised in a single day](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-tech-kicks-off-summer-70m-raised-single-day/): On Tuesday morning, three Chicago tech companies announced funding rounds for more than $10 million, hauling in more than $70 million between them. That news comes mere weeks after Outcome Health closed its first round of venture funding at a valuation of more than $5 billion. Not a bad way to start the summer. Check
- [3 Chicago Startups Raised A Total Of $71M Today](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/3-chicago-startups-raised-total-71m-today/): Karis: Apparently Chicago startups are into this whole venture capital thing. Three startups announced higher-than-usual funding rounds today. Let's start with the biggest. Jim, what's Fusion Risk Management going to do with an extra $41M in its pocket? Jim: Fusion, which announced a $41M round today, helps large companies plan for and respond to emergencies through a software platform that
- [With paperwork signed and money in the bank, here's how these startups celebrated their latest rounds](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/paperwork-signed-money-bank-heres-startups-celebrated-latest-rounds/): As it turns out, raising money for your startup is actually a lot of hard work. Between building a product meriting a good valuation, figuring out how much of your company you’re willing to give up, networking, researching potential investors, crafting intro emails, perfecting your pitch, networking, writing up term sheets, figuring out the best
- [What This Successful 28-Year-Old Says You Need to Give up to Be CEO](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/successful-28-year-old-says-need-give-ceo/): What do you do when the healthy options you need don’t exist? Make them yourself, of course. When Katlin Smith started to clean up her diet to address health concerns, she realized nutritious and delicious was a combination that simply didn’t exist. And so, Simple Mills was born. She crafted recipe after recipe (in excel, we
- [Simple Mills CEO Focused on Cleaning Up Inner Grocery Aisles](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/simple-mills-ceo-focused-cleaning-inner-grocery-aisles/): For years, Katlin Smith experienced inexplicable joint pain. “I was told it was just growing pains,” she said. Five years ago the North Carolina native began removing processed foods and sugars from her diet. During that process, Smith started doing something else she’d never done before: scrutinizing ingredient labels. She says she was “shocked” by
- [Don't miss these 5 Chicago tech events this week](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/dont-miss-5-chicago-tech-events-week/): Every week, we bring you the best events in Chicago tech. This week’s list includes a panel discussion hosted by Women in FinTech, a roundtable on what you need to know before raising venture capital and the Chicago Tech Summit. Also, don’t miss Networked Insights’ session on Spark and Evolve Security Academy’s presentation on the
- [Amazon’s Free Shipping Pushes Small Retailers, Delivery Firms to Compete](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/amazons-free-shipping-pushes-small-retailers-delivery-firms-compete/): Shipping companies, ranging from startups to the biggest package handlers, are vying to help small retailers compete with Amazon.com Inc.’s rapid expansion of free shipping. Logistics companies say demand for fulfillment services has ballooned in the past year, as Amazon casts a bigger shadow across the retail world and the shipping market. Retailers are rushing to
- [What the Connectory Could Mean for Chicago's IoT Startup](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/connectory-mean-chicagos-iot-startup/): Dave Krawczyk believes in the power of connected displays. His product, the Glance Mirror, seamlessly shows personalized information such as messages, weather and commute times on the outer edges of a bathroom mirror. But he's got his eyes on bringing that information to more smart home surfaces. And now, in his new office, he can embed
- [TurboAppeal acquired by Dallas-based Paradigm Tax Group](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/turboappeal-acquired-dallas-based-paradigm-tax-group/): Tax season is over, but investors in Chicago-based TurboAppeal may be getting a different kind of return. TurboAppeal, which makes software to help property owners appeal taxes, was acquired by Dallas-based Paradigm Tax Group, a property tax consulting firm, the companies announced Thursday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The two entered a strategic partnership last summer, through which Paradigm
- [TurboAppeal bought by Dallas consultancy](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/turboappeal-bought-dallas-consultancy/): Photo by Manuel MartinezTurboAppeal was founded in 2014 by Badal Shah, who was fresh out Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. TurboAppeal, a Chicago startup that brought Big Data to the business of property-tax appeals, has been acquired. Dallas-based Paradigm Tax, a consulting firm, purchased TurboAppeal for an undisclosed price. TurboAppeal was founded in 2014
- [Amid Budget Gridlock, Illinois CIO Tries To Innovate](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/amid-budget-gridlock-illinois-cio-tries-innovate/): Amid the continued budget gridlock impacting the state, one area where Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner’s administration has shown positive impact is actually a more technical one. Illinois improved from a ‘mediocre’ grade of C+ in 2014 to a B+ in the Center for Digital Government’s 2016 Digital States Survey, a nationwide ranking of the use
- [Chicago Inno Approved: May's Top Tech & Startup Events in Chicago](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-inno-approved-mays-top-tech-startup-events-chicago/): Hey readers, this month we’re ditching the usual weekly event roundup for something a little different. Introducing Chicago Inno's master list of the best networking events, fireside chats and pitch sessions for the month of May. We’ll continuously update this list throughout the month in case new ones are announced/fall on our radar, so keep
- [How to build a startup inside a big company without getting swallowed up, from someone who did it](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/build-startup-inside-big-company-without-getting-swallowed-someone/): Building a startup inside a big traditional company can be a nightmare. There can be a way-things-are-done attitude that will kill experimentation and cause a fledgling effort to fail. But there are ways to succeed as Gabe Vehovsky has learned. Vehovsky first built his media startup Curiosity inside of TV giant Discovery, and then spun the company out into an independent
- [Craig Vodnik of Cleverbridge on Having Offices in 3 Continents](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/craig-vodnik-cleverbridge-offices-3-continents/): Craig Vodnik is the cofounder of Cleverbridge, a global subscription billing provider. Founded in 2005, Cleverbridge has grown to 300+ employees with offices in Cologne (Germany), Chicago, San Francisco and Tokyo. They have done this all without raising any outside money. At the beginning of his career in 1995, Craig served as the Webmaster of the Chicago
- [Cultivating Curiosity to Develop Product and Tips for Hiring Technical Talent](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/cultivating-curiosity-develop-product-tips-hiring-technical-talent/): cal Talent People First is the Hyde Park Angels podcast dedicated to deconstructing entrepreneurial success into actionable takeaways you can use today. Hyde Park Angels is the most active early-stage investor in Chicago with a commitment to taking a "people-first approach" to investing. By matching our members’ expertise with entrepreneurs’ needs, we help develop top-performing
- [Behind the Money: He stepped out of the Pentagon and into venture capital](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/behind-money-stepped-pentagon-venture-capital/): Chicago’s top venture capitalists are well-known leaders whose identities often define their firms. But what about those who aren’t on the marquee? Behind the big names, there are principals and associates finding deals, mentoring startups and figuring out how to improve the industry they work and play in. Blue Sky introduces you to some of the
- [Bots For Sale: Bot Platform Motion.ai Releases Bot Store](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/bots-sale-bot-platform-motion-ai-releases-bot-store/): Bot-making platform Motion.ai has just released a "bot store," where companies, groups, and individuals who want to release a bot can get, customize, and deploy a bot in minutes. Restaurant Bot, for example, will let you view a menu, see hours, book a reservation, or get in touch with a restaurant, all from Facebook Messenger, web
- [Popular Pays raises $3.1M in new funding to connect marketers and creators](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/popular-pays-raises-3-1m-new-funding-connect-marketers-creators/): How can Popular Pays stand out in the influencer marketing crowd? The key, according to co-founder Corbett Drummey, is to focus on content. The approach seems to have convinced investors, with Popular Pays announcing that it has raised an additional $3.1 million, which it rolled up with the funding it raised after participating in Y
- [Popular Pays Raises $3M to Connect Brands and Social Media Stars](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/popular-pays-raises-3m-connect-brands-social-media-stars/): Popular Pays—a company that connects social media superstars with brands—sounds like a startup destined for Silicon Valley. But with a focus on revenue and growing smartly, Popular Pays has taken a uniquely Chicago-style approach to its business. Popular Pays, which launched in 2013 by CEO Corbett Drummey, helps social media influencers and content creators earn
- [Chicago startup Popular Pays gets $3.1 million](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-startup-popular-pays-gets-3-1-million/): Popular Pays, a startup that helps companies generate social-media buzz, is ginning up a little interest of its own. The Chicago-based tech company raised $3.1 million from GoAhead Ventures, a Silicon Valley fund, as well as Hyde Park Angels and Pallasite Ventures. Popular Pays, founded by former Leo Burnett account executive Corbett Drummey, built a
- [YC-backed Popular Pays closes $5.2M Series A](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/yc-backed-popular-pays-closes-5-2m-series/): Popular Pays is on a roll after last year’s pivot. The Chicago-based startup, which connects brands with social media influencers who create content about their products, announced on Monday it has raised a $5.2 million Series A. Co-founder and CEO Corbett Drummey said the funding will be used to boost Popular Pays’ technology suite and
- [ChicagoCIO Announces CIO of the Year Winners](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicagocio-announces-cio-year-winners/): The Chicago CIO Leadership Association (ChicagoCIO) announced the winners for its inaugural Chicago CIO of the Year Awards, the Orbies. The awards recognize information technology leaders from Chicagoland who have demonstrated excellence in innovation, leadership, business value creation, and community involvement. Five winners were selected from five business categories: Corporate, Enterprise, Nonprofit/Public Sector, Global, and
- [Strategies for Attracting the Best Deals and Exits – Build a Strong Reputation in Your Community](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/strategies-attracting-best-deals-exits-build-strong-reputation-community/): Every day, ACA members ask us for ideas on how they can improve everything from deal flow to impact to liquidity. Other members have fantastic ideas and experience in solving those same issues. So let’s say you are part of an angel group that has lost some of its mojo and you’re losing out on
- [Jacob Babcock of NuCurrent on Stealing Business From Big Competitors](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/jacob-babcock-nucurrent-stealing-business-big-competitors/): Jacob Babcock is the founder and CEO of NuCurrent, a wireless power company that has designed the world’s fastest, smallest, and most efficient wireless power antennas. If you have ever wondered why we still have to deal with all these charging cables, this is the podcast for you, as Babcock will go into depth about
- [Building AI: A Software Maker's Perspective](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/building-ai-software-makers-perspective/): Artificial Intelligence is surrounded by marketing hype, making it difficult to assess what's real and useful. In this episode, we talk with a venture capital investor and two software entrepreneurs to learn what's involved with creating products that rely on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Join us as we cut through the hype of AI.
- ['I've got to be part of this': How this sales team pitches Big Data to an old-school industry](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/ive-got-part-sales-team-pitches-big-data-old-school-industry/): Expanding from six employees to 70 in just over a year, FourKites is one of Chicago’s fastest-growing tech startups. Its platform helps companies track shipments in real time — and it's making major waves in the logistics industry. “Just the other week, we went to a conference and left with more than 80 warm leads,”
- [Here's How Much MBA Grads Are Paid at Startup Jobs](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/heres-much-mba-grads-paid-startup-jobs/): If you just graduated from business school with an MBA and want to get a job at a startup, what should you expect to be paid? About $15,000 less than if you took a job at an established corporation (but you'll report 12 percent higher satisfaction with a startup job), according to data collected by
- [Sort of like Kickstarter, but for grown-ups](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/sort-like-kickstarter-grown-ups/): Although the term conjures up ideas of Kickstarter and startups raising small amounts to get an idea off the ground, crowdfunding has a more sophisticated side, in which established entrepreneurs are pulling in serious money from investors with deep pockets. Jeremie Bacon, founder of Synap Software Labs, is using VCapital, a crowdfunding portal of high-net-worth
- [Introducing the 2017 Tech Madness Bracket](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/2017-tech-madness/): Who will cut down the .net? Today, we are thrilled to unveil the 2017 Tech Madness Bracket, a friendly competition designed to generate awareness and excitement for the Chicago tech ecosystem. (Round One voting is now LIVE!) The bracket is compiled of 64 local tech companies and startups, representing the city's innovation economy at large. Rather than
- [9 companies establishing Chicago as a leader in AI](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-ai/): Although we’re still far away from a sci-fi world where we interact with human-like computers, the artificial intelligence industry has made massive strides in recent years. In fact, you’ve probably interacted with several forms of artificial intelligence today. “AI is literally all around us all the time,” said Pritzker Group Venture Capital associate David Vandegrift.
- [ITA Exec Spin: Chi-Town Brings the ROI](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/ita-exec-spin-chi-town-brings-roi/): By Julia Kanouse, CEO, ITA As we’ve written about here before, collaboration is the basis of any healthy tech ecosystem - organizations need to be able to find and share ideas, resources, and mentorship, from the executive level on down. An organization that exemplifies this approach is Hyde Park Angels. HPA is leading the way
- [Why 5 Chicago serial entrepreneurs keep coming back for more](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/entrepreneurs-keep-coming-back/): In speaking with Chicago's most successful tech entrepreneurs, one of the most common themes that often comes up is how hard the startup life can be. In fact, more than one founder has told us that they never would have started their company if they had known what it would entail. But some founders still
- [Tech roundup: Hiring sprees, fundings, acquisitions and more](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/tech-roundup/): Guaranteed Rate will add 280 employees in Chicago this year… Online mortgage provider Guaranteed Rate is expanding its offices to prepare for adding 280 new employees in Chicago this year. The expansion comes on the tail end of a record-breaking 2016, during which the company originated close to $23 billion in mortgages, according to Crain’s.
- [How to Take Your Business to the Next Level [Video]](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/next-level-business/): Sean Brown, CEO at YCharts, and Jeff Kleban, Hyde Park Angels Member and Board Observer at YCharts, shared their experiences growing successful businesses, including what challenges they faced and best practices they learned. In particular, they both emphasized the importance of never forgetting that as entrepreneur, you do not operate within a closed, controlled environment
- [The 11 Biggest Chicago Tech Hires in February](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/11-biggest-chicago-tech-hires-february/): RedBox Chicago-based video rental company RedBox announced it has hired Ash Eldifrawi as its chief marketing and customer experience officer. Prior to joining RedBox, Eldifrawi was the chief commercial officer at Gogo, and before that was the CMO at Hayneedle. He also spent time at Google and Wrigley. Outcome Health Chicago health technology platform Outcome Health (formerly ContextMedia) announced it
- [25 Must-Reads For Angel Investors](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/25-must-reads-angel-investors/): On my mission to get smarter and smarter about angel investing, I think it’s important to read as much as I can from leading investors and experts in entrepreneurship. There were some really great articles last year that made a difference to my own investing and thinking about trends and policies. Here are 25 top
- [6 Chicago startups blazing new trails in logistics technology](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/6-chicago-startups-blazing-new-trails-logistics-technology/): Conveniently located near the middle of the country, Chicago is one of North America's biggest logistics hubs. As a result, the city has also brought about its fair share envelope-pushing logistics technology companies including Echo Global Logistics, Coyote Logistics and freight tracking companies like FourKites and project44. Chicago is also home to a number of
- [These 11 Startups Are Making Chicago a Hub for Auto Innovation](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/11-startups-making-chicago-hub-auto-innovation/): With the Chicago Auto Show in town this month, it's a good reminder that the Windy City has quietly positioned itself as a hub for automotive innovation. While it may not be home to auto makers like Detroit or have the amount of startup activity compared to the Bay Area, Chicago has a history of
- [OfficeLuv CEO Kimberly Miller on inspiration, success and team building](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/officeluv-ceo-kimberly-miller-inspiration-success-team-building/): Some of the most successful tech startups are those that dive into an entrenched industry with a fresh perspective. OfficeLuv capitalizes on streamlined tech to make office management a breeze, providing cleaning services and automating office supply ordering. CEO Kimberly Miller is now leading the company, helping it meet the needs of Chicago’s growing tech
- [4 companies explain why team players are crucial to their culture](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/4-companies-explain-team-players-crucial-culture/): Every great company needs a rockstar team player — someone who gets their job done, then looks up to see what they can do to offer a hand or make a co-worker's day better. To learn more about the difference these individual employees can make, we reached out to some of Chicago's fastest-growing tech companies.
- [Mayor Emanuel and Chicago Tech Leaders Take Talent Retention Effort National](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/mayor-emanuel-chicago-tech-leaders-take-talent-retention-effort-national/): Late in 2015, a group of tech leaders convened at Chicago-headquartered Gogo and promised to take a trip down to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The objective: extending the city’s ThinkChicago initiative to showcase Chicago’s technology startups, with the hope that students will take up jobs here instead of fleeing to the coasts after
- [25 of the Most Inspiring Books Everyone Should Read](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/25-inspiring-books-everyone-read/): Whether you turn pages, tap a tablet, or listen to audio, a good book can be a perfect relaxation aid, tutor, or source of inspiration. Here are quotes from more than two dozen executives who name their favorite book and explain why it's worth your attention. 1. The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande "A quick
- [This Chicago startup helps marketers deal with rain, celebrity tweets and dwindling inventory — automatically](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-startup-helps-marketers-deal-rain-celebrity-tweets-dwindling-inventory-automatically/): A sudden change in the weather has a ripple effect. When a heavy rain rolls in unexpectedly, it can cause Uber prices to soar, traffic to snarl and pedestrians to abandon all semblance of sidewalk law to walk under awnings avoiding the rain. Of course, it also triggers a flood of searches for “umbrella” and
- [Introducing the 2017 Tech Madness Finalists](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/tech-madness-finalists/): On Wednesday, March 8th, we'll be debuting the official 2017 Tech Madness Bracket at our Reveal Party at the Chicago Sports Museum. I know it's been a long year since the 2016 bracket, so let's start off with a quick refresher, shall we? Tech Madness is our annual, friendly competition to see who the community thinks will be the
- [Chicago tech entrepreneurs worry about Trump immigration edict](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-tech-entrepreneurs-worry-trump-immigration-edict/): Chicago technology entrepreneurs who depend on highly skilled engineers, strategists and software developers from overseas say they’re troubled about President Donald Trump’s tough stance on immigration. “America is sending a signal that it does not welcome all immigrants, and, for a country that historically has been a beacon of tolerance, it’s a slap in the
- [Tech CEOs join Emanuel for U of I road trip](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/tech-ceos-join-emanuel-u-road-trip/): Mayor Rahm Emanuel went back to Urbana-Champaign with executives from about 20 Chicago tech companies today to pitch the school's smart, young techies at the University of Illinois on what the city has to offer. Among those joining Emanuel were Matt Maloney, CEO of Grubhub; Chris Gladwin, founder of Cleversafe and Ocient; Rohit Pasam, CEO
- [What Founders Need to Understand About the Impact of Fundraising on Equity](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/impact-of-fundraising-on-equity/): Last year, we wrote a story focused on giving entrepreneurs a framework for assessing whether to raise a round based on one underlying idea: taking on capital has a cost and an inherent risk. Recently, Pitchbook released new data building on this point further. The data, which was taken from 380 private venture-backed companies, clearly
- [5 Chicago tech companies looking for serious sales talent](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/5-chicago-tech-companies-looking-serious-sales-talent/): Building a rockstar sales team is paramount for any company looking to scale. But in the tech industry, where the competitive landscape is constantly evolving, salespeople worth their salt have to come prepared to take on new and unexpected challenges every single day. If that sounds like you, and you’ve got the track record to
- [A Kellogg MBA Creates Real-Time Tracking For A Trillion-Dollar Industry](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/kellogg-mba-creates-real-time-tracking-trillion-dollar-industry/): After seven years working in transportation and logistics, Matt Elenjickal had bumped up against the same problem too many times. He was implementing transportation management systems for big companies like Oracle, Nestle, and Kraft — but once the goods were on the truck, most companies had no way to track them. Elenjickal’s frustration turned into an
- [The Biggest Chicago Tech Hires in January](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/biggest-chicago-tech-hires-january/): FourKites Chicago trucking logistics startup FourKites announced three executive hires in January. Priya Rajagopalan was named chief product officer after previously working at TiVo as the head of product management for the company's Metadata Business Group. She was in charge of the company's video, music, books, and games metadata products. Kathleen Marcell joined FourKites as its vice president
- [2016 Chicago Startup Report: $1.7B in funding and 55 exits](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/2016-chicago-startup-report-1-7b-funding-55-exits/): Chicago startups and tech companies raised more than $1.7 billion in 2016, down slightly from 2015’s record-breaking $1.72 billion, following a nationwide cooldown in funding activity. In 2016, funding was spread across a broader range of companies than it was in 2015. Built In Chicago tracked funding rounds from 179 companies in 2016, up from
- [Chicago Startup Persio Acquired by Clutch](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-startup-persio-acquired-clutch/): Persio, a Chicago startup that makes software that helps brands automatically send customized mobile messages to customers, has been acquired by a Philadelphia marketing company. On Thursday, Clutch, a data-driven marketing company that counts Pandora, New Balance, Godiva and Citizen among its customers, announced it has acquired Persio. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Persio
- [Tech roundup: tons of new money for Chicago startups, YouTube vet joins Reverb and more](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/tech-roundup-tons-new-money-chicago-startups-youtube-vet-joins-reverb/): Chicago tech raised $65M this week It’s been a green week for Chicago’s tech scene, with four major fundings totaling $65M in fresh capital. Networked Insights, the Chicago data analytics company, raised $30 million in a round led by Sands Light Capital and the Cherng Family Trust, with participation from Goldman Sachs and American Family
- [50 Chicago startups to watch in 2017](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/50-chicago-startups-watch-2017/): Chicago’s tech star is burning bright. The industry is churning out plenty of new launches, attracting talent from across the country and keeping the scene funded with active local investors. For our annual top 50 startups to watch list, we looked at companies founded within the last five years that are poised to usher in
- [FarmLogs raises $22 million to help farmers improve crop yield with big data](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/farmlogs-raises-22-million-help-farmers-improve-crop-yield-big-data/): Data-focused crop-management startup FarmLogs has raised $22 million in a funding round led by Naspers Ventures, the VC arm of South African media giant Naspers, with participation from existing investors Drive Capital, Huron River Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, SV Angel, and Y Combinator president Sam Altman. Above: FarmLogs: Android App Founded out of Ann
- [NuCurrent Debuts Mini Power Modules for Medical Devices and More at CES 2017](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/nucurrent-debuts-mini-power-modules-medical-devices-ces-2017/): NuCurrent, the Northwestern-born energy startup that creates wireless power antennas and other solutions, debuted two new power products at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show currently underway in Las Vegas, Nevada. The tech company announced a new line of wireless power connector alternatives at CES, including "ultra-small" power and sense modules that transfer 165 milliwatt (3.3 volt system)
- [Where the Internet of Things is Headed](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/internet-things-headed/): In technology, there are few buzz terms that capture the public’s collective imagination as intensively as the “internet of things.” Yet, as the IoT market matures and grows, two main lingering questions remain: what is its real potential and how can technologists get there? To find out, we spoke with two of the most qualified
- [Beyond Capital: How To Utilize The Power Of Your Investors](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/beyond-capital-utilize-power-investors/): Are you getting the most out of your investors? Chances are, the answer is “no.” Founders who seek funding from potential VCs are fastidious about selecting their investors wisely. But once that funding is secured and partnerships are forged, even the smartest founders and CEOs frequently underutilize the power of their board to help the
- [Hyde Park Angels doubles deal total, ramps up content platform](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/hyde-park-angels-doubles-deal-total-ramps-content-platform/): Hyde Park Angels is one of Chicago's best-known investment groups, but recent changes to its strategy have it making more deals than ever as it enters its 10th year. It's gone from a group where inexperienced investors went to try out angel investing to one where seasoned investors turn for good deals, said Maura O'Hara ⇒, executive
- [Meet the 18 50 on Fire Finalists in the Supporters Category](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/meet-18-50-fire-finalists-supporters-category/): This year, we added a new category to our annual 50 on Fire awards event - Supporters. Supporters are anyone, individuals or organizations, that are committed to strengthening and supporting the ecosystem, whether it's through capital, community, real-estate, mentorship, education, and more. That's why this is our most eclectic and varied list - it has venture capitalists and
- [Chicago cybersecurity firm lands $15M Series B to expand tech team](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-cybersecurity-firm-lands-15m-series-b-expand-tech-team/): Chicago cybersecurity startup Kenna Security announced today that it has closed a $15 million Series B round of funding to expand its tech team, as well as its sales and marketing efforts. Founded in 2011, Kenna is the maker of a Big Data platform that helps companies understand the cybersecurity threats they face and establish better priorities
- [Bot-making service Motion.ai now supports Node.js](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/bot-making-service-motion-ai-now-supports-node-js/): Bot creation platform Motion.ai now allows people to create bots with Node.js modules that can be used to do things like call on APIs or interact with databases. Motion.ai utilizes the cloud-based AWS Lambda service to bring Node.js to its platform. The integration was announced today at AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas. “Up until today, users looking to manipulate their Motion AI bots
- [How UIUC Is Seeding a Chicago Tech Network of Founders & Investors](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/uiuc-seeding-chicago-tech-network-founders-investors/): Although it's 135 miles away, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is responsible for developing the most entrepreneur alumni in the greater Chicago area. LinkedIn data showed as much earlier this year, putting UIUC ahead of DePaul and Northwestern. Meanwhile, a recent report by venture capital database Pitchbook affirmed that the school produces the most undergraduate venture-backed startups out
- [How humor, creativity and curiosity could land you a job on these 3 sales teams](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/humor-creativity-curiosity-land-job-3-sales-teams/): Development teams may build cool stuff, but sales teams are vital for the success of Chicago’s tech ecosystem. We talked to three Chicago startups about what they look for in sales candidates, and it turns out a background in sales isn’t vital. Check out their answers below to see what it takes to join their
- [Startups respond to lack of America’s mental health care providers](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/startups-respond-lack-americas-mental-health-care-providers/): A report on the state of mental health in the United States shows that while more people have insurance, there are still shortcomings in meeting the needs of those suffering from mental health issues. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention said suicides are at a 15-year high. Now some startups are offering a
- [Illinois entrepreneurs rethink water heaters to cut energy use](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/illinois-entrepreneurs-rethink-water-heaters-cut-energy-use/): Galesburg, Illinois is a long way from Silicon Valley. There are no Google or Apple offices in the west-central Illinois city, population 32,000, but it is home to at least one scrappy tech firm reinventing how we use an everyday product. Intellihot is the brainchild of Sridhar Deivasigamani, who in 2005 came home from a
- [How to Manage World-Class Advisors, Investors, and Board Members](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/manage-world-class-advisors-investors-board-members/): If you missed Hyde Park Angels' Entrepreneurial Education Event or just want a quick recap, read on for highlights from the discussion. The event brought together world-class entrepreneurs and investors Jim Gray (CEO, G-Bar Limited Partnership; Co-Founder, OptionsXpress), Amanda Lannert (CEO, Jellyvision), Badal Shah (Co-Founder and CEO, TurboAppeal), Michael Small (CEO, gogo), and Kevin Willer (Partner, Chicago Ventures) to share their insights on attracting and managing advisors, investors and board members with panel
- [NuCurrent Announces a $3.48 Million Series A to Light Up the Wireless Charging Industry](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/nucurrent-announces-3-48-million-series-light-wireless-charging-industry/): As the wireless charging market continues to explode - IHS Technology predicts that revenue from wireless power transmitters and receivers will reach $8.5 billion in 2018, up from $216 million in 2013 - a Chicago-based startup looks to blow up with it. This morning, NuCurrent, a leader in wireless charging technology, announced a $3.48 million Series A
- [Former Obama Tech Guys Raise $1.6M From A-List Backers For Their Charity Marketplace](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/former-obama-tech-guys-raise-1-6m-list-backers-charity-marketplace/): A Chicago-based marketplace for non-profits that spawned from Obama's 2012 re-election campaign raised $1.6 million from some well known investors. Public Good Software, Inc, which helps people donate to the causes and charities they care about, announced the Seed Round Tuesday, which was led by Chicago’s Hyde Park Angels. Other notable investors included WordPress founder Matt
- [TurboAppeal Raises $1.5M From Chicago Investors to Bring Big Data to Property Tax Appeals](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/turboappeal-raises-1-5m-chicago-investors-bring-big-data-property-tax-appeals/): TurboAppeal, a Chicago startup that helps home owners file their property tax appeals, announced Wednesday that it has raised a $1.5 million round of funding, which it received entirely from Chicago investors. TurboAppeal launched earlier this year and uses big data algorithms to assist homeowners in gathering the most accurate evidence when filing their property tax
- [Packback Raises Another $1.5M to Get More eTextbooks In Front of Students](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/packback-raises-another-1-5m-get-etextbooks-front-students/): Packback wants more students to pay less for textbooks. They just raised $1.5 million to do just that. Chicago-based Packback, a rental service for eTextbooks, announced Tuesday it raised $1.5 million in funding in a round led by Hyde Park Angels. The funds will be used to expand eTextbook services, hire employees for the growing
- [Hyde Park Angels Makes its Biggest Investment of 2016](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/hyde-park-angels-makes-biggest-investment-2016/): Despite rumblings of a national slowdown in venture capital, Hyde Park Angels (HPA), the Midwest's largest angel group, just made its largest investment in 2016, bringing its Q1 total to over $2.4M. This month, the group revealed that it has led a $1.8 million round in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan-based Prism Analytical Technologies, a provider of
- [FourKites, a Chicago Startup Helping Shippers Track Trucks Smarter, Raises $1.25M](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/fourkites-chicago-startup-helping-shippers-track-trucks-smarter-raises-1-25m/): Chicago startup FourKites, a 3-year-old logistics platform for truck tracking and a graduate of the Pritzker Group Venture Fellows program, announced Wednesday that it has raised a $1.25 million seed round. FourKites says it will use the funding to grow its team and roll out new product lines. The seed round was led by Hyde Park Venture
- [How 4 Chicago Venture Capital Firms Tap Into University Talent](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/2621/): In Silicon Valley, where venture capitalists relentlessly seek the next big thing, firms have hired teenagers as analysts and associates. In Boston, where university students make up a bulk of the population, Rough Draft Ventures backs college startups and hires a new class of student VCs each year. But the interest in developing VC talent isn't confined to the coasts. As Chicago's
- [How CEOs Can Master Their Biggest Responsibility: People Management](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/ceos-can-master-biggest-responsibility-people-management/): So often when we imagine early-stage CEOs, we think of a human Swiss Army Knife. Corey Ferengul, a founder-cum-CEO, manages every element of business from product to sales, marketing and more. However, as a company starts growing and adding on team members, the CEO can no longer fill all of these roles. Instead, the focus
- [Be Aware Of Where You Are In The Moment](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/be-aware-of-where-you-are-in-the-moment/): Watch more on Bizcast
- [Eastman Egg Randolph Street, Now Open, Hopes Restaurant Row Doesn’t Forget Breakfast](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/eastman-egg-randolph-street-now-open-hopes-restaurant-row-doesnt-forget-breakfast/): Randolph Restaurant Row lacks an abundance of weekday breakfast options, and that’s the void the Eastman Egg Company wants to fill. Ownership today opened their West Loop location, the third restaurant for the burgeoning local mini-chain. While the first two restaurants serve a downtown/commuter crowd, founder and CEO Hunter Swartz is excited to serve locals in more of a
- [Virtual Reality, a game changer for brick-and-mortar stores](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/virtual-reality-game-changer-brick-mortar-stores/): Tracey Wiedmeyer, the Chief Technology Officer from Incontext Solutions, talked to Scott Kitun about the scalable cloud-based virtual reality (VR) shopping and retail solutions that they offer. They also dive into how VR can help predict consumer behavior and looked at the virtual reality market research technology. Twitter @kristendecker Hear the interview on WGN Plus
- [The 17 Biggest Chicago Tech Hires in October](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/17-biggest-chicago-tech-hires-october/): This is our monthly feature where we recap the biggest tech hires in Chicago over the past month. Here’s our list of the top hires in Chicago tech for October: kCura Chicago-based legal tech company kCura announced this month that it has hired Lisa Arthur as its chief marketing officer. Most recently, Arthur spent five years as CMO of
- [Intel Capital Invests $38M In 12 Innovative Technology Startups](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/intel-capital-invests-38m-12-innovative-technology-startups/): It’s been a challenging year for Intel Capital. After admitting earlier this year that he was undertaking a comprehensive review of the chipmaker’s corporate venture capital arm, including possibly dumping some of its assets for an estimated $1 billion, Intel Capital’s president Wendell Brooks committed this week to keep its existing investment portfolio of just over 400 companies. “We’re not
- [Cyberattacks could shine light on Chicago startup](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/cyberattacks-shine-light-chicago-startup/): Last week's cyberattacks that caused widespread disruption on the Internet were a drag for anyone surfing the web. But they could give a big lift to a Chicago-based startup called Xaptum. The company launched three years ago with the idea that security would be one of the major challenges for the Internet of Things, or
- [NuCurrent Wants to Wirelessly Power Phones, Drones and Machines of the Future](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/nucurrent-wants-wirelessly-power-phones-drones-machines-future/): When it comes to the next generation of technology products, it makes very little sense for them to be equipped with charging ports. Autonomous crop-suveying drones become much more inefficient if you have to manually plug them into a wall at night. Smart clothes with built-in computer chips can't be thrown in the wash if
- [New Money: Occasion Raises $1.25M To Help Businesses Boost Bookings](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/new-money-occasion-raises-1-25m-help-businesses-boost-bookings/): From pottery lessons to walking tours and home cooking classes, group experiences are a great way to spend an evening in good company. Occasion, a Chicago-based startup, wants to make it easier for organizers to put on such events by bringing booking, payments, customer service and marketing into a single application. “If you want
- [Occasion raises $1.25M to help you split the cost of group activities](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/occasion-raises-1-25m-help-split-cost-group-activities/): Nothing ruins the fun of a group activity like coordinating schedules or trying to get paid back by friends for tickets. Occasion, a Chicago startup launched in 2013, has raised $1.25 million to add features to its appointment calendar software, the company announced Tuesday. A new private group system will let friends invite each other to buy tickets for the
- [Ecommerce Platform Occasion Raises $1.25M To Boost Bookings](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/ecommerce-platform-occasion-raises-1-25m-boost-bookings/): Occasion team, with founder Aksh Gupta in center (Credit Occasion) Occasion Deal: $1.25 million Investors: The round was led by Hyde Park Angels. Other investors include Bluestein & Associates, and angel investors Marcin Kleczynski, Malwarebytes founder and CEO, and Patrick Spain, former chairman and CEO of Hoover’s. What they do: Occasion provides ecommerce calendering solutions
- [5 reasons picking an investor is about more than the money](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/5-reasons-picking-investor-money/): For those who follow the startup scene closely, it can be easy to get caught up in how much money a company is raising. But where the funding comes from can be just as important as the amount, because seasoned investors have a lot more to offer. “Money is just money,” said MATH Venture Partners Managing Director
- [Help for a Business Idea Trying to Catch Fire](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/2619/): Katlin Smith says the accelerator affiliated with the University of Chicago’s business school made it possible for her to expand her idea for Simple Mills, a provider of simple foods like a gluten-free baking mix. CreditTaylor Glascock for The New York Times When Katlin Smith entered the New Venture Challenge business accelerator, she had developed an idea for
- [Why Technical Founders Have Powerful Strengths But Face Unique Challenges](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/technical-founders-powerful-strengths-face-unique-challenges/): Featured on ChicagoInno Technical founders fulfill a unique role: They’re by necessity often forced to be businesspeople while also architecting and engineering their products. In the best situation, this is an incredible advantage. If they possess the business acumen and the technical skills they need to build their startups, the timeline to growth is shorter.
- [Meet the 150 Finalists for 2016's 50 on Fire](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/meet-150-finalists-2016s-50-fire/): Chicago's one of the most diversified economies in the world, with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce. And this diversity extends to the city's innovation economy, with an eclectic mix of startups, categories, entrepreneurs, enterprise tech companies, STEM organizations, universities, and more making up the ecosystem. That's why we host 50 on Fire. 50 is our annual awards
- [FourKites gets $13 million in additional funding](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/fourkites-gets-13-million-additional-funding/): Logistics-software maker FourKites just tracked down $13 million in fresh capital. Boston-based Bain Capital Ventures led the funding, along with earlier local investors Hyde Park Venture Partners and Hyde Park Angels, as well as Jim Perry of Madison Dearborn Partners and Jai Shekhawat, founder of Fieldglass. Otter Consulting of Boca Raton, Fla., also participated. Bain
- [Shipping logistics startup FourKites logs $13 million in new funding](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/shipping-logistics-startup-fourkites-logs-13-million-new-funding/): FourKites, a Chicago-based shipping logistics startup, has raised a $13 million Series A funding round to tie the Internet of Things into trucking. FourKites builds software to help shippers, logistics providers and freight brokers keep track of trucks, cut down on wait times at loading docks and boost efficiency of loads. The company was founded
- [FourKites raises $13 million to track trucks on the road for customers like Staples](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/fourkites-raises-13-million-track-trucks-road-customers-like-staples/): FourKites, a two-year-old, Chicago-based company aiming to make sense of the fragmented trucking industry for vendors trying to ship their goods, has raised $13 million in Series A funding led by Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from earlier backers Hyde Park Venture Partners, Hyde Park Angels, and Otter. What the platform is promising more specifically is visibility into where each truck is
- [FourKites raises $13M to make 100 Chicago hires over the next year](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/fourkites-raises-13m-make-100-chicago-hires-next-year/): Chicago logistics technology startup FourKites announced on Wednesday that it has picked up a $13 million Series A round from Bain Capital Ventures. The company will use the funding to expand its product offerings and add at least 100 employees to its Chicago headquarters over the next 12 months. Founded in 2013, FourKites has previously raised two
- [TransparentCareer brings data to your crucial career decisions](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/transparentcareer-brings-data-crucial-career-decisions/): For many young professionals, crucial career decisions like what school to attend and what kind of position to look for after graduation are often based on little more than intuition and anecdotes. TransparentCareer, a Chicago startup, wants those decisions to be based on data instead. “We have a ton of information about so many aspects of
- [100 people to watch in the chatbot space](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/100-people-to-watch-in-the-chatbot-space/): This is my personal top 100 for people to watch in the bot space. Let me know who you think I’m missing and please provide me with additional information. Thanks to everyone who helped me curate this list. Now let’s get straight to the point! Creators: Matt Norton (Creator, http://www.Bot-Metrics.com) Chris Messina (Creator, https://www.facebook.com/messinabot/) Fabian Beringer (Founder, ChatbotNews, ebot7, and ChatbotSupport) Max Pelzner (Creator, m.me/studiotimeio)
- [Packback has an office with schoolhouse vibes and a pup named Pepper](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/packback-office-schoolhouse-vibes-pup-named-pepper/): Packback, which offers short-term rentals for e-textbooks and runs an online question-based learning platform, moved into its own office for the first time in January. The company — which counts Mark Cuban as an investor after it appeared on ABC’s “Shark Tank — wanted a space that celebrated its ties to education and gave it space
- [New Chicago startup wants to be the Google Analytics for sales, RepIQ](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/new-chicago-startup-wants-to-be-the-google-analytics-for-sales/): The founder of financial services company YCharts has teamed up with Jonathan Suchland, a former Amazon software development manager, to create RepIQ — a platform to help salespeople find and contact promising potential customers, then use data to determine how they can improve their sales. Carpenter describes it as something like “Google Analytics for sales
- [Chicago Inno Approved: The Startup Events You Need to Know This Week (Hyde Park Angels)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-inno-approved-startup-events-need-know-week/): Monday Dev Bootcamp Chicago is hosting an event on the Secrets to Crushing Your Interview. Attendees will hear from the Dev Bootcamp team about the skills needed to navigate the interview process, and people will learn about the tools and techniques to best prepare for an interview. More info here. Tuesday Startup Grind is hosting a
- [5 Chicago tech events you can't miss this week (Hyde Park Angels)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/5-chicago-tech-events/): Each week, we bring you the best Chicago tech events happening in the community. This week, we have events on how to score a new job, improving your developer toolbox and even a cruise on Lake Michigan. Check out the best events below, or head over to our full calendar to find something that’s right for
- [Why restaurants want you to order food on your phone (Eastman Egg)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/restaurants-want-order-food-phone-eastman-egg/): Swipe, click, food. The ability to order food with the click of a few buttons on a smartphone is becoming widespread — even fast-food companies are getting in on the action. But the technology — which in some cases tracks a customer's location and times food preparation accordingly — can vary widely. And restaurants admit
- [ITA Spotlight: Hyde Park Angels](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/ita-spotlight-hyde-park-angels/): In 25 words or less, what is Hyde Park Angels all about? Hyde Park Angels is transforming early-stage investing by taking a people first approach. By matching our members’ expertise with entrepreneurs’ needs, we help develop top-performing companies that are delivering extraordinary results. What problem do you solve and how do you solve it better
- [Paralympic athletes get boost with tech from Chicago startup Rithmio](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/paralympic-athletes-get-boost-tech-chicago-startup-rithmio/): When Paralympic wheelchair track athletes roll across the finish line, a tenth or a hundredth of a second can make a big difference. That’s why some U.S. athletes have turned to a Chicago-based startup to help shave off a little more time at the competition, which starts Wednesday. Rithmio, which was founded at the University
- [Early-Stage Founders Need to Avoid These Pitfalls](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/early-stage-founders-need-avoid-pitfalls-build-viable-businesses/): Before entrepreneurs can think about term sheets, cap tables and exits, they have to start at the very beginning, with an idea. However, the ideation process can be extremely challenging. Many entrepreneurs never transform their ideas into a businesses.To learn how early-stage entrepreneurs can turn their ideas into successful companies, Hyde Park Angels interviewed
- [7 Chicago sport startups changing the name of the game (Rithmio)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/7-chicago-sport-startups-changing-name-game-rithmio/): Many sports have been played for hundreds, even thousands, of years, but modern technology is changing the way today's athletes perform both on and off the field. With small, low-cost electronics and computer-assisted analysis, athletes can step up their games in ways we could never have imagined — and fans can follow along better than
- [Here are Chicago's female tech founders who have raised more than $1M](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicagos-female-tech-founders-raised-1m/): Chicago’s tech scene is vibrant and healthy, but one area where it really stands out is the wealth of female founders who chose it as their startup home. Not only does the third coast boast the highest percentage of female founders of any major tech hub according to a 2015 Compass study, but it’s also seen
- [Chicago Inno Approved: The Startup Events You Need to Know This Week 46 (Hyde Park Angels)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-inno-approved-startup-events-need-know-week-46-hyde-park-angels/): Featured on ChicagoInno Here are the Chicago Inno approved tech and startup events worth checking out this week. Tuesday The Corporate-Startup Challenge is hosting a panel on corporate-startup matchmaking at 1871 Tuesday at 1PM. Speakers include Lily Yeung, ‎Director of Corporate Development at Molex, and Nigel Smith, Strategic Alliances Manager for Caterpillar's Analytics division. There will also be a
- [Passion, projects and platforms: what 4 companies look for in mobile devs](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/passion-projects-platforms-4-companies-look-mobile-devs/): Featured on Built in Chicago As more and more time is spent on mobile devices instead of traditional computers, creating a killer mobile app is vital for many growing companies. But you can’t just pull your web engineers onto a new team and spit out a great iPhone or Android app. Companies really looking to
- [Hyde Park Angels Selected as a Finalist  in 17th Annual ITA CityLIGHTS Awards](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/hyde-park-angels-selected-finalist-17th-annual-ita-citylights-awards/): CHICAGO, IL – AUGUST 10, 2016 – Hyde Park Angels has been selected as a finalist for Illinois Technology Association’s 2016 ITA CityLIGHTS Industry Champion Award. Since 2006, Hyde Park Angels has invested millions of dollars in over 40 companies, creating over 1000 jobs in the Midwest. So far in 2016, HPA has already surpassed
- [2016 ITA CityLights Award Finalists Show A Maturing Chicago Tech Scene](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/2016-ita-citylights-award-finalists-show-maturing-chicago-tech-scene/): Featured on Forbes It’s easy to dismiss local business awards as mere boosterism. But I just looked at this year’s list of Illinois Technology Association CityLights Award finalists, and the quality of the nominees seems worth noting. Founded in 2005, the ITA was an early cheerleader for Chicago’s growing tech scene, a place for geeky
- [ITA Spotlight: TurboAppeal, Inc.](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/ita-spotlight-turboappeal-inc/): Featured on ITA With Tiffany Collins, Marketing Manager turboappeal.com / @turboappeal In 25 words or less, what is TurboAppeal all about? Through machine-learning technology, TurboAppeal makes the process of appealing property taxes simple, which can aide the masses, not a select few. What problem do you solve and how do you solve it better than the competition?
- [Venture Capitalists Love this Gluten-Free Baking Mix Company](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/venture-capitalists-love-gluten-free-baking-mix-company/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business This past June, Katlin Smith tied for first place at the 2014 University of Chicago Booth New Venture Challenge for student-created businesses. The 26-year-old CEO took home a $30,000 prize to put toward Simple Mills, her growing line of gluten-free-flour baking mixes. Then, in July, Ms. Smith closed on a first
- [FarmLogs Nabs $10M Series B From SV Angel, Sam Altman and Others](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/farmlogs-nabs-10m-series-b-sv-angel-sam-altman-others/): Featured on TechCrunch Nearly 12 months ago, FarmLogs announced it raised a $4 million Series A. And today the company is back with a $10 million Series B to keep pushing farming into the digital age. The additional funding came from existing investors Drive Capital, Huron River Ventures, and Hyde Park Venture Partners. SV Angel
- [FourKites Raises $1.25M to Track Delivery Trucks on the Job](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/fourkites-raises-1-25m-track-delivery-trucks-job/): Featured on the Chicago Tribune Some links in the supply chain are broken, or at least hidden. Chicago-based startup FourKites has raised $1.25 million in seed funding to help its customers — shippers, logistics providers and freight brokers — keep track of trucks when they’re out on the job. “If I’m a manufacturer and I’m
- [PackBack Announces $1.5 Million in New Funding, New 'Answers' Product](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/packback-announces-1-5-million-new-funding-new-answers-product/): Featured on the Chicago Tribune Packback, which offers short-term rentals for e-textbooks, announced Tuesday it had raised $1.5 million from new and returning investors. It also announced a new product called Packback Answers. Hyde Park Angels led the round, which included Wintrust Ventures and returning angels Howard Tullman ⇒, CEO of 1871, and Mark Cuban, billionaire
- [FarmLogs CEO Jesse Vollmar Will Talk About The AgTech Revolution At Disrupt SF 2015](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/farmlogs-ceo-jesse-vollmar-will-talk-agtech-revolution-disrupt-sf-2015/): Featured on TechCrunch The World Bank has laid out the problems society faces in some pretty stark terms. Farmers need to produce 50% more food to feed the 9 billion people who are projected to inhabit the earth by 2050. And, increasingly, these farmers are facing a deck that’s stacked against them. While farmers need to produce
- [Moxie Jean Bought By San Francisco-Based Clothing Marketplace Schoola](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/moxie-jean-bought-san-francisco-based-clothing-marketplace-schoola/): Featured on the Chicago Tribune Moxie Jean, an online marketplace for maternity and children’s clothes, has been acquired by San Francisco-based resale company Schoola, the Arlington Heights-based company announced Monday. Moxie Jean, founded in 2012 by Rosalie Sturtevant, Sharon Schneider and Sandra Pinter, will transition its site and inventory to merge with Schoola’s, according to
- [One In Three Farms Is Using FarmLogs To Power Their Yields With Big Data](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/one-three-farms-using-farmlogs-power-yields-big-data/): Featured on TechCrunch The American farm may not be the first spot you’d expect to be disrupted by big data, but today’s farmers are already heavily utilizing new technologies to monitor their crops. Jesse Vollmar, founder and CEO of FarmLogs, told TechCrunch’s Jon Shieber that his product, which helps farmers track and report metrics like heat
- [The Math Revolution](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/the-math-revolution/): Featured on The Atlantic On a sultry evening last July, a tall, soft-spoken 17-year-old named David Stoner and nearly 600 other math whizzes from all over the world sat huddled in small groups around wicker bistro tables, talking in low voices and obsessively refreshing the browsers on their laptops. The air in the cavernous lobby of
- [How wearables track motion](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/wearables-track-motion/): Featured on USA Today
- [The 7 Essential Make-or-Break Traits of Successful First Hires](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/7-essential-make-break-traits-successful-first-hires-2/): Featured on Inc First hires are critical. The decision is often centered on price or budget, followed by the resume. But, it's important not to forget a third, vital element: The individual. Their personality, work style, and much more can make or break their success. How can you determine these traits during your hiring process? Here are a
- [Forget Fitbit: these 8 Chicago companies are taking wearables to the next level](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/2172/): Featured on Built in Chicago Though the term “wearables” tends to conjure up images of smartwatches and Fitbits, those devices only represent a fraction of the innovation going on in the wearables vertical. Companies are constantly finding new ways to use connected technology to make the world safer, more efficient or simply more convenient. From
- [Crain's Chicago Business Tech 50 2016](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/crains-chicago-business-tech-50-2016/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business
- [Two Chicagoans in Their 20s Are Launching Their Second Venture Fund](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/two-chicagoans-20s-launching-second-venture-fund/): Featured on ChicagoInno M25 Group, an early-stage venture capital firm that's led by two Chicagoans still in their twenties, has just announced a $10M second fund. The firm, which invests exclusively in startups that are headquartered in the Midwest, was founded in 2015 by Victor Gutwein, a member of Hyde Park Angels (HPA), the region's
- [PackBack Shifts From Textbooks to Social Media](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/packback-shifts-textbooks-social-media/): Featured in Crain's Chicago Business Packback is betting that the only thing college students find more irresistible than cheap books is social media. The startup, which famously landed Mark Cuban as an investor after an appearance on "Shark Tank," now is emphasizing a classroom social-media platform called Packback Questions. Students use it to ask questions of professors
- [50 Chicago tech founders who came out of University of Chicago](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/2168/): Featured in Built in Chicago From Chicago tech anchors like Morningstar, Grubhub and Braintree to promising up-and-comers like BallotReady and LuminAID, one thing is certain: the strength of our tech ecosystem has much to thank the University of Chicago for. This year in particular marks a monumental anniversary for the university — a feat not
- [The 9 Biggest Chicago Tech Hires in June](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/9-biggest-chicago-tech-hires-june/): Featured on ChicagoInno Northwestern University Motorola's long-time design head Jim Wicks announced this month he's leaving Motorola for Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering. Wicks was the former SVP of consumer experience design at Motorola and was influential in designing flagship products like the Moto 360, Motorola's DROID franchise, and the RAZR. Wicks will be a full-time faculty member at the Segal
- [6 Chicago Tech Companies Working Behind the Scenes to Enhance Your Shopping Experience](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/6-chicago-tech-companies-working-behind-scenes-enhance-shopping-experience/): Featured on Built in Chicago Whether you’re staying in touch with your loved ones, picking up reservations for a hot new restaurant or simply killing time, odds are many of your experiences are curated by some tech company or another. But the all-pervasiveness of tech goes far beyond moments when you reach for your smartphone
- [Detroit-based Quikly raises $3 million: Plymouth Ventures leads round for digital marketing company](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/detroit-based-quikly-raises-3-million-plymouth-ventures-leads-round-digital-marketing-company/): Featured on Crain's Detroit Business Detroit-based Quikly, a digital marketing platform for retailers, announced Friday that it has closed on a funding round of $3 million, which was led by Plymouth Ventures of Ann Arbor. Founded in 2012, Quikly will use the money to ramp up sales and marketing and to continue improving its technology. Some of its
- [StreamLink Software Raises $10 Million From Long List of Investors](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/streamlink-software-raises-10-million-long-list-investors/): Featured on Crain's Cleveland Business Why did First Analysis invest in StreamLink Software? Demand for grant management software is on the rise — and the Cleveland company has what it takes to capitalize on that trend, according to Corey Greendale, managing director at First Analysis in Chicago. StreamLink recently raised $10 million from First Analysis
- [ShipBob raises $4 million to help small retailers ship goods like Amazon Prime](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/shipbob-raises-4-million-help-small-retailers-ship-goods-like-amazon-prime/): Featured on TechCrunch Small businesses that sell physical goods online are struggling to delight customers and fulfill orders in an era where Amazon Prime sets an expectation for affordable, same- or next-day delivery. While the largest e-commerce players can leverage economies of scale to give their customers affordable rapid delivery options, small businesses are stuck
- [ShipBob Raises $4M to Help Small Businesses Ship their Stuff](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/shipbob-raises-4m-help-small-businesses-ship-stuff/): Featured on ChicagoInno ShipBob Deal: $4 million Series A Investors: The round was led by Hyde Park Venture Partners, with participation from Hyde Park Angels, FJ Labs, Recruit Strategic Partners, FundersClub, Startcaps Ventures, NFQ Capital, Network Ventures, Bluestein and Associates, Service Provider Capital, Russell Long, SV Angel and Y Combinator. What they do: Chicago startup
- [ShipBob Gets $4M to Expand Small Business-Focused Shipping Network](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/shipbob-gets-4m-expand-small-business-focused-shipping-network/): Featured on the Chicago Tribune Chicago-based ShipBob, a startup that helps small businesses and crowdfunded companies fulfill shipping orders, has raised $4 million in new funding. The Series A cash will fuel employee growth and expansion into a third city, said co-founder Divey Gulati, although he would not specify a location. ShipBob already has warehouses in Chicago
- [Luxury Garage Sale Lands $5 Million to Expand Consignment Business](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/luxury-garage-sale-lands-5-million-expand-consignment-business/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business Luxury Garage Sale, an "omnichannel" consignment shop with an emphasis on designer goods, has received $5 million in Series A funding that will allow the company to expand its bricks-and-mortar stores and improve its e-commerce platform. The investment was led by Data Point Capital, a Boston-based fund created by Shoebuy.com
- [Luxury Garage Sale Gets $5M For More Resale Shops, E-Commerce Investment](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/luxury-garage-sale-gets-5m-resale-shops-e-commerce-investment/): Featured on the Chicago Tribune Chicago upscale resale company Luxury Garage Sale has landed its second round of funding in the last year and a half to bring its gently used designer fashion to new cities. The $5 million Series A investment round was led by Boston-based Data Point Capital and includes investments from Chicago
- [Motion AI lets anyone easily build a bot](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/motion-ai-lets-anyone-easily-build-bot/): Featured on VentureBeat Motion AI, a Chicago company that lets anyone easily build a bot without touching a line of code, has announced it is open to business after several months of private testing. What, another bot-builder? Dozens of other startups have launched to build bots for developers, especially after Facebook kicked off a bot craze last month that
- [Techweek 100](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/techweek-100/): Featured on Techweek
- [Trends in angel investing](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/tre/): Featured on TechCrunch “Tell me about your cap table?” I asked the founder of an early-stage startup. He was clearly passionate about his business, and had assembled a top-notch team to help him achieve his ambitious vision. But the grit and determination that helped him overcome the challenges of his current and former startups seemed to
- [Telemedicine Startup Lands $1.3 Million (Regroup Therapy)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/telemedicine-startup-lands-1-3-million-regroup-therapy/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business Regroup Therapy, a telemedicine startup for mental health treatment, has raised another $1.3 million from backers that include former Walgreens CEO Greg Wasson. The funding was led by Hyde Park Angels and included OCA Ventures; Impact Engine; Lon Chow; Grubhub co-founder Mike Evans; Wasson Enterprise, the family investment office of
- [Chicago Startup Raises $1.8M for Virtual Mental Health Consultations (Regroup Therapy)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-startup-raises-1-8m-virtual-mental-health-consultations-regroup-therapy/): Featured on the Chicago Tribune Chicago-based telehealth startup Regroup Therapy, which provides virtual mental health consultations to treat depression and a wide range of other issues, has raised more than $1.8 million in funding. Regroup, founded in 2011, has a network of more than 2,000 mental health professionals, including psychologists, counselors, therapists, psychiatrists and others.
- [Chicago Telehealth Startup Raises $1.8M From Hyde Park Angels, Lou Malnati’s President, & Others](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-telehealth-startup-raises-1-8m-hyde-park-angels-lou-malnatis-president-others/): Featured on ChicagoInno A Chicago startup that connects mental health providers with virtual healthcare professionals announced Tuesday it has raised a $1.8 million Seed Round. Regroup Therapy, a startup launched by founder David Cohn says it's created a simple and secure way for mental and behavioral health professionals to extend their digital reach. The startup
- [Regroup Therapy Raises $1.8M to Transform Behavioral Health Need Market](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/regroup-therapy-raises-1-8m-to-transform-behavioral-health-need-market/): Featured on Hyde Park Angels Regroup Therapy, an on-demand provider of virtual mental health teams to health entities, raised over $1.8M to grow its sales and engineering teams and expand its partnerships with healthcare entities, therapists and prescribers like psychiatrists and Advanced Practice Nurses. Hyde Park Angels led the Series Seed round, with participation fromOCA Ventures, Impact Engine, New
- [Regroup Therapy Raises $1.8M to Address Nationwide Mental Healthcare Provider Shortage](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/regroup-therapy-raises-1-8m-address-nationwide-mental-healthcare-provider-shortage/): Featured on Built in Chicago Since 1949, May has been known across the country as Mental Health Month — an opportunity to raise awareness about mental illness and its impacts. While much progress has been made toward destigmatizing mental illness, many challenges still remain for those who combat it on a daily basis. For instance, more than half
- [3 Robots Every Startup Should Know About (Motion AI)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/3-robots-every-startup-know-motion-ai/): Featured on Inc Bots are no question one of the hottest sectors for 2016. Startups, mainstream media, angel investors, venture capitalists, and even Facebook are all hopping aboard the bot train. If you're a business owner wondering what the future of customer interactionlooks likes for your company, it's time to jump head first into the bot mayhem. To give
- [Chicago Internet of Things startup Xaptum raises $2.2 million](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-internet-things-startup-xaptum-raises-2-2-million/): Featured on the Chicago Tribune Chicago-based Xaptum has raised $2.2 million in seed funding, the Internet of Things company announced from the stage Thursday at the Chicago Venture Summit. Xaptum builds infrastructure that lets connected devices message each other. Apps that use Xaptum include parking space sensors, real-time roadside assistance, digital signage and crime analytics. Investors
- [Eastman Egg Eyes Expansion After $1.5 Million in New Funding](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/eastman-egg-eyes-expansion-1-5-million-new-funding/): Featured on the Chicago Tribune The Eastman Egg Co., the egg-centric breakfast and lunch business that started with a food truck in 2013, is ready to spread its wings again thanks to $1.5 million in new funding. Eastman has signed a letter of intent to open its next location in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood, founder and
- [Eastman Egg Company Raises $1.5M from Hyde Park Angels to Take on $30B Breakfast Market](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/eastman-egg-company-raises-1-5m-hyde-park-angels-take-30b-breakfast-market/): Featured on ChicagoInno A lot of times, venture capitalists will bet on the promise of a company or idea over a pre-existing product; in other words, they'll invest in the chicken before the egg. But, occasionally, they'll just fund the egg. This morning, the Eastman Egg Company, the Chicago-based fast-casual breakfast sandwich brand, announced that it
- [The Eastman Egg Company Raises $1.5M to Seize on Enormous Fast-Casual Opportunity](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/eastman-egg-company-raises-1-5m-seize-enormous-fast-casual-opportunity-2/): Featured on Hyde Park Angels The Eastman Egg Company­, the technology-enabled restaurant line at the intersection of the fast-casual and breakfast markets, raised $1.5M to open two new locations, launch the next version of its mobile app, and accelerate its already rapid growth. Hyde Park Angels led the Series A-1 round, with participation from both new investors SLoFIG(Sustainable
- [Tech in Chicago Podcast (Katlin Smith, Simple Mills)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/tech-chicago-podcast-katlin-smith-simple-mills/): Check out Tech in Chicago's podcast, featuring Katlin Smith of Simple Mills, here!
- [InContext Solutions Brings Business to Virtual Reality](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/incontext-solutions-brings-business-virtual-reality/): Featured on Tech.co Virtual reality (VR) is growing to be one of the hottest topics this year, yet most of the applications we hear about are related to consumers or entertainment. Oculus began shipping units in the past week; HTC Vive is starting to ship this week; Playstation VR will be out in October; and a plethora
- [Prism Analytical Technologies Raises $1.8M to Change the Face of Analytical Used in the Field and Laboratory](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/prism-analytical-technologies-raises-1-8m-change-face-analytical-used-field-laboratory/): Featured on Prism Mt. Pleasant, MI–March 4, 2016– Prism Analytical Technologies, a provider of cutting-edge technology solutions for measuring trace compounds in the field and laboratory, raised $1.8M to ramp up sales and expand R&D efforts for MAX technology. Prism’s CTO, Marty Spartz, is one of the pioneers of emissions testing technology and previously developed a
- [Inno Approved: The Chicago Tech Events to Check Out This Week](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/inno-approved-chicago-tech-events-check-week/): Featured on ChicagoInno Monday NVC@20 | Polsky Founder Stories: David Rabie, MBA '15, founder of Tovala, formerly known as Maestro, 2015 NVC Winner 6:00 to 7:00 pm Gleacher Center: 450 N Cityfront Plaza Dr. The University of Chicago's New Venture Challenge is turning 20 this year, and they're doing a series of events highlighting successful founders of
- [Visa Wants Your Car to Become Your New Credit Card](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/visa-wants-car-become-new-credit-card-parkwhiz/): Featured on CNBC Financial services firm Visa wants to turn your car into a mobile payments platform, just like using your smartphone or a traditional credit card. The company showed off a concept app at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona Monday that will let drivers pay for fuel and parking without leaving their car. Visa teamed
- [PackBack and ContextMedia's Jam Sessions, and Why Creative Outlets Help Startups Grow](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/packback-contextmedias-jam-sessions-creative-outlets-help-startups-grow/): Featured on ChicagoInno When edtech startup Packback incubated at fast-growing healthcare startup ContextMedia last year, the two startups collaborated on more than just business. Packback cofounder Mike Shannon and ContextMedia product manager Ernesto Rodriguez have been working on a series of hip hop songs born out of their mutual passion for making music. It's a project that not only inspired a
- [Geofeedia Raises $17M to Help Businesses Tap into Social Location Data](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/geofeedia-raises-17m-help-businesses-tap-social-location-data/): Featured on TechCrunch Geofeedia, a startup that pulls real-time, location-based data from social media, has raised $17 million in Series B funding. Co-founder and CEO Phil Harris said the company “invented a new way of organizing social data” — most other analytics tools allow businesses to look at the data based on things like keywords
- [ParkWhiz Acquires BestParking, Announces $24M Raise](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/parkwhiz-acquires-bestparking-announces-24m-raise/): Featured on TechCrunch On-demand parking apps may not be the most glamorous of startups; they’re mainly all about access. In addition to announcing its largest raise to date, ParkWhiz announced an acquisition today that will bring its customers, particularly those in the New York market, even greater access. The Chicago-based parking startup announced Tuesday that it had raised $24 million in
- [Top 50 Chicago Startups to Watch in 2016](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/top-50-chicago-startups-watch-2016/): Featured on Built in Chicago Judging by the numbers in our 2015 Chicago startup report, Chicago tech just had its best year ever. This city was built on industry, however, so there’s no reason to think the tech community is about to rest on its laurels. Which companies will be at the vanguard of Chicago’s innovation
- [The Most Eligible Companies in Chicago Tech](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/eligible-companies-chicago-tech-geofeedia-incontext-parkwhiz-uico/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business Chicago has more ripe-for-the-picking tech startups than ever, and the timing could hardly be better. Although investors have soured on tech IPOs, corporate and private-equity dealmakers are hankering for acquisitions. After two tech-sector initial public offerings in 2014 and three in 2013, the city had no tech IPOs last year.
- [RetroFit Expands Sales Team Signaling Growth](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/retrofit-expands-sales-team-signaling-growth/): Featured on the Chicago Tribune Retrofit, a leading provider of weight management solutions, today announced it has expanded its sales team with two strategic hires. Cindy Dalmau has joined Retrofit as director of partner sales while Monique Salas has joined as director of employer sales for the Western region. "This announcement marks an ongoing series
- [Motion AI raises $700,000 to expand artificial intelligence chatbot service](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/motion-ai-raises-700000-expand-artificial-intelligence-chatbot-service/): Featured on the Chicago Tribune Artificial intelligence can help a chatbot answer a customer-service issue in a live chat, and a Naperville founder is hoping soon it can take your pizza order or answer basic questions about a business. Motion AI wants to make it easier for retailers, restaurants or any company to offer chatbot service, and it has
- [Dabble, the Online Marketplace for DIY Classes, Raises $1 Million](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/dabble-online-marketplace-diy-classes-raises-1-million/): Featured on the Chicago Tribune Dabble, an online marketplace for in-person classes for everything from cooking to glass-blowing, has raised $1 million to support growth and new initiatives put into place since the company changed leadership in 2014, CEO Jay Swoboda said Tuesday. Chicago-based KGC Capital, started by William Blair veteran Dick Kiphart, led the round. Hyde Park
- [Chicago Digital Marketing Star Nabs SimpleRelevance](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-digital-marketing-star-nabs-simplerelevance/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business Rise Interactive, a fast-growing digital advertising agency, acquired SimpleRelevance, a Chicago tech startup it knows well. SimpleRelevance, a four-year-old former 1871 tenant and Techstars graduate, created software that used data to help companies get more mileage out of their e-mail marketing. But what got Rise's attention was SimpleRelevance's ability to
- [Marketing Start-Up Ahalogy Pins its Future on Pinterest](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/marketing-start-ahalogy-pins-future-pinterest/): Featured on the LA Times Search for oat-based recipes on visual bookmarking site Pinterest, and it will bring up a screen of oatmeal porn. Images of gooey oats covered in strawberries, chocolate chips, drizzled with glistening honey take over the screen. Click on the top results and the majority probably will have something to do
- [December 2015 Top Angel Investors to Follow on Twitter](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/december-2015-top-angel-investors-follow-twitter/): Featured on Evan Carmichael
- [Announcing This Year's 50 On Fire Winners (HPA's Managing Director, Pete Wilkins)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/announcing-years-50-fire-winners-hpas-managing-director-pete-wilkins/): Featured on ChicagoInno Tonight, we unveiled the 50 on Fire, a collection of companies, CEOs, startups, and entrepreneurs that are driving the city's innovation economy forward. From Avant, one of Chicago's four Unicorns, to Todd Connor, Executive Director of the The Bunker Labs, and from Catalyze, an incubator for makers, to Curiosity, an app for discovery, these people and businesses are heating
- [Bootstrapping in America: NuCurrent](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/bootstrapping-america-nucurrent/): Watch Jason Babcock of NuCurrent sit down with Tastytrade in their ongoing series, Bootstrapping in America.
- [Inno Approved: The Chicago Tech Events to Check Out This Week](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/2125/): Featured on ChicagoInno Here are the Chicago tech and startup events worth checking out this week. We'll see you there. Monday Building a Business People Love: Foodpreneur Edition 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM 2 N. LaSalle Street, 14th Floor Chicago , IL Part of General Assembly and Time Out Chicago's Made in Chicago Week, this event will feature local food
- [The 2015 Winners of the Chicago Innovation Awards (NuCurrent)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/2015-winners-chicago-innovation-awards-nucurrent/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business The Chicago Innovation Awards celebrated two dozen companies for inventive products and services tonight, ranging from establishment giants Abbott Laboratories and Caterpillar to newcomers including Ampy and Tanvas. This year's winners were culled from 535 nominations, which were narrowed down by 12 judges to 100 in September and then 10
- [Peter Wilkins of Hyde Park Angels on Bootstrapping in America](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/peter-wilkins-hyde-park-angels-bootstrapping-america/): Check out HPA Managing Director Peter Wilkins discuss Bootstrapping in America with Tastytrade!
- [#50ONFIRE: The 18 People and Companies Heating Up B2C Tech in Chicago (Packback & ParkWhiz)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/50onfire-18-people-companies-heating-b2c-tech-chicago-packback-parkwhiz/): Featured on ChicagoInno This week we announced the 150 nominees for 50 on Fire, Chicago Inno's winter awards event. The nominees represent the people and companies that are making moves in Chicago's tech scene across several industries, including B2B tech; B2C tech; education; marketing and advertising; civic; investment; health and medicine; food, dining and delivery; and
- [YCharts Financial Terminal Delivers Powerful Data and Analytics](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/ycharts-financial-terminal-delivers-powerful-data-analytics/): Featured on Forbes YCharts, a company founded in Chicago in 2009, calls itself “The Financial Terminal of the Web.” It aims at financial planners who have left big wire houses and set up on their own and need something better than Yahoo Finance and less expensive than a Bloomberg terminal. Shawn Carpenter, CEO and co-founder, said he
- [4 Money-Saving Apps for Today's On-the-Go Entrepreneur (featuring ParkWhiz)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/4-money-saving-apps-todays-go-entrepreneur-featuring-parkwhiz/): Featured on Entrepreneur It’s hard to be a road warrior. Day-to-day localized travel can be frantic and stressful for entrepreneurs and their employees who are constantly on the go. To manage the day-to-day, these mobile entrepreneurs use a variety of tools and apps to help with client scheduling, customer communication and payments. However, there are
- [How FarmLogs is Revolutionizing the Way Farmers do Their Job](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/farmlogs-revolutionizing-way-farmers-job/): Featured on Entrepreneur Growing up in rural Michigan, Jesse Vollmar watched as technology transformed the world around him, while life on the farm remained labor-intensive and stuck in the past. “There was a widening gap between what was possible and what was actually being applied to agriculture,” he says. In 2012 Vollmar and fellow computer science grad
- [How Food Genius Won on Twitter](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/food-genius-won-twitter/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business When West Loop company Food Genius first joined Twitter in 2010, company founders aimed to build a client roster of restaurant groups and food-service manufacturers. But six months ago, the company renewed its commitment to the social media site with a different goal, says Eli Rosenberg, co-founder and vice president
- [Inno Approved: The Chicago Tech Events to Check Out This Week](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/httpchicagoinno-streetwise-co20150921inno-approved-chicago-tech-events-check-week-2/): Featured on ChicagoInno Here are the startup and tech-focused events to hit up in Chicago this week. We'll see you there. Monday Mobile Payments Swoon Technology Resources: 300 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Located at Swoon Technology, this meetup will focus on mobile payments and feature a presentation by Mehmet Emre Aydinli, an Android
- [10 Chicago VC Firms You Need to Know About](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/2115/): Featured on Tech.Co Chicago is usually towards the top of the list when it comes to startup hubs in the United States. It’s no surprise that Tech.Co had its first events in that city, (back when we were simply known as Tech Cocktail), providing demo space and networking opportunities for Chicago startups to connect with multiple kinds of resources, but most
- [23 venture capital firms in Chicago you need to know](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/23-venture-capital-firms-chicago-need-know/): Featured on Built in Chicago They say we operate with a certain mentality here in the Midwest. Slow and steady; safe and certain. In business and in life, the Midwest has a reputation for hard work, accountability, dependability, and low risk-taking. But as Chicago tech continues to assert itself as one of the leading innovation
- [The Race to Frictionless Parking (ParkWhiz)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/race-frictionless-parking-parkwhiz/): Featured on TechCrunch Parking. It’s an issue that impacts everyone who owns a car. People might not think about it or talk about it, but it certainly can be one of those daily frustrations that ignites stress. Traditionally, drivers will circle the block for a coveted on-street parking space or a parking garage that has
- [These 5 Companies are Making Chicago a Global Leader of the Internet of Things (TempoIQ)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/5-companies-making-chicago-global-leader-internet-things-tempoiq/): Featured in Built in Chicago The Internet of Things (IoT), an umbrella term for the technology that enables one smart object to communicate with another smart object (think FitBit relaying the data it’s collected to your smartphone), is perhaps the single most auspicious trend in tech at the moment. I’d describe it as “disruptive,” but
- [Chicago is the World Capital of Female-Founded Startups (Moxie Jean)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-world-capital-female-founded-startups-moxie-jean/): Featured on Fortune Hint: It’s not San Francisco Move over Silicon Valley. Chicago has the largest percentage of female-founded startups in the world. Roughly one out of every three (30%) Windy City tech startups was launched by a female founder, according to the 2015 Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking by Compass.co, a provider of reporting and
- [Persio's Newly Rebranded Multi-Channel Marketing Platform Puts the Power of Personalized Campaigns in Retailer's Hands](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/persios-newly-rebranded-multi-channel-marketing-platform-puts-power-personalized-campaigns-retailers-hands/): Featured on BusinessWire CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Newly rebranded Persio (www.pers.io) has unveiled a feature-rich, multi-channel marketing platform built for retail marketers. As the name suggests, Persio’s mission is personalization. The new platform allows marketers to create, deploy and optimize campaigns to their online, in-store and mobile customers based on shoppers’ personal preferences and known behaviors by linking
- [Moxie Jean is Sold to Schoola of San Francisco](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/moxie-jean-sold-schoola-san-francisco/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business Moxie Jean, an online reseller of children's clothing, has been bought by Schoola, a San Francisco-based online consignment shop. Moxie Jean, a three-year-old company based in Arlington Heights, was co-founded by Sharon Schneider, Sandra Pinter and Rosalie Sturtevant, and is a graduate of Techstars Chicago. The company had raised about
- [Why Quaker Likes Pinterest (Ahalogy)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/quaker-likes-pinterest-ahalogy/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business Pinterest may be social media, but its differences from Facebook, Twitter and others are what some marketers find attractive. In particular, Pinterest-marketing firm Ahalogy sees the platform working more like search than social media, said President Bob Gilbreath, because people come there with shopping or usage queries in mind, content
- [TurboAppeal Acquires Realytics, Appoints New Chief Technology Officer](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/turboappeal-acquires-realytics-appoints-new-chief-technology-officer/): Featured on Hyde Park Angels TurboAppeal continues its fast-paced growth trajectory since it raised $1.5M from investors @Properties, Hyde Park Angels, and Hyde Park Venture Partners earlier this year with two new strategic additions. Namely, the real estate technology company best known for its highly accurate, inexpensive, big data-powered property tax appeal solution has recently
- [Hyde Park Angels Launches Comprehensive Partners Network](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/hyde-park-angels-launches-comprehensive-partner-network-2/): Featured on Built in Chicago (Chicago, IL – July 23, 2015) – Hyde Park Angels (HPA), the largest and most active angel network in the Midwest, recently launched its comprehensive partners network at its Annual Summit on July 23rd, 2015. The network brings together corporations, investors, and service providers to foster increased innovation, stimulate more
- [ITA Partners with Hyde Park Angels to Drive Collaborative Ecosystems](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/ita-partners-hyde-park-angels-drive-collaborative-ecosystems/): Featured on Yahoo Finance CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - July 20, 2015) - The Illinois Technology Association (ITA) and Hyde Park Angels are excited to announce a new collaborative partnership that will provide additional resources for local technology startups. Drawing on its nearly 500 growth-stage and late-stage members, the ITA will provide access and exposure to successful entrepreneurs
- [Rithmio announces $3 million funding](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/rithmio-announces-3-million-funding/): Featured on the Chicago Tribune Rithmio, a Chicago-based gesture-recognition platform developer for wearables, announced $3 million in seed funding Tuesday. KGC Capital and Intel Capital led the funding round. Other partners include Hyde Park Venture Partners, Hyde Park Angels, MAS Capital, Foley Ventures, OCA Ventures, Serra Ventures and New Coast Ventures. The company, which spun
- [FarmLogs App Helps Farmers Collect and Retrieve Data](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/farmlogs-app-helps-farmers-collect-retrieve-data/): Featured on the New York Times ANN ARBOR, Mich. — One day in 2011, Jesse Vollmar’s uncle was complaining about how difficult the family farm’s new data management software was to use. Despite taking a course taught by a software provider, he still couldn’t figure out how to get it to keep track of seeding
- [U of I Spinout Gets $3 Million From Intel, KGC (Rithmio)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/u-spinout-gets-3-million-intel-kgc-rithmio/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business Rithmio, a University of Illinois spinout that's betting that wearable devices can benefit from technology developed for missile tracking, has raised $3 million from an impressive lineup of investors. Intel Capital, along with Chicago-based KGC Capital, led the investment. Other backers include Chicago-based OCA Ventures, Hyde Park Angels, Hyde Park
- [Geofeedia Releases Next Generation Social Media Intelligence Platform and Mobile App](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/geofeedia-releases-next-generation-social-media-intelligence-platform-mobile-app/): Featured on BusinessWire CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Geofeedia, the market leader in location-based social media monitoring, intelligence and analysis, released version 4.0 of its platform. With new capabilities and features, the updated platform makes it even easier to cut through the massive amount of social data to understand social media signals in real time at a specific place.
- [PackBack Raises Another $1.5 Million](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/packback-raises-another-1-5-million/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business Digital textbook rental startup Packback has raised $1.5 million in fresh capital to expand its reach and offer a new product aimed at professors and students. The new investment was led by Hyde Park Angels and included Wintrust Ventures, a unit of Wintrust Bank recently established to make startup investments.
- [Northwestern Spinout FourKites Gets $1.3 Million](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/northwestern-spinout-fourkites-gets-1-3-million/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business FourKites, a logistics startup launched by a Northwestern University MBA student, has hauled in $1.3 million in funding. Backers include Hyde Park Venture Partners, Hyde Park Angels, Harvard Business School Angels and two family offices, Chicago-based Bluestein & Associates and Miami-based Otter Consulting. The Chicago-based company's software allows commercial shipping
- [Morningstar throws more money -- and loses one of its own -- at keeping its stake in a Bloomberg-lite venture intact](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/morningstar-throws-money-loses-one-keeping-stake-bloomberg-lite-venture-intact/): Featured on RIABiz Morningstar Inc. just injected another round of funding into data provider startup YCharts Inc., taking the lead in a $6 million push intended to dramatically the boost growth of the six-year-old firm. See: Morningstar takes a big stake in a startup gunning to be the Bloomberg for RIAs. In the process, the
- [FarmLogs is Now Able to Alert Farmers About Crop Threats](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/farmlogs-now-able-alert-farmers-crop-threats/): Featured on Forbes Farm management software company FarmLogs is used by over 20% of the farms in the U.S. with over $15 billion in crops under management. Now FarmLogs has launched the only crop health monitoring service in the industry that can pinpoint the exact location in the part of the field that needs attention.
- [YCharts Nabs Another $6 Million](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/ycharts-nabs-another-6-million/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business Chicago-based YCharts, a financial data startup, raised another round of venture capital this month, attracting $6 million from a group led by its larger peer in the industry, Morningstar. Chicago-based Morningstar, which built its financial information company around mutual fund research, invested previously in YCharts and is its biggest outside
- [YCharts Announces $6 Million in Funding, Hires Morningstar Executive](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/ycharts-announces-6-million-funding-hires-morningstar-executive/): Featured on the Chicago Tribune Financial software company YCharts announced Monday it had closed a $6 million C round and appointed a Morningstar executive as chief revenue officer in an attempt to accelerate growth and expand its sales team. The Chicago-based company, founded in 2010 by Shawn Carpenter and Ara Anjargolian, has now raised $14.5
- [Online Tax-Appeal Service TurboAppeal Gets $1.5 Million](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/online-tax-appeal-service-turboappeal-gets-1-5-million/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business TurboAppeal, an online service for appealing property taxes, has raised $1.5 million. The Chicago-based technology company launched its product in February. It charges customers only if their assessments are reduced, taking a percentage of the savings. Investors include real estate brokerage @Properties, as well as Hyde Park Venture Partners and
- [Pinterest Marketing Partner Ahalogy Raises Cash](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/pinterest-marketing-partner-ahalogy-raises-cash/): Featured on Fortune Popular social network Pinterest is worth a reported $11 billion, but it only recently began making money through advertising. And just like when Facebook and Twitter began to monetize, a whole ecosystem of platforms and software tools has sprung up to serve Pinterest advertisers. One such provider of software tools: Ahalogy, a
- [ParkWhiz Introduces Flat-Rate Parking, Including $5/Hour, in Chicago](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/parkwhiz-introduces-flat-rate-parking-including-5hour-chicago/): Featured on the Chicago Tribune ParkWhiz on Tuesday introduced flat-rate parking at more than 100 of its Chicago-area parking facilities. Customers can now reserve an hour of parking for $5, two hours for $10 and 12 hours for $15. “For us really the main goal with regards to introducing Simple Price Parking is we want
- [Pinterest Opens Up to Brands with New Ways to Plan Posts and Buy Ads (Ahalogy)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/pinterest-opens-brands-new-ways-plan-posts-buy-ads-ahalogy/): Featured on AdWeek Pinterest is making advertising more accessible with new software for ad-tech companies and their brands. Today, the social bulletin-board site revealed that it built its first ads API for tech partners. It's also launching a marketing program to help brands increase the amount of unpaid posts. The two programs should inject some
- [Social Media Firm Geofeedia plans 336 Indy Hires](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/social-media-firm-geofeedia-plans-336-indy-hires/): Featured on the Indianapolis Business Journal Chicago-based Geofeedia, the company behind a popular social media intelligence platform, announced Tuesday morning that it plans to expand its downtown Indianapolis operations, creating up to 336 jobs by 2020. Geofedia said it will invest $2.9 million to lease and equip a 9,200-square-foot office in Circle Tower on Monument
- [Lax Update Policies Give Hackers an Edge (Risk I/O, now Kenna)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/lax-update-policies-give-hackers-edge-risk-io/): Featured on Wall Street Journal Computer hackers don’t have to be cutting edge to wreak havoc online. Rather, they rely on their targets to make it easier for them by not updating buggy software, according to a report by Verizon Communications Inc. expected to be released on Tuesday. Verizon analyzed anonymous data on 200 million
- [Moxie Jean's Maternity Resale Targets Price-Conscious Moms](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/moxie-jeans-maternity-resale-targets-price-conscious-moms/): Featured on the Chicago Tribune Moxie Jean, a popular online reseller of gently used children's clothes, has expanded into another fashion segment that quickly wears out its welcome: maternity clothing. Moxie Jean's maternity shop, which launched last month, sells second-hand and overstock maternity wear, some from pricey high-end brands, at 50 to 75 percent off
- [Why Wal-Mart is Betting Big on Being Your Local Urban Grocer (Food Genius)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/wal-mart-betting-big-local-urban-grocer-food-genius/): Featured on NPR Wal-Mart made its name by going big: massive super centers with gallon jars of pickles and rows and rows of lawn chairs and tires. Its future may depend a lot on going small. It's investing in smaller stores in densely populated urban neighborhoods, where customers buy fewer items at a time. Customers
- [Eureka! The 2015 Innovation Index (Featuring NuCurrent and Geofeedia)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/eureka-2015-innovation-index-featuring-nucurrent-geofeedia/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business The Crain's Eureka Index shows which Chicago-area companies had the most and most valuable patents last year. The top inventors run the gamut from food science to tech to retail display.
- [MercuryGate International, Inc. Announces Technology Partnership with FourKites, Inc.](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/mercurygate-international-inc-announces-technology-partnership-fourkites-inc/): Featured on FourKites Cary, NC — MercuryGate International, Inc., the industry leading provider of transportation management software, today announced that it has entered into a marketing partnership with FourKites to deliver rapid and reliable shipment status to users of its transportation management software. Through the terms of the agreement, MercuryGate TMS users will have the
- [Chicago's Best On-Demand Companies](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicagos-best-demand-companies/): Featured on Built in Chicago As the new head of the Chicago office of SpaceWays, an on-demand self-storage company, I have become much more in-tune with many of the other on-demand startups around the city. In fact, there has been such a boom of these companies that Chicagoans rarely need to leave the house anymore
- [Geofeedia Announces $3 Million in Funding, Hits $6.8 Million Total](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/geofeedia-announces-3-million-funding-hits-6-8-million-total/): Featured on the Chicago Tribune Geofeedia, whose platform helps agencies and organizations collect location-based social media intelligence, on Thursday announced it has raised $3 million, bringing its total funding to $6.8 million. The company in October announced it had raised a $3.5 million in series A funding. CEO Phil Harris said existing investors responded to
- [Chicago Inno Approved: The Startup Events to Know About This Week (3/2-3/6)](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/chicago-inno-approved-startup-events-know-week-32-36/): Featured on ChicagoInno Marching into a new month. Let's start off strong with the best tech and startup-focused events of the week: Monday: 3/2: Free speech vs. harassment is a fascinatingly layered internet issue. Obviously, this freedom is a crucial, necessary founding principle of the United States and an anchor tenet of the Web. It's just lousy
- [The Blue Network](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/the-blue-network/): Please visit Blue Sky Vault for the full listing.
- [Iris Mobile Adds $2.5 Million to Double Staff](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/iris-mobile-adds-2-5-million-double-staff/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business Iris Mobile just raised $2.5 million from Chicago venture funds Origin Ventures, OCA Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Hyde Park Angels and Illinois Ventures and Champaign-based Serra Ventures. The Chicago-based software company plans to double its staff to 60 this year, said new CEO Marc Grabowski. Iris Mobile, founded by
- [Hyde Park Angels Teams Up with 1871 and the Wall Street Journal to Launch Entrepreneurial Education Series](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/hyde-park-angels-teams-1871-wall-street-journal-launch-entrepreneurial-education-series/): Featured on Medium Chicago, IL– February 17–Hyde Park Angels is launching a four-part early-stage investment education series for entrepreneurs of all levels in collaboration with partner 1871 and series sponsor The Wall Street Journal.The Entrepreneurial Education Series will consist of four panels headed up by the best and brightest entrepreneurs and investors in the Midwest,
- [Iris Mobile Raises $2.5M to Build the Ultimate Decision-Making Platform for Mobile Messaging](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/iris-mobile-raises-2-5m-build-ultimate-decision-making-platform-mobile-messaging/): Featured on ChicagoInno In 2014, venture funding in the mobile sector hit a record $7.8B, up neatly 109% from the year before. And though this volume was driven by a few blockbusters, like Uber's $1.2B, 70% of all VC deals in the mobile space were in Seed or Series A rounds, suggesting that investors are
- [Want to Build a Great Company? Do this One Thing](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/want-build-great-company-one-thing/): Featured on Inc. I'm learning a lot about what makes a company great. Recently, I started testing two different services at the same time. They are remarkably similar. They both involve having a real person help me achieve a goal. In one case, the goal is to help me become more organized and to take
- [Food Genius gets a new CEO](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/food-genius-gets-new-ceo/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business Jason Felger is taking over the top job at Food Genius from founder Justin Massa. The Chicago technology company, which got its start in 2010, scrapes restaurant menus to provide data about ingredients, pricing and other trends to restaurant suppliers and manufacturers. Food Genius started out selling a simplified dashboard
- [Turning Problems into Profit](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/turning-problems-profit/): Featured on Kellogg By nature, B2B start-ups tend to follow one of the golden rules of entrepreneurship: solve a problem; do not chase an idea. This, of course, stems from the fact that B2B companies often deliver products and services that solve existing industry problems. But if you have a solution to an industry problem,
- [Public Good Software Raises $1.6M in Seed Funding to Revolutionize Online Philanthropy](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/public-good-software-raises-1-6m-seed-funding-revolutionize-online-philanthropy/): Featured on Medium Chicago, IL — January 27, 2015 — Public Good Software, Inc. is expanding its revolutionary online donations marketplace, PublicGood.com, with $1.6M in seed funding from an A-list of Chicago and Silicon Valley angel investors. Chicago’s Hyde Park Angels; Firestarter Fund; Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress; Chuck Templeton, founder of OpenTable; Mike Sands, former COO/CMO of Orbitz
- [StubHub Partners with Chicago's ParkWhiz to Expand its Parking Offering](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/stubhub-partners-chicagos-parkwhiz-expand-parking-offering/): Today, StubHub, the largest fan-to-fan marketplace for concert and sports tickets, announced a partnership with ParkWhiz, the Chicago-based app that allows drivers to find and book parking spots. The partnership allows StubHub to expand its parking offering to over 800 new venues, enabling the service to provide fans a complete end-to-end live experience; "purchase tickets
- [FarmLogs, a Midwestern Ag Tech Startup, Raises $10 Million](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/farmlogs-midwestern-ag-tech-startup-raises-10-million/): Featured on the Chicago Tribune Investors continue to sow seeds in the Midwestern ag tech industry as FarmLogs, a Michigan-based agricultural tech company that launched in 2012, announced Wednesday a $10 million Series B funding round. The news comes one week after a division of Monsanto acquired another Midwestern big data farming startup, Chicago-based 640
- [NuCurrent, Molex Announce Deal on Wireless Charging Technology](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/nucurrent-molex-announce-deal-wireless-charging-technology/): Featured on the Chicago Tribune Chicago-based wireless charging startup NuCurrent is teaming with Molex, looking to embed its antenna technology into a growing portfolio of platforms for mobile devices, the company announced Wednesday. NuCurrent, which grew out of Northwestern University’s Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, said the deal will broaden its reach and boost
- [Intellihot wins $400,000 in Illinois Clean Energy Fund Awards](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/intellihot-wins-400000-illinois-clean-energy-fund-awards/): Featured on the Chicago Tribune A Galesburg hot water-heating system maker took home $400,000 Monday night as the first-place winner in the first Illinois Clean Energy Fund Awards. Intellihot, a maker of tankless water heaters, earned the prize and the check after pitching its business plan to a team of judges, made up of energy
- [NuCurrent Raises $3.48M in Series A](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/nucurrent-raises-3-48m-series/): Featured on Tech.co NuCurrent, the Chicago-based startup that has grown to become a leader in wireless charging antenna technology, announced this morning that it has raised $3.48 million in a Series A round of funding. “Wireless power is rapidly being engineered into a broader range of consumer and business products from hand-held electronics to furniture
- [Risk I/O Adds New CEO, $4 Million in Funding](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/risk-io-adds-new-ceo-4-million-funding/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business Risk I/O, a fast-growing security software startup, has gotten new funding and a new CEO. The Chicago company hired Silicon Valley veteran Karim Toubba, who ran Juniper Networks Inc.'s security business, as CEO. Founder Ed Bellis will remain with the company. Mr. Toubba will be based in San Francisco, where
- [Why this Tech Founder is Glucklich](https://hpa.vc/news_articles/tech-founder-glucklich/): Featured on Crain's Chicago Business Craig Vodnik studied German on a whim as a high school student in Bensenville. It was a career-shaping move: With three German former colleagues, Mr. Vodnik founded Cleverbridge AG, which provides shopping-cart software for e-commerce sites, and now runs the German company's U.S. operations. Clients include Dell Inc. and Malwarebytes Corp.,

## Research

- [Midwest Startup & VC Market Analysis (2019)](https://hpa.vc/research/midwest-startup-and-venture-capital-market-analysis-2019/): The HPA team is excited to bring you the 2019 edition of our annual Midwest Startup and Venture Capital Market Analysis. In partnership with PitchBook, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), and CBRE, our team conducted a deep dive analysis into the Midwest VC ecosystem. We leveraged these partners' data and data from the U.S. Census, the
- [Midwest Startup and Venture Capital Market Analysis (2017)](https://hpa.vc/research/2017-midwest-venture-capital-market-analysis/): The Hyde Park Angels team conducted a deep dive market analysis into the Midwest Venture Capital ecosystem by aggregating and analyzing data from Pitchbook, the U.S. Census, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Illinois Venture Capital Association. We defined the Midwest, also classified as the Great Lakes Region, as Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota,
- [Midwest Startup and Venture Capital Market Analysis (2018)](https://hpa.vc/research/midwest-startup-vc-analysis-2018/): The Hyde Park Angels team is excited to bring you the 2018 Midwest Startup and Venture Capital Market Analysis, a follow-up to our successful inaugural launch of the report in 2017. Our team conducted a deep dive analysis into the Midwest VC ecosystem by leveraging data from Pitchbook, the U.S. Census, the Bureau of Economic

## Case Studies

- [QuickLaunch](https://hpa.vc/case_study/quicklaunch/)
- [Day-to-Day Company Work](https://hpa.vc/case_study/day-to-day-company-work/)
- [The future is looking bright, as BriteCo raises funds and works with Silicon Valley Bank](https://hpa.vc/case_study/shipbob-and-silicon-valley-bank-2/): Silicon Valley Bank has been a trusted partner to BriteCo since the beginning. The relationship began with SVB’s Startup Banking team - where the bank provided a card program, accounts, and liquidity products to help maximize BriteCo’s operations.
- [A Checklist for Business Owners](https://hpa.vc/case_study/a-checklist-for-business-owners/): Business owners and operators are often so preoccupied with the day-to-day operations of the enterprise that they overlook legal and practical details that may be of immediate or long-term importance. As a “reminder,” here’s a Checklist for business owners and operators (view digital version here), highlighting issues common to nearly all businesses. Consult with your
- [Private Equity & Venture Capital](https://hpa.vc/case_study/private-equity-venture-capital/): Growth enterprises, emerging companies, private equity funds and venture capitalists rely on the experienced advisors within our Private Equity & Venture Capital practice to guide them during the full range of investment transactions, including buyouts, spin-offs, restructurings, and carve-outs. We use our profound understanding of the markets and our clients’ goals to help them implement
- [G2 Leverages Hunt Club's Expert Network to Find Their Next Vice President of Sales](https://hpa.vc/case_study/g2-leverages-hunt-clubs-expert-network-to-find-their-next-vice-president-of-sales/): G2 is a billion-dollar unicorn and the world's largest tech marketplace where businesses can discover, review, and manage the technology they need to reach their goals. Founded in 2012, the company's focus was on gathering authentic peer reviews of software platforms. Now, at least 6 million people interact with G2 to inform smarter software decisions
- [Made In Leverages Hunt Club’s Expert Network to Hire 2 Specialized VP Roles To Drive Growth](https://hpa.vc/case_study/made-in-leverages-hunt-clubs-expert-network-to-hire-2-specialized-vp-roles-to-drive-growth/): When it came to hiring a VP of Growth and VP of Product & Sourcing, Made In turned to Hunt Club to find influential talent that was hard to source elsewhere. Read the Made In Partner Story to learn how Hunt Club found bullseye candidates. VP of Growth When Hiring a VP of Growth, they
- [How Hunt Club Helped Treasure Financial Source and Hire a Director of Marketing Role](https://hpa.vc/case_study/how-hunt-club-helped-treasure-financial-source-and-hire-a-director-of-marketing-role/): Treasure Financial offers Startups and growing companies a new approach to banking, transforming business cash into revenue. As the company continues to innovate and expand, they knew they needed a marketing expert to join their team. Treasure Financial partnered with Hunt Club to source, screen, and connect the company with world class talent. For more
- [THOR Industries Announces Partnership with TechNexus Venture Collaborative to Identify Strategic Opportunities](https://hpa.vc/case_study/thor-industries-announces-partnership-with-technexus-venture-collaborative-to-identify-strategic-opportunities/): TechNexus operates as a force multiplier between ambitious enterprises and entrepreneurs to fund and incubate opportunities that lead to new market potential, and ultimately new revenue growth. To create a robust ecosystem, THOR and TechNexus will identify and develop ventures that leverage unique business models, emerging consumer trends, and advanced and new technology applications important
- [TechNexus Venture Collaborative Launches TeamWorking, the Future-of-Work Home for Chicago Innovators](https://hpa.vc/case_study/technexus-venture-collaborative-launches-teamworking-the-future-of-work-home-for-chicago-innovators/): We recognize that as companies and individuals return to the workplace, we must adapt to meet the evolving needs of unique team dynamics. In today’s remote work paradigm, companies need a place to physically meet and collaborate in a safe, ready-made, integrated environment. TeamWorking is collaborative, flexible and hybrid – all the essentials for future work.
- [NuCurrent chooses Wurkwel Ventures to furnish their growing office](https://hpa.vc/case_study/nucurrent-chooses-wurkwel-ventures-to-furnish-their-growing-office/): It was our pleasure to furnish NuCurrent's offices, lab space, and common areas. Recently, we helped them relocate within the same building to create a larger, more functional space for their growing engineering team, as well as a space for better collaboration and productivity.
- [Creating a fresh and collaborative office space for NanoGraf's growing team](https://hpa.vc/case_study/creating-a-fresh-and-collaborative-office-space-for-nanografs-growing-team/): Wurkwel partnered with Arco Murray to create a fresh workspace for NanoGraf with vibrant pops of color to display the NanoGraf brand as well as incorporating functional furniture. The space is open, collaborative and promotes productivity as their team churns out high density, next-gen batteries. These batteries power electric vehicles, providing portable power that help
- [Need legal services for your startup business? Request a roadmap from Meyer Law](https://hpa.vc/case_study/request-a-roadmap-from-meyer-law/): Don't know where to start? No problem! At Meyer Law, we provide many of the legal services a typical startup needs, from help with defining the corporate structure and drafting founder’s agreements, to creating contracts tailored to your company, to protecting intellectual property and preparing for fundraising. Our dedicated, tech-savvy attorneys are experienced with corporate
- [Fast-Growing Cryptocurrency Firm Sought Flexible New Headquarters Location](https://hpa.vc/case_study/fast-growing-cryptocurrency-firm-sought-flexible-new-headquarters-location/)
- [Cooley Advises Protégé as it Closes $8.5 Million Seed Round](https://hpa.vc/case_study/cooley-advises-protege-as-it-closes-8-5-million-seed-round/)
- [Cooley Advised G2 to Reach Unicorn Status with its $157M Series D round](https://hpa.vc/case_study/cooley-advised-g2-to-reach-unicorn-status-with-its-157m-series-d-round/)
- [LAGO Writes First Institutional Checks To Fund Growth Of WIN Reality](https://hpa.vc/case_study/lago-writes-first-institutional-checks-to-fund-growth-of-win-reality/): WIN Reality built a robust virtual reality batting practice tool for professional baseball players, which was quickly adopted by numerous MLB and Division I teams. LAGO was approached by WIN Reality to help fund their ambitious plans to penetrate the large at-home youth travel baseball market. Having already identified virtual reality / gaming / metaverse
- [As Safely Builds A Risk Mitigation Platform For The Short-term Rental Market, LAGO Provides A Multi-Tranche Capital Solution](https://hpa.vc/case_study/as-safely-builds-a-risk-mitigation-platform-for-the-short-term-rental-market-lago-provides-a-multi-tranche-capital-solution/): Typical home owners' insurance does not cover claims associated with short-term rentals. In response, Safely created an attractive insurance product and risk-mitigation ratings system to support the rapid growth of peer-to-peer vacation rental industry. Seeking to expand internationally and to stand up a captive insurance carrier, Safely approached LAGO for capital support to accelerate these
- [How We Helped Vertex Deliver Faster](https://hpa.vc/case_study/how-we-helped-vertex-deliver-faster/): A partnership to fuel growth When Vertex first reached out to our team, they were looking for a trusted partner to adapt to their team’s practices and deliver new features. The first sprint together focused on design. Our UX team worked with the Vertex UX and product teams to establish feature requirements and utilized existing
- [Helping Chowbus Scale Their Platform](https://hpa.vc/case_study/helping-chowbus-scale-their-platform/)
- [Objective Paradigm Hires CTO and Finance Lead for Provi](https://hpa.vc/case_study/objective-paradigm-hires-cto-and-finance-lead-for-provi/): Objective Paradigm was retained to manage the search and bring in some of Chicago’s top technologists to interview for the prestigious opportunity. Provi was able to select a CTO from an outstanding list of candidates and hired one of Chicago’s elite technical leaders into the role. When it was time to bring in a leader
- [As ShipBob Rapidly Scales, Silicon Valley Bank Provides Support](https://hpa.vc/case_study/shipbob-and-silicon-valley-bank/): As ShipBob continued to rapidly scale, SVB helped expand its financing support of the business by providing the right structure and flexibility. This has allowed the company to maximize the underlying enterprise value of the business while minimizing dilution for founders and investors.
- [OP's Team Managed Recruiting During a Spike in Hiring for Cohesion](https://hpa.vc/case_study/op-dedicated-recruiting-services-team-managed-recruiting-during-a-spike-in-hiring-for-cohesion/): Objective Paradigm provided recruiting services to support Cohesion's rapid growth. At times when Cohesion did not have an internal resource to run recruiting, OP's Dedicated Recruiting Services team provided an onsite recruiter who managed Cohesion's recruiting process and supported sourcing and recruiting for individual roles. As Cohesion continued their growth and brought on a resource
- [ShipBob's First Marketing Hire](https://hpa.vc/case_study/shipbobs-first-marketing-hire/): Leveraging the help of 200+ subject matter experts, Hunt Club zeroed in on a specific breed of marketer who would be working closely with their growing sales team and who could work solo until building out their own team. Hunt Club identified 67 enthusiastic candidates, and screened the pool down to the 10 best players.
- [An HR Strategy for Scholastica](https://hpa.vc/case_study/the-hr-strategy-for-scholastica/): Founded in 2012 by Brian Cody, Rob Walsh, and Cory Schires, Scholastica provides software that lets academic journals streamline the peer review process and easily publish an open access journal. By outsourcing key HR functions, Scholastica’s leaders were able to focus on improving their product at the same time they improved their employee benefits. In
- [Due to Rapid Growth, Regroup Looks to CognosHR for Support](https://hpa.vc/case_study/how-regroup-kept-its-balance-during-its-rapid-growth/): Chicago-based Regroup provides telepsychiatry services that connect clinicians with patients all over the country. Founded in 2011, the company entered a phase of rapid growth in 2016. That growth included two funding rounds, increased revenue, and an urgent need to expand the team, which brought with it several logistical challenges. Regroup was able to scale
- [Meyer Laws Works with PandaDoc as General Counsel to Drive Business Forward](https://hpa.vc/case_study/meyer-laws-works-with-pandadoc-as-general-counsel-to-drive-business-forward/): Since 2017, Meyer Law has worked with PandaDoc as its outsourced General Counsel on 90+ matters to help drive the business forward. Backed by M12, HubSpot, and Rembrandt Venture Partners, PandaDoc provides an all-in-one document automation solution that streamlines the process of creating, approving, and e-signing, proposals, quotes and contracts and has 20,000+ customers, which
- [Wintrust Ventures Helps Regroup Therapy Achieve Merger with Insight Telepsychiatry with Equity and Debt Financing](https://hpa.vc/case_study/wintrust-ventures-helps-regroup-therapy-achieve-merger-with-insight-telepsychiatry-with-equity-and-debt-financing/): Wintrust continues to support the business in its equity, debt, and banking needs.
- [CIBC Innovation Banking Supports ActiveCampaign, and Founder Jason VandeBoom, as the Business Scales](https://hpa.vc/case_study/cibc-innovation-banking-supports-activecampaign-and-founder-jason-vandeboom-as-the-business-scales/)
- [CIBC’s Innovation Banking Supports YCharts Evolving Business](https://hpa.vc/case_study/cibcs-innovation-banking-supports-ycharts-evolving-business/)
- [How a Growing and Complex Healthtech Organization Saved Time and Money with Wipfli](https://hpa.vc/case_study/how-a-growing-and-complex-healthtech-organization-saved-time-and-money-with-wipfli/): Centauri first partnered with Wipfli back when the organization was much smaller and was looking to get certified in the brand-new HITRUST CSF® program. Wipfli was one of the first firms to become a HITRUST Authorized External Assessor. Since Centauri began working with Wipfli, they’ve continued to grow rapidly, adding not only new locations but
- [Armanino Outsources Strategic Financial and Accounting Operations, Providing Insight and Analysis for Company’s Critical Business Decision](https://hpa.vc/case_study/armanino-outsources-strategic-financial-and-accounting-operations-providing-insight-and-analysis-for-companys-critical-business-decision/): Glassybaby is a private company based in Seattle, Washington. Its primary product is a handmade glass votive, also known as a "glassybaby", produced in more than four hundred colors and sold over the internet and through retail stores. Armanino’s team provides the highest possible ROI by delivering just what companies need from their corporate finance
- [Wintrust Ventures Provides Both Equity and Debt Financing for Packback](https://hpa.vc/case_study/wintrust-ventures-provides-both-equity-and-debt-financing-for-packback/)
- [The Talent Maven Selected by CEO to Streamline Recruitment Strategy](https://hpa.vc/case_study/the-talent-maven-selected-by-ceo-to-streamline-recruitment-strategy/): The CEO requested an audit on the current recruitment process including a strategy on how to build an internal recruitment team, cut costs on external agencies, and launch an ATS for a 350+ person firm. Learn how The Talent Maven LLC was able to streamline recruiting processes and implement a scalable solution.
- [The Mom Project Selects The Talent Maven to Recruit First VP, Growth Marketing Hire](https://hpa.vc/case_study/the-mom-project-selects-the-talent-maven-to-recruit-first-vp-growth-marketing-hire/)
- [Pandemic Interruption Resulted in Creative Real Estate Solution](https://hpa.vc/case_study/pandemic-interruption-resulted-in-creative-real-estate-solution/)
- [Chicago:Blend Launches Chicago Venture Fellows to Diversify VC Talent Pipeline](https://hpa.vc/case_study/chicagoblend-launches-chicago-venture-fellows-to-diversify-vc-talent-pipeline/): From May 4 to August 24, 2022, ten (10) Fellows will work to source innovative Chicago startups for potential VC investment, while learning from the city’s top VCs and tech leaders. Selected participants receive: $1,000 stipend Finder’s fee for sourcing deals that receive venture funding Venture finance education through VC University ONLINE (provided by NVCA,
- [Unique Fulton Market Location with a View](https://hpa.vc/case_study/unique-fulton-market-location-with-a-view/): Kept a tight geographic parameter and tapped into developer connections. Located unique, off-market opportunity with highly sought after outdoor access. Compelled landlord to build space to meet client's needs
- [A Rapidly Growing International SaaS Visual Effects Company Scales Finance and Accounting](https://hpa.vc/case_study/a-rapidly-growing-international-saas-visual-effects-company-scales-finance-and-accounting/): Threekit, a 3-D visual effects company founded in Canada, began their journey in Hollywood back in 2005, when founder and CTO Ben Houston created the CGI software that would be used in blockbuster films. Demand for Threekit’s services surged in 2014, when brands and B2B companies began using interactive visuals online, and by 2018 they
- [DealHub.io Doubles Their Google Campaign Lead Volume With G2 Content](https://hpa.vc/case_study/dealhub-io-doubles-their-google-campaign-lead-volume-with-g2-content/): The first step in DealHub.io’s G2 journey was to capture the voice of their customers in the form of reviews. Following G2’s best practices, DealHub.io ran review campaigns and collected dozens of reviews. After seeing traction from their campaign, DealHub.io wanted to amplify their customer voice, captured in G2 reviews and content, across their site
- [Audiense Generates 60+ Customer Testimonials and Improves Brand Positioning, Influencing More Deals with G2 Seller Solutions](https://hpa.vc/case_study/audiense-generates-60-customer-testimonials-and-improves-brand-positioning-influencing-more-deals-with-g2-seller-solutions/): Audiense started by doing an internal audit of their company and product presence on G2. They pinpointed which categories they and their competitors were at play and made a plan. Audiense paid special attention to improving their G2 profile by following G2 recommendations to add more info and transparency about the product, user friendly videos,
- [Scalable App Install Marketing Campaign](https://hpa.vc/case_study/scalable-app-install-marketing-campaign/): Radish, a direct-to-reader serialized fiction platform, wanted to elevate their paid social strategy and creative to drive sign ups and in-app purchases. SWIDIA created videos as intriguing as the stories themselves and promoted them in a custom paid social strategy, resulting in a 54x increase on in-app purchases.
- [Performance-driven Growth Strategy](https://hpa.vc/case_study/performance-driven-growth-strategy/): We developed hundreds of videos that showcased the variety of stars and shoutouts people can get using Cameo. This generated brand buzz, drove sign ups, and turned Cameo’s presence into a recurring act for thousands of satisfied fans!
- [Flexible, Low-cost Real Estate Solution](https://hpa.vc/case_study/flexible-low-cost-real-estate-solution/): Site selection Leveraging market intelligence to identify off-market opportunities Economic and lease negotiation Using expertise to ensure below market rental rate
- [Joshin’s First Technical Hire](https://hpa.vc/case_study/joshins-first-technical-hire/): humanpredictions’ aggregates hundreds of data points on technical talent from 40+ unique tech communities. By continuously updating this information, we not only possess the cleanest database, but can also predict when tech talent is most likely to change jobs based on public signals & tenure data. We were founded, and now run, by industry experts
- [Founder of Rentgrata Uses humanpredictions to Quickly Scale up Engineering Team](https://hpa.vc/case_study/founder-of-rentgrata-uses-humanpredictions-to-quickly-scale-up-engineering-team/): humanpredictions’ aggregates hundreds of data points on technical talent from 40+ unique tech communities. By continuously updating this information, we not only possess the cleanest database, but can also predict when tech talent is most likely to change jobs based on public signals & tenure data. We were founded, and now run, by industry experts in technical recruiting.
- [UL Automates Operational Processes with Catalytic Collaboration](https://hpa.vc/case_study/ul-automates-operational-processes-with-catalytic-collaboration/): To learn more about UL Ventures or work to help build trust in a digital world, visit us at UL.com. To learn more how Catalytic can digitize business operations, visit Catalytic.com.
- [UL Advances Customer Experience with Catalytic Collaboration](https://hpa.vc/case_study/ul-advances-customer-experience-with-catalytic-collaboration/): To learn more about UL Ventures or work to help build trust in a digital world, visit us at UL.com. To learn more how Catalytic can digitize business operations, visit Catalytic.com.
- [Packback Selects Launchways as an Alternative to a PEO](https://hpa.vc/case_study/packback-selects-launchways-as-a-superior-alternative-to-a-peo/)
- [Silicon Valley Bank Helps Streamline Operations at Chowbus](https://hpa.vc/case_study/chowbus-and-silicon-valley-bank/): As the company continues to scale, SVB stands ready to help support the business with a wide-ranging and unique set of financing solutions that can be specifically tailored for Chowbus’s growth objectives.
- [Popular Pays Improves Benefits Offering & Cuts Annual Healthcare Costs with Launchways](https://hpa.vc/case_study/popular-pays-improves-benefits-offering-cuts-annual-healthcare-costs-with-launchways/): Popular Pays saw results working with Launchways, including: Conducted employee survey and healthcare utilization analysis Modified existing plan to align with employee preferences Improved HSA plan offering to reduce deductibles Added ancillary coverages including short-term disability and voluntary life Reduced annual medical premiums by 10%
- [Building Rheaply’s Thought Leadership](https://hpa.vc/case_study/building-rheaplys-thought-leadership/): 3Points built and successfully executed on a comprehensive strategy across earned, owned, and social media, which included the below impactful projects: Prepared, coordinated, and drafted messaging for Dr. Cooper’s appearance in a City of Chicago press conference regarding the city’s COVID-19 response, which included the implementation of Rheaply’s technology to aid small businesses in obtaining PPE
- [HMB Legal Counsel Represents Hyde Park Angels in YCharts Investment](https://hpa.vc/case_study/hmb-legal-counsel-represents-hyde-park-angels-in-ycharts-investment/): Since its founding in 2009, YCharts has grown from an investment research tool to a full-service fundamental research platform. HPA’s initial investment in YCharts was in 2010 in a transaction led by HPA. HMB was principally responsible for negotiating and drafting the YCharts investment documents and worked closely with company counsel in accomplishing the initial
- [HMB Legal Counsel Represents Hyde Park Angels in Leaf Trade Investment](https://hpa.vc/case_study/hmb-legal-counsel-represents-hyde-park-angels-in-leaf-trade-investment/): Leaf Trade operated as a limited liability company before HPA led its 2019 investment round. As is common with companies raising substantial venture capital, Leaf Trade changed to a Delaware C corporation before the financing round closed. Changing from an LLC to a C corporation can present several challenges to both companies and investors, including
- [Helping Imagineer Technology Group Create and Lead Conversation During a Pandemic](https://hpa.vc/case_study/helping-imagineer-technology-group-create-and-lead-conversation-during-a-pandemic/)
- [The Search for a VP of Sales](https://hpa.vc/case_study/the-search-for-a-vp-of-sales/): G2 is the world’s largest B2B tech marketplace where businesses go to discover and buy software. They are dedicated to changing the way companies research, buy, and manage their software and services. Throughout the search process, 60 experts were leveraged, 20 referrals were generated and 5 candidates were introduced. All in all, it took 45
- [Secured Short-Term Flexible Real Estate Solution](https://hpa.vc/case_study/secured-short-term-flexible-real-estate-solution/): How did CBRE solve this challenge? Scoured entire Chicago office market looking for office solutions for FourKites Used demographic mapping and transportation studies to identify ideal location Identified off-market sublease option by leveraging our robust network Secured highly improved, fully furnished sublease at below market rent Saved clients millions of dollars over the term of

## Partners v2

- [Aprio](https://hpa.vc/partners/aprio/)
- [Objective Partners](https://hpa.vc/partners/objective-partners/)
- [Databricks](https://hpa.vc/partners/databricks/)
- [Human AugmentatioN via Dexterity (HAND)](https://hpa.vc/partners/human-augmentation-via-dexterity-hand/)
- [Silicon Valley Bank](https://hpa.vc/partners/silicon-valley-bank/)
- [Thompson Hine](https://hpa.vc/partners/thompson-hine/)
- [Troutman Pepper Locke](https://hpa.vc/partners/troutman-pepper-locke/)
- [Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP](https://hpa.vc/partners/kilpatrick-townsend-stockton-llp/)
- [Hyde Park Venture Partners](https://hpa.vc/partners/hpvp/)
- [Neal Gerber Eisenberg](https://hpa.vc/partners/neal-gerber-eisenberg/)
- [TechNexus](https://hpa.vc/partners/technexus/)
- [World Business Chicago](https://hpa.vc/partners/worldbusinesschicago/)
- [Cooley LLP](https://hpa.vc/partners/cooley-llp/): Cooley is the #1 recognized market leader in the VC ecosystem. With more than five decades of unparalleled experience providing counsel to transformative companies, we are where innovation meets the law. As a global law firm with 1,000+ VC financings annually, we offer full-service capabilities and deep industry knowledge to savvy, high-potential companies. Our attorneys
- [Polsinelli](https://hpa.vc/partners/polsinelli/)
- [Chicago:Blend](https://hpa.vc/partners/chicagoblend/)
- [UL](https://hpa.vc/partners/ul/)
- [G2](https://hpa.vc/partners/g2/): In 2012, five entrepreneurs asked themselves a question: Why is it easier to get unbiased information about a $100 hotel room than a $100,000 piece of software? The next day, they founded G2. G2 is the world’s largest tech marketplace where businesses can discover, review, and manage the technology they need to reach their potential.
- [The Polsky Center](https://hpa.vc/partners/the-polsky-center-for-entrepreneurship-and-innovation/)
- [Verde Associates, LLC](https://hpa.vc/partners/verde-associates-llc/)

## Categories

- [All](https://hpa.vc/category/all/)
- [Essentials](https://hpa.vc/category/essentials/)
- [Growing](https://hpa.vc/category/growing/)
- [Pitching](https://hpa.vc/category/pitching/)
- [Fundraising](https://hpa.vc/category/fundraising/)
- [Market Trends](https://hpa.vc/category/market-trends/)
- [HPA](https://hpa.vc/category/hpa/)
- [New Investments](https://hpa.vc/category/new-investments/)
- [Insights](https://hpa.vc/category/hpa-insights/)
- [Research](https://hpa.vc/category/research/)
- [Founder Stories](https://hpa.vc/category/founder_stories/)
- [Chicago Leadership](https://hpa.vc/category/chicago_leadership/)
- [CEOs and Executives](https://hpa.vc/category/ceos_and_executives/)
- [Member News](https://hpa.vc/category/member_news/)
- [Startup Success](https://hpa.vc/category/startup_success/)
- [Our Members](https://hpa.vc/category/our-members/)

## Tags

- [cap tables](https://hpa.vc/tag/cap-tables/)
- [cap table](https://hpa.vc/tag/cap-table/)
- [fundraising](https://hpa.vc/tag/fundraising/)
- [valuation](https://hpa.vc/tag/valuation/)
- [money](https://hpa.vc/tag/money/)
- [returns](https://hpa.vc/tag/returns/)
- [investor returns](https://hpa.vc/tag/investor-returns/)
- [entrepreneur returns](https://hpa.vc/tag/entrepreneur-returns/)
- [early-stage entrepreneurs](https://hpa.vc/tag/early-stage-entrepreneurs/)
- [VC](https://hpa.vc/tag/vc/)
- [fieldglass](https://hpa.vc/tag/fieldglass/)
- [steve garrou](https://hpa.vc/tag/steve-garrou/)
- [westcon](https://hpa.vc/tag/westcon/)
- [lily yeung](https://hpa.vc/tag/lily-yeung/)
- [molex](https://hpa.vc/tag/molex/)
- [reese schroeder](https://hpa.vc/tag/reese-schroeder/)
- [motorola solutions](https://hpa.vc/tag/motorola-solutions/)
- [corporate venturing](https://hpa.vc/tag/corporate-venturing/)
- [b2b sales](https://hpa.vc/tag/b2b-sales/)
- [corporate investment](https://hpa.vc/tag/corporate-investment/)
- [strategic partnerships](https://hpa.vc/tag/strategic-partnerships/)
- [jai shekhawat](https://hpa.vc/tag/jai-shekhawat/)
- [Joe LaManna](https://hpa.vc/tag/joe-lamanna/)
- [Mitch Kirby](https://hpa.vc/tag/mitch-kirby/)
- [new investments](https://hpa.vc/tag/new-investments/)
- [HPA investments](https://hpa.vc/tag/hpa-investments/)
- [seed round](https://hpa.vc/tag/seed-round/)
- [deal lead](https://hpa.vc/tag/deal-lead/)
- [ownership](https://hpa.vc/tag/ownership/)
- [vesting](https://hpa.vc/tag/vesting/)
- [Gib Olander](https://hpa.vc/tag/gib-olander/)
- [Aksh Gupta](https://hpa.vc/tag/aksh-gupta/)
- [occasion](https://hpa.vc/tag/occasion/)
- [westcon-comstor](https://hpa.vc/tag/westcon-comstor/)
- [xaptum](https://hpa.vc/tag/xaptum/)
- [corporate venture](https://hpa.vc/tag/corporate-venture/)
- [corporate vc](https://hpa.vc/tag/corporate-vc/)
- [brian gratch](https://hpa.vc/tag/brian-gratch/)
- [Eastman Egg](https://hpa.vc/tag/eastman-egg/)
- [Hunter Swartz](https://hpa.vc/tag/hunter-swartz/)
- [Restaurant Row](https://hpa.vc/tag/restaurant-row/)
- [expansion](https://hpa.vc/tag/expansion/)
- [fast casual breakfast](https://hpa.vc/tag/fast-casual-breakfast/)
- [Jim Gray](https://hpa.vc/tag/jim-gray/)
- [Amanda Lannert](https://hpa.vc/tag/amanda-lannert/)
- [Badal Shah](https://hpa.vc/tag/badal-shah/)
- [Michael Small](https://hpa.vc/tag/michael-small/)
- [Kevin Willer](https://hpa.vc/tag/kevin-willer/)
- [Pete Wilkins](https://hpa.vc/tag/pete-wilkins/)
- [HPA](https://hpa.vc/tag/hpa/)
- [advisors](https://hpa.vc/tag/advisors/)
- [investors](https://hpa.vc/tag/investors/)
- [board members](https://hpa.vc/tag/board-members/)
- [entrepreneurial education](https://hpa.vc/tag/entrepreneurial-education/)
- [1871](https://hpa.vc/tag/1871/)
- [alida miranda-wolff](https://hpa.vc/tag/alida-miranda-wolff/)
- [platform](https://hpa.vc/tag/platform/)
- [director of platform](https://hpa.vc/tag/director-of-platform/)
- [Andy Bokor](https://hpa.vc/tag/andy-bokor/)
- [Trustwave](https://hpa.vc/tag/trustwave/)
- [Truss](https://hpa.vc/tag/truss/)
- [SaaS](https://hpa.vc/tag/saas/)
- [pricing strategy](https://hpa.vc/tag/pricing-strategy/)
- [cost structure](https://hpa.vc/tag/cost-structure/)
- [profit margin](https://hpa.vc/tag/profit-margin/)
- [customer acquisition](https://hpa.vc/tag/customer-acquisition/)
- [price points](https://hpa.vc/tag/price-points/)
- [entrepreneurship](https://hpa.vc/tag/entrepreneurship/)
- [advice](https://hpa.vc/tag/advice/)
- [lessons](https://hpa.vc/tag/lessons/)
- [Corey Ferengul](https://hpa.vc/tag/corey-ferengul/)
- [Taylor Katzman](https://hpa.vc/tag/taylor-katzman/)
- [Tiz](https://hpa.vc/tag/tiz/)
- [eddie leshin](https://hpa.vc/tag/eddie-leshin/)
- [coyote logistics](https://hpa.vc/tag/coyote-logistics/)
- [venture capital](https://hpa.vc/tag/venture-capital/)
- [logistics](https://hpa.vc/tag/logistics/)
- [logistics technology](https://hpa.vc/tag/logistics-technology/)
- [logistics startups](https://hpa.vc/tag/logistics-startups/)
- [real estate](https://hpa.vc/tag/real-estate/)
- [real estate tech](https://hpa.vc/tag/real-estate-tech/)
- [tech platforms](https://hpa.vc/tag/tech-platforms/)
- [tom smith](https://hpa.vc/tag/tom-smith/)
- [jeff hammes](https://hpa.vc/tag/jeff-hammes/)
- [meredith mendes](https://hpa.vc/tag/meredith-mendes/)
- [term sheets](https://hpa.vc/tag/term-sheets/)
- [funding](https://hpa.vc/tag/funding/)
- [IPO](https://hpa.vc/tag/ipo/)
- [acquired](https://hpa.vc/tag/acquired/)
- [acquisition](https://hpa.vc/tag/acquisition/)
- [Midwest](https://hpa.vc/tag/midwest/)
- [Chicago](https://hpa.vc/tag/chicago/)
- [tech](https://hpa.vc/tag/tech/)
- [P33](https://hpa.vc/tag/p33/)
- [diversity](https://hpa.vc/tag/diversity/)
- [equity](https://hpa.vc/tag/equity/)
- [inclusion](https://hpa.vc/tag/inclusion/)
- [entrepreneur](https://hpa.vc/tag/entrepreneur/)
- [Michigan](https://hpa.vc/tag/michigan/)
- [startup](https://hpa.vc/tag/startup/)
- [culture](https://hpa.vc/tag/culture/)
- [technology](https://hpa.vc/tag/technology/)
- [founder](https://hpa.vc/tag/founder/)
- [cybersecurity](https://hpa.vc/tag/cybersecurity/)
- [Detroit](https://hpa.vc/tag/detroit/)
- [Ann Arbor](https://hpa.vc/tag/ann-arbor/)
- [resource guide](https://hpa.vc/tag/resource-guide/)
- [coronavirus](https://hpa.vc/tag/coronavirus/)
- [COVID-19](https://hpa.vc/tag/covid-19/)
- [business resources during coronavirus](https://hpa.vc/tag/business-resources-during-coronavirus/)
- [investing](https://hpa.vc/tag/investing/)
- [hr resources](https://hpa.vc/tag/hr-resources/)
- [talent resources](https://hpa.vc/tag/talent-resources/)
- [recruiting](https://hpa.vc/tag/recruiting/)
- [HR and benefits](https://hpa.vc/tag/hr-and-benefits/)
- [Management Team](https://hpa.vc/tag/management-team/)
- [HPA Managing Director](https://hpa.vc/tag/hpa-managing-director/)
- [Leadership](https://hpa.vc/tag/leadership/)
- [kenna security](https://hpa.vc/tag/kenna-security/)
- [cisco](https://hpa.vc/tag/cisco/)
- [oros](https://hpa.vc/tag/oros/)
- [series a](https://hpa.vc/tag/series-a/)
- [shipbob](https://hpa.vc/tag/shipbob/)
- [series e](https://hpa.vc/tag/series-e/)
- [unicorn](https://hpa.vc/tag/unicorn/)
- [hologram](https://hpa.vc/tag/hologram/)
- [series b](https://hpa.vc/tag/series-b/)
- [branch](https://hpa.vc/tag/branch/)
- [jellyvision](https://hpa.vc/tag/jellyvision/)
- [chicago innovation hall of fame](https://hpa.vc/tag/chicago-innovation-hall-of-fame/)
- [award](https://hpa.vc/tag/award/)
- [recognition](https://hpa.vc/tag/recognition/)
- [jason vandeboom](https://hpa.vc/tag/jason-vandeboom/)
- [ey](https://hpa.vc/tag/ey/)
- [entrepreneur of the year](https://hpa.vc/tag/entrepreneur-of-the-year/)
- [merger](https://hpa.vc/tag/merger/)
- [yello](https://hpa.vc/tag/yello/)
- [dr. cheryl rucker-whitaker](https://hpa.vc/tag/dr-cheryl-rucker-whitaker/)
- [new board role](https://hpa.vc/tag/new-board-role/)
- [equality health](https://hpa.vc/tag/equality-health/)
- [activecampaign](https://hpa.vc/tag/activecampaign/)
- [Hardik Bhatt](https://hpa.vc/tag/hardik-bhatt/)
- [SDI Presence](https://hpa.vc/tag/sdi-presence/)
- [new role](https://hpa.vc/tag/new-role/)
- [provi](https://hpa.vc/tag/provi/)
- [beverage](https://hpa.vc/tag/beverage/)
- [nocd](https://hpa.vc/tag/nocd/)
- [telehealth](https://hpa.vc/tag/telehealth/)
- [mental health](https://hpa.vc/tag/mental-health/)
- [ocd](https://hpa.vc/tag/ocd/)
- [tenacity](https://hpa.vc/tag/tenacity/)
- [uptake](https://hpa.vc/tag/uptake/)
- [kayne grau](https://hpa.vc/tag/kayne-grau/)
- [ceo](https://hpa.vc/tag/ceo/)
- [stagetime](https://hpa.vc/tag/stagetime/)
- [cohesion](https://hpa.vc/tag/cohesion/)
- [stacked](https://hpa.vc/tag/stacked/)
- [cryptocurrency](https://hpa.vc/tag/cryptocurrency/)
- [seafood alternative](https://hpa.vc/tag/seafood-alternative/)
- [aqua cultured foods](https://hpa.vc/tag/aqua-cultured-foods/)
- [landscapehub](https://hpa.vc/tag/landscapehub/)
- [landscaping](https://hpa.vc/tag/landscaping/)
- [partners](https://hpa.vc/tag/partners/)
- [CRO](https://hpa.vc/tag/cro/)
- [HPA Member](https://hpa.vc/tag/hpa-member/)
- [Pinterest](https://hpa.vc/tag/pinterest/)
- [sales](https://hpa.vc/tag/sales/)
- [analyst](https://hpa.vc/tag/analyst/)
- [hiring](https://hpa.vc/tag/hiring/)
- [new job](https://hpa.vc/tag/new-job/)
- [open position](https://hpa.vc/tag/open-position/)
- [metaMe](https://hpa.vc/tag/metame/)
- [metaMe Health](https://hpa.vc/tag/metame-health/)
- [new round](https://hpa.vc/tag/new-round/)
- [catalytic](https://hpa.vc/tag/catalytic/)
- [exit](https://hpa.vc/tag/exit/)
- [pagerduty](https://hpa.vc/tag/pagerduty/)
- [growth](https://hpa.vc/tag/growth/)
- [lightricks](https://hpa.vc/tag/lightricks/)
- [popular pays](https://hpa.vc/tag/popular-pays/)
- [John Higginson](https://hpa.vc/tag/john-higginson/)
- [Chief](https://hpa.vc/tag/chief/)
- [Women startup](https://hpa.vc/tag/women-startup/)
- [CTO](https://hpa.vc/tag/cto/)
- [factor](https://hpa.vc/tag/factor/)
- [hellofresh](https://hpa.vc/tag/hellofresh/)
- [briteco](https://hpa.vc/tag/briteco/)
- [jewelry](https://hpa.vc/tag/jewelry/)
- [insurance](https://hpa.vc/tag/insurance/)
- [hyde park angels](https://hpa.vc/tag/hyde-park-angels/)
- [chicago tech](https://hpa.vc/tag/chicago-tech/)
- [startup ecosystem](https://hpa.vc/tag/startup-ecosystem/)
- [leaf trade](https://hpa.vc/tag/leaf-trade/)
- [cannabis](https://hpa.vc/tag/cannabis/)
- [new funding](https://hpa.vc/tag/new-funding/)
- [series seed](https://hpa.vc/tag/series-seed/)
- [out of office](https://hpa.vc/tag/out-of-office/)
- [travel startup](https://hpa.vc/tag/travel-startup/)
- [travel app](https://hpa.vc/tag/travel-app/)
- [si container builds](https://hpa.vc/tag/si-container-builds/)
- [sustainable homes](https://hpa.vc/tag/sustainable-homes/)
- [recycled shipping containers](https://hpa.vc/tag/recycled-shipping-containers/)
- [option pool strategy](https://hpa.vc/tag/option-pool-strategy/)
- [options](https://hpa.vc/tag/options/)
- [employee options](https://hpa.vc/tag/employee-options/)
- [diverse talent](https://hpa.vc/tag/diverse-talent/)
- [diverse hiring](https://hpa.vc/tag/diverse-hiring/)
- [equitable options](https://hpa.vc/tag/equitable-options/)
- [DEI efforts](https://hpa.vc/tag/dei-efforts/)
- [attract top talent](https://hpa.vc/tag/attract-top-talent/)
- [incentivize talent](https://hpa.vc/tag/incentivize-talent/)
- [sifter](https://hpa.vc/tag/sifter/)
- [food as medicine](https://hpa.vc/tag/food-as-medicine/)
- [nutrition as a service](https://hpa.vc/tag/nutrition-as-a-service/)
- [food innovation](https://hpa.vc/tag/food-innovation/)
- [nutrition](https://hpa.vc/tag/nutrition/)
- [new hire](https://hpa.vc/tag/new-hire/)
- [investment](https://hpa.vc/tag/investment/)
- [rheaply](https://hpa.vc/tag/rheaply/)
- [circular economy](https://hpa.vc/tag/circular-economy/)
- [climate tech](https://hpa.vc/tag/climate-tech/)
- [black founder](https://hpa.vc/tag/black-founder/)
- [resource management](https://hpa.vc/tag/resource-management/)
- [fourkites](https://hpa.vc/tag/fourkites/)
- [supply chain](https://hpa.vc/tag/supply-chain/)
- [real-time visibility platform](https://hpa.vc/tag/real-time-visibility-platform/)
- [fedex](https://hpa.vc/tag/fedex/)
- [oak9](https://hpa.vc/tag/oak9/)
- [security](https://hpa.vc/tag/security/)
- [infrastructure as code](https://hpa.vc/tag/infrastructure-as-code/)
- [cloud native security](https://hpa.vc/tag/cloud-native-security/)
- [tractor zoom](https://hpa.vc/tag/tractor-zoom/)
- [farming equipment](https://hpa.vc/tag/farming-equipment/)
- [agriculture stakeholders](https://hpa.vc/tag/agriculture-stakeholders/)
- [John Lewis](https://hpa.vc/tag/john-lewis/)
- [CEO role](https://hpa.vc/tag/ceo-role/)
- [Chicago leadership](https://hpa.vc/tag/chicago-leadership/)
- [InMoment](https://hpa.vc/tag/inmoment/)
- [logistics tech](https://hpa.vc/tag/logistics-tech/)
- [world business chicago](https://hpa.vc/tag/world-business-chicago/)
- [chicago venture summit](https://hpa.vc/tag/chicago-venture-summit/)
- [cpg](https://hpa.vc/tag/cpg/)
- [agriculture innovation](https://hpa.vc/tag/agriculture-innovation/)
- [food and beverage](https://hpa.vc/tag/food-and-beverage/)
- [university of illinois](https://hpa.vc/tag/university-of-illinois/)
- [illinois education](https://hpa.vc/tag/illinois-education/)
- [university entrepreneurs](https://hpa.vc/tag/university-entrepreneurs/)
- [Midwest education](https://hpa.vc/tag/midwest-education/)
- [tastytrade](https://hpa.vc/tag/tastytrade/)
- [retail investors](https://hpa.vc/tag/retail-investors/)
- [changing market conditions](https://hpa.vc/tag/changing-market-conditions/)
- [web3](https://hpa.vc/tag/web3/)
- [crypto](https://hpa.vc/tag/crypto/)
- [nfts](https://hpa.vc/tag/nfts/)
- [enterprise software](https://hpa.vc/tag/enterprise-software/)
- [G2](https://hpa.vc/tag/g2/)
- [Midwest tech](https://hpa.vc/tag/midwest-tech/)
- [Midwest software](https://hpa.vc/tag/midwest-software/)
- [software tech](https://hpa.vc/tag/software-tech/)
- [university of michigan](https://hpa.vc/tag/university-of-michigan/)
- [michigan tech](https://hpa.vc/tag/michigan-tech/)
- [michigan tech week](https://hpa.vc/tag/michigan-tech-week/)
- [crain's chicago business](https://hpa.vc/tag/crains-chicago-business/)
- [40 under 40](https://hpa.vc/tag/40-under-40/)
- [crain's 40 under 40](https://hpa.vc/tag/crains-40-under-40/)
- [dhruv saxena](https://hpa.vc/tag/dhruv-saxena/)
- [divey gulati](https://hpa.vc/tag/divey-gulati/)
- [hpa portfolio](https://hpa.vc/tag/hpa-portfolio/)
- [pimly](https://hpa.vc/tag/pimly/)
- [product information management](https://hpa.vc/tag/product-information-management/)
- [PIM](https://hpa.vc/tag/pim/)
- [product information](https://hpa.vc/tag/product-information/)
- [behavioral health](https://hpa.vc/tag/behavioral-health/)
- [teletherapy](https://hpa.vc/tag/teletherapy/)
- [nanograf](https://hpa.vc/tag/nanograf/)
- [advanced battery materials](https://hpa.vc/tag/advanced-battery-materials/)
- [strategic planning software](https://hpa.vc/tag/strategic-planning-software/)
- [strategic planning](https://hpa.vc/tag/strategic-planning/)
- [Amazon Web Services](https://hpa.vc/tag/amazon-web-services/)
- [State of Illinois](https://hpa.vc/tag/state-of-illinois/)
- [zengines](https://hpa.vc/tag/zengines/)
- [caitlyn truong](https://hpa.vc/tag/caitlyn-truong/)
- [ai-powered data platform](https://hpa.vc/tag/ai-powered-data-platform/)
- [data conversion](https://hpa.vc/tag/data-conversion/)
- [ai-powered data conversion](https://hpa.vc/tag/ai-powered-data-conversion/)
- [converting data](https://hpa.vc/tag/converting-data/)
- [seafood alternatives](https://hpa.vc/tag/seafood-alternatives/)
- [foodtech](https://hpa.vc/tag/foodtech/)
- [bloomfilter](https://hpa.vc/tag/bloomfilter/)
- [blumira](https://hpa.vc/tag/blumira/)
- [AI](https://hpa.vc/tag/ai/)
- [innovation](https://hpa.vc/tag/innovation/)
- [research](https://hpa.vc/tag/research/)
- [artificial intelligence](https://hpa.vc/tag/artificial-intelligence/)
- [alphathena](https://hpa.vc/tag/alphathena/)
- [Promotions](https://hpa.vc/tag/promotions/)
- [fuel me](https://hpa.vc/tag/fuel-me/)
- [fuelme](https://hpa.vc/tag/fuelme/)
- [psg](https://hpa.vc/tag/psg/)
- [packback](https://hpa.vc/tag/packback/)
- [paccurate](https://hpa.vc/tag/paccurate/)
- [packing](https://hpa.vc/tag/packing/)
- [shipment](https://hpa.vc/tag/shipment/)
- [parcel](https://hpa.vc/tag/parcel/)
- [software](https://hpa.vc/tag/software/)
- [enterprise](https://hpa.vc/tag/enterprise/)
- [data](https://hpa.vc/tag/data/)
- [migration](https://hpa.vc/tag/migration/)
- [simple mills](https://hpa.vc/tag/simple-mills/)
- [food](https://hpa.vc/tag/food/)
- [better for you](https://hpa.vc/tag/better-for-you/)
- [strategic](https://hpa.vc/tag/strategic/)
- [digit](https://hpa.vc/tag/digit/)
- [manufacturing](https://hpa.vc/tag/manufacturing/)
- [erp](https://hpa.vc/tag/erp/)
- [amplifund](https://hpa.vc/tag/amplifund/)
- [euna](https://hpa.vc/tag/euna/)
- [grant management](https://hpa.vc/tag/grant-management/)
- [moonnox](https://hpa.vc/tag/moonnox/)
- [professional services](https://hpa.vc/tag/professional-services/)
- [agents](https://hpa.vc/tag/agents/)
- [handspring](https://hpa.vc/tag/handspring/)
- [digital health](https://hpa.vc/tag/digital-health/)
- [seed](https://hpa.vc/tag/seed/)
- [CFO](https://hpa.vc/tag/cfo/)
- [finance](https://hpa.vc/tag/finance/)
- [iris](https://hpa.vc/tag/iris/)
- [uber](https://hpa.vc/tag/uber/)
- [freight](https://hpa.vc/tag/freight/)
- [last mile](https://hpa.vc/tag/last-mile/)
- [better trucks](https://hpa.vc/tag/better-trucks/)
- [ivca](https://hpa.vc/tag/ivca/)
- [cydelphi](https://hpa.vc/tag/cydelphi/)
- [DFIR](https://hpa.vc/tag/dfir/)
- [chowbus](https://hpa.vc/tag/chowbus/)
- [restaurants](https://hpa.vc/tag/restaurants/)
- [operations](https://hpa.vc/tag/operations/)
- [manager](https://hpa.vc/tag/manager/)
- [venture ops](https://hpa.vc/tag/venture-ops/)
- [handpsring health](https://hpa.vc/tag/handpsring-health/)
- [healthcare](https://hpa.vc/tag/healthcare/)
- [empirical](https://hpa.vc/tag/empirical/)
- [empirical security](https://hpa.vc/tag/empirical-security/)
- [karoo health](https://hpa.vc/tag/karoo-health/)
- [cardiovascular](https://hpa.vc/tag/cardiovascular/)
- [certinia](https://hpa.vc/tag/certinia/)
- [vision](https://hpa.vc/tag/vision/)
- [shelfmark](https://hpa.vc/tag/shelfmark/)

## Video Resource Categories

- [Early-Stage Funding](https://hpa.vc/video_resource_categories/early-stage-funding/)
- [Building Startups](https://hpa.vc/video_resource_categories/building-startups/)
- [VC Market Trends](https://hpa.vc/video_resource_categories/vc-market-trends/)
- [Disruptive Technologies](https://hpa.vc/video_resource_categories/disruptive-technologies/)
- [HPA Events](https://hpa.vc/video_resource_categories/hpa-events/)

## Leadership Categories

- [Management Team](https://hpa.vc/leadership_category/management-team/)
- [Board Members](https://hpa.vc/leadership_category/board-members/)
- [Membership Chairs](https://hpa.vc/leadership_category/membership-chairs/)

## News Categories

- [HPA Announcements](https://hpa.vc/news_categories/hpa-announcements/)
- [Portfolio Companies](https://hpa.vc/news_categories/portfolio-companies/)
- [Press Releases](https://hpa.vc/news_categories/press-releases/)

## Categories 

- [All](https://hpa.vc/research_cat/all/)
- [Essentials](https://hpa.vc/research_cat/essentials/)
- [Fundraising](https://hpa.vc/research_cat/fundraising/)
- [Growing](https://hpa.vc/research_cat/growing/)
- [HPA](https://hpa.vc/research_cat/hpa/)

## Partner Industries

- [Legal](https://hpa.vc/partner_industry/legal/)
- [Leadership Development](https://hpa.vc/partner_industry/leadership-development/)
- [Recruiting](https://hpa.vc/partner_industry/recruiting/)
- [Venture and Financial Services](https://hpa.vc/partner_industry/venture-financial-services/)