iCONIC EVENT - SESSION ONE

Tech Leaders Talk Chicago’s Strengths, Weaknesses at iCONIC

Tech Leaders Talk Chicago’s Strengths, Weaknesses at iCONIC

Jim Dallke

Chicago Inno

19 May 2015

http://chicagoinno.streetwise.co/2015/05/19/tech-leaders-talk-chicagos-strengths-weaknesses-at-iconic/

Three of Chicago’s most influential business leaders took the Chicago Theatre stage Tuesday to speak—mostly glowingly—about Chicago’s emerging tech scene, but also admitted where the city needs to improve when it comes to establishing itself as a leading tech hub.

J.B. Pritzker, 1871 CEO Howard Tullman, and World Business Chicago CEO Jeff Malehorn spoke at Inc. and CNBC’s iCONIC conference to discuss Chicago’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Each hit on topics that might be well known by those who’ve been in the Chicago tech community for a while, but the talk introduced the city’s tech ecosystem to out-of-town attendees.

First, Chicago tech has seen a huge evolution in the last 10 years, Pritzker said, with one of the biggest changes being the city’s growing acceptance of failure. A failed business would be ridiculed on the front page of the newspaper a decade ago, whereas today startups are beginning to embrace failure, and you’re seeing that will serial entrepreneurs in the city, Pritzker said.

Chicago is also starting to slowly shake its conservatism in business, particularly when it comes tp VCs investing in startups, Pritzker added. More venture dollars are coming to Chicago tech companies, and local VCs are willing to take more of a risk.

But Chicago tech companies have retained positive aspects of that conservative business mindset, Pritzker added, in that they have profitability and revenue in mind from the get-go, a characteristic that separates Chicago from many Silicon Valley startups.

Tullman added that a distinct characteristic of entrepreneurs today is that they want to make a difference.

“Entrepreneurs want to not just make a living, but make a life,” he said. “Money alone is not going to make you happy.”

Malehorn said it’s that mindset sets Chicago apart from other tech hubs, as many entrepreneurs take part in civic causes.

“If you adopt a civic cause, you’ll stand and out,” he said. “And if you don’t adopt a civic cause, you'll stand out.”

But Chicago has a ways to go before it reaches the level of a tech hub it wants to be, the panel acknowledged, and one big area of improvement is retaining tech talent. The University of Illinois produces more engineers per year than the next four top engineering schools combined, Malehorn said, and many leave for companies on the coasts.

“We need better connectivity to our university systems,” Malehorn said. “We want engineers to think about Chicago as their first stop when building their career.”

And inevitably, the question of if Chicago can be the next Silicon Valley came up, to which Priztker responded: “We don’t want to be the next Silicon Valley,” and a quiet applause grew from the crowd.

“We aspire to be a great tech hub with great entrepreneurs.”

Welcome Iconic Tour to Chicago and 1871 – The Startup Success Community

Welcome Iconic Tour to Chicago and 1871 – The Startup Success Community

Posted May 18, 2015 by Colm Lennon

The Iconic Conference is here in Chicago this week. Inc. and CNBC have put together a solid line up of successful entrepreneurs, academics, authors, and more to tell their stories, share a point of view, and inspire us to achieve greatness. The attendees will surely walk away from this event with some great ideas about what to do differently to secure their entrepreneurial success.

There will be plenty of tours today of the co-working spaces around the city. There will be logos of the successful companies that got their start in that space. They will talk about how their space is unique, different, and enables startups to be successful.

Unfortunately, inspirational presentations and co-working spaces don’t create great companies. If that were all it took, the success rate for venture backed startups would be much higher.

Startups are a team sport! 

It’s kind of a strange because usually you think about startups as 1 or 2 guys in their garage starting the next Apple. Sure, lightning can strike but two guys in a garage can be a very lonely existence with a very low likelihood of success.

It takes a community to create successful companies. It takes:

• Early adopter customers that share your vision and take a chance on you
• Mentors that share your passion and want to enable your success
• Teachers that provide you with the skills you need to start and grow a business
• Investors that understand what it will take to win
• Entrepreneurs that want to help each other by sharing experiences, resources, and ideas

Haka Products is very fortunate to be a part of 1871 here in the city of Chicago. Howard Tullman and the team at 1871 understand what it takes to create successful companies. They are enabling our success by creating a community that brings together all of the elements above.

1871 isn’t just a space. 1871 isn’t an incubator. 1871 is a community of people with a shared vision of creating successful companies here in the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois.

Each month, members are provided with a huge list of workshops and office hour mentoring sessions. And each month, we have taken advantage of those workshops and mentoring sessions to address current challenges. I have had the opportunity to meet attorneys, intellectual property experts, sales leaders, marketing experts, investment advisors, and many more. I have also met with senior leaders at big companies in the Chicago area who have a passion for innovation and startups.

My team isn’t just the employees that work for Haka Products. My team consists of all the customers, mentors, advisors, and the 1871 team that have helped us get to where we are today and who want to see us succeed.

Welcome Iconic Tour to the City of Chicago. Here are four things you must do while you are in town:

1. Bring a jacket – it’s Chicago in May
2. Catch a game – we’re a sports town
3. Grab some deep dish – we have our own pizza
4. Experience the community – come by 1871 and don’t ask for ‘the tour’ ask how you can be part of the community.

About the author: Colm Lennon is the Founder of Haka Products (www.hakaproducts.com). Haka Connect is an app built on Salesforce.com that helps you sell smarter and faster with context for customers and buyers. Haka Innovate helps you turn voice of the customer feedback into successful new products. Colm is an ex-CIO and Marketing leader at a Fortune 100 company. In addition to his LinkedIn profile, you can also interact with Colm on his Twitter account @ColmLennon.

Inc. Is Bringing Mark Cuban and a Packed Lineup of Speakers to Chicago for iCONIC

Jim Dallke - Staff Writer

05/06/15 @9:10am in Tech

23

twit

The Houston Rockets' win over the Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Playoffs was a devastating loss to the city of Dallas, but it turned out to be a win for Chicago.

With the Dallas Mavericks out of the playoffs, Inc. Magazine was able to add team owner and startup investor Mark Cuban to their iCONIC conference in Chicago, adding to an already impressive lineup of CEOs, VCs, and other business leaders. Cuban has been active in the Windy City recently, as he's invested in several Chicago startups through his ABC show Shark Tank, including LuminAID,Packback Books, and  IWantToDrawACatForYou.com (seriously).

Put on by Inc. Media and CNBC, the iCONIC Tour is a three-city conference, starting on May 19 in Chicago, that provides sessions, panels and interviews with some of the country's most influential business leaders. In Chicago, the conference will include sessions on entrepreneurial ecosystems, how to turn around a business, and a panel on Chicago's "all star innovators."

Taking place May 19 at the Chicago Theatre, the conference will provide a nice mix of both national business figures and local Chicago tech leaders. Here's a rundown of some of the notable people who will be speaking at iCONIC and what they'll be discussing:

Mark Cuban (Dallas Mavericks Owner, Shark Tank Investor): In a session titled "Swimming with a Shark: You Only Have to Be Right Once," Cuban will talk about his business philosophies and teach attendees how to embrace vision, build a winning team, and make strategic decisions in crunch-time.

Neil Blumenthal (Warby Parker co-founder and co-CEO): At "How Warby Parker Sees Disruption," Blumenthal will discuss how Warby Parker is changing the eyewear industry.

Elizabeth Cutler

Elizabeth Cutler (SoulCycle co-founder, co-creator and co-owner): At a panel called "Brands You F**king Love," Cutler will share how her popular fitness company makes a lasting impression on its customers.

JB Pritzker (Prtizker Group Managing Partner): Pritzker will talk about the Chicago Tech community during the "Entrepreneurial Ecosystems" interview with Eric Schurenberg, president and editor in chief of Inc.

Howard Tullman (CEO of 1871): Tullman will join Pritzker on stage for "Entrepreneurial Ecosystems."

Matt Maloney (Founder and CEO of GrubHub): Maloney will take part in the "Chicago's All-Star Innovators" panel, which will be moderated by Kayla Tausche, co-anchor of CNBC's Squawk Alley. Also on the panel will be Jason Fried, founder and CEO, Basecamp, and Richard Melman, founder and chairman, Lettuce Entertain You.

Bert Jacobs (Life is Good co-founder and CEO): During "Do What You Love, Love What You Do," Jacobs will talk about his experience building a company and teach you "how to reinvent a brand without losing what makes it special."

Marlo Thomas (Actress and author): Thomas, an Emmy and Golden Globe winning actress, will talk about balancing your professional and personal life during "The Reinvention Game: A Conversation with Marlo Thomas."

The conference runs from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 19.

Inc. and CNBC Present the 2015 iCONIC Tour

Chicago, May 19, 2015 | LA, June 23, 2015 | DC, November 2015

Join Inc. and CNBC at The 2015 Iconic Tour, a one-of-a-kind experience to connect with fellow visionaries and provocateurs, ignite new ideas, and be inspired by today’s biggest business icons. Every minute and every session will challenge you to overturn conventional thinking and revolutionize the way you do business. At Iconic, you will motivate one another, along with an unprecedented lineup of business luminaries, as you brainstorm fresh, exciting ideas to revolutionize every aspect of your business.

The 2015 iCONIC keynote speakers include founders and CEOs, Bert Jacobs, The Life Is Good Company; Kip Tindell, The Container Store; Neil Blumenthal, Warby Parker; Elizabeth Cutler, SoulCycle; Kevin Plank, Under Armour; Howard Tullman,1871; Julia Hartz, Eventbrite; Matt Maloney, GrubHub; Marcus Lemonis, Star of CNBC's television show The Profit, and more.

These brands made a big market impact by thinking differently. Get your tickets for iCONIC to hear from the icons who made it happen and to learn how you can too.

iCONIC: Chicago Agenda

iCONIC: Chicago Agenda

PRE-CONFERENCE DAY—MONDAY, MAY 18

2:00 p.m. Registration Open (Inc.edu attendees only)
Location: 1871 (222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza, 12th Floor, Chicago, IL 60654)

3:00–6:00 p.m. Inc.edu Courses

Supercharge your learning experience by attending a pre-event Inc.edu class. Each MBA executive-level classroom-style session is led by a business thought-leader. Seats are limited, and preregistration is required. There is an additional fee to participate.

• I. Pragmatic Leadership Skills to Move Your Agenda
  Instructor: Sam Bacharach, professor, Cornell Business School; founder, The BLG Leadership Group; and author, "Get Them on Your Side and Keep Them on Your Side," and columnist, Inc.com
  Location: 1871
• II. The Strength of Mind: What You Need to Succeed
  Instructor: Srikumar S. Rao, former Columbia Business School professor; creator of the Creativity and Personal Mastery (CPM) course and author, "Happiness at Work" and "Are You Ready to Succeed?"
  Location: 1871

6:00–8:00 p.m. VIP Welcome Reception (Ticket required)

Speakers: Phil LeBeau, reporter, CNBC; and Rick Santelli, on-air editor, CNBC Business News
Hosts: Tyler Mathisen, co-anchor of CNBC's "Power Lunch" and "Nightly Business Report"; and Eric Schurenberg, president and editor-in-chief, Inc.Location: 1871 (222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza, 12th Floor, Chicago)

CONFERENCE DAY—TUESDAY, MAY 19

Location: The Chicago Theater (175 N State St, Chicago)

8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Registration Open 
Lobby

8:15 a.m. Theater doors open

8:45 a.m. Welcome to IconicRemarks: Tyler Mathisen, co-anchor of CNBC's Power Lunch and Nightly Business Report; and Eric Schurenberg, president and editor-in-chief, Inc.
Theater

9:00 a.m. Welcome to ChicagoTheater

9:15 a.m. Do What You Like, Like What You Do
Speaker: Bert Jacobs, co-founder and chief executive optimist, The Life is Good Co.
Theater

10:05 a.m. How to Envision Profits and a Purpose
Speaker: Neil Blumenthal, co-founder and co-CEO, Warby Parker
Theater

10:45 a.m. Networking Break
Foyer and Lobby

11:15 a.m. Brands We F**king Love
Speakers: Hilary Folger, partner – brand strategy, Lippincott; Eric Ryan, co-founder, Method; and Bayard Winthrop, founder and CEO, American Giant
Interviewer: Eric Schurenberg, president and editor-in-chief, Inc.
Theater

12:15 p.m. Bikes, Branding, and Business: A Conversation with SoulCycleSpeakers: Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, co-founders, co-creators, and co-owners, SoulCycle
Theater

1:00 p.m. Networking Lunch
Foyer and Lobby

2:15 p.m.The Reinvention Game: A Conversation with Marlo Thomas
Speaker: Marlo Thomas, actress, philanthropist and author, "It Ain't Over … Reinventing Your Life and Realizing Your Dreams Anytime, at Any Age"
Interviewer: Eric Schurenberg, president and editor-in-chief, Inc.
Theater

2:45 p.m. Entrepreneurial EcosystemsSpeakers: J.B. Pritzker, co-founder and managing partner, Pritzker Group; Governor Bruce Rauner, the State of Illinois; and Howard Tullman, CEO, 1871; and general managing partner, G2T3V
Interviewer: Tyler Mathisen, co-anchor of CNBC's "Power Lunch" and "Nightly Business Report"
Theater

3:40 p.m. Networking Break
Foyer and Lobby

4:00 p.m. Chicago's All-Star Innovators Speakers: Jason Fried, founder and CEO, Basecamp; author, "Remote," "Getting Real" and "Rework"; and columnist, Inc.; and Matt Maloney, founder and CEO, GrubHub; and Richard Melman, founder and chairman, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises
Interviewer: Kate Rogers, small business and entrepreneurship reporter, CNBC Business News
Theater

4:45 p.m. Lessons from the Business Turnaround KingSpeaker: Marcus Lemonis, chairman and CEO, Camping World and Good Sam Enterprises and host of CNBC's "The Profit"
Theater

6:00 p.m. Iconic Program Ends

6:00—8:00 p.m. Closing Cocktail Reception
Foyer and Lobby

• ICONIC CONFERENCE
 
• PURCHASE TICKETS
 
• AGENDAS
 
• ICONIC SPEAKERS
 
• ROAD TO ICONIC

iCONIC: Chicago Agenda

5

SHARES

Download the 2015 ICONIC: Chicago Agenda.

PRE-CONFERENCE DAY—MONDAY, MAY 18

2:00 p.m. Registration Open (Inc.edu attendees only)
Location: 1871 (222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza; Chicago)

3:00–6:00 p.m. Inc.edu Courses

Supercharge your learning experience by attending a pre-event Inc.edu class. Each MBA executive-level classroom-style session is led by a business thought-leader. Seats are limited, and preregistration is required. There is an additional fee to participate.

• I. Pragmatic Leadership Skills to Move Your Agenda
  Instructor: Sam Bacharach, professor, Cornell Business School; founder, The BLG Leadership Group; and author, "Get Them on Your Side and Keep Them on Your Side," and columnist, Inc.com
  Location: 1871
• II. The Strength of Mind: What You Need to Succeed
  Instructor: Srikumar S. Rao, former Columbia Business School professor; creator of the Creativity and Personal Mastery (CPM) course and author, "Happiness at Work" and "Are You Ready to Succeed?"
  Location: 1871 (222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza; Chicago)

6:00–8:00 p.m. VIP Welcome Reception (Invite only)

Hosts: Tyler Mathisen, co-anchor of CNBC's "Power Lunch" and "Nightly Business Report"; and Eric Schurenberg, president and editor-in-chief, Inc.
Location: 1871 (222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza, 12th Floor, Chicago)

CONFERENCE DAY—TUESDAY, MAY 19

Location: The Chicago Theater (175 N State St, Chicago)

8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Registration Open

8:45 a.m. Welcome to IconicRemarks: Tyler Mathisen, co-anchor of CNBC's Power Lunch and Nightly Business Report; and Eric Schurenberg, president and editor-in-chief, Inc.

9:00 a.m. Welcome to Chicago

9:15 a.m. Do What You Like, Like What You Do
Speaker: Bert Jacobs, co-founder and chief executive optimist, The Life is Good Co.

10:00 a.m. How to Envision Profits and a Purpose
Speaker: Neil Blumenthal, co-founder and co-CEO, Warby Parker

10:45 a.m. Networking Break

11:15 a.m. Brands We F**king Love
Speakers: Eric Ryan, co-founder, Method; and Bayard Winthrop, founder and CEO, American Giant
Interviewer: Eric Schurenberg, president and editor-in-chief, Inc.

12:15 p.m. Iconic Session

1:00 p.m. Networking Lunch

2:15 p.m.The Reinvention Game: A Conversation with Marlo Thomas
Speaker: Marlo Thomas, actress, philanthropist and author, "It Ain't Over … Reinventing Your Life and Realizing Your Dreams Anytime, at Any Age"
Interviewer: Eric Schurenberg, president and editor-in-chief, Inc.

2:45 p.m. Entrepreneurial EcosystemsSpeakers: J.B. Pritzker, co-founder and managing partner, Pritzker Group; and Howard Tullman, CEO, 1871; and general managing partner, G2T3V
Interviewer: Tyler Mathisen, co-anchor of CNBC's "Power Lunch" and "Nightly Business Report"

3:45 p.m. Networking Break

4:05 p.m. All-Star Disruptors—Chicago Speakers: Jason Fried, founder and CEO, Basecamp; author, "Remote," "Getting Real" and "Rework"; and columnist, Inc.; and Matt Maloney, founder and CEO, GrubHub; and Richard Melman, founder and chairman, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises
Interviewer: Kate Rogers, small business and entrepreneurship reporter, CNBC Business News

5:05 p.m. Lessons from the Business Turnaround KingSpeaker: Marcus Lemonis, chairman and CEO, Camping World and Good Sam Enterprises and host of CNBC's "The Profit"

6:00 p.m. Iconic Program Ends

6:00—8:00 p.m. Closing Cocktail Reception