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Friday, November 30, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Built In Chicago Turns 2 Yrs Old and Announces Advisory Board, Growth Plans
Built In Chicago Turns 2 Yrs Old and Announces Advisory Board, Growth Plans
I couldn’t be happier to announce that Built In Chicago recently turned two years old. This anniversary comes at an exciting time for us, marking significant progress since we first began bringing digital entrepreneurs together in Chicago. And to make our two-year anniversary sweeter, Built In Chicago was recently named one of “The Best Organizations for Entrepreneurs” by Forbes. The local and national spotlight is shining brighter than it ever has on Chicago, and with a digital startup launching every 48 hours, we are dedicated to continuing this growth trajectory.
So I figured there is no better time than today to announce our recently created Advisory Board and share some exciting news about the growth of Built In Chicago.
Each of the advisors below has had a deep personal connection to Built In Chicago since its inception and has provided our team with incredible guidance, time and support. I would be remiss if I did not specifically mention our awesome founder, Matt Moog, who without his vision, determination and support none of this would exist.
A collective commitment to support what Troy Henikoff calls “the glue of Chicago’s digital technology community” is what truly defines this advisory board. Each member brings a unique background and is deeply dedicated to our mission of connecting, educating and promoting digital entrepreneurs and innovators.
The Advisory Board
 | Board Chair, Matt Moog (Founder, Built In Chicago and Founder & CEO, Viewpoints) |
 | Troy Henikoff (Co-Founder & CEO, Excelerate Labs) |
 | Eric Lunt (CTO, BrightTag and Co-Founder & Former CTO, Feedburner) |
 | Matt McCall (Partner, New World Ventures) |
 | Howard Tullman (Founder & CEO, Tribeca Flashpoint Academy) |
 | Sam Yagan (CEO, Match, Inc., and Co-Founder, Excelerate Labs) |
“Built In Chicago has been essential in bringing unity and clarity to all parts of the Chicago ecosystem ranging from entrepreneurs to corporations to students to investors,” said Matt McCall. “New World Ventures, and I, look forward to providing the guidance and support necessary to continue this exciting growth.”
“Lots of cities talk a good game – we’ve shown that real metrics matter,” Howard Tullman said. “The Built In Chicago team has really connected the movers and shakers in the Chicago digital revolution with each other in powerful ways that are unique and well-suited to the new digital economy. There’s absolutely no question that Built In Chicago has made the players in the rest of the country sit up and take notice of what’s going on here.”
While everyone has been working together on this mission, our site has shown enormous growth – now boasting more than 11,000 registered members and receiving nearly 70,000 visits per month – which we’re confident will continue well into the future.
“As an entrepreneur, I have seen firsthand the importance of data and how it can be used to create, communicate and empower. I hope my experience can aid in the creation of future success for Built In Chicago and the digital community and am thrilled to invest in the mission,” said Sam Yagan.
Although the data can only begin to reflect all that Built In Chicago has become, here are a few stats to give you the gist:
- The job board receives nearly 40,000 visits/month and has served as an invaluable resource for successful companies, including BrightTag, Belly, GrubHub, Orbitz, Walgreens, redbox and Braintree, to hire talent.
- Together with the CEC (Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center), we’ve had 45 companies pitch at our monthly Launch events this year and have had more than 4,000 people attend.
- In partnership with New World Ventures, our first annual Moxie Awards (who could forget the Best Beard Award?) welcomed 900 attendees, attracted 70,000 votes across 21 award categories, received media coverage from our partners NBC5 and Fast Company and welcomed incredible speakers such as Mayor Rahm Emanuel and J.B. Pritzker.
- The D Conference showcased the incredible design talent we have here in Chicago and attracted several leading design thinkers from the West Coast to a great day at the Morningstar Theater for a thought-provoking discussion about Design as the Competitive Advantage for digital companies. Forbes contributor Kelly Reid wrote an incredible piece on the conference.
- Our quarterly data reports have garnered local and national media for Chicago-based companies from the likes of the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the New York Times, Fast Company and more.
“I think everyone in the Chicago tech scene has been able to feel the energy and excitement building over the past couple of years. Nothing typifies this momentum better than the Built In Chicago community. I believe that Built In Chicago can grow and become more ambitious, transitioning from a chronicle of the activity going on to becoming a true catalyst. I look forward to playing a part in this mission,” said Eric Lunt.
The Built In expansion
In addition to all the activity happening here in Chicago, and as a direct result of the success of Built In Chicago, we are excited to announce the launch of several new sites in Denver (Built In Denver) and Los Angeles (Built In L.A. (coming soon!)). We have partnered with some awesome entrepreneurs to launch both of these sites and are thrilled they’ve agreed to join the Built In movement and build their respective digital communities. We look forward to more sites launching in 2013 and adding Built In to the long list of great digital startup success stories coming out of Chicago.
“The formation of the advisory board is an important milestone in the growth of both Built In Chicago and our growing digital community,” said Matt Moog. “Thank you to Troy, Eric, Matt, Howard and Sam for agreeing to serve, and congratulations to Maria for being a true entrepreneur and bringing the idea for Built In to life. As we expand in Chicago and around the country, it is gratifying to know that the Chicago community has helped to launch a successful startup that will serve as a catalyst for a global entrepreneurial movement in cities around the world.”
As one of Built In Chicago’s earliest and biggest supporters, and now as CEO, I’ve had the opportunity to witness the growth of the site and the incredible community we call home. Plus, I’ve had the honor to work with a great team to make it all happen: Adam Calica, the Lechleider Mitchell development team and freelancers/contributors such as Amina Elahi, Branson Pierce, Carlin Sack, Alexxandra Miles and more.
This growth has been no easy feat, but the many startup enthusiasts that inhabit Chicago (read: YOU) make every minute worthwhile and rewarding. We want to thank you all, sincerely, for working fearlessly and tirelessly each day to build your companies and support the digital ecosystem now forming in Chicago. You inspire us, motivate us and challenge us to keep building each and every day.
Happy Holidays,
Maria Katris
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
TRIBECA FLASHPOINT ACADEMY CEO HOWARD TULLMAN INTERVIEWED ON "FIRST BUSINESS" WITH BILL MOLLER ON BUSINESS PLANS
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:
watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgGHj2C57C0&feature=plcp
watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgGHj2C57C0&feature=plcp
Thursday, November 22, 2012
TRIBECA FLASHPOINT ACADEMY CEO HOWARD TULLMAN INTERVIEWED FOR ILLINOIS INNOVATION COUNCIL
Howard A. Tullman
Tribeca FlashpointSuccess: “We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life when all we really need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about.”
The president and CEO of Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy and a pioneer in digital and social media, electronic arts and immersive education shares his insights on what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur.
The Art of Business
I think of my businesses as art projects: they’re done with a certain style, a certain voice, and there’s a consistent way you approach the process – every single time. You do it with a vengeance – no prisoners, no retreat and no surrender.
“Artistic” doesn’t mean soft or passive to me. This is an aggressive process – you’re ruthlessly trying to get down to the most basic answer to the fundamental questions, the leanest solutions possible – how do I save my customers time or money or make them more productive. Nothing else really matters.
You’re always trying to make your products and services (and your internal systems as well) faster, easier, and simpler. It’s an ongoing and constant work of creation, evaluation and iteration. Always raising the bar. You never actually get there – you just get a little closer and a little better every day. I call it “successive approximation.”
And there’s another important analogy to the artistic process. A new business really is like a blank canvas or an empty piece of paper. It’s critically important for the entrepreneur to have a very clear vision of where he or she is headed. When I think of something, I think of it as shockingly fully realized – down to an amazingly precise level of detail. I can answer questions with a frightening amount of specificity and certainty. Not that this will be how things ultimately turn out – but it’s the confidence that’s the crucial element.
We always say: “Sometimes wrong, but never in doubt.” Or, as they say in Hollywood: “The screenplay isn’t the movie that ultimately gets made, but it’s what gets the movie made.” You’ve got to have a plan and you’ve got to get the process started. Everything else will fall in place along the way.
And finally, although many artists think of their work as asocial and solitary, the great thing about innovation and building a team to build a business is the amazing and exciting way that the collaborative process becomes contagious and additive and you get to sit there together and just watch the magic happen as your dreams and ideas become concrete realities and just get better and better as time goes on.
Rule Number One: I Always Ask for the Best Seat in the House
Being an entrepreneur is definitely something that grows out of both your own nature and the way you were raised (nurture). I think that a great deal of my drive and ambition comes from a work ethic and an energy and enthusiasm that my parents gave all of us. It’s invaluable when you know that your parents have absolute, unconditional love for you and they instill in you a ridiculously unwarranted confidence and a belief in your handsomeness. My parents did that for all six of us kids.
We were taught that there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be the first and the best in whatever you do and – more importantly – that if you don’t ask, you don’t get. Or, as Michael Jordan used to say, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”
I started as a trial lawyer and traveled around the whole country doing cases. I really was a gunslinger for hire and I was in a new crowd and a new town every month for years. It makes you very flexible and very confident that you will always somehow figure things out.
It’s very entrepreneurial to be standing up in front of the jury. You have to think on your feet, manage a constantly changing flow of information, and literally adapt your story to a lot of uncertainty. And, you have to sell yourself and your answers to a group of strangers over and over again. It’s a very stimulating and exciting environment. And, after you’ve done this for a long time, pitching your new business or raising money on a road show seems like a piece of cake.
Rule Number Two: There’s Always a Right Way to Do Things
But eventually I retired because I hated having to do a half-assed job of things. Neither the winners nor the losers in any litigation were ever happy campers. The winners thought they paid their lawyers too much and the losers thought their lawyers let them down. And, ultimately, it became so expensive to do a quality preparation and research job (and the kind of job that you wanted to do in order to feel good about yourself) that no one wanted to pay the price. So I figured that, at least if I worked for myself, I could work as long and hard as I wanted and do things the right way and no one (except my family, of course) would be in a position to complain.
In addition, I was just a bad employee. I always had new ideas and suggestions about better ways to do things. After a while, people do actually get tired of constantly hearing how things can be improved. You end up concluding that, if you want to do things your way, you better be your own boss.
Rule Number Three: There’s Always More Work – You’ve Only Got One Family
When I was a young lawyer, I was recruited by all the big firms in New York. One guy taught me a life lesson. There are three traditional parts to life: work, family and recreation. He said, “My life has only two parts, my work and my family.” He didn’t play golf; disappear with the guys to go fishing; or play poker 2 nights a week. He said that he loved his work so much that it was his recreation as well. That’s the trade-off he made.
It’s always seemed like a good deal to me as well. I wasn’t an absentee dad. I might work 90–100 hours a week, but I was always there for my family. I figured I owed my family the rest of my time. My preference was always to fly the red eye home instead of sleeping over. I was never ever the person for the clients to have dinner with. I’d be in my hotel room working or heading home.
Rule Number Four: They Call It ‘Work’ for a Reason – Make Sure You’re Working for the Right Reason
I would never say, “I’m having fun.” I might say I’m unbelievably proud or excited or satisfied. But if anybody tells you that being an entrepreneur is about money, comfort or luxury, it’s not. It’s about enthusiasm.
The choice to be an entrepreneur―being your own boss―is not easy. It’s hard on your family. And you shouldn’t be slaving away for somebody else. Life’s too short for that. Make sure that, if you decide to head down this long, winding and tiring road, that ultimately you’re doing it for yourself because it’s important to you. Not because your kids need to go to a fancy college or you need a new car. Too many hours of your waking day are spent working not to be excited about it.
Rule Number Five: Enthusiasm is a Force Multiplier
Parents of students at Flashpoint often come in with tears in their eyes and ask me, “What did you do to my kid? He was a slacker who didn’t really care about anything and now he’s excited about school. And he pays attention.” And I usually say that we didn’t really do all that much – we designed the environment; we assembled a bunch of creative kids and surrounded them with their peers (maybe for the first time) in a very cool place; and we lit the fuse.
But they’re the ones who make it happen every day – working in teams, collaborating on large and small projects, working with industry professionals – and all with a single goal in mind – to get the best training and preparation in order to get the best possible job when they get out of here. The excitement and enthusiasm at Tribeca Flashpoint isn’t limited to us – it’s totally contagious and it’s a lifestyle. You’ve got to put yourself into it and, if you do, it’s pays you back a thousandfold.
We built our new college in 100 days and it was a brutal and challenging process and every day was a constant battle against time and compromises. The contractors would come each morning and say they could have this thing done on time, but it would be “bumpy”; or they could fix this problem, but it would cost twice as much as we planned. And we said, every single time, “We believe you can do it right and on time, and we’ll be here 24 hours to help you. But we expect you to be just as professional as we are.” Let me tell you that when you can get a drywall guy to believe his work is special, you’re pretty good at this.
And it’s catching. It took a few weeks for some of the guys to believe what we were saying, but when they determined that we were serious they began sharing in the philosophy of building a sacred space where we planned to change a whole lot of lives. When the project was completed on time, we personally thanked every one of them.
Your attitude eventually finds its way into the people you’re working with; the people you’re working for; and even the people who are just watching things happen. There’s only one way to lead and that’s by example. We do what we have to do. We do it as well as we can do it. We do it when it has to be done. And we do it that way every single time. After a while, it becomes second nature.
