I want to start by thanking JB for his kind words and, more
importantly, for his prescient vision six years ago without which 1871 would
simply not exist. I asked JB to present my award, not only because of our
friendship and his dedication to 1871, but also because he and I have been
engaged together in this grand adventure of building a viable community of
Chicago entrepreneurs and investors for almost 20 years (in good times and bad)
since I first invested with him in the William Blair New World Ventures fund. Right
before the beginning of what he calls the nuclear winter. But we made it
through those tough times and he never lost his passion or gave up on the
dream.
JB’s initial support and his
enthusiastic and continuing commitment to 1871, along with the help of
countless others being recognized here tonight like our Chairman, Jim O’Connor,
have brought us to this time and to this special occasion – the 10th
annual Momentum Awards Dinner – where we recognize our city’s best and
brightest businesses. I’m pleased that Governor Pat Quinn is also with us
tonight and – as we ex-lawyers love to say – “but for” his foresight and
financial backing, 1871 would never have been built and we wouldn’t be here celebrating
its extraordinary success. Rahm may take a lot of the credit, but Pat gave us
the cash.
And speaking of celebrating, I
couldn’t be prouder of our awardees and nominees tonight; I’m honored to be in
their company; and I think that this may be the strongest and most impressive
group of companies that we have ever assembled. Choosing between these
extraordinary enterprises – led by amazing and super-talented people - was even
harder than telling Rahm that his video could only be 2 minutes long. As you
know, I believe in looking for and betting on the best in people and tonight
you’ll see the very best of the best.
Events as large and challenging as
this don’t come together quickly or easily or by themselves and I am grateful
for the hard work of our team (and also, as always, to Tuey and his team) for
putting together an event and program that – as you will see – is truly
remarkable and representative of everything that 1871 stands for.
I want to
thank the CEC Board of Directors for honoring me with this Lifetime Achievement
award recognizing almost 50 years of Chicago-based entrepreneurship although I
was slightly suspicious that this was just a very polite way of their saying
“enough already – go do something else – stop driving us crazy”. Because, in all honesty, the last 4 years during
which I have served as the CEO of the CEC and of 1871 have been a wild and
crazy ride and one which I will never forget.
And, of
course, you don’t do anything important these days by yourself and I’ve been
blessed with a great management team starting with Tom Alexander and every
other dedicated and hard-working member of our little group especially Lakshmi
and Claudia who make everything happen on time. We’ve also had terrific
partners like Phyllis Lockett, Omar Duque and Todd Connor who have each helped
us broaden and strengthen the extensive educational offerings at 1871. We made
the room, but they helped make the difference.
Together, we
have all put Chicago on the world stage and welcomed visitors from around the
globe; we have dramatically expanded the tech economy in our own city while creating
more than 10,000 new jobs; we have welcomed thousands of new entrepreneurs of
all ages to the expanding ecosystem, and we have worked long and hard on our
diversity and inclusion efforts to make 1871 look and feel like our entire
city.
To have Tim
Cook, the CEO of Apple Computer (the most valuable company in the world), brag
as you heard in Rahm’s video just 2 weeks ago about Apple’s partnership with 1871
and describe 1871 as the “mother of all incubators” speaks volumes about our
accomplishments and reminds us as well of the achievements of our WiSTEM
program which has helped make Chicago the best place in the United States for
female entrepreneurs to start their businesses.
I also want to thank my wife and my
daughters. I’ve said this before, but it should really be tattooed somewhere on
every entrepreneur’s forehead. It’s not simply the entrepreneur who pays the
price, makes the sacrifices, and supports these painful journeys. Having the
love, confidence and unwavering belief of your loved ones in what you’re trying
to do (when the whole rest of the world thinks you’re crazy) is the real secret
super power of every entrepreneur. There’s always more work, but you’ve only
got one family and ultimately, they are the best reflection of what you’ve
actually accomplished. I can’t thank mine enough or love them more.
And while 1871
has already tripled in size and continues to grow with help from folks like our
good friends at BOSCH, and thanks in large part to the efforts of our partners
at Gensler, Steelcase and Skender Construction who were ably directed by
Barbara Pollack, I’m also very proud of the other important ways that we’re
expanding our reach and impact beyond our four walls in a variety of
initiatives.
Our Eagle
Entrepreneurs class for 9th graders at the Dyett High School for the
Arts (now in its second year) is already showing concrete results in improved
engagement and academics as well.
Working with
our latest grant from the Blackstone Charitable Foundation and WBC, we have
begun implementing our 1871LIVE program to digitally deliver some of our
extraordinary content and programming to entrepreneurial organizations and
entities located in other underserved parts of the city.
And, partnering
with 1871 startup, EX3 Labs, we are deploying immersive labs and AR and VR
technologies to various Chicago public schools to provide students with early
exposure to these critical new technologies. These are funded in part by our
corporate partners and sponsors through innovative programs developed by Lakshmi
who heads our business development and strategic partnering team.
As I think
about leaving the day-to-day operations of 1871, and as I consider where we
stand today and what I hope the future will look like for 1871 and our city,
I’m extremely proud of what we built, but I’m also a little wary. Imitation may
be the sincerest form of flattery, but too much of a good thing is hard for
even the most robust economy to digest.
I believe in
the power of critical mass and that’s certainly what 1871 has uniquely
achieved. But, going forward, we have to be careful that we don’t dilute the
value of what we’ve accomplished by trying to serve too many masters. Having a
We-Work in every ward is just a knee-jerk reaction to the flavor of the week.
1871 was built to last. You can try to be the best that you can be, but you
can’t be all things to all people.
I’ve done many
memorable things in my career, and I’m proud to say that I still have more
plans and dreams than memories or regrets, but if I had to single out the most
important accomplishment of my time at 1871 and the thing that I am the proudest
of – it would be that I’ve been the loudest, fiercest and most aggressive
advocate and champion for this precious place that I could possibly be. The
personality that makes you a great entrepreneur and leader doesn’t come with a
regulator or a shut-off valve. Believe it or not, it was never about ego – it
was actually about feeling the pressure of an immense responsibility.
You see, when
you sign up to help the next several generations of young and old entrepreneurs
turn their hopes and dreams into real businesses; when you hold a part of their
futures and their fates in your hands; and when your own work ethic and
every-day actions speak just as loudly as any of your words, you don’t get to
phone it in, you don’t get a break or a day off, you don’t get to do anything
less than the very best that you can do each and every day…..because that’s
what those who came before us did for us and that’s the least we owe to the
ones coming up. You learn early on that the speed of the leader determines the
rate of the pack.
We live in the greatest city, in the
greatest country in the world, and the future is scary, uncertain and exciting
– all at the same time. But together, we can continue to invent it, to
aggressively build and change it, and to make it better – because that’s what
entrepreneurs do. They make all the difference in the world.
Thank
you very much.