HAT NOTE TO CEC BOARD AND 1871 TEAM MEMBERS

To the CEC Board and Team…

               I just want to briefly join in Jim and Bryant’s comments (now that my phone has slowed down a bit and the 300 emails have been dealt with) to say how grateful I am for this opportunity and how excited I am about the prospects of working successfully with all of you and the terrific staff and all of the sponsors/supporters (and the City and State as well) whom have come together to accomplish so much and to take 1871 so far already. I hope that we can keep building aggressively on the great progress that has been made to date.

I also want to thank many of you for your personal notes and kind words of congratulations and good wishes. Jim and Bryant have been amazing leaders for this entire effort and they have been great to me already in guiding me through the interview and evaluation process. I think we have a very clear and shared view of how CEC and 1871 can both continue to move forward in these electric times to further the cause of entrepreneurship throughout our great city and state. The entire search committee (as luck would have it) were both friends and business acquaintances and that made the process feel so much more like a family affair than an inquisition and it set things off in a very supportive and positive direction.

I too want to commend Kevin on his very hard work and impressive results in bringing 1871 to this point – I can honestly say that we’ve been regularly connected and speaking about this adventure since before it even began. He’s been a great friend and supporter of our efforts over these last several years as well and the entire City and all the members and beneficiaries of 1871 owe him our thanks. 

Howard Tullman takes over 1871

Howard Tullman takes over 1871

November 23, 2013

By John Pletz

Howard Tullman

Howard Tullman, one of Chicago's best-known and most-successful serial entrepreneurs, is the new CEO of 1871, the startup hub at the Merchandise Mart that has become the city's calling card for tech.

Mr. Tullman replaces Kevin Willer, who stepped down in June to become a partner at Chicago Ventures. Mr. Tullman is taking the job and the accompanying lead role at the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center with the backing of both Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Gov. Pat Quinn.

The 68-year-old Tullman is a longtime startup adviser and investor who launched Tribeca Flashpoint Academy — a for-profit digital media school — after turning around Kendall College by focusing on culinary training. His other credits include CCC Information Services, Tunes.com and Cobalt Group.

Mr. Tullman has been a willing to mentor entrepreneurs, but he's also blunt and unflinching in assessing them. Expect him to move the goalposts both for the tenants at 1871 and for the organization.

“We need to get a little more rigor in the process” of selecting and evaluating entrepreneurs and their companies, he told me. “I don't want 500 guys there pretending to be entrepreneurs. I want to establish some discipline of up or out. This has got to be about creating value. We've run out the string of being about goodwill, warm feelings. I want 1871 to be a factory that's going to turn out the best startups in the country.

“I want to bring more practicality,” he added. “I want the results to go from 'how much money did you raise,' to 'how much revenue are you generating?' "

The 50,000-square-foot facility, which opened in May 2012, is home to 240 entrepreneurs and startup companies who pay $125 to $400 a month for space on month-to-month leases. It's also home to accelerator programs TechStars and ImpactEngine, as well as space for meetings and events, such as talks that have drawn entrepreneurs such as Sun Microsystems founder Scott McNealy and AOL founder Steve Case.

GAME PLAN

Mr. Tullman sketched out an ambitious to-do list when we talked yesterday:

• He said Indiegogo, a source of crowdfunding for tech startups that's based in San Francisco, will open its Midwest office at 1871, and he plans to add 3D printing facilities.“Nothing is a hotter topic among entrepreneurs,” he said.

• He'll draw on his Tribeca Flashpoint roots to add a studio to make videos to help spread the message about 1871 and Chicago's startups and to help educate a broader audience about entrepreneurship.

• Expect Mr. Tullman, who partnered with corporations at both Tribeca Flashpoint and Kendall College, to do the same at 1871. “These companies will want exposure to the ideas and potential customers,” he said. “I'm less interested in GE writing a check than having them being an in-kind partner.”

• Longer term, Mr. Tullman wants to find space for companies who graduate from 1871 and need more room but aren't yet ready to go out on their own to lease offices. “One of the things I'm going to be looking at is whether 1871 2.0 is going to also have suites that can accommodate five to 15 guys.”

Even though rents in the Mart have been on the rise since 1871 opened its doors and Motorola Mobility decided to call it home Mr. Tullman was a longtime resident with Tribeca Flashpoint.

'HOME RUN'

He is a great get to run 1871, which houses more than 240 individual entrepreneurs and startups. J.B. Pritzker, managing partner of Pritzker Group Venture Capital and founder of 1871, called Mr. Tullman's selection “a home run.” “I don't think anyone imagined we could get someone with the level of talent he brings,” he said.

Mr. Tullman became a candidate after the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, the not-for-profit that runs 1871, hired search firm Spencer Stuart three months ago.

“Rahm and the governor both suggested I think about it,” says Mr. Tullman, who is connected as well in political circles as he is in the tech community. Mr. Emanuel, who has made tech startups a key focus for City Hall, is a frequent visitor to 1871; and Mr. Quinn provided $2.3 million from the state to help bankroll the facility.

Jim O'Connor Jr., co-chairman of the CEC board and its interim CEO, said Mr. Tullman was one of four finalists, who included candidates from both coasts. He was the unanimous choice. “Howard's a great catch,” he said. “Our two main criteria were to find a proven entrepreneur and a visionary with a track record of execution.”

Mr. Tullman, who sold majority control of Tribeca Flashpoint a year ago and resigned as chairman Friday, is uniquely positioned for the role

“I don't regard this as platform where I can go find my next job,” said Mr. Tullman, who plans to stay in the job two to three years. “It's a nice opportunity to take this whole story and facility to next level. The chance to work with all these companies is pretty exciting.”

Mr. Tullman also runs a venture fund called G2T3V LLC, which invests in local startups, including several based at 1871. Both he and his new bosses recognize potential for perceptions of conflict of interest with his new role but say there are procedures in place at the board level to avoid pitfalls.

“The real bottom line is the policy of the CEC is one of disclosure,” he said, but defended his role as an investor. "It helps to put your money where your mouth is. I want to continue to have the ability to do that.”

Though he doesn't officially start his job until the first week of January, expect Mr. Tullman to get an early start and keep going late. He typically gets up around 4 a.m. and often is on a second meal by the time he holds breakfast meetings with others. Few things slow him down, even a heart attack. While still in the intensive care unit a few years ago, Mr. Tullman was firing off emails, a former associate recalled.

“He's 68 going on 22,” Mr. O'Connor said.

All I can say is, set your alarm clocks.

Follow John on Twitter at @JohnPletz.

HOWARD TULLMAN NAMED NEW CEO OF 1871

HOWARD TULLMAN NAMED NEW CEO OF 1871

Chicago business leader & iconic serial entrepreneur brings new energy and vision for taking successful digital hub to next level in order to better serve city’s growing startup community

CHICAGO – November 23, 2013 – Chicago’s leading, digital hub, 1871 today announced that Howard Tullman will become its new CEO.  Mr. Tullman succeeds Kevin Willer, a founder of Google’s Chicago office, who successfully led the organization over the past two years and left the role in June. 1871 is the flagship project of the CEC, the 501c3 non-profit committed to supporting, promoting and growing the startup community in Chicago.  Tullman will report into Jim O’Connor Jr. and Bryant Keil, the co-chairmen of the CEC Board of Directors. Mr. O’Connor has assumed the role of interim CEO since Willer’s departure.

“The selection committee set a very high bar for the 1871 role,” said Bryant Keil, co-chairman of the CEC Board of Directors. “We recognized that this is an important role not only as a leader for 1871, but also as a visionary for the broader startup community in Chicago. Howard is a proven entrepreneur who exemplifies everything that we were looking for and we couldn’t be happier that he has agreed to take 1871’s success to the next level.”

“Howard’s appointment to 1871 serves as an example of what we call “Chicagoness,” whereby people launch and grow great companies, have successes, and then come back to mentor the next generation of entrepreneurs as the cycle continues,” added Jim O’Connor Jr., co-chairman of the CEC Board of Directors. 

Howard Tullman’s reputation as an entrepreneur is legendary both in Chicago and nationally. He founded CCC Information Services nearly 33 years ago and since then, the company has created thousands of jobs nationally and in Chicago.  Mr. Tullman was also an initial investor and the long-time Board Chairman of The Cobalt Group, which was sold to ADP for more than $300 million in 2010. In addition, Tullman is responsible for saving Kendall College by bringing it to Chicago and turning it into one of the Top 3 culinary schools in the U.S. And most recently, Tullman is known as the founding CEO of Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy, which reinvented and reinvigorated high-end vocational training in the digital media arts, and which has graduated more than a thousand students since 2007.

“1871 is the heart of Illinois’ thriving startup community, and I cannot think of a more experienced innovator and visionary leader than Howard Tullman to ensure its continued success,” Governor Quinn said. “As a lifelong entrepreneur, Howard knows what Chicago’s best and brightest need to push the innovation boundaries further than ever before.”

“Howard Tullman is the perfect person to take 1871 to the next level,” said Mayor Emanuel. “1871 is a global model as an entrepreneurial hub and has had a strong impact on innovation in Chicago. Under Howard’s leadership, 1871 will be a primary engine to help Chicago achieve the goal I set out last month to double our tech economy over the next ten years and add 40,000 new jobs. Our tech industry relies on four pillars – a strong entrepreneurial spirit, access to talent, venture capital, and physical spaces for innovation. In each of these areas, 1871 has already made a huge impact. As an accomplished business leader and entrepreneur, Howard will help grow our technology economy in the future, and I look forward to working closely with him in his new role.”

"Howard Tullman is not only one of Chicago’s most successful, prolific tech entrepreneurs, but he is also a prominent voice on the national stage,” said J.B. Pritzker, managing partner of Pritzker Group and 1871 founder. “His experience as a visionary business builder and an educator makes him the obvious leader of Chicago’s newly energized startup community.  Howard helps 1871 gain greater traction as the flagship entrepreneurial center in the nation."

Added Larry Levy, founder and chairman of Levy Restaurants, "Howard is a proven entrepreneur and a great Chicagoan whose successes are many. I am confident that his vision will lead 1871 toward new and exciting directions that will benefit the city's next generation of business leaders.”

1871 opened its doors in May of 2012.  Since then, it has become a local, national and global model that is known for providing ground breaking programming, thousands of hours of mentorship from leading entrepreneurs, hands on training and physical space to digital entrepreneurs.  It is also the home to two incubators including the nationally recognized Tech Stars Chicago.  In its first year, 1871 has been host to local, national and international leaders including Steve Ballmer, Steve Case, Dick Costolo, Brad Feld and David Cameron.  More than 240 companies work out of 1871.  Those businesses have attracted $40 million in investment capital and created more than 800 jobs, which have already contributed an estimated $15 million to the Illinois economy.  

“There is an entrepreneurial renaissance in Chicago and 1871 is at the center of it,” said Howard Tullman, incoming CEO of 1871. “As a serial entrepreneur for more than 40 years, I can honestly say that there has been no more exciting time to be part of a startup organization in Chicago than today.”

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 About 1871

1871 is an entrepreneurial hub for digital startups. Located in the famed Merchandise Mart, the 50,000-square-foot facility provides Chicago startups with programming, access to mentors, educational resources, potential investors and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs that help them on their path to building successful businesses. 1871 is the flagship project of the CEC.

About the CEC

The Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (CEC) is a 501c3 committed to the mission of supporting entrepreneurs and promoting entrepreneurship in Chicago. Its flagship project, 1871, fulfills its vision of a central address for tech entrepreneurs in Chicago.

New CEO Tullman sees 1871 as boot camp for Internet startups

Online companies should focus on generating revenue – it's 'up-or-out,' says veteran Chicago entrepreneur

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Veteran Chicago entrepreneur Howard Tullman on Jan. 6 will become the chief executive of 1871, the city’s marquee hub and co-working space for Internet startups. (Jose M. Osorio, Chicago Tribune /November 20, 2013)

Melissa HarrisChicago Confidential

November 24, 2013

Veteran Chicago entrepreneur Howard Tullman says starting an online company at 1871 should be like joining the Marines.

And this hard-charging style, Tullman said, will define how he runs the city's marquee hub and co-working space for Internet startups as its new chief executive, starting Jan. 6.

"One of the focuses now is going to have to be up-or-out," Tullman said. "We're not just a hobby. We're not a place for people to go to feel good about attempting to be an entrepreneur. We're about people committed to building businesses."

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Within two years of 1871's founding at the Merchandise Mart, the 50,000-square-foot facility has become home to more than 240 small companies. When these companies grow to between five and 12 employees, they graduate and move on to a larger space. About 15 companies have graduated thus far, according to an 1871 spokeswoman.

Leading 1871 is akin to serving as the public face of Chicago's technology community. And Tullman said he's through with hearing boasts about how much money member companies have raised from investors.

"It should be about: How many revenue-generating businesses have we created?" Tullman said. "How much money have we generated for those investors? That's a much more important metric as we mature."

It has been 10 months since outgoing CEO Kevin Willer announced his departure for a venture capital firm. Round one of the search for a successor ended unsatisfactorily. Executive search firm Spencer Stuart was brought in and approached Tullman for input.

At 68, he is something of a godfather of the city's tech scene. The businesses he has launched, led, invested in or turned around are too numerous to list.

He started his career as a lawyer, retiring from that profession in 1980 to become an entrepreneur.

He sold his first startup, CCC Information Services, for about $100 million in 1987. He also turned around Kendall College, moving it to downtown Chicago from Evanston and converting it from a nonprofit to a for-profit college. Another company, the Cobalt Group, where he served as a longtime board chair and was an early investor, sold in 2010 for more than $300 million.

Tullman has been in the startup world so long he once founded and led a company that made CD-ROM games. The New York Times predicted one of them would become "the big (Christmas) gift in 1994."

He most recently stepped away from another business he founded, the Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy, and started his own venture capital firm, G2T3V. Tullman said he will be open about his conflicts of interest, disclosing G2T3V's investments to the board of 1871's parent entity, the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (CEC), and on G2T3V's website.

At Chicago Ideas Week, Tullman was running around showing off an app called MagicTags that recognized a logo on a package of sweetener and then played a video about it, a seamless transition from a physical product to a digital pitch. MagicTags is one of G2T3V's portfolio companies.

"You and I could have talked four months ago, we wouldn't have said, 'Everybody, hey, let's call Howard Tullman,'" said J.B. Pritzker, a billionaire investor whose money, influence and ideas got 1871 off the ground. "We would have imagined Howard Tullman is busy and has other commitments and that 1871 …" Pritzker paused. "You know, it just didn't dawn on me. And when he raised his hand, you know, it's terrific. But he still went through a process."

That included a presentation to the search committee.

The center faces competition — it's no longer the only option for new companies. Just a few days ago, Chicago venture capital firm Lightbank announced a new co-working space for startups in its River North offices, called The Warehouse.

Among the ideas Tullman proposed for 1871 was working with Zach Kaplan, the CEO of Inventables, to bring a rapid prototyping lab (which includes 3-D printers and other equipment) to 1871 and building office suites to accommodate bigger companies.

"We want to be able to get a better understanding of who's really a member and who's really a hanger-on," Tullman said. "Are they paying what they're supposed to be paying? Are they participating in a way they're supposed to be participating? Right now there isn't a provision for expanding beyond four to five desks. The next iteration may be suites. If you're a company of five to 15 people, we can offer spaces that are a little more private."

The position was not easy to fill, largely because of the requirement that it be an entrepreneur. Parent entity CEC is a nonprofit — that means 1871's leader gets no stock options, equity or the potential for a multimillion payout upon a sale or public offering.

"I happened to be old enough that I'm not looking for my next three jobs," Tullman said.

And the job requires an enormous amount of glad-handing with local and state politicians and prominent visitors. Pritzker, Willer, CEC board Co-chairman James O'Connor Jr. and 1871 staff have all served repeatedly as tour guides. Tullman is accustomed to playing host. His office/art gallery on the West Side is itself a de facto VIP party venue.

"People may think (1871) is a sleepy nonprofit, but our vision of it already is that it's going to be a big (expletive) deal," Tullman said. "It's going to have a national presence. A hub for people to come from all over the country. And it's not going to be a real estate play: 'Oh, gee, here's where I rented some space.' We want it to be like, 'Here's where I went to boot camp, where I joined the Marines.' It'll be a place you'll be from and (will be) a credential."

Melissa Harris can be reached at mmharris@tribune.com or 312-222-4582. Twitter @chiconfidential

New CEO for 1871 technology hub at Merchandise Mart

New CEO for 1871 technology hub at Merchandise Mart

BY SANDRA GUY Staff Reporter November 23, 2013 1:18AM

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Howard Tullman. | Sun Times library

Updated: November 23, 2013 1:22AM

 

Howard Tullman — a serial entrepreneur, venture investor, one of Chicago’s glamour tech gurus and just-retired chairman of digital-age vocational school Tribeca Flashpoint Academy — will become the new CEO of the 1871 technology hub at the Merchandise Mart.

The 68-year-old Tullman, dubbed by Inc. magazine as “the most accomplished, best-connected entrepreneur you’ve never heard of,” told the Sun-Times that he is excited to start 1871’s version 2.0 on his first day on the job on Jan. 6, transforming it into a showcase that can be “a zillion times more creative and substantial” than it is now.

He is committed to a three-year stint at the 19-month-old tech hub, which is uniquely run as a project of the non-profit Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (CEC). The center takes no equity stakes in the companies housed at 1871.

Tullman’s first priorities are to leverage his skills in partnering with big-name technology companies, much as he did as leader of Tribeca and culinary school Kendall College.

He envisions using those connections to set up at 1871 a 3D prototyping lab, a video show and studio — the Midwestern headquarters for crowdfunding site Indiegogo and an international exchange program with entrepreneurs in Brazil, London and Tel Aviv.

He also wants to lure big-name startups and possibly expand the 50,000-square-foot tech space in the Mart to include tech companies with five to 20 employees.

“The idea is to let young companies have their own, separate identities while still being able to access the many shared resources at 1871,” said Tullman, who visits the hub weekly and has invested in three of the 240 startup companies that have had a presence there.

About 500 entrepreneurs are based at 1871, which has received 1,200 applications from both entrepreneurs and startup companies since its inception.

Tullman emerged from a field of 50 “highly qualified” candidates and, ultimately, five finalists from throughout the United States to succeed Kevin Willer, 1871’s founding CEO who left in June to become a partner in Chicago-based seed-stage investing fund i2A, now called Chicago Ventures.

Bryant Keil, co-chair of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center who headed up the search committee, said Tullman won out because of his track record of starting a dozen successful companies; his willingness to “give back” to the Chicago tech community, and his outsized personality that has resulted in respect in the field and a reputation as a community builder.

Tullman is known for his frenetic energy, gray mane of hair, boastful but charming pronouncements and creating eclectic innovations ranging from 1991’s aggregation service that put college students’ resumes on CD-ROMs to 1993’s Imagination Pilots entertainment-based developer of computer games, to producing a 1995 Broadway musical, Swinging on a Star.

Jim O’Connor Jr., 1871’s interim CEO and CEC co-chair, said the tech hub needed “someone of a rock star caliber who is extremely efficient and operationally talented” to take 1871 to “a whole other level.”

The leader’s visibility is important because 1871 attracts visitors and speakers the likes of AOL founder Steve Case, retiring Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and British Prime Minister David Cameron, O’Connor said.

O’Connor cited Tullman’s longevity, too, including Tullman’s founding of insurance claims-management firm CCC Information Services, Inc., 33 years ago, which he sold for $100 million, and “saving Kendall College by bringing it to Chicago and turning it into one of the Top 3 culinary schools in the United States.”

So far, 1871 boasts its startups in the first year have created 800 jobs, raised $40 million in investment capital and generated $15 million in taxable revenues.

O’Connor said the CEO job attracted many Chicago candidates throughout the search process, declining to give specifics.

“It’s the greatest job in Chicago,” O’Connor said. “You’re at the center of a tech revolution and you’re leading it.”