Last month I had the privilege to represent one of five companies that took the stage during Technori Pitch on July 28th. After weeks of prep and an intense coaching session with Brian Burkhart of Square Planet, we were ready to go. Here is the video from the pitch event that drew over 500 Chicago startup lovers…
Have you seen the Built in Chicago map of Chicago startups lately? It’s exciting to see how many awesome startups are calling Chicago home and being plotted on the map. With an estimated one new company being started every 48 hours in the Windy City, it is likely difficult to keep that map up to date.
I, much like most of you, have come to know River North as the stronghold of Chicago’s startup and tech seen with 1871 being the anchor. Follow the brown line up from the Merchandise Mart and you’ll notice tech company after tech company dotting the River North landscape. San Francisco may have Silicon Valley; New York may have the Silicon Alley; but we in Chicago have the Silicon Railway (the stretch of L tracks from the Mart to the Chicago stop). Many of you know the folks that call that area home: SpotHero, Techweek, Groupon and Trunk Club to name a few. There are dozens upon dozens of companies in this amazing neighborhood of ingenuity and entertainment.
While most of the meetings you may attend and events you may crash are hosted in this area, its important to recognize that that not all that is ‘happening’ in Chicago startups/tech is going down in River North. There are many neighborhoods that startups call home in this great city, but one in particular is the West Loop, or the west extension of the Silicon Railway, and it’s booming.
Many household names like Sandbox Industries (on Racine Av.), Crowdspring (on Lake St.) and Threadless (on Madison St.) make the once meat-packing capital of the Midwest their stronghold. With numerous office lofts and co-working spaces, the West Loop is becoming a more and more a vibrant part of the Chicago tech and startup community. If the startup migration to this hood wasn’t enough to persuade you, this might: Google is leaving their River North HQ for greener pastures off the Green Line. Once the tech giant has finished building out its new stronghold on Fulton St., the West Loop will be home to their Chicago operations.
A recent CBRE analysis showed that many tech companies are vying for space in the West Loop as prices continue to climb in River North. This is simple supply and demand. 1871 alumni are rapidly moving into spaces in River North and prices are skyrocketing, while space in the West Loop remains competitive.
Events are also becoming more frequent. Earlier this year, Lightbank hosted their Innovation Day with amazing content and speakers in the West Loop at City Winery. UIC holds many startup events at their new Innovation Incubator and will be playing host to Startup Weekend later this year. There’s also the month Inspire Startups Showcase & Pitch that I coordinate at the Inspire Business Center. As you can tell, the West Loop is an important part of Chicago’s booming startup scene.
I created a list of events, work spaces and companies that call that are headquartered in the West Loop. If I missed you, don’t worry; post your company’s name in the comment section and help give the West Loop the recognition it deserves.
Events:
Co-Working Spaces:
Companies:
Well, that was a fun week! Sure we were exhausted from the long days and late nights, but how much can you complain when you’re in San Diego for a week? And look, we even made a fun video show everyone who missed out…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I have been coordinating the monthly Inspire Startups showcase since February and we are excited to be hosting our fifth showcase and pitch event on Aug. 21. Since the first event, we have had 40 companies, 4 excellent speakers and over 300 attendees come though the IBC doors. With all that excitement, we thought it would be fitting to produce a video that showed off the Inspire Startups format. With thanks to the guys at Brin Hill Media and SollywoodTV, here’s the debut!
See more about the Inspire Startups project on my Projects page.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZwbGF5ZXIudmltZW8uY29tJTJGdmlkZW8lMkY3MjE5MTIyOSUyMiUyMHdpZHRoJTNEJTIyNjQwJTIyJTIwaGVpZ2h0JTNEJTIyMzYwJTIyJTIwZnJhbWVib3JkZXIlM0QlMjIwJTIyJTIwYWxsb3dmdWxsc2NyZWVuJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNF[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row]
No longer just a buzz word or misunderstood trend, social media is here to stay, and it is affecting business travel dramatically. As the traveler demographics bell curve continues to swing towards a younger generation, social media is becoming a prominent part of business travel. But the question is: how will it be integrated into corporate travel, and more importantly what kind of role will it play in a managed travel program?
Travel managers, along with TMCs, have been searching for a clear answer to applying social media practices to managed travel programs. Unfortunately, there is no “one size fits all” approach. The application of social media to travel programs will vary from company to company as variables such as demographics, culture, social media policy, corporate image, and software utilities need to be taken into account.
Adoption
Whether or not your company is offering any sort of solution to your travelers, they are using social media. With nearly 20,000 travel apps in existence and countless ways to utilize traditional social media for travel, they have many options.
Universal adoption of these media to a corporate travel population has been a hurdle for many solutions such as TripIt. As Concur bundles the TripIt solution to their customers, the ball is now in the court of the travel manager to encourage travelers to utilize the tool on his or her own to manage itinerary. Many companies have seen low adoption rates to these technologies at the start, but as churn continues to the younger generation this is expected to increase.
Getting travelers on board is the key to success when rolling out a social media application in a travel environment, and this can only be achieved by showing the travelers the “WIIFM”, or “What’s in it for me?” factor. There will always be some hand-holding when a new technology is introduced.
Security & Duty of Care
One way travel managers are taking advantage of social media is by improving security and focusing more on duty of care. Many social media and apps are offering tools on how to help keep travelers safe on the road; GPS signals sent from most electronic devices are utilized. They offer travel managers the ability to locate travelers in an emergency and send communications when phone networks may be down.
The constant stream of information doesn’t stop at status updates. There are a multitude of social media and applications that give your travelers the ability to reduce stress on the road by avoiding traffic, finding places to eat, tracking flights or booking last minute hotel rooms.
Travelers have a culture of their own, and sometimes it doesn’t match that of their counterparts back home. Some social media, aimed at connecting like-minded travelers, can serve as a culture-building and collaborating tool, especially when administered by a travel manager or influenced by human resources. These media can connect travelers that are from the same company during trips and boost morale.
Compliance
The social media solution to compliance issues are simple: communication. All social media in a travel program serve as a direct communication tool to travelers. If travel managers can utilize social media to communicate better with their travelers, compliance will naturally increase. According to an Invoke Media Study, 60% of business travelers prefer to stay in contact with family and friends on trip via social media than over phone or email. Traveler managers can utilize their travelers preferred method of media to offer a two-way communication path. This may be as simple as setting up a private Twitter account and inviting only travelers to join and tweet during their trips.
Data & Analysis
Enterprise social media solutions for travel programs can offer improved business intelligence and predictive analytics. A function of big data, these solutions can offer insight to a traveler’s behavior to better understand preferences. With these unique data points, travel managers can better streamline their travel programs and find ways to reduce costs.
Social media is a powerful and ever-changing tool. With new utilities popping up almost daily, keeping up can be a challenge. Despite this, staying current is essential when integrating into a travel program. These tools will not only improve the experience for travelers, but also improve travel programs and potentially make a travel manager’s life easier. The challenge is choosing what media to implement. While there are so many practices, travel managers must consult the habit of their travelers and consider what’s best for their program prior to roll out. Take solace in the fact that all travel managers face the same hurdles, and that ACTE is providing excellent insight into better practices.
This article is also published on the ACTE Connect site for access by ACTE members.