March 22, 2012
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Turns out the market is not the average guy, but someone more along the lines of a higher yearly salary, working too hard to dig through stores looking for good clothing, and at the same time maintaining a desire to have better clothing. Sound like a small market? It’s not. It’s huge, and it’s a market has been waiting for this.
(Full Story: Trunk Club is Locking it Up, Throwing Away the Key | PandoDaily)
March 22, 2012
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they admit that all of the failures and successes of Chicago tie back to one concept: The Midwest Mentality.
Understanding the Midwest Mentality is key to understanding the entire Chicago ecosystem. It affects how startups are created, who gets funded and who gets accepted into the ecosystem. It is the glue of the shoe, the plugs in the boat and the sandy foundation all wrapped up into one.
(Full Story: The Midwest Mentality)
April 7, 2011
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So how does it work? A gentlemen can sign up via the website, pick preselected looks, and answer a small questionnaire with questions like “where do you shop right now?,” “what’s your favorite item in your closet,” sizes, price and color preferences and more. A stylist will then call/contact the customers via their preferred method of communication. Once the stylist gets an idea of the customer’s style, he or she will send a “trunk,” of clothes and ship out via Fedex a handpicked collection of shoes, pants, shirts, and more.
Once the customer receives the order, he can try on the items and send back the clothes he doesn’t like in a prepackaged box.
(Full Story: Trunk Club: Outfitting Men Just The Way They (And Their Wives) Like It)
February 1, 2011
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FAST COMPANY: Tell us about Chicago Ideas Week–what’s it for, and where did the idea come from?BRAD KEYWELL: Being from Chicago, and more probably speaking about the Mid West, Groupon has been like a beacon–and we’re almost a rally cry for people to realize they can do great things and build great companies (technology and otherwise) and you don’t need to be in Silicon Valley to do it. We’ve uniquely created and grown and executed this business, based in Chicago. So this discussion got provoked about the more general entrepreneurial system in the Midwest, and hopefully this is the tip of a big iceberg around innovation and entrepreneruship here.
(Full Story: Chicago Ideas Week: Groupon Co-Founder Tries to Spark Entrepreneurs in the Mid West | Fast Company)
October 19, 2010
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Right about now, dear reader, you are likely thinking, “Okay, smart guy, if Chicago is so great, name a success story to come out of it.” Ever heard of a T-shirt company called Threadless? How about a software development company called 37Signals? Orbitz? I could go on . . . and in fact, I think I will: Careerbuilder, Cars.com, Groupon, PayPal and Yelp. You didn’t know some of those started in Chicago, did you? Tsk tsk.
While we discuss success stories, did you also know we have some great startups here poised to be the next big thing? Have you heard of the App House, Communiteach or KarmaKorn? How about a conference show for mobile called MobileAppEx? If not, you get a pass — but I guarantee that you will be hearing more about them as they continue to grow and influence the world right here from sweet home Chicago.
(Link: Flyover Geeks: The case for Chicago as Silicon City | Small Business | Blogs | Crain’s Chicago Business)
October 18, 2010
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Chicago-based Groupon opened an office in California’s Silicon Valley this year when it couldn’t find Chicago developers fast enough.
It took the company about 18 months to hire 30 developers in Chicago, said Andrew Mason, founder and chief executive. “When we opened an office in Silicon Valley, it took us a matter of months to match the size of our Chicago team,” he said.
(Link: Software engineers, Web developers are in short supply across the nation – chicagotribune.com)
September 10, 2010
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(Link: Noggin Labs)
August 17, 2010
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Grubwithus Social Dining builds friendships over great meals at Chicago’s best restaurants. Think OpenTable, but instead of booking your own table, you’re booking an individual seat at a table with other social diners. You’ll eat good food, meet new friends, and instantly know more people in Chicago!
(Link: Grubwithus – a groupon for strangers to dine together)
July 16, 2010
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In a year and a half, Groupon has expanded from a staff of several dozen to 350 employees, most of them working out of the old Montgomery Ward headquarters at 600 West Chicago Avenue. One of the site’s biggest successes: selling more than 14,000 tickets to the Chicago Auto Show ($6 for an $11 value). One of its largest failures: shipping live lobsters ($84 for a $137 value). “I don’t know why that didn’t work,” Mason says. “It still sounds good to me.” Statistics show that the average Groupon user is a single female between the ages of 18 and 34. More than half the fans have college degrees, and two-thirds of them make between $50,000 and $100,000. All of that adds up to an audience many businesses want to reach. An active sales force, working on commission, recruits businesses to make the daily deals.
(Link: On Groupon and its founder, Andrew Mason – Chicago magazine – August 2010 – Chicago)
