INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1

Innovations of the World

INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1

It’s easy to think that everything there is to know about the Windy City is already out there in the world—Chicago was, after all, the second most-visited US city in 2018 and has remained fertile ground internationally for a variety of industries, from finance to industry to education to transportation and beyond.

But a visit to Chicago is like a canopy tour compared to the root-deep exploration of the city that INNOVATE® Chicago provides. Filled with stories of Chi-Town’s innovators and innovation enablers, this high-end coffee-table book offers an in-depth look into the city’s innovation ecosystem. Every participant—large or small, corporate or nonprofit—is hand-selected for participation in INNOVATE® Chicago. By avoiding a pay-to-play model, we bring you 250+ pages of the authentic, the innovative, the best of Chicago!

In addition to the hardcover coffee-table book, INNOVATE® Chicago is also published as an e-book, with individual stories posted below.

Featured Thought Leaders

Featured Thought Leaders

Featured Innovators

Featured Innovators

PRITZKER GROUP

HELPING ENTREPRENEURS ACHIEVE GREATNESS

ABOUT PGVC Pritzker Group, founded by Tony and J.B. Pritzker, has three principal investment teams: Venture Capital, which provides early-stage venture funding to technology companies throughout the United States; Private Capital, which acquires and operates leading North America based companies; and Asset Management, which partners with top-performing investment managers across...

ACTIVECAMPAIGN

ACTIVECAMPAIGN-We Help Businesses Grow and Build Better Customer Experiences

We Help Businesses Grow and Build Better Customer Experiences

ActiveCampaign is the leader in Customer Experience Automation (CXA), helping businesses across the world meaningfully engage with their customers. Our platform gives businesses of all sizes access to 820+ prebuilt automations that combine email marketing, marketing automation and CRM for powerful segmentation and personalization across social, email, messaging, chat and...

ORBIT MEDIA STUDIOS

ORBIT MEDIA STUDIOS-Web Design

Web Design, Development and Optimization with Deep Roots in the City of Chicago

They both grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and met in high school. When Barrett Lombardo and Andy Crestodina graduated, they headed off to the University of Iowa together.   They shared a dorm room and one of those boxy Macintosh computers. It was the early 1990s. Most people...

Devbridge

Devbridge- Is A Digital Product And Technology Consultancy Focused On Enterprise Transformation And Custom Software Development

Is A Digital Product And Technology Consultancy Focused On Enterprise Transformation And Custom Software Development

WHO WE AREDevbridge is a technology partner for forward-thinking Global 2000 companies looking to shift to a product-centric operating model. We build extraordinary custom software that delivers measurable results for our clients and their customers.   Using our proven methodology, data-informed strategy, and proprietary Devbridge Apollo toolkit, we not only...

LITERA

Is Changing The Way Organizations Perfect Their Documents And Manage Transactions.

Litera (then Microsystems) was born in 1995 to solve a specific problem: helping law firms transition their documents from Word Perfect to Microsoft Word....

YMCA OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO

YMCA OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO-WELCOME TO THE WORLD’S OLDEST INCUBATOR. THE YMCA OF METRO CHICAGO IS INNOVATING FROM THE INSIDE

WELCOME TO THE WORLD’S OLDEST INCUBATOR. THE YMCA OF METRO CHICAGO IS INNOVATING FROM THE INSIDE

In 2022, the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago celebrated its 164th birthday. There are only a handful of organizations in the country with that kind of history. But all those candles on the cake are not merely a reminder of accomplishments passed. It’s also a light leading the way forward, illuminating...

AGILEMD

AGILEMD- SOFTWARE SAVES LIVES THROUGH BETTER CARE DECISIONS

SOFTWARE SAVES LIVES THROUGH BETTER CARE DECISIONS

Healthcare providers are overwhelmed and medical protocols change fast. AgileMD ensures that nurses and doctors can rapidly understand a patient’s status and follow the most current clinical best practices to provide optimal care. The company’s software offers real-time predictive analytics and adaptive clinical guidance that is deeply integrated into the...

A SAFE HAVEN FOUNDATION

A SAFE HAVEN FOUNDATION-OUR MISSION: ASPIRE. TRANSFORM. SUSTAIN.

OUR MISSION: ASPIRE. TRANSFORM. SUSTAIN.

A Safe Haven Foundation is a 501(c)3 not for profit, social enterprise that helps people ASPIRE. TRANSFORM. and SUSTAIN¨ their lives as they transition from homelessness to self-sufficiency with pride and purpose. A Safe Haven provides the tools for each individual to overcome the root causes of homelessness through a...

NATURE'S FYND

NATURE'S FYND-TRANSFORMING HOW THE WORLD EATS WITH FY™

TRANSFORMING HOW THE WORLD EATS WITH FY™, A NEW-TO-THE-WORLD, NUTRITIONAL FUNGI PROTEIN

The story of Nature’s Fynd™ begins millions of years ago, in an acidic hot spring located in what is today Yellowstone National Park when a remarkable microbe was born. In 2009, NASA-backed research on extremophiles led our co-founder to the park’s hot springs. He then isolated and discovered a remarkable...

SHIPBOB

The Trusted Global Omnifulfillment Platform To Scale Your Ecommerce Business And Meet Customer Expectations Everywhere They Shop

ShipBob provides fulfillment services across the US, Canada, UK, Europe, and Australia for orders placed on ecommerce websites, online marketplaces, social media platforms, and through B2B partnerships (in physical stores and retailers’ online stores)....

TERA-PRINT

TERA-PRINT -ENABLING INNOVATION THROUGH A DISRUPTIVE NANOFABRICATION TECHNOLOGY

ENABLING INNOVATION THROUGH A DISRUPTIVE NANOFABRICATION TECHNOLOGY

TERA-print is a nanotechnology company that is unlocking the power of ultrahigh precision prototyping with their innovative desktop nanoprinters. This technology is disrupting the way next-generation come to life, such as miniaturized sensors 1/100th the size of your fingernail, highly accurate diagnostic tests for diseases from cancer to Alzheimer’s, and...

THE FORGE ADVENTURE PARKS

THE FORGE ADVENTURE PARKS-GET OUT AND PLAY

GET OUT AND PLAY

Chicagoland is home to one of the world’s most fantastic recreation destinations: The Forge: Lemont Quarries. Since opening in the summer of 2020, the 300-acre park has been named one of the top three new destinations in the United States. The park provides authentic, purpose-driven outdoor experiences for people of...

STEADFAST

MAKING IT WORK

Steadfast began in 1998 as an internet-technology passion project for Steadfast’s Founder, Karl Zimmerman, when he was only 14 years old. Karl’s dream to help companies with their data hosting and security needs started early on, and through these relationships, Karl learned there was a frustrating gap with many hosting...

WILLIAM BLAIR

WILLIAM BLAIR-INVESTING AT THE NEXUS OF THE INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM

INVESTING AT THE NEXUS OF THE INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM

Committed to Growth and Innovation Since 1935At William Blair, growth and innovation are in our DNA. As an independent, private partnership, we are committed to providing the world’s leading venture firms with the expert guidance and creative solutions required to unlock value for investors and their portfolio companies. We are...

86 REPAIRS

86 REPAIRS-TAKE REPAIRS OFF YOUR PLATE

TAKE REPAIRS OFF YOUR PLATE

86 Repairs is the repair and maintenance management platform built for the restaurant industry. Our tech-enabled solution includes on-demand repair management and preventative maintenance. With 86 Repairs, restaurants have access to data-driven insights and 24/7 support to control their facilities, reduce their R&M costs, and spend less of their team’s...

EMPIST

EMPIST-Reliable & Transparent Technology Solutions Designed To Help Your Business Grow

Reliable & Transparent Technology Solutions Designed To Help Your Business Grow

WHAT WE DO At Empist, we make it our mission to provide businesses of any size with the resources they need to thrive in the ever-changing technological landscape. With two decades of multifaceted technology experience, our team is ready to help you develop a tailored plan to scale your business....

COHESION

We Are Transforming Commercial Real Estate With Smart Building Technology That Enhances The Workplace Experience, Streamlines Operations And Optimizes Revenue In One Single Digital Platform

The Cohesion app fulfills these demands by integrating building systems and IoT devices for seamless interactions in the workplace environment....

GIGI'S PLAYHOUSE

GIGI'S PLAYHOUSE- The True Definition Of Innovation Can Be Found At GiGi’s Playhouse

The True Definition Of Innovation Can Be Found At GiGi’s Playhouse, Where Changing The World Is In The Palm Of Your Hand

What started in 2003 as a mother’s vision to change the world’s perception of individuals with Down syndrome and create opportunities for her daughter, GiGi, evolved into a global movement of acceptance for all. GiGi’s Playhouse started in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and has catapulted to an entrepreneurial network of 60...

AZUMO

AZUMO-Manufacturer of LCD 2.0

Manufacturer of LCD 2.0, A Breakthrough Display Technology Revolutionizing A $130B Industry

Displays have become ubiquitous in our society. We find them in smartphones, tablets, laptops, TVs, drive through restaurants, ATM machines, thermostats, gas station pumps…the list is endless. Even still, there are notable negative impacts of displays which we have become accustomed to – excessive power consumption, subpar viewability in bright...

BUNDLAR

BUNDLAR-One Intuitive Platform For All Your AR Needs

One Intuitive Platform For All Your AR Needs

In the face of the obstacles challenging the augmented reality community, the BUNDLAR platform makes AR simple, affordable, and accessible to the average creator. We accomplish this with our proprietary Content Management System (CMS) and integrated mobile application. Instead of hiring expensive developers to build AR experiences, businesses and institutions...

ALIS - MEDTELLIGENT

Life-Changing Software For Assisted Living Facilities

ALIS is the primary offering of Medtelligent, a health-tech company serving the senior housing industry. Built from the ground up to match the needs of assisted living operators and providers, ALIS is the preferred software choice for fast-growing portfolios in the sector. Medtelligent was founded in 2005 with an original...

JELLYVISION

JELLYVISION-CELEBRATING THREE DECADES IN CHICAGO TECH

CELEBRATING THREE DECADES IN CHICAGO TECH

WHO IS JELLYVISION?Jellyvision is the benefits engagement platform trusted by companies large and small, including many of the Fortune 500. We’re committed to reinventing how employees choose and use benefits, and our sophisticated technology delights and guides employees to make better decisions — leading them and our customers to more...

SMARTMIRROR

SMART MIRROR-Shaping the Future of Dentistry

Shaping the Future of Dentistry

The dental mirror is the single-most important tool for dentists and hygienists alike, but it hasn’t changed in form or function for more than 100 years. SmartMirror looks, feels and acts like a traditional dental mirror, but features pioneering technology that meets the needs of today’s dentists and patients alike....

PHYSIQ

Technology Pioneered To Predict Failure Of Mission-Critical Industrial Equipment Delivers Powerful Platform To Protect The Most Complex “Machine” Of All – The Human Body

A leader in digital medicine, dedicated to generating real-time health insight via physiological data and patented artificial intelligence (AI) analytics, physIQ is on a mission to transform healthcare. The physIQ enterprise-ready cloud platform is designed to continuously collect and process data from any wearable biosensor using an expanding portfolio of...

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The Publisher

Glen Edwards

Glen Edwards was born and raised in Philadelphia. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University and served in the United States Marine Corps Services. For the next 10 years, Glen worked as a Juvenile Probation Officer in Philadelphia, counseling underprivileged children in North and West Philadelphia. In 1983, Glen left the court and went to work... click to read more

The Publisher

Glen Edwards

Glen Edwards was born and raised in Philadelphia. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University and served in the United States Marine Corps Services. For the next 10 years, Glen worked as a Juvenile Probation Officer in Philadelphia, counseling underprivileged children in North and West Philadelphia. In 1983, Glen left the court and went to work... click to read more

Other Ecosystems