Before Chicago became a tech hub featuring world-renowned incubators like 1871 and more than a dozen unicorns, there was Technori – a small group of early adopters and startup founders on a mission to turn Chicago into the largest and most diverse tech community in the world.
And, what began as a small blog for tech founders with the occasional meet-up, eventually grew into one of the largest startup pitch events in the country with sold-out events being hosted in more than 7 cities from coast to coast.
As the world turned more digital so too did Technori, launching a popular podcast featuring founders and prominent investors that quickly elevated Technori from a local brand to a nationally recognized name in tech.
In 2016, Title III of the Jobs Act was passed allowing all investors accredited or not to invest in early-stage companies which sparked a movement that would go on to revolutionize retail investing by spawning an entirely new market for alternative investing. Technori became an early champion in the space and partnered with the leading equity crowdfunding platform, Republic to first enable audience members to invest in companies pitching at showcase events, then in 2017, Technori became the first-ever live event and radio show allowing a live audience to invest in presenting startups pitching their business to Technori co-founder and CEO Scott Kitun on WGN Radio.
This show was a landmark moment for both Technori and the crowdfunding space in general as it brought startup investing to a mainstream audience resulting in founders featured on Technori raising billions of dollars in venture capital, and retail investors committing more than $50M via equity crowdfunding over the next 5 years.
In 2022, Technori merged with Boston-based Kingscrowd to continue serving the alternative investing space by combining comprehensive investor analysis and data-driven venture funds with Technori’s existing popular newsletters and podcasts about startups, entrepreneurship and alt investing to effectively become the one-stop-shop for the online private market.
