Food Genius is moving out of 1871 today and into our own office, just three months after we moved in.
The history of Food Genius can largely be told in three-month chunks. We became a company (as opposed to a hobby) when we started our three month tenure at Excelerate Labs last summer. The business pivoted into a B2B restaurant consumer data company and we received a crash-course in human-centered product development during our three month residency at IDEO. And, most recently, we’ve matured into a post-revenue company (or, as we joke, “put on our big boy company pants”) during our three month stay here at 1871.
As we’ve been packing up and scrounging for furniture (anyone have a large conference table to spare?), it felt right to reflect on these last three months inside the hub of Chicago’s white hot tech startup community.
- I’ve had a chance to become friends with a handful of CEO’s here at 1871 (Frank of MarkitX and Eric of SimpleRelevance, in particular). We’re all insanely busy, but we’ve managed to collaborate, commiserate, and counsel each other simply because we’re within about a 100 ft radius of each every day. We’ll make an effort to stay in touch, but as our businesses grow and our responsibilities multiply, it’s inevitable we’ll talk less and less frequently. I’m going to miss that.
- In the earliest stages of a startup, one of the most important things that you can do is work under a spotlight. Future customers, investors, employees, and allies are motivated by lines, not points – they want to see you moving in the right direction. The opportunity to be in front of the right people and show them what you can do is invaluable. The number, caliber, and diversity of people who wander through or spend significant time at 1871 is staggering – it’s hard to assess the number and value of business connections we’ve made just in the last three months. All of our companies are better for working in the fishbowl that is 1871.
- Throughout the history of our company, there’s one resource we’ve relied on more than anything else – the Chicago tech community itself. I often comment that one of the biggest advantages Food Genius has is that the Chicago tech scene has a massive chip on its shoulder; we’re out to prove that we aren’t third fiddle to NY or the Valley. Local entrepreneurs, investors, and advisors go out of their way to be helpful. To be blunt, Food Genius would likely still be a hobby (and a consumer app – but that’s a different story) but for the support and guidance of our amazing community. With the launch of 1871, accessing these resources has gotten even easier and accessible. That’s a very good thing.
1871 is sort of a strange community – all of us have been rooting for our roomies to move out. I look forward to the day when I come back to 1871 and most of the faces and businesses are unfamiliar; it will be because our peers have moved on to bigger and better things.
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