United States of America

Chicago

Upcoming Event

Thursday, July 20

Launch Party - Summer 2017

Party

Launch Party - Summer 2017

View Details

Past Events

Mark Achler (MATH Venture Partners)

Mark Achler (MATH Venture Partners)

 Genevieve Thiers (SitterCity, New Founders)

Genevieve Thiers (SitterCity, New Founders)

 Harry Gottlieb (Jellyvision)

Harry Gottlieb (Jellyvision)

 Bill Burnett (LinkedIn)

Bill Burnett (LinkedIn)

 Brad Weisberg (Snapsheet)

Brad Weisberg (Snapsheet)

 Jeff Carter (West Loop Ventures)

Jeff Carter (West Loop Ventures)

 Jason Weingarten (Yello)

Jason Weingarten (Yello)

 Ross Petersen (Blitsy)

Ross Petersen (Blitsy)

 Kayne Grau (DRIVIN)

Kayne Grau (DRIVIN)

 AC HOTELS UNPACKED (AN EVENING WITH SANDY ABRAMS)

AC HOTELS UNPACKED (AN EVENING WITH SANDY ABRAMS)

 Mark Lawrence (SpotHero)

Mark Lawrence (SpotHero)

 Nin Desai (NIN Ventures)

Nin Desai (NIN Ventures)

 Scott Wilson (MINIMAL, NIKE)

Scott Wilson (MINIMAL, NIKE)

 Raaja Nemani (Bucketfeet)

Raaja Nemani (Bucketfeet)

 Global Conference + AC Hotels (Free Live Streaming)

Global Conference + AC Hotels (Free Live Streaming)

 Global Conference + AC Hotels (Free Live Streaming)

Global Conference + AC Hotels (Free Live Streaming)

 Mary Grove (Google for Entrepreneurs)

Mary Grove (Google for Entrepreneurs)

 Thom Kozik (Marriott)

Thom Kozik (Marriott)

 Ryan Kunkel (Red Frog Events)

Ryan Kunkel (Red Frog Events)

 Kristi Ross (dough, Inc)

Kristi Ross (dough, Inc)

 Kent Nielsen (Fort Knox Studios)

Kent Nielsen (Fort Knox Studios)

 Paul Lee (Lightbank, Roniin)

Paul Lee (Lightbank, Roniin)

 Jai Shekhawat (Fieldglass)

Jai Shekhawat (Fieldglass)

 Bryan Johnson (Braintree & OS Fund)

Bryan Johnson (Braintree & OS Fund)

 Desiree Vargas Wrigley (GiveForward)

Desiree Vargas Wrigley (GiveForward)

 Mike McGee (The Starter League)

Mike McGee (The Starter League)

 George Bousis (Raise)

George Bousis (Raise)

 Marc Kiven (Signal)

Marc Kiven (Signal)

 Al Goldstein (AvantCredit.com)

Al Goldstein (AvantCredit.com)

 David Kalt (OptionsXpress & Reverb.com)

David Kalt (OptionsXpress & Reverb.com)

 Charles Adler (Kickstarter)

Charles Adler (Kickstarter)

 Logan LaHive (Belly)

Logan LaHive (Belly)

 Shawn Riegsecker (Centro)

Shawn Riegsecker (Centro)

 Andrew Geant (WyzAnt)

Andrew Geant (WyzAnt)

 Talia Mashiach (Eved)

Talia Mashiach (Eved)

 Jake Nickell (Threadless)

Jake Nickell (Threadless)

 Chuck Templeton (OpenTable, Impact Engine)

Chuck Templeton (OpenTable, Impact Engine)

 Ethan Austin (GiveForward)

Ethan Austin (GiveForward)

 Rishi Shah (ContextMedia)

Rishi Shah (ContextMedia)

 Hunter Hillenmeyer (OverDog)

Hunter Hillenmeyer (OverDog)

 Emerson Spartz (Spartz Inc.)

Emerson Spartz (Spartz Inc.)

 Genevieve Thiers (Sittercity)

Genevieve Thiers (Sittercity)

 Jeff Hyman (Retrofit)

Jeff Hyman (Retrofit)

 Uzi Shmilovici (Base CRM)

Uzi Shmilovici (Base CRM)

 Howard Tullman (Tribeca Flashpoint Academy)

Howard Tullman (Tribeca Flashpoint Academy)

 Seyi Fabode (Power2Switch)

Seyi Fabode (Power2Switch)

 Justyn Howard (Sprout Social)

Justyn Howard (Sprout Social)

 Jason Fried (Co-Founder and CEO 37signals)

Jason Fried (Co-Founder and CEO 37signals)

 Jeff Hoffman (Co-Founder of Priceline & uBid)

Jeff Hoffman (Co-Founder of Priceline & uBid)

 Ross Kimbarovsky (Co-Founder of crowdSPRING)

Ross Kimbarovsky (Co-Founder of crowdSPRING)

Team

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Tom Denison

Chicago Director

Tom's passion is mentoring, advising, funding and founding tech and biotech startups. Tom has engaged with 200+ startups, at all stages, from concept to exit. Like many, his digital experience started out with a glamorous yet struggling internet startup but blossomed into strategy and business development with some of the most recognized digital powerhouses including a top tier affiliate network, a premier SEM firm and a world-renowned and award-winning full-service interactive agency. Unlike most, Tom spent time on the client side nurturing and growing a top 200 internet retailer leading to a $30 million exit and transitioning a B2B publishing company into the digital age. Today, Tom is Co-Founder and President of SmartHealth Activator, an accelerator for startups activating extraordinary biotechnology.

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Aaron Levy

Chicago Co-Director

Aaron’s spent the last 7 years in the employee engagement and performance space. He is an ICF Associate Certified Coach, a contributor to Thrive Global and a member of the Forbes Coaches Council. Aaron's educated, coached, and consulted over 4,000 business leaders, helping them to define goals, create action plans, and achieve sustained success. Aaron is deeply passionate about awakening people to their potential and works with organizations on their employee value proposition, management training and development coaching to unlock the power of their young talent. ​

From the Blog

Braintree's Founder Talks About Paying $100 for Three Minutes of Your Time

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Tom Denison 2015-12-01T19:05:30+00:00
Watch Bryan Johnson’s interview with Startup Grind Chicago and if you don’t like it, we'll give you $100. ​
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Success Is Measured By The Actual Business You Create

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Tom Denison 2014-11-13T20:51:13+00:00
David Kalt the founder of Reverb.com and Co-founder of optionsXpress, the online marketplace for guitars, gear and musical instruments, and the owner of the Chicago Music Exchange, one of the world’s best-known vintage guitar dealers. He is a technologist and serial entrepreneur, and will be the featured guest at the next Startup Grind Chicago, happening November 18.
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Edgy or Offensive: How To Find the Right Tone for Your Market

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Tom Denison 2014-09-19T15:00:35+00:00
You have the passion and drive. You have a new product that fills a market need. And you cannot wait to share it with the world.
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