Hey Friends!
Welcome to Issue 27 of the Driver’s Seat 🚙
Before we dive in:
Thanks to everyone who attended to our Generative AI for Enterprise event with Redis and Mantium.
Also, special shoutout to Fifth Third Bank for the hospitality this past week. Enjoyed hosting a Lunch and Learn about our initiatives in Chicago / insights from the market.
📍 Today’s Lineup:
👩🎓 Chicago Colleges are Climbing
✅ Windy City Highlights
📊 CHART: The State of Seed
🤝 Asks From Our Founders
🗺 Events Around the City
🔙 Previous Issues of the Driver’s Seat
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Let’s dive in! 🚙 🚙 🚙
👩🎓 Chicago Colleges are Climbing
Exciting News from Our Leading Universities:
For the first time, Northwestern entered an elite circle of institutions with annual research funding exceeding $1B.
Both Northwestern and UChicago climbed PitchBook's yearly list of MBA programs that produce founders of venture-funded businesses.
Funding at Northwestern:
Last month, Northwestern achieved $1B in annual research funding, marking a 9% annual increase from contributors such as federal agencies, foundations, and corporations.
The number of awards received for FY23 totaled 3,882, an increase of 293 from the previous year.
Overall research funding for Northwestern has grown 83% since 2013.
Startup Founder Rankings:
The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University is now ranked 6th among universities that produce successful founders (up from 9th)
UChicago’s Booth School of Business was voted #7, up from 11th last year.
UIUC was also on the list as the 15th top school for undergrad grads turned future founders.
Why Does This Matter
Funding:
Increased funding boosts Northwestern's global academic rank, potentially attracting more students and fostering innovation.
The Feinberg School of Medicine and McCormick School of Engineering received over $844M.
University Rankings:
While Northwestern and UChicago rank in the top 10 for MBA grads turned founders, there’s still more work to be done for undergrads, where neither school broke into the top 20.
MBA students might have better networks, so enhancing undergraduate exposure to the startup world in Chicago is crucial.
Ultimately, early-stage capital drives Chicago's growth. To retain talent, we must offer incentives, resources, and early funding.
✅ Windy City Highlights
In case you didn’t know:
✅ Chicago is the #1 city for corporate relocation, 10 years in a row
✅ Chicago is the #1 city to start a business (Source: DBNA)
✅ Chicago is the 2nd largest manufacturing hub in the nation.
✅ Chicago has the second largest transportation / logistics sector in the US.
✅ Chicago is the 2nd top destination for recent grads nationally.
✅ Our state has 3rd largest concentration of computer science degrees nationally.
✅ Chicago is the 3rd largest economy in the US.
✅ Chicago had the largest venture deal in 2022, compared to SF, LA, and NYC.
📊 Chart of the Week
Prioritizing Seed:
In 2023, many venture firms, particularly the larger ones, have shifted their focus towards early-stage investments
This is a 10% increase from the previous year.
Although the overall volume of seed deals has seen a decline when compared against 2021 and 2022, this trend aligns with the market correction we've discussed in past discussions.
Where Are Valuations:
Seed valuations have gone down a bit from their highest point of $15M in 2021. However, they are still high in my opinion, around $13M on average.
In the second part of the year, the average seed valuation was $13.7M.
This is a 5% rise from the start of the year. It's also higher than any time before 2021.
What Does This Mean:
As the number of $500K investments increases, many during the seed stage, it further shows that today is a great moment in time to launch a startup.
🤝 Asks From Our Founders
There are five companies in the Drive Chicago seed program:
Coherence Finance 👾 allows users to build, buy, and sell their own crypto collections.
Pathize Health 🧬 delivers tailored insights on managing Long Covid.
Rivet 🎤 uses AI to help musicians turn their top fans into customers.
Brx.ai 🧱 is building intelligent AI foundations for enterprises.
Architect Health 🏥 helps insurers offer tailored telehealth options to members.
Asks from Coherence Finance 👾
Check out the new Coherence app.
Asks from Rivet 🎤
Intros to musical artists and/or managers in the Chicagoland area.
Asks from Architect Health 🏥
We’re hiring Founding Engineer / VP of Product with experience in healthcare and healthcare-specific data privacy (HIPAA).
Reply to this email if you’d like to learn more.
🗺️ Events Around The City
I’m heading to UIUC on October 25th to host an AI Meetup on Campus 👇
Lunch & Learn: Simplify Your Business Services
Hosted by MATTER
Tuesday September 19th
Hack & Hang Night
Hosted by Chicago Huskshell
Tuesday September 19th
AI Happy Hour
Hosted by JP Morgan, 1871, and Techstars
Tuesday September 19th
Founder’s Roundtable x Chicago Edition
Hosted by K&L Gates
Thursday September 21st
Chicago Climate Connect
Hosted by Chicago Climate Connect
Thursday September 21st
Fundable Branding
Hosted MATTER
Friday September 22nd
👋 See you next time!
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram for even more Chicago startup news and photos of my favorite restaurants in the city.
