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Does Chicago Need a Mega Hub or Niche Communities

And Tech Events Around the City

Author

Landon Campbell
March 03, 2025

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This Week on Landon’s Loop:

🚀 Does Chicago Need a Mega Hub or Niche Communities

📊 Chart of the Week

📆 Events Around the City

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🚀 Does Chicago Need a Mega Hub or Niche Communities

Last week, 1871 announced it’s departure from the Merchandise Mart—a moment that sent shockwaves through Chicago’s tech community.

For over a decade, 1871 has been a symbolic heart of the city’s startup scene, hosting countless meetups and collisions that sparked new ventures. And like many of you, I have great memories of witnessing its impact firsthand.

My media company co-founder and I visited 1871 back in college.

But while 1871 is leaving its longtime home, Chicago’s startup ecosystem isn’t going anywhere. Instead of scrambling to fill the physical void, we should ask a bigger question:

Does Chicago need another centralized mega-hub?

Why Niche Communities Work Better

I don’t think Chicago needs another massive, one-size-fits-all space. What we need are smaller, niche communities that deliver the highest value to founders—especially in the early innings.

What do I mean by smaller niche communities?

I’m talking about industry and theme-specific groups where space is secondary to relationships and shared expertise. Instead of trying to serve every founder under one roof, we need spaces tailored to distinct sectors, where founders, investors, and operators tackling similar challenges can collaborate more effectively.

This model makes sense for Chicago, where no single industry dominates more than 13% of our region’s GDP. Our strength lies in diversity, and our startup communities should reflect that.

Physical space matters, but what happens inside those walls matters more.

It’s Already Happening

Post-COVID, Chicago has already been shifting toward smaller, niche communities that emphasize collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and real value over scale. We should continue doubling down on this shift.

To spotlight a few physical spaces doing this in a great way:

  • mHub — A hardtech innovation center with prototyping labs and industry partnerships.

  • Drive Chicago — A moonshot factory for techical founders building AI applications and infrastructure.

  • Portal — Life sciences incubator providing capital, lab space, and expertise.

  • Cube — A Web3-focused workspace supporting blockchain and decentralized tech projects.

  • Density — A founder-led tech collective for collaboration on cutting-edge projects.

  • 2112 — An incubator for music, film, and creative tech entrepreneurs.

Beyond these physical spaces, online but high-value communities are also emerging: Renowned Chicago, PM Peers, GenAI Collective, and EdTech Institute are all examples of groups that could eventually grow into dedicated hubs.

How to Build Your Own Community

If you’re a founder or operator wondering how to plug into this new wave of startup communities, you don’t need to wait for someone else to build it.

Before launching my own communities, I spent time attending meetups across Chicago, understanding what was already in place and where the gaps were. That’s the best place to start—explore the scene before creating something new. 

You’d be surprised how many niche communities already exist, waiting for the right people to bring them to life.

If you see an unmet need, build from there. Start with small gatherings—coffees, roundtables, Slack groups—and let them grow organically. Keep engagement high, listen to feedback, and refine the experience over time.

Momentum builds community, and eventually, if it makes sense, you may find yourself creating a dedicated space.

A Future Built on Many, Not One

1871 leaving the Merch Mart isn’t the end of Chicago’s startup ecosystem—it’s a new beginning. Rather than trying to recreate what we had, let’s embrace a more distributed, specialized, and founder-driven model for community-building.

Chicago’s strength has always been its diversity of industries and talent. Our startup communities should reflect that.

The future of Chicago tech won’t be built in one mega-hub. It will be built in many.

📊 Chart of the Week

This chart highlights manufacturing growth across US metro areas, with some of the strongest gains concentrated in the Midwest.

📆 Events Around the City

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