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Entrepreneurship in Chicago

Chicago has developed a distinctive startup ecosystem that leverages the city's strengths in enterprise technology, logistics, healthcare, and fintech. Unlike coastal tech hubs, Chicago's startup community benefits from close proximity to Fortune 500 headquarters, creating natural pathways for B2B startups to secure major clients. For founders, Chicago offers compelling advantages: access to diverse technical talent at costs below coastal cities, a strong network of local investors like Chicago Ventures and Jump Capital, and established infrastructure including 1871—one of the nation's premier tech incubators. The city particularly excels in producing startups with sustainable business models and clear paths to profitability rather than pursuing growth at all costs. With world-class universities feeding the talent pipeline and midwestern practicality informing business approaches, Chicago provides founders with an environment ideally suited for building customer-focused, financially sound technology companies.

Chicago founders in numbers

The startup community in Chicago shows a healthy mix of people still exploring ideas (49%) and those already building something (51%). This balance between early-stage thinking and committed founders shapes the local scene. Looking at the numbers, the median age of founders in Chicago is 28.5, with an average age of 33.1. Most are in the 25-32 age range, which makes up 40% of the community. When it comes to background, 28% of founders in Chicago have technical skills in areas like engineering or software development, while 72% come from business roles such as operations, product, or marketing. This mix creates plenty of opportunity for strong co-founder matches. Popular areas of interest include Research, Security, Web Services, and Wellness. Many founders in Chicago also speak more than one language, adding fresh perspectives to the city's startup ecosystem.

Commitment Type

More than (51%) of Foundersbase founders in Chicago are exploring startup ideas, while (49%) are committed to an idea.

Has idea

Has no idea

Has idea51%

Age

The median age of Foundersbase founders in Chicago is 28.5, while the average is age 33.1 with a maximum in the group of founders aging 25-32.

15.1%

18-24

40.0%

25-32

26.3%

33-40

13.3%

41-50

5.3%

50+

Type of Founder

About (28%) of Foundersbase founders in Chicago are technical (Engineering, AI/ML), while (72%) are non-technical (Product, Marketing, Operations).

Technical

Non-Technical

Technical28%

Top industry interests

Discover the industries that Foundersbase founders in Chicago are most passionate about.

ResearchSecurityWeb ServicesWellnessPaymentsMedical DevicesIoTSmart Mobility

Top spoken languages

The majority of Foundersbase founders in Chicago speaks English (100%).

English

100%

French

Modern Greek

Spanish

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