Founder Institute Directors devote a large amount of time and energy to bring together the local startup ecosystem and launch great companies. In this week's Director Profile, we sit down with Jason Jacobsohn, Local Director of the Chicago Founder Institute, to get his perspective on the Chicago startup scene.
Jason is the Managing Director of Reliable Venture Partners, and has advised over 100 emerging businesses on investment and strategy. In addition, he has spearheaded the development of several prominent networking events in Chicago, like the Greater Chicago Networking Extravaganza.
Since launching the program in the Fall of 2011, the Chicago Founder Institute has launched 60 companies, including DigitalGroundUp, Better Weekdays, Engage-a-Pro, and Foto Jelly, just to name a few. In addition, the program has hosted amazing mentors like Andrew Lee (JamLegend), Dan Ushman (SingleHop), David Culver (Forward Momentum), George Deeb (Red Rocket Ventures), Jeff Weber (Author of “From IDEA to Exit: The Entrepreneurial Journey”), Jeff Hoffman (Color Jar), Joe Bezdek (DivX), Kevin Taylor (Groupon), Mark Pickett (Nail Your Mortgage), Mike Evans (GrubHub), Ross Kimbarovsky (crowdSPRING), Uzi Shmilovici (Base CRM), Vinnie Lauria (Lefora), and many more.
How has the local startup ecosystem been growing in Chicago?
"The past few years have been thriving in the Chicago startup scene. The community has really come together. We have had several incubators, accelerators, and early stage funds come into existence. Seasoned entrepreneurs are also giving back through mentoring and angel investing. We have a lot of excitement. Early-stage funding is still harder to come by, but it is getting better."
What do you think is the biggest challenge for a new founder in Chicago?
"Early stage funding is probably the biggest challenge. We have a lot of angel investors but it is not always easy to find them."
What are the biggest trends you are seeing locally? Where is the ecosystem headed?
"We have a very diverse pool of technology entrepreneurs, but we tend to get more B2B than B2C firms.Also, we are getting more later stage funding, and coastal VCs are taking more notice - as evidenced by NEA opening up a Chicago office."
What was your motivation for starting the Chicago Founder Institute?
"I have a passion for helping entrepreneurs, and Chicago is a thriving entrepreneurial scene, so it felt like it was the right time to start FI Chicago. Throughout my career, I have built a lot of relationships with investors, entrepreneurs, and service providers, so FI was a good platform for me to bring all of the pieces together to help entrepreneurs."
What impact do you hope the Chicago Founder Institute to have?
"I hope that it adds value to the Chicago entrepreneurial community by helping to launch new, successful companies. Also, FI Chicago is another outlet for successful technology entrepreneurs to mentor some of the up-and-coming entrepreneurs."
What is the most satisfying aspect of helping new entrepreneurs?
"To me, the most satisfying aspect is to see the entrepreneur's sheer excitement about the potential to build and grow his or her business. Also, I enjoy connecting people together to make things happen."
What is the most challenging aspect of helping new entrepreneurs?
"Some entrepreneurs have not thought out their ideas well enough, so it can be difficult to help them if they aren't willing to think through their ideas more thoroughly."
What has been your biggest surprise since starting the program?
"I have been suprised by the level of support we have received from seasoned entrepreneurs becoming mentors in the program. Everyone wants to give back to the community, so it has not been difficult generating interest at all."
Which of your graduates do you think has made the most progress since day one?
"There are a lot of good examples, but Chris Motley of Better Weekdays has made great progress by raising money only a couple of months after graduation, landing beta customers, and quitting his job to work on the business full-time."
