Since its launch in 2011, the Chicago Founder Institute has graduated 70 companies - including rapidly growing startups like BetterWeekdays. One of the key reasons for FI Chicago’s success is the contributions of its mentors, startup experts who help founders along their path.
While all of FI Chicago’s mentors offer unique startup advice, Emerson Spartz’s creative approach is remarkable. Emerson Spartz is a modern media mogul, who was invited by J.K. Rowling to her home for a personal interview and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, CBS Evening News, MTV, The New Yorker, Fox News, Business Insider, Forbes and more.
Applications to the Chicago Founder Institute are open. Don’t miss out on mentorship from experts like Emerson Spartz.
At the age of 12, Emerson dropped out of school to homeschool himself. He created his own curriculum, which also included avid reading of both biographies of successful people, and works of fiction such as the Harry Potter series. Emerson then created his first website, MuggleNet, which went on to become one of the largest Harry Potter fansites in the world. To run the website, he taught himself how to code, design, and manage projects at a very young age.
This shattered my little 12-year-old brain. I started to think really big. I started to think like: If I can do all this and I’m only 12, imagine what I can do at 17? 17 seemed so old because they could drive cars
- Emerson Spartz
Several years later, while attending the University of Notre Dame, Emerson co-authored his first book MuggleNet.com's What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7. The book, which presents theories on the future of the book series, sold 350,000 copies and spent 26 weeks on the New York Times Children’s best-seller list.
In 2009, Emerson moved beyond the world of Harry Potter and plunged into the world of new media, launching Dose, a site which crowdsourced viral web content. Under the Dose umbrella, he launched 30 websites including GivesMeHope and OMGFacts, which quickly soared to 160 million monthly pageviews. As of 2018, Dose has raised over $34 million in venture financing, and continues to revolutionize media.
I created dozens of pages that collected from zero to millions of fans over a few hours to a few days. I was testing hundreds of different variables to see which ones correlated with virality until I could tell within 20 seconds which ones were going to go viral.
Emerson’s secrets are ravenous innovation and quick testing. He built up his innovator’s eye via simple practices, such as going to a Walmart and picking up random items from its shelves. He would then spend time theorizing over how each item could be improved or re-packaged under a new business model. For example, if he came across a dry-erase marker, he would think the following:
Could I sell more expensive dry-erase markers for status to people with enough disposable income?...Could I let people customize their own dry-erase markers? Again, that’s a stupid idea, but it’s really just about practicing generating ideas.
Emerson carries this same thought process into his mentoring for the Chicago Founder Institute, providing valuable feedback for founders. He has helped many founders create strategies for marketing and virality, and has aided many more in the ideation process. More than anything, though, Emerson offers one of the world’s most unique perspectives from the eyes of a startup visionary.
Applications to the Chicago Founder Institute are open. Don’t miss out on mentorship from experts like Emerson Spartz.