By: Ethan Austin

Kevin Willer, CEO of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (“CEC”) popped into the GiveForward office a little while back to chat and check out our fancy new digs in Bucktown.  Before he left, he asked us if we’d be willing to write a blog post about how the CEC has helped us grow as a company.  We’ve been huge fans of the Center’s work dating back to the Pre-Willer days (B.W.E.). So of course we said yes, and before Kevin even finished asking, I knew exactly what I was going to write about.

Every month at GiveForward we email out a progress report to our investors.  In these emails, we try our absolute best to sound smart and toss around various business-y sounding terms like “burn rates,” “margins” and “cost of customer acquisition”.  And while we make sure to address the obligatory metrics and financials, we tend to devote just as much time (if not more time) to discuss softer topics like the power of hugs and what that means to our business.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit, talking about the importance of hugs in a monthly investor newsletter is not the most orthodox style of investor relations.  But then again, we’re not the most orthodox of companies. What I can tell you, however, is that our newsletters are genuine, they suit our style and they seem to work for our investors.  In each email, we share our big wins, our small victories, our fears and our struggles.  Through this monthly communication, we try to give our investors a glimpse into our heads.  We want our investors to have a solid understanding of what is driving our thought process and our strategic vision for the company.  But perhaps more importantly, through these newsletters, we also give them a glimpse into our hearts.  We want our investors to know not just what we do as a company and how we plan to get there, but why we do it and why it matters to us.

While our investors tell us they really appreciate our monthly updates, to be perfectly honest, we don’t send them to make our investors happy.  We send them out for much more selfish reasons.  We write these newsletters because we benefit greatly when we purposefully engage our investors.  My Co-Founder Desiree and I are first-time entrepreneurs. We know there is a ton that we don’t know, and there is so much we can learn from mentors who have been in our shoes before. We have twelve incredibly smart investors backing us with an invaluable pool of knowledge and experience.  But we only get to tap into this pool when we open up to them, make ourselves vulnerable by admitting we don’t know everything,  and ask for their help.

So where the heck am I going with this, right?  How does any of this relate back to the CEC?  Well, it all goes back to a Behind the Business session the CEC organized where Matt Maloney, Co-Founder of GrubHub, came in to share his story on how he and Mike Evans built their company.  Matt told the audience about how he used to hold board meetings once a month just so he could learn from his board members. He purposefully engaged them — in turn, they taught him and Mike how to run a successful company.  When I heard Matt’s words that day, they completely resonated with me and I remember thinking to myself, “alright, we should do the same at GiveForward.”

These Behind the Business sessions are why I love the CEC.  By bringing in successful entrepreneurs to share their stories, the CEC is doing the exact same thing for the Chicago community that Desiree and I do for ourselves at GiveForward.  They’re purposefully engaging successful entrepreneurs to share their wisdom with the new batch of Chicago’s emerging leaders.  I’ve been to a bunch of these sessions and whether it was Matt Moog, Brad Keywell, or Matt Maloney speaking, I’ve never gone to a Behind the Business session where I didn’t pick up some piece of advice and then apply it back at GiveForward.

To be sure, I could have gleaned much of this same advice by reading a startup blog or a book, but I’ll be honest with you, it’s not the same.  It’s not even close. When you hear someone speak in person, their advice is tangible. It feels real and you’re ten times more likely to take action on it.  And that’s why these sessions at the CEC are so valuable.

Of course, this blog post is the one exception to my rule that advice is more valuable in person .  So, if you’re an entrepreneur just starting out, I encourage you to go to as many talks and presentations as possible and learn from people who have done this before.  If you’re an entrepreneur with investors, I strongly encourage you to engage them.  Investor relations should not be about mollifying your investors and keeping them off your back.  It should be about opening up a dialogue with them and learning as much as possible from them.  If you do this, I can promise you that the value you’ll gain from their mentorship will far exceed the value of their capital.

Ethan Austin is the Co-Founder of GiveForward, a crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money online for their loved one’s out-of-pocket medical expenses.

MidVentures recently got the chance to connect with Neal Sales-Griffin, Founder and CEO of both Code Academy and Code Mountain. He tells us a little about how his companies came about, what he’s looking for in applicants and where he sees Code Academy going in the future.

midVentures: Can you tell our midVentures readers a little bit about Code Academy? What is so unique about you guys? What stands out?

Neal Sales-Griffin: When you’re learning a foreign language, the best way to do so is to immerse yourself in an environment where that language is spoken all the time, which is why so many people study abroad and travel to places experiencing how language is applied practically.

Code Academy is the study abroad for learning software development.

We are a beginner-focused collaborative—meaning no programming experience required, but exposure to it is definitely not frowned upon—and intensive school that teaches people how to build web applications with the Ruby on Rails web framework (e.g. Twitter, Groupon, Hulu). We provide you with everything necessary for coding: computers, software, and an environment that makes learning and productivity unavoidable. You’ll learn more in 12 weeks than most do in a year.

1 class. 12 weeks. 12 students. A lead instructor and a bunch of brilliant guest instructors. 6 top tier software developer mentors. 4 hours a day for three days a week in downtown Chicago.

You can’t find a program like ours anywhere else, especially at the price that we’re offering it at. Twelve hours a week of instructor training, plus access to our space throughout the week to collaborate on your projects and meet with mentors.

mV: We like the sound of this program, Neal. So tell us, how did Code Academy come about? What drove your vision for this idea?

NSG: We started Code Academy because we spent the past year teaching ourselves web development. As non-CS majors in college and having exhausted the books, screencasts, tutorials and workshops available, we realized there was an unnecessary barrier for people to acquire these skills.

During the first two weeks of April, I went around (with my iPad) and networked with every Ruby on Rails developer I could find. By the end of that time, it felt like all of Chicago knew about our idea!

We are passionate about learning and solving problems. We wanted to become builders ourselves when we created this startup. It’s easy to come up with ideas, the truth is in execution.

We want to realize this vision for the world. It’s one where anyone can develop the skills to do whatever they want, to have the power to build their dreams – to take what’s in their heads and make it real.

mV: And we see you’re taking applications for your first program, which starts October 3. Tell us a little about the application process. Who are you looking for?

NSG: People who want to build. People with compelling stories that communicate why Code Academy would help change their lives for the better.

We’re looking for entrepreneurial MBAs seeking a “tech co-founder,” undergrad college students looking to bootstrap their own startup from their dorm, recently graduated working professionals looking for an awesome career shift into an exciting line of work, and even people from different countries wanting to come to Chicago and code for three months!

We are looking for passionate people who care about doing meaningful work. If you have a burning desire to solve a problem, if you want to make a dent in the universe, then this program is for you.

This will be an intensive program, so we want people who can thrive in a fast-paced learning environment. If you’re quick to give up, this isn’t for you.

The application deadline is August 26th and can be completed on our site at www.codeacademy.org/apply. There are 5 essay questions for the initial application. Once reviewed, we choose the best applicants for an interview during the first week of September. Twelve will be chosen for the first class starting October 3rd and ending December 21st.

mV: Why do the program in Chicago? What made you want to run it here?

NSG: I have lived here my entire life. I love this city, and it’s literally exploding with excitement through technology. There’s an insane amount of entrepreneurial energy in the air.

Chicago is on the verge of tech stardom. Some of the world’s most revered companies and initiatives are here, and they’re growing, fast.

BUT, our ideas are outpacing our capacity to build right now. We need to create more builders for Chicago.

We want to solve a problem in a place that knows and feels the pain and that is eager to inject its support into the solution. Chicago is the place to be for that.

mV: Why should our readers apply to Code Academy? What will they gain?

Opportunity:
You’ve got an exciting idea for a kick-ass web application.

Problem:
It’s just an idea.
You don’t have the money to pay someone else to do it.
You haven’t made it yet because you don’t know how.
You have more passion for your idea than anyone else.
You would love to build it if you knew how.
You have toiled over recruiting a “technical” partner or outsourcing the development of your idea.

Solution:
Learn how to build it yourself at Code Academy, because no one will care about YOUR idea more than YOU.

Skills You Can Gain:

Web Development
The Ruby on Rails Web Application Framework
Application Wireframing/Prototyping
Test Driven Development/Agile Methodology
Software Product Development

Foundational Web Design Skills
HTML5 – The new standard for web markup.
CSS3 – A powerful styling language for web design.

Business Development
Business Model Development
Presentation Skills

And finally – Code Academy’s continuance is based on the success stories of its students. We have a vested interest in ensuring that people come out of our program with meaningful projects and career-paths to pursue.

mV: What do you see in store for Code Academy in the future, after this first program?

NSG: We want to solve this problem for everyone. There are other languages, frameworks, and disciplines we would like to expand to in the future, especially in the realm of entrepreneurship. There’s so much to learn and, therefore, so much to teach!

But not only that – twitter has prophetized our next steps….

“wish the @CodeAcademy 3-month class was London based “

“@TroyHenikoff @CodeAcademy can you recommend a similar program in NYC?”

“@CodeAcademy to heck with Seattle, come to Boise!!!”

“i want to learn how to build apps! why isn’t this in SF?”

“@CodeAcademy Cool. I’m from Hyderabad in India. If I get selected I’m sure I can spend 3 months!”

“Indianapolis needs something like @CodeAcademy”

mV: Thanks for catching up with us, Neal! Anything else you’d like to add?

NSG: Learning how to code, whether your idea is successful or not, will create more opportunities for your future than most skills in the current employment landscape. At the least, you’ll have a better understanding of the software development process to better lead and organize a team. And if you seize the resources and knowledge given to you at Code Academy, you’ll have the chops to prototype your own web application without having to pay or rely on someone else.

For those interested in applying to the program, visit CodeAcademy.org/Apply today!

“[Braintree] caught our attention when we realized the vast majority of our portfolio companies were turning to them for payments,” said Ryan Sweeney, an Accel partner who will be joining Braintree’s board, in a recent press release. “The more we learned about them as a company, the more excited we became. Like Braintree, we believe that a fundamental transformation is underway in payments. Further, we’re backing a team that has accomplished a tremendous amount with very few resources – these guys are just getting started and we are thrilled to be partnering with them going forward.”

The $34 million investment represents the first round of outside funding for Braintree, which currently employs 32 people in Chicago and is looking to expand its staff.

Founded in 2007 by Bryan Johnson, an award-winning MBA graduate of University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business who received $25,000 in business-plan-competition prize money to start the company, Braintree currently caters to clients as big as OpenTable, Inc., and is set to handle as much as $3 billion in annual payments, with about $10 million in revenue expected this year.

“As we’ve grown larger as a payments company, we needed a stronger balance sheet, which allows us to process bigger volumes,” Johnson said.

As a distinct value, Braintree focuses on simplifying payment processes for clients, providing a flexible payments platform where clients can both streamline and tailor the process to their specific needs. With this new funding, Braintree plans to hire additional engineers in order to expand the company’s sales and marketing efforts.

For more information about Braintree, visit BraintreePayments.com.

The TechWeek Conference & Expo is July 22-25 at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. Register for your TechWeek Conference & Expo Pass today and save 25% off the walkup rate!

Craig Newmark
Founder, Craigslist

Craig Newmark is the ‘Craig’ of Craigslist, the founder of the non-commercial centralized network for worldwide urban and regional communities featuring classified advertisements with discussion boards. Craig speaks on the future of online community and commerce, as one of its most successful innovators and practitioners.

Called “The Wizard of the Local” by Time Magazine, Craig was named to its 2005 Time 100. He was named Person of the Year at the 9th Annual Webby Awards, also in 2005, and in 2008 BusinessWeek named him one of the 25 Most Influential People on the Web.

Started in 1995 in Craig’s bedroom as a simple email exchange service, Craigslist now has around 10 billion page views per month, about 35 million unique visitors, and serves more than 550 cities in 55 countries. Craigslist was incorporated in 1999.

Penelope Trunk
Founder & CEO, Brazen Careerist

Penelope Trunk is CEO of Brazen Careerist, a career management tool for next-generation professionals. This is her third startup. Each company Penelope built was focused on a community. Her own career path has had twists and turns and in a world where straight, safe career paths are nowhere to be had, Penelope appreciates the power of managing oneself through community.

Penelope started writing career advice for a new generation of workers. Today Penelope is the author of a bestselling career advice book for generation y and the number one career blog.

Penelope is dedicated to helping people find success at the intersection of work and life, because that’s what she wants for herself. She thinks of career advice as a group effort. She launched her company, Brazen Careerist, to create a large-scale community for young people to manage their careers for the new millennium.

Jory Des Jardins
Co-Founder, BlogHer

Author and media strategist Jory Des Jardins is president of global sales and business development for BlogHer, Inc. Since co-founding BlogHer in 2005, Jory has developed strategic relationships with Fortune 1000 brands and led innovative campaigns to integrate contextual marketing and advertising into communities of women interested in every topic, from food, health and family to business, finance and technology.

As an author and media strategist, Jory regularly writes on women’s business issues, blogging, relationships and pop culture for such publications as Fast Company, The San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, Inc. Magazine, and her blog, Pause. She’s also written for Sports Illustrated for Women, Working Woman, USA Today Magazine, Good Housekeeping, The New York Times and edited for The New York Times Syndicate and Time Inc.’s Custom Publishing Division.

]]> http://midventures.com/2011/06/14/3439/feed/ 0 http://midventures.com/2011/06/13/edulender-launches-onepay/ http://midventures.com/2011/06/13/edulender-launches-onepay/#comments Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:33:16 +0000 Shannalee T'Koy http://midventures.com/?p=3367 The anticipated launch of EduLender‘s OnePay, a new tool made to consolidate existing federal student loans and possibly save consumers money, is now official: currently in public beta, OnePay takes less than a minute to provide a free assessment online. Mentioned here at midVentures a few months ago, the service was launched by EduLender, a student loan comparison search engine that was in the 2010 class at Excelerate Labs and part of mVLAUNCH last year.

According to EduLender, OnePay is a resource that helps users to “combine your federal student loans under one servicer with lower monthly payments than before. OnePay helps you understand your individual loan portfolio so you can make the decision that’s best for you.”

“Consolidating student loan debt isn’t exactly an intuitive process,” founder of EduLender, Suyeon Khim, told midVentures. “For example, there are multiple repayment plans available to people who are looking to consolidate their loans, but it takes quite a bit of work to figure out which repayment plans you’re eligible for and what your monthly payments would be under each of them. This process that can take hours of wrestling to really understand and get right takes seconds with OnePay.”

The OnePay process is simple: through the online assessment, users provide basic info about themselves and their loans. OnePay then shows a summary of those loans, along with how different repayment options would look over time. It’s then possible to consolidate the loans right there or, users may do it themselves through a government website.

“The interface gives you a clear view of your loans, walks you through the application step-by-step (including running all of those repayment calculations for you), and checks your application for errors before you e-file,” Khim added. “OnePay helps you plan your financial roadmap minus the agony.”

For more information on OnePay and to try out the beta version, visit edulender.com/consolidation.

“I’ve heard great things about Chicago, so I look forward to meet and discuss the Future of Work with the local thinkers and movers,” Kasper Hulthin, co-founder of Podio, told midVentures. “We build a platform for the companies of tomorrow, and I hope to find some of those in Chicago.”

“Thousands of U.S. companies have already changed the way they work,” he added. “We hope to meet some of them in Chicago, Boston, L.A. and San Francisco.”

During the company’s two days in the Windy City, it will host two different events: App Camp on Wednesday, June 8, and The Future of Work Panel on Thursday, June 9.

App Camp aims to show how anyone can build apps for projects, recruitment, CRM, or personal workflow through Podio. Experienced users are welcome to come out and connect with the founders, as well.

On Thursday, June 9, the Future of Work Panel will feature a panel of speakers addressing the theme of “The Changing Workplace”—what the future holds for companies as they move from using social media for external communication to using these tools for internal operations.

“The last few weeks, the Podio World Tour has taken this show on the road to visit and learn from local users,” Hulthin said. “In the U.S., we’re hosting a series of conversations on ‘the Future of Work’ with local thinkers to learn more about how we work, today.”

The panel will include host Stowe Boyd, writer and pioneer within social tools; David Armano, from Global Innovation & Integration at Edelman Digital as well as a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review; and Amber Naslund, VP of Social Strategy of Radian6 and author of The Now Revolution.

As far as what’s in store for Podio in the future, Hulthin pointed out the recognition the startup has received recently: “This week, Entrepreneur Magazine included Podio on the list of 100 Brilliant Companies,” he said. “In two weeks, we’re part of the LaunchPad finalists at the Enterprise 2.0 Conference in Boston.”

To learn more about Podio World Tour: Chicago, visit company.podio.com/worldtour-chicago. To sign up for the Future of Work event, go to future-of-work-chicago-eventbrite.com.

We had a chance to talk to Founder-in-Residence at Lightbank and Vice President of Marketing at Pawngo, Kevin Leland, about what distinguishes Pawngo and where he sees it going in the future.

midVentures: Can you tell our readers a little bit about Pawngo? What exactly does a pawn shop reimagined mean?

Kevin Leland: Pawngo is the first full-service online pawn shop in the U.S., but what makes it reimagined is not just that it’s online. We’re completely changing the pawn experience and making customer service our number one priority. We have a Best Offer Guarantee in which we guarantee our loan or buy offer will not just be better than any other pawn shop, but also any other online marketplace or online buyer of pre-owned merchandise. We also have what we’re calling our Comfort Pledge in which we pledge to make working with us positive, hassle-free experience with customer service beyond your wildest expectations.

mV: Tell us more about your upcoming launch as Pawngo. What can our readers look forward to when the new site goes live on June 7? Will Pawngo be different than Internet Pawn?

KL: Compared to Internet Pawn, the predecessor to Pawngo prior to Lightbank’s investment, you’ll find a much friendly look and feel and a much simpler user experience. Instead of first shipping your item to receive an offer, for example, users will now have the option to receive a preliminary offer before they ship. This offer will include both a buy offer and a loan offer, so users can decide if they want their item back or if they’d rather just sell it and get a little extra money.

mV: What sets Pawngo apart from other similar services?

KL: What makes this so exciting is there’s really nothing like it. Of course, there will be copycats who try to imitate our model, but we’re combining over 25 years of experience in pawning from our partners in Denver along with our experience at Lightbank building disruptive, hugely scalable Internet companies.

mV: What’s your vision for Pawngo in the future?

KL: Our goal is to make pawning mainstream and a legitimate option people consider when they need a loan. This will require a sea change in perceptions, but the fact of the matter is, there’s nothing shady about the act of pawning itself. It’s been happening for over 3,000 years – Queen Isabella even pawned her jewels to pay for Columbus’ voyage. What happened was pawn shops popped up in the bad parts of town and became the rubric of less reputable characters. But from a practical matter, it makes sense financially to use items you already own to get money without going deeper into debt. It’s really one of the most under-used, under-appreciated ways to effectively manage your money.

mV: Anything else you’d like to add?

KL: Soon we’ll be launching a retail store where people can discover and purchase some of the most well-known and hard-to-find luxury brands in fine jewelry, watches and cameras at absurdly low prices.

According to director Dan Philips, Healthbox will be filling a key gap in available funding/support for this industry. “Many healthcare investors target more mature companies, leaving few points of access for very early stage companies,” he told midVentures. “The healthcare market is ripe for innovation, and we believe this program will provide a valuable platform to support great ideas that address industry challenges. We see Healthbox as a program that attracts entrepreneurs from around the country and from numerous healthcare disciplines.”

Healthbox plans to select around ten companies in late 2011/early 2012 to participate in its three-month program, utilizing its team of strategic partners and mentors that includes large academic hospitals, industry insiders with operational and domain expertise, accomplished health technology entrepreneurs and general technology entrepreneurs. There are no restrictions on team makeup or company stage, whether single or non-technical.

“We’re looking for entrepreneurs who share our passion for finding the next big idea in healthcare,” said Matt Gabriel, a Sandbox vice president and co-founder of the program. “Our goal is to create a dynamic hub of innovation that offers unrivaled exposure and access to the healthcare market.”

Participants will receive shared legal and marketing services, business education, health industry education, $35K to $50K in capital, office space, and mentorship that culminates in a demo day pitch before a targeted group of angel and venture investors.

For more information on Healthbox or to find information on how to participate, visit Healthbox’s website, which just went live this week: HealthboxAccelerator.com.

“Part of what makes travel so fun is connecting with friends and new experiences,” co-founder Brittany Laughlin told midVentures. “We’re excited to expand our team to truly make travel social.”

Founded in 2009 by Laughlin and Zachary Smith, Gtrot helps users plan, book, and share travel experiences. By pulling information from a user’s trusted connections, it makes it possible to find intersecting itineraries, read friends’ recommendations for a given city, and set up alerts to know when friends are visiting certain locations. Additionally, the resource pulls deals from places like Groupon.

“The best way to get ready for your trip is to share it with your friends,” said co-founder Zachary Smith. “Gtrot makes it easy to connect with Facebook friends who can have an impact on your trip.”

With a simple click, users can notify contacts of upcoming plans and ask for advice. Gtrot then posts a message to each friend’s Facebook wall and pulls all of the related comments back into the site, connected with the user’s posted travel plans.

On the new funding for Gtrot, Paul Lee, a partner at Lightbank, described his own experience with the service: “I am going to travel to San Francisco in the next few weeks. I registered my trip on gtrot and I received an email notifying me which of my Facebook friends will be there. A similar email was sent to them and I have already made plans to have lunch with one of friends while I am there,” he said. “It is a refreshing approach to travel.”

For more information on Gtrot, which has already attracted close to 6,000 users, visit gtrot.com.