Chicago is No Silicon Valley — and Why That’s a Good Thing

Walking up creaky stairs in River West to a startup office doesn't feel like Silicon Valley — and that's exactly the point. Chicago's tech ecosystem draws strength from its corporate backbone, Midwestern pragmatism, and a startup culture that builds real businesses, not just fundable stories.

Note: This post originally appeared in Midwest Startups Walking up the creaky, unfinished steps next to a tile gallery in River West, there is a litany of thoughts running through my mind, ranging from, does everyone else really wear jeans to work, if this building were to catch on fire, what’s the burn time? With the same excitement and nerves that come with the first-day-of-school feelings, I walk through the glass doors and am greeted by a house-shaped logo with silverware, people sitting on medicine balls while chattering to customers via headsets, a handful of people playing ping pong, and a noticeable absence of cubicles. I’m starting my first day of work at Home Chef, a meal kit delivery startup that launched from humble beginnings on Ohio Street. After a day of excitement meeting team leads from product, tech, operations, marketing, customer support, what I remember most about that day was a feeling of hope. I joined a group of people who believed in what they were doing and wanted to see it grow. As an early employee on the Finance team, I was fortunate to see the massive growth of the company and be a part of that story. In the early days, the phrase ‘wearing many hats’ became real to me, as I played in CSV files, picked up some rudimentary code, and built out our investor reporting. My favorite part about working at Home Chef was thinking strategically about the company’s growth plans and working on the sell-side M&A process. As Home Chef continued to grow, our office relocated to the historical Wrigley Building and eventually announced a $200 million acquisition by Ohio-based grocery chain, Kroger. Reflecting on my time at Home Chef, and most recently, joining the TechNexus team, I remember a handful of voices cautioning me that, “ Chicago is no Silicon Valley”. No stranger to due diligence, I booked a flight to the Bay Area and spent time with tech founders of early-stage startups and unicorns, entrepreneurs in residence, and venture investors. Ther

By Cristin Pacifico at TechNexus Venture Collaborative