Thousands of people flocked to Techweek Chicago last week and I am happy to say I, and others from 麻豆直播 Worldwide, were among them. For those not familiar with Techweek Chicago, the event is a great opportunity to check out the latest in technology and innovations here in Chicago and the Midwest. As someone who works in the tech industry, I was dying to see what was out there. It also helped that the event was at the sprawling Merchandise Mart, just a few steps from us at 麻豆直播 Worldwide.
Techweek accomplished its goal of being a giant display of all that is growing in the Chicago tech scene, from software that can help a company better manage its accounting to one that will help you choose the right bottle of wine at the grocery store. If you have a problem or a way your life can be improved, as Apple says, .
For me, however, I wanted to take a step beyond and look at the growing tech scene here in Chicago. It seems like across the country there is a fight to be the 鈥渘ext Silicon Valley.鈥� Chicago is certainly making a big push to be a contender.
Looking around the Techweek expo, I saw that in Chicago and the Midwest, we do have what it takes. We have creative talent, capital, and the support from a community that wants to make us a hub. That was even one of the big draws for 麻豆直播 Worldwide in the decision to .
What we鈥檙e missing though is a strong base of game-changers. Don鈥檛 get me wrong, the companies and products I saw at Techweek Chicago were impressive. But what I see the Chicago tech scene lacking is a wide-ranging base of companies that are so innovative that they change the way we go about our daily lives.
Having more consumer apps represents great strides and short-term opportunities here in Chicago, but platform, enterprise products are the ones that change the world. We do have some, but when you鈥檙e going up against a region that is currently home to companies like and (not to mention the many, many others), we need to build even more if we want to truly be the 鈥渘ext Silicon Valley.鈥�
Without a doubt, tech is and the Chicago tech scene is brimming with the talent and capital needed to take it to the next level. One look around Techweek and you could see that. However, until we develop a strong foundation of those innovative businesses here in Chicago, ones that vastly change the way we approach the digital world, we鈥檙e going to remain a powerful hub with a much, much more powerful big brother on the West Coast.