Map of the local innovation industry. Meet some of the best and newest startups based in Chicago.
GPTs, personalized for you. Agency providing easy to use AI tools to small businesses.
Re-imagining Good Youtopia is a student engagement platform that provides plug-and-play gamification tools (points, badges, & leaderboards) that incentivizes students to become more engaged in their school and community. Youtopia matures with students from kindergarten to college ...
Pay-per-use etextbooks for $5 or less Packback allows college students to "pay per use" for their digital textbooks by renting for $3-$5 per day, while enabling publishers to recoup revenue lost to the secondary used book market. Any money students spend on daily rentals can be directly converted towards ...
Create Top Performers Our professional learning platform makes people more motivated and productive at work. LearnCore, the flagship product for VLinks Media, makes it easy for organizations of all sizes to create and deploy engaging training courses to their teams. From the beginning ...
Tools & content for critical thinking in schools We teach critical thinking by delivering the tools and content teachers need to design personalized lessons, engage students in peer-to-peer collaboration through argumentation, and track student progress in expressing critical thinking through arguments across ...
Exam Prep Platform: iTunes of exam prep. BenchPrep is a learning platform that helps students study for any exam on any device (computers (web), iPhone, iPad, and Android). BenchPrep courses are interactive, adaptive & social. BenchPrep partners with the biggest publishers including McGraw Hill and ...
Financial Education for Young Professionals Silver Step educates new financial consumers on the basics of wealth management, and lets them discover service providers that fit their needs. Think of us as Yelp for financial services, with an educational component.
SMART data for education Learnmetrics brings the tools and frameworks from business intelligence to the world of education. With Learnmetrics, our users can • Get a 360° view of data to help inform decisions and set goals • Decrease focus on administrative tasks while increasing ...
Invite-only mailing list. We search the best weekend and long-haul flight deals so you can book before everyone else.
Online Education Platform with Real-Time Assessments Textfyre provides an online interactive story portal containing curriculum based content for grades 4 through 8 with real-time assessment capabilities tied to the new Common Core State Standards that replaces existing textbook material, lowering the cost to states ...
Tech-enhanced financial capability mentorship Moneythink Mobile is as an interactive social platform that engages youth in challenges that build financial awareness, skills, and habits. These weekly challenges are facilitated by mentors and driven by peer interaction on an ongoing basis through the app, as ...
Meet your student planner, on steroids. Tabule is a smart student planner for managing your homework with your classmates. Students’ lives revolve around their homework and exams, yet student planners have seen zero innovation. Tabule is the first planner that learns and organizes for you, optimizing ...
Offline meetups + online resources help mom entrepreneurs get down to business. The Founding Moms® is a collective of offline meetups and online resources for mom entrepreneurs to exchange, connect and learn from one another. Incredible women living right in your backyard meet up to swap start-up stories, interact with renowned business experts, ...
Learn anything through practice We are making learning any academic subject fun, engaging, and effective through interactive practice. Learnerator.com offers world-class content created by a team of exceptional educators in an engaging way. We currently have 26,000+ multiple choice questions ...
The referral community Invitation App is a social network where people post their referral codes and collect rewards on autopilot.
Tutoring Marketplace WyzAnt.com is an online marketplace for in-person and online tutoring. Parents and students can research and review tutor bios, credentials, customer reviews, background checks and more to ensure they find the perfect tutor for their individual needs. WyzAnt also ...
Comics for the World Since 2000, Griot Enterprises has existed for one reason: To tell great stories featuring heroes of color. We have seen great African American superheroes, but we never saw an iconic African American superhero team. We didn’t have our Justice League, our Avengers. ...
The web's best learning content. We've aggregated and organized hundreds of thousands of the web's best learning videos and content providers so you can discover and learn something new every day.
Video-based year-long course review for HS students GetAFive is a video-based ed tech company that provides classroom review to high school students. Our 1st product focuses on Advanced Placement courses, which are taken by high school students looking to earn college credit at American colleges. A passing score ...
Google of Learning, indexed by experts Problem: Google doesn't index for learning. Nearly 1 billion Google searches are done for "how to" learn various topics every month, from photography to entrepreneurship, forcing learners to waste their time sifting through the millions of results. MentorMob is ...
Marketplace for Classes Dabble is an online peer-to-peer marketplace for fun & affordable in-person classes. Think of Dabble as the Airbnb for learning or Etsy for teachers. Dabble creates hands-on learning experiences for over 34,000 users & a platform to monetize skills for 2,500 teachers ...
Collaboration Platform for Courses StudyCloud is a network for learning to easily connect and collaborate with peers.
Technologically-enhanced financial mentoring for teens Moneythink (MT) targets urban 11th and 12th graders. These students have dreams, but between age 17 and 20, they face many financial decisions that can make or break their future: getting/keeping a job, using a paycheck, credit cards, paying for college. To prepare ...
Live Video Chat-based Self Improvement Betterfly connects millions of consumers with personal service providers, i.e. guitar teachers, life coaches, Spanish tutors, through the power of video chat. Our mission is to empower these professionals and provide them the opportunity to spend more time doing ...
Fostering creativity through storytelling Demibooks fosters creativity, critical thinking and interactive learning. We provide a code-free iPad-based authoring platform and marketplaces to create, share, and monetize interactive story apps, presentations, adventure games, and lessons. Demibooks® Composer ...
Design a new career Great design can change the conversation, but great design can change the world. DESIGNATION is a full-time, full-immersion, full-stack design bootcamp. Over 18 weeks, students learn digital design, front-end development and user experience (UX), and build their ...
A live-streaming learning enviornment Watch Me Work hosts work based desktop live-streams to create an environment of creative collaboration and learning between students and experts. The site is an excellent way for creative professionals at any level to share their work in real-time and observe ...
Get better grades. Get better grades. Features: 1. Post questions about your academics 2. Upload/download files (study guides, lecture notes, past exams, etc.) 3. Free
A meaningful digital backchannel for classrooms GoSoapBox is used by educators around the world to break down participation barriers, keep students engaged, and gain insight into student comprehension. On GoSoapBox, your students join a digital space where they can ask questions, contribute opinions, take quizzes, ...
in-person training program
Easily grade any assignment online The vast majority of the one million STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) teachers in the US still grade assignments the old fashioned way – with a red pen. Why? Because tablets and laptops are not suitable platforms to administer STEM assignments that ...
Helping business professionals accelerate their careers through video content. Snapclass is a software company helping businesses bring education and training services online. Our software provides businesses with the technical infrastructure needed to reach new markets and grow their business.
Accelerating Professional Growth
Connecting education to economic opportunity Bootstrapped since the fall of 2013 by Ryan Hoch (former Teach For America teacher) and Kevin Hoffman, Overgrad serves over 30,000 students across 100 high schools with nine paying university customers, including two of the three largest universities (University ...
Modern alternative to the traditional language lab We're building a modern all-software, mobile alternative to the traditional language lab. Affordable. Easy-to-use. No proprietary equipment. Deployable anywhere.
Tablets in Jails
We empower children to safely share their in-app creations & achievements Mrs. Judd’s Games is a collaboration between Steve Gradman a senior marketing executive and Frances Judd, an early childhood educator and toy designer with more than 25 years of experience and expertise in the classroom. Together, they are reshaping the early childhood ...
Senior Virtual Community The Serenity Sender virtual community enables older adults living at home to obtain interactive programming in the comfort of their own homes. We partner with senior living communities and experts in gerontology to bring engaging interactive virtual classes and ...
Photography/Photoshop Training Community Phlearn creates free daily video tutorials covering photography and photo-editing topics for all levels of artist, as well as paid Pro tutorials for advanced learners. Phlearn has built a community around photography education, and we help our users connect with ...
Platform for higher education donations Universities motivate only 15% of their alumni base to give back. With limited resources and an inefficient market, universities are eager to increase the percentage of alumni donating as well as the average amount donated. Outgive.me is a web-based platform ...
We make cool business and innovation courses that are fun to watch. We take some of the best courses in the world, plus courses on innovation concepts that are so new that they haven't been done yet, and we make them fun to watch. This makes learning accessible for everyone.
Geo-Triggered Audio Tour, Unleashed 312Go™ uses the latest geo-tracking technology to trigger audio bytes about the people, buildings, and events that make Chicago unique. Whether out for a run or bike ride, walking the dog, or simply heading home from work, you’ll be able to explore the fabric ...
Code School for Sustainability Simply learn everything about being sustainable and conscious of your environment all in your living room. Today's world was not like our ancestors and we haven't accounted todays environmental issues and being sustainable as much we should be. There's been a ...
Educational apps with serious game. Spinlight has released an unbroken string of award-winning education apps that have been featured on the Today Show, Fox News, The New York Times, US Weekly, The Washington Post, Family Circle and more. Our library includes: AlphaTots Alphabet TallyTots Counting Swapsies ...
DREAM first. JOB second. Bright Livelihoods delivers dreams to our global clients through the integration of a visionary curriculum, cutting edge technology, expert coaching, great ideas and good hearts.
Khan Academy for Toddlers Jigasa gives children of ages 2-5 access to and control over unlimited knowledge and learning and ensures that no child misses out on early education.
Students of Color. Empowered. pilotED is a college-readiness non-profit offering programming for students of color starting in the sixth grade that focuses on exploring minority identity, enriching academics, and building student voice. Each year, a teacher-selected group of 6th graders joins ...
Addicting Educational Gaming
Digital content marketplace (e-textbooks) Virdocs provides content creators with a method (HTML5, cloud e-reader) of securely distributing academic material (textbooks, custom content, etc.) to students. The Virdocs e-reader provides a secure environment with annotation tools, interactivity, and collaboration.
K-12 Technology Integrator and Buyback Company We create a seamless way for K-12 technology directors to sell their used iPads. Partner with Apple Education Account Managers As a technology integrator, we introduce K-12 schools to startups in STEM, programing and robotics that we’ve created partnerships with.
Children's Sports Entertainment Sports are made simple and learning made fun for young children and their families. The Company's new and innovative introductory "Saturday morning cartoon" approach brings sports to life for younger children. A transcending property with strong market demand, ...
Education accreditation and compliance management (SaaS) provider specializing in accreditation and compliance management systems for private post-secondary institutions operating in today’s complex regulatory environment. We provide a cloud-based, easy to use and understand compliance management software.
Quickly connecting parents and kids to classes, camps, programs, events, online content Enabling parents and kids to more easily connect with activities, classes, camps, programs, and events.
Smarty Pants Yoga mints confident female change-makers via yoga, literacy & mentoring. Smarty Pants Yoga is an after-school program that aims to mold elementary-age girls into confident leaders. Each one-hour session upholds this mission by fusing literacy enrichment, physical fitness, and social-emotional mentoring. Across eight weeks, girls read ...
Business education and consultative services for fitness studios AFS is a fitness industry organization dedicated solely to the business of fitness studios. Think of AFS as an online consulting agency but so much more! We're creating a community of studio owners by equipping them with the tools necessary to enhance management ...
We help clients Grow More, Predictably! Growth strategies for early revenue and mid-sized companies.
Workflow automation for Accreditation Agencies Jura allows accreditation agencies the ability to automate their entire workflow process which leads to less dependence on staff, flexible and scalable control, increased revenues and high level of operational efficiency.
LinkedIn for aspiring college/grad students HighrUp offers a more effective way to help aspiring college and graduate students manage the school search and application process from start to finish. Social features make the process more fun. Students create profiles that highlight their academic achievements ...
Partnering with universities to expand enrollments in online programs At All Campus, our focus is on the true pain point of the university: acquiring quality students for individual degree programs. We deliver the research, marketing, and enrollment expertise necessary to create a successful national campaign using proven strategies, ...
Codecademy for Digital Marketing DigitalGroundUp is an interactive technology platform that teaches digital marketing to companies (and all those who wish to learn it) through interactive software that requires users to demonstrate their mastery of a concept before moving on to the next level. ...
The only part-time code bootcamp in the country that makes you job ready. Anyone Can Learn To Code is a professional training course in web development that can transform anyone into a professional web developer to the point where they can land an entry level position or an apprenticeship. In just twelve weeks of Sundays and weeknights, ...
Data science bootcamp Become a data scientist in 9 weeks. BayesCamp is a nine week, onsite bootcamp where the fundamentals of data science are taught through hands-on assignments and real world projects. Topics and tools covered include Python (SciPy, NumPy), R, Predictive Modeling, ...
Personal Trainer of Language Learning UGO Language is a technology-enabled English Language learning company with a mission to help Brazilian corporations and their employees successfully interact with international associates, peers, and customers. Blending the best aspects of in-person learning ...
Coursera with career matching platform Knowledgeo is a platform that provides free career training and networking to job seekers, better understanding of the job seeker to recruiters, and reduced costs of recruiting and training to employers. - Job Seekers The product works by connecting potential ...
Timeline of all history Imagine if Julius Caesar had a facebook what kind of insights into his character and history overall we could gain. Histolines is a platform that compiles a full record of precise occurrences in lives of historical characters with account of time and place.As ...
Parent engagement system for Early Education MYCHILD helps Early Education Centers to become paperless and to focus on child development. It enables Teachers to provide, with a few key strokes, immediate information updates on the children’s activities and routines. The information is accessible to Parents ...
Online Training for IT Professionals Online training for IT professionals covering Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, Citrix, CompTIA and more.
Creating learning tools for America’s young scientists and engineers The products link learning with hands-on tools based in Science Technology Engineering & Math (STEM), increasing motivation in science and engineering fields by engaging innovative adolescents through contemporary technologies and learning tools. The company ...
in At AdviseStream, we make innovative and useful tools for college students and advisors across the US. We empower students to succeed, make discoveries, and do big things. We help advisors do their jobs better and more efficiently so they can support students in ...
Handcrafted pens that give back Handcrafted pens, packaged with artist inspired stationery in a beautiful packaging. For every Humble Pen purchased, we provide education for children around the world.
Learn Javascript with Video Screencast Learn Javascript HTML & CSS together with other Javascript framework to become a Full-Stack Developer. Javascript is the most used language on earth. Its also the only language that can be used to make any kind of app. If there was only one programming language ...
Like Facebook, Appsumo, and Udemy for women with natural hair We are a social network and online resource for women with natural hair. We make natural hair easy by focusing on customizing your hair care, supporting you with a large community of similar women, and educating you about hair care with high quality online courses ...
USA Moodle Partner scaling up with UK HQ Established in 2003, Webanywhere works with over 4,000 educational establishments and businesses, supporting over 3 million learners worldwide. With a background in the education sector, we have successfully transitioned into workplace learning, enjoying rapid ...
An Interactive Way To Stay Current We offer the world a way to see what is trending in a very interactive and intuitive way. Our Website uses the full potential of what social media, images and videos can do to make a change and to educate!
Smarter Homework for Smarter Students Txt2Teach is a specially designed Learning Management System that caters to the specific needs of tutors and test prep centers, focusing in on homework. It allows study centers to send test and homework questions to their students' phones. The instructors know ...
Global Business Management Conference & Expo The GFC2016 Conference & Expo for the first time anywhere combines the latest in technologies to the world wide web streaming our conference & expo worldwide via the web to provide global business management professionals educational discussion meetings and peer ...
Connect, Discover, & Learn Youth Kinect is a modern social network that will serve as a virtual mentor to help users find scholarship funds and career jobs post graduation. Users will be allowed to create profiles and connect with peers, universities, alumni. academic and athletic scholarship ...
(sold to private investor in 2014)
Learning Management System, Online or Mobile Oasis is our flagship learning management system that streamlines the learning content creation and delivery process for all educational institutions. Oasis is a white-label system that can be customized and branded for each client. There are hundreds of learning ...
Hitting the road for higher education The purpose of Paradigm Racing is to plan, coordinate and execute road races (half-marathons, 5Ks, and kid’s fun runs) to take place on college campuses around the country in an effort to raise money for the general scholarship fund of the university, the athletic ...
Consumer-Focused Green Tech Our first product is an algae grow kit for a home or school environment. It features an ultraviolet LED array, water aerator, digitally controlled thermostat, and power control, all in a ready to grow casing made of injection molded plastic. The product will clip ...
Introducing little ones to science & technology in a fun and engaging way. Paige & Paxton introduce children 6 and under to science and technology using traditional toys: books, games, puzzles and activity sheets. Our products introduce advanced vocabulary—instead of cat and dog, children learn words like beaker and microscope—and also ...
Chicago's First Parkour/Movement Gym The Aero Academy aims to be the first facility of its kind in the Chicagoland area. Created by members of the founding Chicago Parkour community Aero, for the community. We plan to open up a facility in 2014 that will cater to traceurs, freerunners, trickers, break ...
INterviews with Inspirational Entrepreneurs & Leaders about big challenges and lessons INspiredINsider.com : INterviews with Inspirational Entrepreneurs and Leaders that talks about the big challenges overcome as well as lessons learned.
Advance your flight training I am looking for investors to assist in starting a flight school. I have a background as a professional airline pilot, but find more joy in sharing flight with others. Advanced Flight would primarily be a flight school for advanced ratings, such as instrument, ...
Individualized home clinic autism therapy UBB Spectrum provides one on one intensive ABA intervention services for children ages 0-5 based on the Early Start Denver Model curriculum. Upon intake, each client completes the thorough assessment to determine his/her treatment hours. UBB Spectrum believes ...
Smart Class Idea/Prototype/Flow ready. Looking for dedicated team - who believe in passion, hard work, integrity, loyalty, humanity.
Map of academic concepts for teachers, students and schools. Our map complements all existing educational materials on the market by organizing and visualizing content in a standardized viewing field. It is designed to utilize the area of our brain responsible for spacial relation, navigation, and memory. The map allows ...
HueTunes is a new medium for creative expression that lets you paint in music huetunes.com
Faith Based Feature Film "The Storm Within" is Independent Film from an original screenplay about family and renewd faith. It takes place in Chicago during a blizzard. A reclusive widow suddenly has seven stranded guests in her home. Her brother(who she blames for her husband's death) ...
Individualized tutoring Premier Tutors provides customized, one-on-one tutoring and admissions consulting from academic experts.
We're like Google Analytics for small businesses but for college planning IdealStudent is a student engagement app designed for middle – high school students. Via an avatar, students lean how to visually perceive and develop the top factors that make up an ideal student, bridge how these factors relate to importance of what colleges ...
Take control of your teaching career. CoreStand is the first all-in one, teacher-driven platform for educators to manage their career development. The product gives teachers a platform to advocate for themselves, their careers, their classrooms talents, and to ultimately become better teachers. We ...
Soul/R&B husband and wife duo ISH is in the business of making marriage cool again. ISH offers Recorded Music, Live Performances, Licensing, and Merchandise. Through ISH's image and the music's message, we will inspire more people in the AA community to take pride in marriage and family.
Search interests and connect live on location (Skype) (Google) The internet is full of subjectivity and crippled with old archived data when we search for topics that interest us. GLOBEFOLD is an app that allows users to experience the most up to date answers to their questions through live, real-time video conferencing/broadcasts ...
Cloud-Hosted LMS CourseCloud lets teachers and students easily interface with their schools online and lets administrators manage school activities. Competition includes Blackboard and PowerSchool. With cloud-hosting, CourseCloud can offer better functionality (intuitive navigation, ...
Better Education, Faster We provide Grade tests via 101min.com. The site is under development and will be formally launched in October of this year for Math and Reading streams upto Grade 8. We started working on it 2 weeks back. The site will follow a subscription based model of $8 per ...
Learn through feedback Ocean is a beginner-friendly community of designers sharing feedback. Designers post their designs to learn and improve their craft by getting quality critiques. "I love getting my work critiqued, likewise I love to give critique because I know that at the end ...
academic network and technologies for college students CourseGroups.com is an academic network for college students to connect, collaborate, and learn. Launched in September 2013, the platform has grown quietly to over 2,000 students at Penn State alone. Our mission is to provide the most useful academic help quickly ...