Next Companies to Check Out From Quarles & Brady LLP
ParqEx loves featuring guest writers, especially when they have a mission to share the belief on how ParqEx is great for people and communities. If you’re interested or have legal questions, need consultations, you’ve come to the right place! This week, we’re proud to feature Adam Falkof from Quarles & Brady LLP. Quarles & Brady LLP assists emerging growth companies and startups across the U.S. with their legal needs. If you’d like to author a guest piece for ParqEx, let us know at marketing@parqex.com
Happy New Year!
For those new to this newsletter, it has three sections. First, I detail three events that, in my opinion, are worth attending this month. Second, I describe three startups that impressed me, either because of the uniqueness of their ideas or the strength of their leadership team. Third, I feature one of Chicago’s prominent startup leaders or organizations.
Additionally, I’m continuing to feature a section to support the Garage’s startup companies from Northwestern. If interested in learning more about the accelerator, whether in mentoring opportunities or otherwise, please check out their website here.
I’m also featuring a section publicizing Impact Engine’s startup companies, which is a terrific social impact venture fund. Special thanks to Laura Buchanan, one of my colleagues, who authors this section.
I’m additionally promoting the portfolio companies of the Good Food Business Accelerator. The Good Food Business Accelerator is an excellent Chicago food startup accelerator based in 1871 that is focused on building supply chains for sustainable local food.
January Events:
Chicago Tech Happy Hour at Joy District, January 10th: The Chicago Tech Meet-up group is hosting a happy hour at Joy District that is open to a wide swath of the startup community. Chicago Tech’s events tend to draw a variety of startup founders, job-seekers, and service providers. The event should be a good opportunity for readers looking to meet with a broad cross-section of the startup ecosystem in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.
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Here’s How Startup Marketing Conference, January 16th: Propllr PR is hosting its fifth annual marketing conference focused on marketing for startup companies. The event will feature the marketing leaders of a number of major Chicago tech companies, including M1 Finance, Shiftgig, and Regroup Therapy. The conference should be a great chance for startup leaders to learn best marketing practices and tips from top Chicago tech companies.
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The Future of Blockchain, Presented by TechinMotion, January 17th: Tech in Motion is presenting an interesting event covering cryptocurrency developments and the future of blockchain. The event’s panel features several blockchain thought leaders both in the cryptocurrency industry and other industries looking to apply blockchain to their businesses. The event should be a fantastic opportunity for readers interested in gaining a better understanding of the blockchain technology underlying Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Companies to Check Out:
TimeDoc: TimeDoc is working to revolutionize the delivery of chronic care management for medical practices. The company’s platform allows doctors to better track their time with chronic care management in order to obtain accurate reimbursements and to more efficiently deliver chronic care services to their patients. TimeDoc is led by an impressive team of experienced founders and is well positioned to grow as chronic care needs continue to increase with the retirement of the Baby Boomers.
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ParqEx: ParqEx is a fantastic Chicago startup that is working to transform urban parking. ParqEx connects owners of private parking spaces with users looking for a place to park via the company’s mobile application. The company has had terrific traction so far, and if you’re always looking for a place to park, check out the company’s application on the App Store or Google Play.
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Booksy: Booksy is an innovative startup working to make it easier and faster for consumers to book health and beauty services, such as hair salon, make-up, and skin care appointments. Booksy’s online platform allows users to both book and rate a wide variety of beauty-related services from the Booksy mobile application. The company is operating in over a dozen different countries and primarily teams based in Chicago and Poland.
Good Food Business Accelerator Company of the Month:
Tempo Beverage: Tempo Beverage is a terrific Chicago beverage startup focused on sparkling teas. The company currently has two flavors, green tea with ginger and turmeric and black tea with grapefruit and ginseng. The teas are delicious (speaking from personal experience) and have no sugar, calories, or artificial sweeteners. If interested in trying one of teas, they are available for purchase on Tempo Beverage’s website.
Garage Company of the Month:
PedalCell: PedalCell is an innovative Northwestern startup that is working to create a device that can convert and capture electrical power from the pedaling of ordinary bicycles. The concept aspires to allow bicycle riders to charge a battery while they pedal, which could be used to charge their phone or other electronics. If interested in learning more, PedalCell has an interesting video on the technology on the landing page of their website.
Impact Engine Company of the Month:
Wala:Â Wala is an exciting financial platform startup that bridges the gap between the 2.5 billion unbanked consumers in emerging markets and financial institutions. This personal financial management app incentivizes users to start tracking and saving money while providing a social, community aspect.
People\Organizations to Know:
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Dan Parsons and Chris Elipas: Dan Parsons and Chris Elipas are the two founders behind Dryv, which is a top Chicago start-up that provides on-demand dry cleaning. Dan and Chris are emblematic of a great founding partnership and have substantially grown the company from their original two-person team. Both are also great guys and are on-demand technology and logistics leaders in Chicago.
