TechNexus Venture Collaborative Celebrates Five Years at the Center of Chicago Tech Scene

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - Jan 19, 2012) - TechNexus, Chicago's first collaborative ecosystem for tech entrepreneurs and business leaders, today announced the fifth anniversary of their Chicago facility which hosts nearly 3,000 entrepreneurs, innovators and business leaders each month. Located in Chicago's Loop, TechNexus connects young ventures with leading tech companies and executives, serving as a networking and innovation hub.

More than 130 companies have already grown within the TechNexus clubhouse, where businesses of all sizes come to learn, teach, collaborate, innovate and prosper. In the past five years, companies in the TechNexus Chicago facility have created more than 400 skilled jobs and raised more than $75 million in investment capital.

In 2007, TechNexus established itself as a social enterprise with a small personal investment from Fred Hoch and Terry Howerton (also the founding President and Chairman of the Illinois Technology Association (ITA)). Stakeholders from more than 900 tech companies -- ranging from bootstrapped startups to established entities such as Motorola Mobility -- have collaborated in this space in just the past few months.

"When we created TechNexus, our vision was for it to be more than a traditional startup incubator or accelerator program," said Howerton. "We designed it as an environment where tech entrepreneurs and established business leaders can access one another's knowledge and expertise. That type of collaboration is what leads to innovation and company expansion, and we're proud to serve as an engine of growth that puts Chicago's tech scene on the map."

In addition to its role as a gateway in the Chicago tech community, TechNexus is a hub for all kinds of business activity, with thousands of people flowing through its doors each month, including investors, business owners, entrepreneurs, students and advisors. Largely due to this collaborative environment, 70 percent of young companies that have called TechNexus home are still in business today -- an outstanding rate by any measure.

"Being in TechNexus really adds to our brand," said Dwight Koop, co-founder of CohesiveFT. "It's a place where you take your company when it's on an upswing. The energy in the environment spurs innovation, and the connections I've made have played an incredible role in growing our company to the point where it's at today." CohesiveFT's pioneering enterprise-class cloud server security systems are available on most public cloud-computing networks, including Amazon Web Services and IBM's SmartCloud Enterprise.

"What we found at TechNexus was not just a facility, but a truly collaborative environment with a free-flow of ideas that benefits every individual or organization that walks through the door," said Steve Subar, founder of Open Kernel Labs, whose software is deployed on more than 1.5 billion mobile devices worldwide. "When we were ready to take our business to the next level, we had an entire set of resources at our disposal to help us get there -- the other organizations and entrepreneurs in the TechNexus ecosystem."

About TechNexus Venture Collaborative
TechNexus is the gateway to collaboration for Chicago's technology leaders. The ecosystem began with private investment and community support and in partnership with the Illinois Technology Association (ITA) to serve as a 'clubhouse' where ventures grow, and co-working facility to bring technology professionals together, foster relationships and promote a sense of community in Chicago. For more information, visit www.technexus.com.