CHICAGO
The nation’s third-largest city boasts the greatest concentration of women founders.
STARTUP NEIGHBORHOODS
Legendary incubator 1871 is in the historic Merchandise Mart building in the River North nabe; around it is clustered the city’s “biggest concentration of startup activity,” says Julie Roth Novack. 1 She co-founded event-planner platform PartySlate, which is based there, as are personalized clothier Trunk Club, Groupon, and parking app SpotHero.
West Loop—famed for world-class restaurants such as Avec 2 —is “really hot,” says Jennifer Fried, 3 co-founder of medtech firm ExplORer Surgical. Google 4 opened offices here in 2015. Also here: food data company Food Genius and workplace
