TopMassageTables.com is an e-tailer of massage products that dates back to 2002 and is somewhat unusual in the Chicago tech scene for a few reasons. First, their offices recently moved from the North Side to the South Side in something of a reverse commute compared to most office expansions. Secondly, whereas most post-dotBomb start-ups in Chicago are heavily invested in open sources technologies, TopMassageTables.com is a Microsoft shop. Finally, you don’t see nearly as many women on the programming side of the tech table, compared to the boys. TopMassageTable.com’s president and founder, Mandy Lane is a bona fide ASP.net coder. She also was recently named The National Association of Professional and Executive Women’s 2009 E-Commerce Woman of the Year. (more…)
Stephen Meade is probably best known in Chicago for his company Moneta Pro and as one of the co-founders of the Knock Now networking group. Under the umbrella of Big Bamboo, LLC, Meade has created a number of companies, but left Chicago for Los Angeles. As part of our “Exit Interview” series, talking with technology professionals who’ve left Chicago for other regions, we’ve talked with Meade about why he left and the different strengths and weaknesses of both his new home and Chicago.
Chicago Tech News: You’re probably best described as a serial entrepreneur, but that term can cover a lot of ground. How would you best describe your work to our readers? (more…)
You might remember Tom Thorton as the head of the Illinois Coalition or the Illinois Technology Development Alliance. You might remember Tom as a managing partner with divine interVentures. For a decade, he was an exceedingly accessible fixture on the tech scene and an important man to know for early stage companies. Then in 2006, he up and left town for Kansas, a state getting more headlines at the time for their disregard for the theory of evolution than their commitment to technology. When a person leaves a company, a common practice is give them an “exit interview” and find out why they’re leaving. Chicago Tech News recently spoke with Tom to the get that exit interview on how one of our communities more prominent members left that. Come to find out, Tom really did find greener grass in Kansas.
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