# Techstars Chicago

> Techstars Chicago is a VC fund in Chicago backing Software and E-Commerce. See 110 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Chicago, United States
- Total investments: 110
- Last investment: Jun 2022
- Lead investor: 43%
- Fund size: $3.2M
- Last fund: Jun 2017
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/1832898
- X (Twitter): http://twitter.com/ExcelerateLabs
- Website: http://www.techstars.com/programs/chicago-program/

Techstars Chicago is a VC fund in Chicago focused on Software and E-Commerce. Techstars Chicago conducts programs for startups to connect with investors, mentors, and entrepreneurs.The company selects ten companies every spring to participate in the 13-week intensive summer program. Starting in early June, the ten companies build connections and their businesses during the program. The program culminates in an InvestorDemo Day at the end of August where the companies showcase their progress and plans to more than 500 investors and mentors from around the country.Techstars Chicago was founded in 2010 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Techstars Chicago. Shizune tracks 3 team members at Techstars Chicago. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/excelerate-labs?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Software | 27 | 25% |
| E-Commerce | 15 | 14% |
| Health Care | 11 | 10% |
| SaaS | 10 | 9% |
| Information Technology | 10 | 9% |

169 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pre-Seed | 56 | 51% |
| Seed | 37 | 34% |
| Convertible Note | 7 | 6% |
| Funding Round | 6 | 5% |
| Angel | 2 | 2% |

6 stages tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 87 | 79% |
| Canada | 3 | 3% |
| Israel | 3 | 3% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 1% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Neal Sales-Griffin | Managing Director | 80 | — |
| Jonathan Pasky | Mentor | 0 | — |
| Victor Pascucci | Mentor | 27 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/victor-pascucci |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Brocali | Brocali \| The Leading Arabic Medical Education Platform At Brocali, we didn’t just translate medical content!! we rebuilt the entire learning experience. Our mission is to create a home for Arab medical learners, where training, support, and guidance are available from the very first day of medical school all the way to retirement! And what beganas a personal solution quickly grew into a shared movement. In just four years, Brocali has: Supported over 15,000 medical students and professionals Been recognized among the Elite 200 education startups worldwide Ranked as one of the Top 50 educational platforms in the Middle East and North AfricaBrocali is more than a platform—it’s a home for Arab medical learners | $120K | Convertible Note | Jun 06, 2022 |  |
| Haylon Technologies | Haylon Technologies is creating the future of smart batteries. | $220K | Angel | Mar 01, 2022 |  |
| HiddenLogin | HiddenLogin is alias manager that creates a unique alias for every site people visit. A protective layer between real identity and every site visited. Create and manage aliases more conveniently than using real identity. Email masks- Never use real email on sites again. HiddenLogin gives a brand new one for every site visit, that forwards toinbox. Phone Alias- Separate companies from personal life. Don't let them in inbox. HiddenLogin gives a separate phone number to use for anything online to keep spam and company interactions away from family and friends. 2-factor authentication, shipping notifications, or any other phone interaction can be done with HiddenLogin number. | $120K | Pre-Seed | Jul 19, 2021 |  |
| Kichezz | Kichezz has built a price comparison platform that connects customers with the best carpenters to find best prices to build kitchens. Company produces an accurate price comparison by knowing customer preferences with a questionnaire, because each style, material or product types are priced differently. Each carpentry shop undergoes a rigorousinspection process that includes research on the materials it works with, the level of service and customer satisfaction. | $120K | Pre-Seed | Jul 19, 2021 |  |
| Slingshot Ahead | Slingshot is a Techstars portfolio company (read about it here) and we place high school prodigies with paid work opportunities at startups out of Y-Combinator, Techstars, CMU, MIT and Stanford. Think about what a college basketball scout is to high school basketball. We’re that for high school coders, hackers, and hustlers. We’re helping companiesidentify talent early for both short-term needs and getting ahead of the curve on recruiting the future Lebrons of Computer Science before they get a bit off the market going into the t-20 Computer Science schools. We currently work with 50+ startups & companies, and over 2500 high schoolers from around the world with a 100% success rate (all of our placed students have received follow-on offers/increase in pay, etc). |  |  | Jul 19, 2021 |  |
| We Sparkle | WeSparkle is a tool that allows entrepreneurs to create a custom site with links and downloads, a scheduler platform that allows for collecting payments, and an AI assistant via text messaging and Facebook Messenger — making everything from scheduling meetings to marketing their product easier and faster. |  |  | Jul 19, 2021 |  |
| Eventnoire | Eventnoire offers software solutions to event planners for online event registration, venue selection, event management, mobile apps for events, and *e-mail marketing catered to you. This unique platform also serves as resource for event marketers to advertise their events to consumers looking to attend events that are relevant to them and theirinterests. |  |  | Jul 19, 2021 |  |
| Peep Connect | Peep Connect is a social networking tool that enable every small business to turn their current patrons into brand ambassadors. |  |  | Jul 19, 2021 |  |
| TinnCann | Why: TinnCann enables deeper community connections that last.How: We connect Experts with their audience via paid, 1:1 video calls.What: A marketplace and corresponding technology to facilitate everything from scheduling, to transactions, to an in-browser video tool. This means that Experts can offer their fans and followers a way to connectwhile still maintaining their privacy or worrying about any technical details. All you need is a profile - we do the rest! |  |  | Jul 19, 2021 |  |
| SplitPass | SplitPass is a marketplace to buy & sell unused memberships, packages and subscriptions. |  |  | Jul 19, 2021 |  |

10 of 110 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Techstars](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/techstars) — VC Fund, 105 deals together
- [Right Side Capital Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/right-side-capital-management) — VC Fund, 26 deals together
- [Pritzker Group Venture Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/pritzker-group-venture-capital) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Chicago Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/chicago-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Accelerate New York Seed Fund](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/accelerate-new-york-seed-fund) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Arch Grants](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/arch-grants) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Antler](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/antler-be9c) — VC Fund
- [Right Side Capital Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/right-side-capital-management) — VC Fund
- [Everywhere Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/everywhere-ventures) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Techstars Chicago invest in?

Techstars Chicago invests primarily in Software, E-Commerce and Health Care startups, most often at Pre-Seed and Seed stage. Most of the 110 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### How do I contact Techstars Chicago?

Public channels for Techstars Chicago include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at Techstars Chicago?

The team at Techstars Chicago includes Neal Sales-Griffin (Managing Director), Jonathan Pasky (Mentor) and Victor Pascucci (Mentor). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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