Ted Listens: Stories Behind the Businesses of Chicago
Fred Hoch of TechNexus Venture Collaborative
Fred Hoch has spent more than two decades helping shape Chicago’s technology and innovation ecosystem, and much of his work comes down to one thing: connecting the right people and ideas. In this episode of Ted Listens , Fred, co-founder of TechNexus Venture Collaborative, joins Ted Novak to talk about why Chicago shouldn’t try to become Silicon Valley, how corporations can work with startups to create new products and businesses, and where he sees opportunity emerging around AI and quantum computing. They discuss TechNexus’s approach to venture-enabled innovation, why a failed $150,000 investment can still be a major strategic win, what established companies get wrong about innovation, and why startups need to understand the very different pace of selling into large corporations. Fred also shares why Chicago’s diverse industrial economy may be one of its biggest advantages, and why he believes the most important question in business is often simply: “What can I do to help you?” More on Fred Here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredhoch/ More on Ted Here: https://cliquestudios.com/authors/ted-novak
