Chris Gladwin, CEO, Cleversafe

Chris Gladwin on his business’s home in IIT:

“Working within the IIT campus gives a new dimension to this venture- here, as part of the entrepreneurial community, my company has extra flexibility, creativity, and connectivity. I have flexibility in rent and access to University programs and facilities. On campus creativity abounds—it is the perfect atmosphere for dynamic and adventurous minds. Further, our location connects us to easy transportation and provides ultra-high-speed Internet access. The best part, as I keep telling other startup CEOs, is that I have one significant advantage that my competitors don’t: access to high-caliber students who are hungry to establish themselves as experts in an emerging field, gain hands-on experience with software development, and hone employable skills. I expect that several additional startups will soon be moving in as they learn about this capability.”

Nick Allen – Founder of Network Blackbox

“A professor at Northwestern University referred us to Ken Johnson. He highly recommended this new entrepreneurial center, said it was really hot! We wanted a marketing strategy, legal advice, help with writing a business plan, filing patent works, and some sort of help finding investors. We really got everything  and more through contacts at IIT. With the Knapp Center, we got an investor within the first month, which never happens. We also got incorporated within that month; we obtained a Director of Internal Affairs, passed a Board Review, filed for a patent. We made so much progress in that first month. Honestly, if we did not have Knapp behind us, we might have had to take that 2nd mortgage on our homes. Everything has been so quick. We were looking for a CEO as well. We were just 2 men in the business plan, with no network backing us. What we got was an entire center backing us. Knapp helped take our idea, bring it to reality, and grow it to be ready to go to market.”

Ed Chenet – Founder of Network Blackbox

“Working with Knapp has been a great experience! A great feeling! They have helped us out much more than we expected. They took us from the ground up to high levels within a period of just 4 months! I would advise any entrepreneur to approach IIT. The opportunities available here and the people working behind can take care of the project. There is so much love and appreciation. You know, the first time, the people you’re going to for help, you want to look for honesty, you want them to be able to help you to take it up from the floor and be successful. I am honestly very happy. What more could I want?”