One of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's former top advisors and the ex-chief data officer for the city of Chicago have launched a VC firm to fund startups that are tackling urban problems.
David Spielfogel, who joined Mayor Emanuel's staff in 2011, and Brett Goldstein, the city's CDO from 2011 to 2013, announced the launch of Ekistic Ventures, a VC firm that plans to invest in startups that "make cities more efficient and equitable."
Ekistic Ventures is launching with a $15 million fund that will invest in seed-stage companies. The firm also said that if a company doesn't currently exist to address a specific critical urban problem, the firm will work with academic and research institutions to create the company itself.
“We started Ekistic because we have seen first-hand how cities are ground zero for seismic changes to the way we work, live, get around and interact with one another," Spielfogel said in a statement. "There are a lot of great ideas to solve the problems facing cities, but many young entrepreneurs and companies lack the know-how to build the most successful technology architecture and urban strategy to turn those ideas into widely-adopted solutions."
“We are actively looking for innovators and young companies that have unlocked a better strategy to tackle today’s most pressing challenges, and we want to work actively with them to turn a smart solution into a successful company," he added.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Ekistic has closed the fund or is still raising. A spokesman for the firm couldn't immediately be reached.
The firm plans to invest nationally--not just in Chicago--and will help portfolio companies with their pitch, regulatory compliance issues, and market approach.
Joining Spielfogel and Goldstein in the firm are strategic partners Michael Nutter, the former Mayor of Philadelphia; Tim O’Reilly, the CEO of O’Reilly Media and a Silicon Valley investor; Anne Milgram, the former New Jersey attorney general; and Michael Sacks, the CEO of GCM/Grosvenor.
Spielfogel has been one of Emanuel's closest advisors, which has earned him nicknames like Mini-Rahm and the Rahm Whisperer. Before working with Emanuel, he was the policy director for the Senate bid of Alexi Giannoulias, and the Chief of Staff at the MacArthur Foundation.
Goldstein was the director of IT at OpenTable in 1999, where he worked for seven years before becoming a Chicago police officer. He was named chief data officer of the City of Chicago in 2011.
“Advances in big data, analytics and technology have opened new ways to deliver services and measure performance in the urban environment,” Goldstein said in the statement. “We want to make sure companies in our portfolio are well-positioned to take advantage of these changes, and our team brings unique experience and insights to make that possible.”
Ekistic is based in 1871.
