Selecting a partner for the joys and challenges of life is crucially important, and so too is picking a partner when co-founding a startup. And when that partner is the very same person in both cases, well, you'd better choose well.
Luckily, these couples did just that: they're the married duos behind a trio of noteworthy Chicago startups, and they have each been able to find a winning balance between startup success and home life. Here's a look at three local companies that spawned from wedded bliss.
1. Katy Lynch & Craig Ulliott Social Katy and new stealth EdTech startup
"Craig and I are crazy in love with each other, but we're also totally different, which is why I believe we work so well together," says Katy Lynch, who claims that she's the extroverted and excitable one while husband Craig Ulliott is more pragmatic and analytical. It clearly worked well for them: they co-founded successful social media marketing firm SocialKaty in 2010 and sold it to Manifest Digital in 2014. Lynch then served as CEO of TechWeek, and Ulliott is the co-founder and CTO of loyalty platform Belly, but now they're working together again.
"What we're building now is super special. Our mission statement is to 'Teach a billion kids to code,'" says Lynch about their unannounced EdTech venture. "A mission-driven business is the final secret ingredient to success. We've built, grown, and sold companies together and it's far from easy. But getting out of bed early and work long hard days is much, much easier when you believe in what you're doing!"
"It's super important to be honest. And it's definitely not always easy. But we always stick together, and when we do disagree, we talk about it until we come to a resolution," she adds. "In that sense, our relationship in the workplace is quite similar to the relationship we have at home!"
2. Genevieve Thiers & Dan Ratner Sittercity
These couple-preneurs, pictured, launched Sittercity in 2001 as a way to help parents find trusted babysitters for their children, and the service grew quickly, securing tens of millions of dollars of funding and connecting millions of families and caretakers. Thiers admits that it's a difficult balance, but says, "There's no bigger demonstration of trust than to be partners with someone in a venture that requires that you have their back 100% of the time."
She claims their biggest issue was not letting business talk dominate all of their time together, so they made it a point to pursue separate interests apart to keep things fresh between them. Currently, Ratner is working with Public Good, while Thiers has performed opera at the Chicago Lyric Opera and Goodman Theatre.
"When we're not working together, I really miss it, although we have lots more to talk about. But when we are working together, we do nothing but talk about the thing we're building," she says with a smile. "Sort of a catch-22."
3. Jeff and Marianne Silver Coyote
In 2006, Jeff and Marianne Silver co-founded freight broker and shipping logistics company Coyote with two key principles in mind: "Coyote had to be a great business with a great culture, and to be a great business, Coyote had to solve important problems," explains Jodi Navta (emphasis hers), the company's chief marketing officer. Clearly, it worked: Coyote grew dramatically, and last year was acquired by UPS for $1.8 billion.
Today, the Silvers put their respective skills to work ensuring that the company remains strong from top to bottom. Jeff, the CEO, used his programming background to develop Coyote's proprietary technology and remains involved in the process. Marianne, meanwhile, is Coyote's Chief People Officer, and "is the mastermind behind Coyote's world-class recruiting and HR program," says Navta. She ensures that the culture matches up well with the technology, as the couple's complementary talents help drive the company's impressive success.
