A new initiative is underway to help bring back thousands of tech workers that grew up and went to college in Illinois, but left the state to start their careers.
P33, a local nonprofit that's aiming to turn Chicago into a top-tier tech hub, announced Thursday a program that will target 100,000 tech workers in cities across the country, with the hope of convincing 10,000 of them to return to the state they once called home.
The marketing campaign is called "Come Back to Move Forward," and is centered around the idea that mid-career tech professionals who are frustrated with the high cost of living on the coasts should consider moving back to Illinois, where the tech scene is much different than when they left.
"Most people who left Chicago 10 years ago think Chicago has a very thin startup ecosystem and tech ecosystem, because 10 years ago it was," P33 CEO Brad Henderson told me. "There are over 100 growth-stage companies in Chicago that are hiring in droves. That’s a very different Chicago than when they left. What we’ve found is they don’t know that."
The coronavirus pandemic has, for many professionals, changed the way they think about where they work. Working remotely is easier than ever, and quality of life has never been more important. It's partly why Miami has seen an influx of tech professionals during the pandemic, buoyed by the Miami mayor's simple but effective "How can I help" Twitter campaign.
Chicago's approach is more analytical. P33 is tapping digital marketing firms, including local companies like Rise Interactive and Human Predictions, to create sophisticated digital ad campaigns that target tech workers with ties to Chicago, and engage with them and hopefully convince them to relocate. The digital marketing campaign, which will focus on online gaming communities, Reddit and other social media platforms, is running in San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta, Denver, Austin, Dallas and Washington, DC.
The initiative, which is being done in partnership with the city and World Business Chicago, also has a how can I help element with a concierge service that will connect talent with existing Chicago-area employees, who can explain more about their experience and attest to the city's thriving technology scene, while also answering any questions they have.
"The research says there are a lot of people asking themselves the question: What do I want to do next having lived through [the pandemic]?" Henderson said. "And they’re open to things ... For the longest time I think there was this sense that there just wen't opportunities in Chicago for them. I view that as a marketing opportunity."
Around 50 local businesses are participating in the project, including large tech firms like Google and Microsoft, along with startups like Amount and M1 Finance. Part of the pitch to techies, especially those in established hubs like San Francisco, where there's a tech company on every corner, is that Chicago has more than enough options for your next career move.
"Chicago has gone from not enough opportunity for you to more than enough," Henderson said.
P33 estimates that even as Illinois ranks 3rd nationally in producing computer science degrees, the region has lost nearly half of its tech talent in the last decade. The goal with "Come Back to Move Forward," ultimately, is to bring back 10,000 workers within the next two years. Henderson said he'll know within a month if progress is being made, and the group plans to tweak its approach each month to make sure its message is reaching the right folks.
And the timing may be just right. Pitching Chicago last winter, at the peak of the pandemic amid frigid temperatures, would have been a tough sell. Now, as the city nears a total reopening and summer is just around the corner, along with record venture funding in the city, techies might be singing sweet home Chicago.
