Good news: The pandemic is so over that United is welcoming back unvaccinated employees (why). Bad news: The pandemic cost Chicago tech jobs and gained so many ecommerce jobs that Amazon is now the city’s largest private employer. Not the best outcome. (Also, all those deaths). At least Potbelly may have to pay back its $10 million PPP loan. A newsletter can dream.
There’s also the bad news of war, which is affecting all Chicago businesses in one way or another, but particularly the ones that have reduced or ceased trading and/or operating in Russia: McDonald’s, Caterpillar, John Deere, Molson Coors, Winston & Strawn, Sidley Austin, Kraft Heinz, Mondelez and no doubt more will be added as things continue.
Let’s see … pandemic, war, how about a defamation lawsuit about allegations of racism at the (now former) Ace Hotel? Sure, the hotel may be closed, but that just means everyone involved scattered to new jobs.
OK, OK, OK let’s refocus. A healthtech startup founded by two Black women to improve early cancer detection — and decrease the disparity in early detection rates across race — raised $14 million to fund its growth. CancerIQ is also hiring, if that sounds like the kind of thing you want to get into.
Skokie-based LanzaTech is also planning for a leap in growth, looking to go public (via a SPAC) at a value of $2 billion. The company is working on technology to take the carbon dioxide emitted from factories and turn it into ethanol that can then be used for fuel. If the deal goes through, LanzaTech says it will be the first publicly traded carbon capture and transformation company.
Kin, meanwhile, just backed out of a SPAC deal, but the direct-to-consumer home insurer did raise $82 million to help it expand into new states. It’s also hiring, planning to add around 75 jobs by the end of the year.
The idea of raising money for a coworking startup today when Adam Neumann is still out here terrorizing folks is wild, but Workbox managed it, raising $3.5 million to expand into new cities. It hopes to set itself apart with more private spaces and mentorship opportunities at different tiers of membership.
At least some people are benefiting from the pandemic push to stay home. Beverage distributor Diageo is investing $10 million in a Plainfield canning facility to bring canned cocktails right to your doorstep. It plans to hire about 50 people for the facility.
Jobs, Glorious Jobs
University Website Administrator for University of Chicago
Run the university’s main websites, and help other teams and departments launch their own. Terrible when you’re working with people who don’t know what they want (or want something bad), but also, temporary. Eventually that website will launch, and at least some of the time you’re bound to work on something cool.
Several Jobs at Black Futures Lab
If you’re invested in building Black political power — and you really should be — there are several virtual jobs open right now to help Black Futures Lab activate people and communities.
Marketing Intern at Redmond Construction
For the youth in your life, an opportunity to work for a friend of the newsletter at a construction company doing beautiful work.
Inspiration of the week
“If you're feeling up high and unbalanced, think of groundhogs.”
—An anonymous student of West Side Elementary School, which decided to do everyone the most beautiful favor this week by launching the “Peptoc Hotline,” an art-project-cum-lifeline dispensing words of encouragement to anyone who dials 707-998-8410. Dialers can choose from a few options based on how they feel (mad, frustrated, nervous) or what they need (life advice, pep talks from kindergarteners). Not sure? Go ahead and smash that 4 button to hear kids laughing with delight.
Forward this email to anyone who’s feeling high and unbalanced. They can sign up here to get twice-monthly reminders to hang out with the rest of us groundhogs.
Got a tip on an excellent job? Reply to this email, send us a new one at hey@gethustl.in, or reach out on Twitter.