ChicagoRuby: Downtown - Lightbank: The Engine Behind Chicago's Start-up Scene

Lightbank is the $100 million investment fund created by serial entrepreneurs Brad Keywell and Eric Lefkofsky. Since its founding last February, Lightbank has invested in nearly 20 start-ups in businesses ranging form travel (gtrot) and nightlife (poggled) to b-to-b tools (Sprout Social, 60MO) and educational software (BenchPrep). What they all have in common is their focus on using technology to disrupt antiquated business models and rapidly scale.

Lightbank Partner Paul Lee and Founder-in-Residence Kevin Leland will discuss what gets them excited when searching for investment opportunities, and Pawngo, an online pawn shop and one of their latest investments.

About the Speakers
Paul H. Lee, 36, Partner: Paul joined Lightbank in February 2011. Previously, Paul was Managing Director and Group Head for Digital Ventures at Playboy Enterprises where he was responsible for acquiring, investing in, and launching digital businesses on behalf of the enterprise. Prior to Playboy, Paul was a founding member and Senior Vice President at the Peacock Equity Fund, a joint venture between NBC Universal and GE Capital. In this role, Paul was responsible for establishing the investment criteria, deal evaluation process, and portfolio management best practices for the group. In his capacity as a deal partner, some of Paul's representative Board and Observer seats include 4INFO, Greystripe, and Ramp. He first started in digital media as a co-founding employee of Click2Asia, a venture-backed online media company. While at Click2Asia, Paul headed corporate development and played a pivotal role in the acquisition and integration of North America's largest online Asian media retailer. Paul received a dual undergraduate degree in Mathematical Methods in Social Sciences (MMSS) and Economics from Northwestern University and an MBA from The Anderson School at UCLA.

Kevin Leland, Founder-in-Residence: Kevin joined Lightbank in February 2010. He is the Co-founder and Vice President of Marketing and Technology for Pawngo, the first full-service online pawn shop. Prior to Lightbank, Kevin worked in marketing and business development at Tribune Company, where he led branding and growth initiatives for RedEye and Tribune digital properties, and later at The Wall Street Journal where he launched a new mid-tier sales unit. Kevin is a former White House Intern and former Fellow with the International Radio and Television Society. He holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, an MS in Journalism from Northwestern University, and a BA in Psychology, magna cum laude, from University of Pennsylvania.

After most downtown meetings we head over to Elephant & Castle (185 N. Wabash) for refreshments & fellowship. Join us for a few minutes if you have time.

Videos from many of our events are posted at http://vimeo.com/chicagoruby .

Please use your real name when you RSVP for downtown ChicagoRuby meetings. Reason: We are required to give a list of all attendees to the security desk prior to the meeting. If the name on your ID doesn't the match the name on the RSVP list, then Aon security (http://www.cuberick.com/2008/12/history-of-security-at-aon-center.html) will not let you in the building. Sorry for the inconvenience, but those are the rules of the Aon Building.

WindyCityRails happens on Saturday, September 17, 2011. Pre-launch registration is now open. Save $130 until we announce the speaker line-up. Visit http://windycityrails.org to register now.