In 1871, The Great Chicago Fire left nearly 100,000 people homeless. The tragedy was followed by a remarkable happening when some of the most brilliant engineers, architects, and inventors of the time came together to build a new city. Howard Tullman, CEO of 1871, General Managing Partner for the Chicago High Tech Investors, LLC and for G2T3V, LLC, was the dinner speaker at the Genesys Partners 23rd Annual Venture Dinner this week. He said the innovations of the post fire collaboration were “Born of passion and practical ingenuity, and shaped not just Chicago, but the modern world.” His goal is to ensure what started 140 years ago continues today and in the future.

Howard describes 1871 as a place where entrepreneurs can share ideas, make mistakes, work hard, build new businesses and, with a little luck, change the world. His presentation was exhilarating and full of net attitude. If I had known him when I wrote Net Attitude, he would have been featured in it.

Howard’s talk was full of wisdom, but he delivered the key points with understandable real-life examples. He said the future won’t be incremental. If you’re not in a big hurry, you’re probably too late. He described a brave new world where free isn’t cheap enough, soon isn’t quick enough, and fast isn’t fast enough. Visit 1871.com to learn more about what Howard is doing. Visit tullman.com to learn about Howard’s amazing career.