Catapult Chicago Helps Firm Step Up

CHICAGO- About a year ago, Shiftgig, an online community for the service industry, lost a key employee because they were still located in suburban Countryside and the employee wanted to live in the city. “We were always going to move into the city but the immediate catalyst was losing that person,” says Eddie Lou, the company’s co-founder and chief executive officer.

Last May, they joined the steady flow of high-tech firms, including Google, that have begun moving into downtown neighborhoods like River North to attract young workers who increasingly reject the suburban lifestyle. As reported previously in GlobeSt.com, Shiftgig joined Catapult Chicago, a new community of like-minded high-tech entrepreneurs housed in the offices of the law firm Foley & Lardner LLP at 321 N. Clark St. in River North. And like some of their peers that joined other business incubators like 1871 in the Merchandise Mart, Google’s new home, Shiftgig has grown, attracted new talent and will soon break away from Catapult and seek out new downtown office space, most likely in River North.