"It's always been this way"... Things should not be the way they are.

Businesses would not exist without a sense of wonder.

We are all artists. Art is creation + expression + revealing our true self.

The greatest risk is not trying. Failure is part of every great success.

About Brad

Brad Keywell is an accomplished American entrepreneur, investor, artist, author, philanthropist and professor. He is the founder of Uptake, an industrial insight software company, named 'Startup of the Year' by Forbes in 2015. He is a co-founder of several companies, including Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN), MediaOcean (global operating system for media buying -- acquired by Vista Private Equity), Echo Global Logistics (leader in technology-enabled transportation -- NASDAQ:ECHO), Drivin (acquired by NYSE:KAR), and an early investor and board member (inception through 2019) of Tempus Labs, a precision healthcare company.

Brad is an early investor in, and advisor to, many high-growth technology companies, including Sprout Social, Udemy, Fiverr, Crowdrise, Reverb, TastyTrade, Benzinga, Team Liquid, GoPuff, Coffee Meets Bagel, Hireology, Ovia Health, SoCore Energy, Snapsheet, Square, Roots, and Zeel. In 2019 Brad founded the WNDR Museum in Chicago, an immersive art + technology experience now expanding nationwide. WNDR has twice been named one of the country's best immersive museums by USA Today. In 2010 he founded Chicago Ideas, a weeklong ideas conference with 500+ world-class thinkers and disruptors on stage, attracting over 30,000 attendees, and now a wide-ranging innovation platform.

In 2019, he was globally honored as the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year and was previously awarded the overall EY Entrepreneur of the Year in the United States. He was also named to the Technology Innovator Council for the World Economic Forum and was inducted into the Chicago Innovation Hall of Fame. He is Chairman of the Future Founders Foundation. He is an adjunct professor at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago and is a lecturer at the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University.

Brad grew up in Michigan and earned a BBA with honors from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and a Juris Doctorate cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. He is the author of the books Sunday Thoughts; Biz Dev 3.0: Changing Business as We Know It, and Isabelle Speaks Up (with his daughter, Chloe). Brad started his first business, a greeting card company called Key Creations, at age seven.

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Companies & Initiatives

Current activities Brad has founded

Uptake provides industrial intelligence software-as-a-service, helping companies translate underutilized data into insights that predict and prevent failures before they happen.

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WNDR is a collective of thinkers, artists, poets and designers, working at the intersection of art and technology. The expansive programs put forth as a collective hub includes our museums, creative studio, and bold collaborations.

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Lightsource is the business incubation, investment, and acquisition activity born out of Brad Keywell’s family office. As a reflection of Brad’s outlook, we are a small team of founders and operators that index for creation and optimization.

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SkillHero is a workforce technology company focused exclusively on the skilled trades. The premier community for the skilled trades ecosystem – SkillHero enables career opportunities for motivated tradespeople and provides employers with more effective labor solutions.

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Highwire is a multi-media production company with an unwavering commitment to producing audacious and unforgettable work.

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Chicago Ideas is a nonprofit platform built on one core belief: When audiences of every background have the same access to thought leaders and innovative ideas – people have the power to spark change in the world.

Visit Chicago Ideas