Partners
We’re building our company on the invaluable experience and resources afforded to us by our partner organizations.
PreScouter is a member company of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (CEC). The CEC works at the intersection of business success and civic engagement. It identifies the region’s most promising entrepreneurs and helps them build high-growth, sustainable businesses that serve as platforms for economic development and civic leadership for the Chicagoland area. Since 2003, the CEC has helped our client entrepreneurs secure $268.5 million in revenue, raise $160 million in financing, and create or retain 6,350 jobs.
PreScouter was initially incubated at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Kellogg has historically been ranked as one of the top business schools in the world by BusinessWeek, U.S. News & World Report, The Economist Intelligence Unit, and other business news outlets. The Kellogg School strives to educate, equip and inspire leaders who build strong organizations and wisely leverage the power of markets to create lasting value.
The McCormick Foundation seed funded PreScouter through existing programs of support at Northwestern University. For more than 50 years, The McCormick Foundation has advanced the ideals of a free, democratic society by investing in our children, communities and country. As one of the nation’s largest public charities, the Foundation has made more than $1 billion in grant giving.
PreScouter is headquartered in Evanston, at The Technology Innovation Center (TIC). The TIC is a not-for-profit business incubator dedicated to supporting the growth of technology-based businesses. The TIC leverages a business network encompassing a full range of professional support services, an alliance with Northwestern University and its world class pool of technical and management talent, and an internal management team that mobilizes these and other resources to meet the unique needs of each company based at the TIC..
PreScouter was selected by the Chicago Innovation Awards as one of the top 100 Technology Start Up companies in Chicago for 2013. PreScouter was selected from over 562 of the best start up companies in the Chicagoland area, based on the following criteria:
- Did the product/service meet an unmet need?
- How unique is the product/service? Is this the first of its kind? If not, how is it different or better than existing products/services?
- What new value has been created for the end user?
- What financial evidence or market acceptance information does the product/service have to support it?
- What is its quantifiable evidence of success?
The Chicago Innovation Awards is the largest annual celebration of innovation in the Midwest. Chicago’s business and civic leaders come together to honor the creative spirit of the Chicago region by recognizing the most innovative new products and services introduced in the market.
PreScouter is a Techweek 2013 Launch competition participant. Techweek’s mission is to showcase, celebrate and enable emerging innovation ecosystems. Techweek Chicago is the largest technology conference and expo in the Midwest, and culminates a full week of partner-sponsored and related events. New this year, the conference will feature multi-session summit topics highlighting key technology industry trends in the areas of education, media, finance, health & wellness, fashion, and international expansion. This fall, Techweek expands with events in both Los Angeles and New York City. For more information, visit www.techweek.com.
PreScouter’s principal founder is Dinesh Ganesarajah, a British National. 42% of Fortune 500 Companies were founded by an immigrant or their children. These 211 companies produced $5 trillion of revenue (the U.S. GDP is $16 trillion). Innovate for America campaigns for immigration reform that allows the US to hire and retain highly educated foreign talent that will grow the US economy and create jobs.
PreScouter supports veterans retraining at Northwestern University by providing internships opportunities. Northwestern University’s Veteran Association is a student group committed to serving the men and women that served their country.