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On today's episode we talk to Amy Guth, Host of Crain’s Daily Gist (among many other things) about sharing stories, where creativity happens, and all that we've learned, will learn and hope we may still learn from doing business during the pandemic, including what it looks like when we run things as introverts, leaders being able to say they don't have all of the answers and whether we will be able to say, that was when business become softer and more human. 

Peggy and John Pletz, senior reporter, Crain’s Chicago Business, discuss the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Chicago. Companies are trying to figure out how to use data to make manufacturing better, faster, and smarter, he explains. Still, many manufacturers are at the early stages. While there are sensors that are cheap enough to be on machines, the hard part is pulling it all in and making sense of it, he adds. They also discuss sensors in buildings, and he says new buildings are being built with the idea of sensors and data on the front end—and then a lot of buildings are being retrofitted with digital controls as well. This is allowing building operators to improve efficiency.

Are Millennials the key to advancing smart cities? John Pletz, senior reporter, Crain’s Chicago Business, joins Peggy to talk about how this generation is shifting what is happening in city centers. He explains that smart cities need to incorporate data to account for the shift that is current happening—and they need the data to help make better decisions.

Philip Tadros is a true serial entrepreneur and restauranteur. He is the founder of Doejo, a digital agency, Dollop Coffee, a cafe and bakery, Bow Truss Coffee, a coffee roastery and cafe, The Budlong, a hot chicken restaurant chain, SPACE, a co-working space, and Aquanaut Brewing, a craft brewery. He opened his first coffee shop at 19 after dropping out of college and now runs the largest network of independently owned coffee shops in Chicago. 

Crain's recently ran a special report questioning some of Phil's business practices titled "One of Chicago's most connected entrepreneurs has made more than a few enemies". We dive into what really happened in the second half of this episode and what he's learned from the experience.

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In This Episode You Will Learn:

• How Phil got his start as an entrepreneur after dropping out of college
• The differences between the beer and coffee community
• How he differentiates himself in the competitive food industry 
• Phil's side of the story on the Crain's special report
• What he’s learned from the experience
• How he and his team handled the bad press

Selected Links From The Episode:

• IDEO
• 37signals
• 3 Floyds Brewing Co. 
• Intelligentsia Coffee
• Funded Foods

Favorite Books: 

• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien 

In this podcast, we sit down with the food and beverage reporter for Crain's Chicago Business, Peter Frost. Peter tells us about how diner's wants and needs are changing along with how to cater to this new type of customer.