Hosted by EO Chicago
Lunch with 100 Chicagoland founders. A real EO forum conversation, not a panel about one. And the guy who sold 28 pairs of boots before he built UGG.
- DateWed, December 2
- Time12:30 to 5:00 PM
- WhereComing Soon (Chicago)
- Tickets$35
Invited by an EO Chicago member? Use their code and you’re our guest.
What this is
We’d rather show you than explain it.
Most people hear about EO from a friend and still can’t quite say what it is. That’s fair. It’s hard to describe a room you haven’t sat in.
So on December 2 we’re opening the doors. You’ll sit in a real forum conversation with other founders. You’ll hear EO Chicago members talk honestly about what their businesses have put them through. And you’ll spend an afternoon with a hundred people building the same kind of thing you are.
By 5:00 you’ll know whether this is for you. That’s the whole point of the day.
The room
A hundred Chicagoland founders and owners. People who’ve made payroll when it was tight, hired the wrong person, and kept going anyway. You’ll recognize them.
The test drive
Not a panel you watch. You sit at a table and actually do the thing our members do every month. It’s the part people talk about on the drive home.
What happens after
If it clicks, we’ll tell you exactly how membership works. If it doesn’t, you’ll have spent an afternoon with good people.
The afternoon
What actually happens
No breakout sessions you’ll regret picking. One room, moving through the day together.
Doors, lunch and networking
Arrive, eat, and meet the founders you’ll spend the afternoon with.
Welcome, and what EO actually looks like
A few of our members take the stage to talk about what being in EO really involves. The forum they sit in every month, what they bring to it, and what it has changed about how they run their companies.
The Test DriveThe main event
You sit at a table with other founders and a couple of our members, and you try it. Bring something you’re actually working through. It’s confidential, and nobody gives advice. People share what actually happened to them instead. That’s the part people talk about afterwards.
Brian Smith, founder of UGGKeynote + Q&A
How a company grows through stages, from someone who took one from 28 pairs of boots to a billion-dollar brand.
Happy hour
Drinks, and the whole room open to you. Your table, EO Chicago members, and the founders you haven’t met yet. No rush to leave.
Done
Home in time for dinner.
Keynote
Brian Smith, founder of UGG
Brian Smith landed in California in 1978 with a one-way ticket and a hunch that American surfers might want sheepskin boots. He sold 28 pairs his first season.
He went on to build UGG into a billion-dollar global brand worn by Oprah, Tom Brady and Leonardo DiCaprio. His talk is about the stages every company has to grow through, and why trying to skip one is what breaks most founders.
You can’t give birth to adults.
Brian Smith
Who this is for
Three things have to be true
This is a room of business owners, and keeping it that way is what makes the afternoon work. To register, all three have to be true.
- 1You own the businessFounder, owner, or controlling shareholder. Not a manager, not a consultant, not someone selling to founders.
- 2$250,000+ in annual revenueWe’ll ask on the registration form. It’s the floor for the day.
- 3You’re curious, and you want people who get itYou’re looking for other owners who understand what you’re carrying, and you’d rather have a real conversation than collect business cards.
This isn’t your normal networking community, and it isn’t trying to be. If you’re looking for something other than name tags and a pitch, you’ll like it here.
About EO Chicago
A global network with a Chicago table
We’re the Chicago chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, about 130 business owners who meet in small confidential groups, learn from each other, and get each other through the hard parts. EO has been doing this since 1987.
We also have a clubhouse. EO House in Bucktown is ours, a place to work, host a meeting, or have a drink with someone who understands the week you’ve had. On top of that there’s a full calendar of learning events and socials all year, so the forum you sit in every month is only part of it.
Everyone in it owns the thing they run. That’s the whole filter, and it’s why the conversations actually go somewhere.
A recent EO Chicago event.
Questions
Before you register
Is this a sales pitch?
No, and we won’t be coy about what it is either. December 2 is EO Chicago sharing the EO experience with founders who want to know more about joining us. Instead of telling you what membership is like, we put you inside it for an afternoon. There’s one honest ask at the end and you’ll see it coming. We’d rather you leave knowing exactly what EO is, whether or not you ever apply.
What’s the Test Drive?
A shortened version of an EO forum, which is the thing our members do every month. Small table, a couple of EO Chicago members, and a real conversation about something you’re working through. It’s confidential, and nobody gives advice. People share what actually happened to them instead. That one rule is what makes EO different from every other business group in the city. Everyone at the table owns their business, and they’re telling you what actually happened in theirs.
Why is there a ticket price?
$35 covers lunch and the bar. It also means everyone in the room chose to be there, which makes the afternoon better for all of us. Tickets are non-refundable.
Do I have to stay the whole time?
The afternoon is built as one piece and it works best end to end. If you can only make part of it, come for the front end and start with us at 12:30. Lunch, the opening and the Test Drive are the reason to be there, and walking in later means missing the part you came for.
What should I bring?
Something you’re genuinely working through. A hire you’re avoiding, a decision you keep postponing, a number that isn’t moving. The table is more useful with something real on it.
I don’t know anyone who’s going.
Most people won’t. You’ll be met at the door, seated with people at a similar stage, and introduced. Coming alone is the normal way to do this.
Come find out what we’ve built here.
Wednesday, December 2 · 12:30 to 5:00 PM · Venue coming soon, Chicago
