Dunn: 90% of Chicago VC alpha and funding comes from the coasts
Andy Dunn · Andy Dunn is Building the App to Get You Off Your Phone · Apr 13, 2026 · at 9:38
Bonobos co-founder Andy Dunn discusses structural challenges in the Chicago startup ecosystem while explaining why local founders struggle to raise seed and Series A capital.
0:00 / 0:11exact quote · 11.1s
▶ Watch the full episode on YouTube → 720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“90% of the alpha for Chicago-based venture firms is created on the coasts, right? And 90% of the capital that the leading Chicago companies raise is from the coasts.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Andy Dunn
Dunn pitched 15 Chicago VCs and got rejected before Forerunner term sheet
“I did 15 pitches in Chicago, because I wanted to raise our Series A from a Chicago venture fund. I got 15 no's. I did one pitch on the West Coast with Kirsten Green from Forerunner, and we got a term sheet within 48 hours.”
Dunn predicts Pie will be the next great American social network
“Look, I think there's room for the next great American rooted social network right now. And I believe three things about it. Number one, it's going to be AI native. Number two, it's going to be focused on actual friends and your IRL local life. You're in real …”
Dunn: Local social apps need 1,000 users and 50 events per market
“We think you need about a thousand people on that people tab, about 50 events on the events tab, and that's when we start to see percolation and social density and geographic density start to get momentum.”
Dunn: Ecosystems need a $50B+ anchor company to create angel networks
“You gotta build a hundred billion dollar, or at least a fifty billion dollar company, To create that ecosystem of angels, and to create a training ground for the entrepreneurs of, you know, the next decade in Chicago.”
Dunn: Getting off phones requires using phones and top social influencers
“Because the only way to get off these phones is through our phones. The people that were influential in hooking us on social media are very well positioned to say, guys, let's get out.”
Pie halved its team from 23 to 12 due to AI efficiency
“Well, at one point the team was 23, and the age of AI it's now 12, and we've seen what you guys are talking about, which is just a massive collapse of product design, engineering, and even go to market, where people can do so much more, and so, you know, we di…”