Working with Obama, Empowering Non-Profits, & How Bands Are Like Startups - Jason Kunesh / Co-Founder of Public Good

Tech In Chicago

Jason Kunesh is a co-founder and CEO of Public Good Software, a startup aiming to make donating to non-profits as easy as ordering something on Amazon. Before starting PGS, Jason was the Director of UX for Obama's 2012 reelection campaign and part of the founding team at The Point, which later became Groupon. Jason is also a member of the adjunct faculty at the Starter School, owner of the best Fu Manchu in Chicago, a mentor at Impact Engine, and an advisor to the American Design and Master-Craft Initiative and UX for Good.

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In This Episode You Will Learn:

• How he got involved in the Obama campaign?
• What it is like demoing your product for the president?
• What the team learned on the Obama campaign and then applied at Public Good?
• Why charities for animals outperform charities for the homeless?
• Why non-profits are scared of innovation?
• How he got into tech?
• Why you should be public about your failures?
• Why Chicago is the best place to start a non-profit focused company?
• What we need to to do to take Chicago tech to the next level?
• How startups are like bands?
• How to get a team to work together? Hint: Encourage transparency/dialogue/dissent
• Why you really have to understand your motivations as a founder?

Selected Links From The Episode:

• Dan Ratner, Co-Founder of Public Good
• Sittercity
• The Point
• Chris Gansen, CTO of Public Good
• Paul Smith, saved Healthcare.gov
• Mark Balding, Partner at Fuzzy Math
• Ben Ihnchak, Partner at Fuzzy Math
• Harper Reed, Former CTO at Obama For America
• Project Narwal
• Eric Weinheimer, President & CEO of Forefront
• Daniel Ash, CMO of The Chicago Community Trust
• Terry Mazany, CEO of The Chicago Community Trust
• Candice Kislack, Former CEO of TOMS
• Chuck Templeton, Founder of OpenTable and Chairman of Impact Engine
• Jessica Meagan, CEO of Impact Engine
• Designation.io
• The Mythical Man-Month by Frederick Brooks
• Blue 1647
• Jason's Reading List for Startups
• Getting Real: The Smarter, Faster, Easier Way to Build a Successful Web Application by Jason Fried
• John Tolva, Former Chicago CTO
• Daniel X. O'Neil, Executive Director of Smart Chicago
• Howard Tullman, CEO of 1871
• JB Pritzker, VC at Pritzker VC
• Troy Henikoff, Techstars Chicago Managing Director
• Impact Engine
• Hyde Park Angels
• Braintree
• Avant
• Christoper Alexander, Designer

Favorite Books:

• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo
• V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
• Kurt Vonnegut
• John Steinbeck