2: Building Chicago Tech Maps 🗺️

Building Maps and Entry-Level Opportunities in the Windy City

April 14, 2025

🗺️ Putting Chicago Tech on the Map

Recently, I stumbled upon aesthetically pleasing maps across LinkedIn in the NYC and SF Startup Ecosystems, which made me think, “Why can’t we have something similar in Chicago?”

So I decided to put on my engineering hat and develop a Flask server with MapBox API as the initial prototype of the Chicago Map. While I was developing the platform, I got to learn a lot about geocoding, geojson, and map design, but I dealt with technical challenges while architecting the product, such as API + cloud computing costs, and backend infrastructure that I knew I would have to spend some money on, which I wasn’t willing to make that large of a commitment yet as I was building the product. I originally was planning to make this a one and done project without continuous maintenance.

It wasn’t until I got connected with the co-founder of PamPam.city about my existing idea of the Chicago Tech Scene map. She recommended I use her product which is an AI-generated map who’s primarily source is to showcase information on a map without the heavy lifting on the backend infrastructure - which was something that I was ideally looking for.

How I built it: I was able to collect my data of Chicago companies through Linkedin and reliable startup articles onto a Google spreadsheet and uploaded the sheet onto the platform where the markers were populated.

Limitations: The tool itself does not allow for continuous integration or have an API so there is manual data entry required. There is user input required if people want to be included on the map which is manual. I hope future iterations of the tool can be automated.

The outcome: When the map was posted on Linkedin, it easily drew thousands of views and positive feedback about the idea. The next map I made was a visual of ongoing internships as a way to help others to find last-minute internships, however, I do not plan to maintain it as regularly since recruiting season is coming to an end soon.

Overall, it was a fun project to take an idea from 0 → 1 and curious to see what you all do with building future maps!

See the maps below:

Chicago Tech Scene Map

Internship Map

📅 Chicago Events

💼 Job Opportunities

Recent job postings in Chicago that target recent graduates or those early in their careers (0-3 years).

🚨 Always read the background and qualifications section of any job posting before applying!

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Historical representation of Chicago city limits