About this Event
Most business events hand you a name tag and hope for the best. This one doesn't. You'll sit at a table with a handful of other owners and experience a real EO forum conversation about something you're actually working through. It's confidential, and nobody gives advice. People share through their experiences. That one rule is what makes EO different from every other business group in the city.
Then Brian Smith takes the stage and we end at the bar. If you've been curious about what the 130 of us here in Chicago are doing, December 2 is the day to find out.
YOUR AFTERNOON
- 12:30 Doors, lunch, and 100 Chicagoland founders in one room
- 1:00 Welcome, and EO Chicago members take the stage to talk about what being in EO actually involves
- 1:30 The Test Drive. You sit at a table of founders and experience a forum for yourself. You hear real life stories and experiences. This is the part people talk about afterwards.
- 2:30 Keynote and Q&A with Brian Smith, founder of UGG
- 4:00 Happy hour. Meet the rest of the founders in the room.
- 5:00 Done
WHO THIS IS FOR (all three have to be true)
- You own the business. Founder, owner, or controlling shareholder. Not a manager, not a consultant.
- $250,000+ in annual revenue. We ask when you register.
- You want the real conversation. Other owners who get what you're carrying, not a business card swap.
ABOUT BRIAN SMITH
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. His own line for it: you can't give birth to adults.
ABOUT EO CHICAGO
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, and is now 20,000+ members in 80 countries.
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, plus a full calendar of learning events and socials all year.
Event venue & nearby stays
East Bank Club, 500 North Kingsbury Street, Chicago, United States
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.