Chime’s continued investment in Chicago
A look at our new office—and future—in Chicago
Did you know that Chicago, Illinois is home to 12,300 tech companies, employing 344,000 people? Or that its economy is ranked #22 globally by GDP, ahead of Sweden and Belgium? Or that of the top 10 most populous cities in the US, Chicago is ranked #3 for ease of doing business?
Some other fun Chicago facts (Source: World Business Chicago):
These are just a few of the reasons why Chicago is a great city to live and work in — and if you need one more, we’ve got you covered: Chicago is one of Chime’s home cities and we just opened our second largest office there!
Meet a few Chimers who ‘chimed in’ about our new Chicago office
Why Chicago
Chime first planted roots in Chicago when we opened our office there in late 2019, just a few months before everyone had to work from home. Since then, the team has grown to nearly 150 Chimers in the area! “We started our Chicago team because the city was — and is — home to one of Chime’s largest member communities,” explains Jason Howard, the Senior Director of Risk and Chicago Site Lead. “Our member base, combined with Chicago’s incredible financial talent pool, allowed us to expand our company and Chime’s geographic horizons.”
Thinking about our distributed team
When we opened our office in Chicago, we saw it as an opportunity to think about a distributed workforce: which roles needed to be based in our San Francisco office and which could be done elsewhere. Soon after, the pandemic became a big component of that discussion and helped us clarify how we wanted to grow our teams across Chime’s offices (San Francisco, Chicago, and Vancouver) — all while we worked from home.
Launching Chime in Chicago also meant learning to collaborate across time zones and empathizing with other Chimers as we navigated different weather patterns, and remembering to add a Zoom link to every meeting. These lessons were something we’d never had to think about as a smaller, entirely San Francisco-based team.
As we learned to work as a distributed team and realized that Chimers will continue to be spread across many locations, nothing about our new way of working changed the importance of the Chicago community to Chime. Now, almost two years into calling Chicago one of Chime’s homes, we’re opening a new office that’s all our own.
“For Chimers, our increased investment in Chicago shows that we really care about what happens in the windy city. The dedication, time, and resources it’s taken to open Chime’s new Chicago office show that we have the same care, intentionality, and concern for all Chimers, in all locations.” — Quinton Henry
Serving our members and community
One of the main reasons Chime decided to invest in our Chicago team is because the city’s community matters to us: “A large number of Chime’s members live in and around Chicago,” explains Mike Winkler. “We serve those who are in need of financial services like Chime’s the most and neighborhoods in the city that lack physical branches — having an office here demonstrates that Chime sees itself as a part of the Chicago community, and we want to physically represent ourselves here.”
“When people in Chicago learn that I work at Chime, there’s always a rich conversation that follows,” says Quinton. “For our members and their community to know that we’re here, in their city, working on the product they love…that means a lot.”
Beyond better serving our members in Chicago and across the country, Chime plans to become an active part of the Chicago community by partnering with local organizations, participating in events, and letting Chicago know how important it is to Chime. To date, we’ve sponsored several local events, including the upcoming Digs with Dignity Gala in October, and participated in the Pride parade — and that’s just the beginning. “We’re constantly reaching out to the city to see how we can get involved, from connecting with potential Chime members to recruiting and supporting future talent and volunteering with the community,” says Mike.
World-class talent
One of the most obvious reasons for continuing our investment in Chicago is the amazing talent in the city. With many financial and fintech companies in the area, as well as a robust university system and diverse population, Chicago is an unparalleled place to hire and grow great Chimers. “Not only is Chicago an extremely diverse market of talent, it also includes diversity in areas of expertise — there are engineers, finance folks, recruiters, and operations talent,” explains Amy Silverman. As a result, our Chicago office features a wide variety of Chimers, from IT to finance, ops to risk, member support to engineering, and, of course, recruiting — at all levels, from VP and SVP to early talent.
“Chicago’s fantastic talent market helps us continue to make sure our insides match our outsides — that our employees match our members — and that’s a really special achievement,” says Amy.
Chime’s new Chicago office
“There are, of course, many factors at play when deciding where to open an office, but fundamentally, it’s about talent,” explains Kai Shane. “We started small, occupying a dedicated suite in a co-working space, but we’ve grown to the point where it’s time to open a space custom built for the way we work, and we’re looking forward to hosting Chicago Chimers in an office designed for collaboration and team social events,” says Kai.
The office details
Chime’s new space is at 333 N Green, in the Fulton Market neighborhood. “There were several factors that placed the space at the top of our list,” explains Kai. “It’s new construction, with beautiful amenities and spaces, the location is convenient to public transportation, and the neighborhood itself is vibrant and packed with restaurants,” she adds. Jason and Kai lobbied for the particular location because it provides great opportunities for team connections outside of the office. “Unlike the city’s core central business district, the loop, our new neighborhood has a rich offering of places for Chimers to connect with each other and the community surrounding our office outside of working hours,” says Jason.
The office is authentically Chime thanks to its design: “The purpose of the office is to bring Chimers together, and to that end, the heart of the space is social: an open dining and event space, surrounded by workspaces around the perimeter,” says Kai.
And, of course, the space is set up for success, with the supplies, desk amenities, meeting rooms, and connectivity necessary for Chimers to be productive. “One of the biggest asks for a new office is its network — you’ve got to have internet!” says Quinton. “People don’t think about it often when IT works well, but someone has to set up the keyboards, monitors, and mice, as well as make sure you have an internet connection when you step in the door. Our goal is to make it as seamless as possible.”
Why Chimers love Chicago
The future of Chime in Chicago
“At a time when other companies are slimming down their Chicago presence with layoffs and offices closing, we’re continuing to hire — in fact, we’re more committed than ever to Chime’s growing presence in Chicago,” explains Jason. And as Chime grows in Chicago, we plan to become more involved with the community, be it through volunteering or partnerships with organizations and educational institutions in the city.
“Chicago has always been a connector city and we intend for our new office to be a place of connection for Chimers, both in Chicago and across the country. And in a place where innovation is part of the city’s DNA, we’re excited to continue innovating and building a company and products that drive change for our members. It’s inspiring to be planting roots in a city that’s been such a beacon of growth — we hope that as part of this community, we’ll only continue to contribute to that expansion.” — Mike Winkler
Jason, Kai, and the entire Chicago-based team have worked hard to inspire and excite Chimers about our new space, encouraging them to work from the office and get facetime together. “Our goal is to foster the people connections that happen in-office, so we’ve partnered with our San Francisco office to invite Chimers to come into the office on Wednesdays of every week,” Jason says. “Even during a time when Chicagoans were working entirely from home, we maintained a high level of cohesion — we’re looking forward to keeping that up and welcoming Chimers to our new space to foster even more connection,” he adds.
We’re thrilled to welcome Chimers to our new space and provide an open, welcoming, and supportive place for Chimers to continue delivering on our mission and promise to our members.
From Chicago with love,
💚 Chime
