This week the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center held its fifth annual Momentum Awards Dinner to honor entrepreneurial champions and give one Chicago startup the prestigious Merrick Momentum Award. Braintree took home this year’s award, which is given to Chicago companies that have proven their product through rapid growth and demonstrate potential for accelerated growth into the future. The dinner was held at the Harris Theater in downtown Chicago, where more than 750 entrepreneurs gathered for the evening event. Narrative Science, a big data analysis company, and men’s fashion startup Trunk Club were finalists in the competition. In addition to the announcement of the Momentum Award winner, the CEC honored Merrick Ventures CEO Michael Ferro and JPMorgan Chase Midwest chairman Glenn F. Tilton as entrepreneurial and corporate champions, respectively. Previous winners of the Momentum Award include Eved, GrubHub, and Sittercity. “The CEC is thrilled to honor Braintree, one of the city’s leading growth companies, with the 2012 Merrick Momentum Award,” said CEC president and CEO Kevin Willer. “Braintree is creating a strong economic impact on Chicago in terms of job creation and they are fast becoming a recognized leader in the community. We hope that the Momentum Award acknowledgement shines a spotlight on their many accomplishments to date and in some small part helps propel them to future success.” Braintree provides payment processing for companies both big and small, offering a flat rate on transactions and instant approval for businesses within the US. This past week Braintree completed a $35 million Series B round of funding that will help the company continue innovating in the payment processing market and develop business-friendly APIs for its customers. The October 24th event raised over $1.5 million, which will go back into CEC programs that support entrepreneurship in the Windy City. Visit the official CEC website to find out more about the organization and its flagship coworking space 1871.
