The Friday Exit: A Chicago brand leaves the same-day delivery race

WeDeliver, a startup with a popular CEO and both investment and moral support from Chicago’s tech community, found its exit this week, selling to Silicon Valley-based Deliv.

Jimmy Odom ⇒, probably not a guy we’ve heard the last from, said he will stay with the company to head its local practice nationwide, Amina Elahi reported. Not unlike delivering news these days, it’s a crowded business where consolidation seems a must.

And there’s another option for home-delivery subscription meal kits: Home Chef, whose investors include Belly co-founder Craig Ulliott, GoHealth founders Clint Jones and Brandon Cruz ⇒ and North Pond restaurant owner Rich Mott.

Is Cuba ready for Techweek? The Chicago-based company plans to take a contingent of CEOs to Havana in December, while one expert on Cuba-U.S. business relations says: Too soon.

Craft beer makers face some important questions. How to keep your brand cool among the even more recent upstarts? How to stay friendly with your local bar owner? And is kumquat flavor going too far? Tribune beer writer Josh Noel led a Blue Sky panel on these topics and more at the Hideout.

Groupon captured a moment this week with its perfectly timed (weather warming up; Fourth of July approaching) sweepstakes in the guise of a job “doing nothing” for $100,000 a year. “Applying” means buying a Groupon between now and July 3.

Mondelez has started its second technology incubator, this one focused on retail techniques including beacons that will beam information to your smartphone. Alert! Special on Ritz crackers!

Tanvas, formerly Tangile Haptics before apparently putting those words into a startup name generator (hey, we’ve all done it), announced it has raised $5 million to bring a sense of touch to touchscreens. The company plans to hire engineers and move to River North or the West Loop from Evanston, John Carpenter reported.

Social media as customer service has its success stories, but not every company’s responses are ready for prime time, the Northridge Group finds in a recent study. Only snail mail rated lower, in fact.

Ikea recently turned 30 years old, and Meg Graham examined why startup founders who are even younger like the DIY furniture so much. And Gramovox took vinyl vertical with its Floating Record, which hit Kickstarter this week.

We’re planning our next Blue Sky Social for July 15 at TechNexus. It’s straight-up mixing and mingling with top innovators and entrepreneurs; tickets are $5 and include refreshments. Hope to see you there!

Email: [email protected] • Twitter: @andreahanis

Andrea Hanis, editor of Blue Sky Innovation, wraps up the week's news in The Friday Exit.