Christopher Day grew up in rural Indiana without much visibility into any career. Tom Gajewski grew up in Chicago with his eye on a medical career. Both became serial entrepreneurs.
Christopher Day grew up poor in terms of material possessions, but rich in important lessons about how to think, work and be proactive. He got his first job at age 15 and never stopped seizing new business opportunities. Christopher has started tech companies in industries as varied as broadband, energy, investment banking and marketing. DemandJump, his current startup, is an Indianapolis marketing software company that has more than 40 employees and has raised nearly $20 million.
Tom Gajewski deploys a combination of flexibility and scientific rigor to drive research advances in the fight against cancer. When those advances lead to startups, the University of Chicago professor and medical doctor sticks to the science and lets the businesspeople manage the rest. Tom has co-founded two companies; both use patients’ own immune systems to fight cancer and both have achieved public offerings. Jounce Therapeutics raised $104 million in a 2017 IPO and Pyxis Oncology raised $168 million in a 2021 IPO.
Midwest Moxie executive producer is Audrey Nowakowski. Ele Ellis produced this episode. Subscribe to Midwest Moxie on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and NPR One. And if you love Midwest Moxie as much as we do, help us out by posting a review.
