Owen Shapiro

Owen Shapiro has always been fascinated with how people ‘make up their minds,’ which has lead him to pursue a diverse range of research and discovery projects both in academics and in business. Shapiro is a market researcher, strategist and speaker and spent more than 30 years in customer insights and market strategy. He has a career-long interest in helping launch innovative start-up companies, working across a wide range of industries, including retail, financial service, consumer products, government and business services. He has worked with and supported the teams that built some of the U.S.’s major well-known brands, including Staples, PetSmart, Sports Authority, Ulta and Five Below. Drawing on his combination of real-world experience with clients, his training in social science theory and his grounding in research method, Shapiro speaks pro-bono at University of Chicago classes, where he received his MA and MBA, and is involved in the startup community in Chicago through groups such as Hyde Park Angels. Specifically, he recently provided a bridge for a group of students who were launching business while still in school to make it easier and more affordable for college students to access text books. The company Packback, is still in an early start-up stage, but went on to raise enough capital to expand their business including an investment from Mark Cuban through their appearance on Shark Tank. He currently resides in Chicago, IL