53 Stations was born out of the entrepreneurial legacy of The Pritzker Organization

We started 53 Stations with a simple goal — to bring The Pritzker Organization’s (TPO) legacy of building enduring, market leading businesses to the venture ecosystem. 53 Stations is supported by TPO, a leading investor, owner, and operator that has been building and scaling successful businesses for over 60 years.

TPO has worked on over 200 transactions across industries, representing ~$30 billion of equity value. Today, 53 Stations combines the reach and resources of TPO’s ecosystem, the flexibility of a single limited partner, and the agility to adapt to the needs of entrepreneurs.

Our approach enables us to be a more committed and collaborative partner. We help founders balance ambitious goals with disciplined growth, to help lay the foundations for enduring organizations.

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Grow by Learning

The foundation of 53 Stations is our student mindset. Our name is a nod to a Buddhist parable about the journey of continuous learning and application of wisdom. By seeking new perspectives, we can continually grow, applying that knowledge and building on our experience to continue forward. We look for partners who share this approach to life and work.

Commit to Partnership

We invest in people we believe in and who inspire us. We look for partners who are aligned in their values, and we commit to them completely. These relationships are the foundation for our success. We focus on being the best possible partner for our entrepreneurs, creating a lasting community around our firm.

Evolve Together

We are excited by opportunities for growth. We are not held to a static strategy or approach. Every entrepreneur has a unique vision, and each investment is its own journey of discovery. We tap into our collective expertise and experiences to evolve alongside our partners.

Stay Humble

We acknowledge that we don’t know every answer, and there is always another perspective to a problem. We are instilled with and bring a sense of humility to our work. We learn from our successes and failures to become better partners.

“53 Stations wants to be there as a resource at every stage as we grow from incubation to venture to growth, and beyond.”
Henry Zhang, Emergence