I don't think anyone has ever said that it is impossible to have a startup outside of a tech hub, just that it is orders of magnitude more difficult outside of

I don't think anyone has ever said that it is impossible to have a startup outside of a tech hub, just that it is orders of magnitude more difficult outside of them. And as JangoSteve mentions, that revenue looks much less impressive when you see that they have 80+ employees. I wish them the best of luck, as I like to see software companies thriving outside of the valley (no offense to any one there, I just happen to like Chicago), but the article reads more like "this is the best we can do outside of the big tech hubs" rather than an inspirational story.