Getting Chicago.care on NBC

When I launched Chicago.care, I knew it could genuinely help people.

The site made it easier for Chicago residents to find monkeypox vaccines and providers during the outbreak. But building something useful is only half the battle — people still have to hear about it.

So I decided to do something I had never done before.

I tried to get the media involved.

Pitching Reporters

I made a list of reporters in Chicago who covered public health, local news, or technology.

Then I started emailing.

And emailing.

And emailing.

I probably reached out to 10–20 reporters across different outlets. Most never responded. A few politely declined.

Cold pitching journalists as a random developer with a new website is… intimidating.

But eventually I got a response.

Lauren Petty from NBC Chicago.

She was interested in what I had built and wanted to do an interview.

Preparing for the Interview

This would be my first time doing anything like this.

So naturally I overprepared.

First, I rented a small room at a WeWork in River North where we could film the interview. I wanted a clean, professional setting where we could talk about the platform.

Then I did something slightly ridiculous.

I got a custom Chicago.care t-shirt printed so I could wear it during the interview.

If I was going to be on camera, I figured I might as well be on brand.

The night before the interview I remember feeling pretty nervous. I had built plenty of software before, but sitting down in front of a camera to talk about it was completely new territory.

The Interview

Lauren and the NBC team came to the WeWork space and we set everything up.

The interview was surprisingly relaxed. We talked about:

• how the monkeypox outbreak was affecting Chicago
• how fragmented vaccine information was across providers
• why I built Chicago.care
• how the platform helped people find vaccines faster

It felt less like an interrogation and more like a conversation about solving a real problem.

Still — knowing the cameras were rolling definitely made my heart rate spike a bit.

The Segment

Eventually the piece aired on NBC Chicago.

Seeing something you built get covered on local news is a surreal experience.

What started as a quick project to help people navigate vaccine access had suddenly reached a much larger audience.

Below is the segment from the interview.

What I Learned

The experience taught me something important:

Sometimes building the product is the easy part.

Getting people to notice it is the real challenge.

Cold emailing reporters felt awkward at first, but it worked because the story was simple:

A developer saw a problem during a public health emergency and built something to help.

And sometimes that’s exactly the kind of story journalists are looking for.

Also — if you ever get the chance to go on TV for something you built…

bring a branded t-shirt.