Joe Mansueto, chairman and CEO of Morningstar Inc., with Christine Poorman, NFTE Chicago executive director. A $100,000 donation from Mr. Mansueto helped the gala gross $350,000.

Talk about a tough evening to top. The Chicago office of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship held its first fundraising gala last year and featured a Q&A with investor Sam Zell and Groupon Inc. CEO Andrew Mason, moderated by Ariel Investments LLC President Mellody Hobson. Citadel LLC CEO Ken Griffin was the chair, and the event grossed $400,000.

This year’s event, held Thursday at the Museum of Contemporary Art, featured a Q&A with Joe Mansueto, chairman and CEO of Morningstar Inc., and Michael Sacks, CEO, Grosvenor Capital Management L.P., moderated by Brandon Copple, managing editor of Groupon.

Topics ranged from the roots of entrepreneurship to whether Chicago’s a good place to start a business.

Mr. Mansueto said he always wanted to run his own business. “I sold pop from my dorm room - Room 607 Soda Service was always open,” he said. Later, Mr. Mansueto said he launched his first two businesses with partners, but learned that he’d rather fly solo. “I didn’t need a partner,” he said, adding that he started Morningstar in his Lincoln Park condo.

As for Chicago, “this is a great place to start a business,” Mr. Mansueto said. “There’s a great workforce, reasonable costs, and Midwestern values.”

Mr. Sacks took another route to entrepreneurship. He left investment giant Harris Associates LP for Grosvenor when it had only six employees and a few hundred million in assets under management. Today Grosvennor manages $24 billion.

NFTE alumni sat on stage, the better to question Mr. Sacks and Mr. Mansueto. When one student asked about role models, both had quick answers. Mr. Mansueto named Neil Bluhm, a founder of JMB Realty Corp., and Mr. Sacks named Lester Crown, for his civic involvement as well as business success. “It’s easy to write a check but it’s a real privilege to give your time,” Mr. Sacks said.

Before the Q&A, guests gathered for cocktails and visited with 20 NFTE alumni, who had set up booths displaying their businesses. Ryan Lewis, 18, founder of beverage company Jeff Dranks, just finished his first year at University of Missouri-Columbia. The year taught him something about business ownership: Step away for a while and things change. “I’m in re-startup mode,” said Mr. Lewis, explaining that he was revamping his product and marketing approach.

Steve Mariotti, the former Bronx high school teacher who founded NFTE in 1987, flew in from New York for the gala. NFTE has branches in 11 cities, and “Chicago is the top in the world,” said Mr. Mariotti, who made the rounds of booths. “We have a great relationship with the business community.”

The gala grossed $350,000, thanks in part to a $100,000 gift from Mr. Mansueto, to fund NFTE programs in Chicago Public Schools. Since its founding nine years ago, NFTE Chicago has helped 13,000 students learn the skills necessary to launch a business.

(Editor's note: The amount raised this year has been corrected in this updated story.)

Social Whirl is going on summer vacation. See you in September for the fall gala season.