Stuff

Recapping Milwaukee Startup Week

We would like to thank the nearly 2,600 people who attended the inaugural Milwaukee Startup Week events last week. Attendance numbers at this inaugural event doubled our expectations. My co-organizer Ed Javier and I are humbled by the support we have received from  the community. We have no doubt in our minds that Milwaukee Startup Week will return in 2017 bigger and better.

As economic development experts from around the Midwest urged, the moment for a Midwestern city like Milwaukee to build momentum around a high-growth, technology-enabled startup community is now. The future of economic growth in Southeast Wisconsin in our minds is dependent upon continuing to launch programs that attract entrepreneurs (locally and) from around the world to start-up and grow their companies in Southeast Wisconsin.

We would like to thank the 30+ community partners who organized the dozens of events last week and our sponsors Meissner Tierney Fisher Nichols S.C., WEDC, WHEDA, Accelity Marketing, Brilliant DPI, Newsradio 620 WTMJ & Radio Milwaukee. In addition to the strong attendance at last week's events we are thankful for the attention Milwaukee Startup Week received from the local media, here are some of the stories that showed Milwaukee's startup community is alive and well.

Southeast Wisconsin is a region built by iconic entrepreneurs: Harley Davidson, Miller, Pabst, Allen Bradley, Johnson Controls, etc. we can and must return to our roots. Stay tuned for more from Startup Milwaukee. Let's venture forth and continue to build momentum in our region's high-growth startup scene.

Venture forth! Matt Cordio & Ed Javier Co-organizers, Milwaukee Startup Week

Startup Milwaukee Announces Milwaukee Startup Week

Startup Milwaukee is excited to announce the first-ever Milwaukee Startup Week, an entrepreneur-led event that brings entrepreneurs, investors, local leaders and startup enthusiasts together to build momentum and celebrate Southeast Wisconsin’s unique entrepreneurial identity. The event is tentatively scheduled to take place November 1 - 6 at various locations around the region.

Startup Milwaukee has partnered  with several organizations to produce events during Milwaukee Startup Week 2016, including CrafterSpace, gener8tor, Newaukee, Milwaukee Tech Engine, BizStarts, Ward 4, Granular Marketing, IdeaWake, The Commons and more.

[gravityform id="24" name="Get Updates on Milwaukee Startup Week" description="false"]

LEARN MORE ABOUT MILWAUKEE STARTUP WEEK HERE

Media Contact: Matt Cordio, matt@startupke.org

Escaping the Startup Silo

By: Ed Javier, EMJ Consulting In the few months of living in the Milwaukee area, I have been networking, attending events and observing the startup scene. There is a lot happening here, and it’s interesting for me to see how it all works. But one potential roadblock that I have heard repeated in conversations is the perception that groups within the system are working in “silos.”

When key players and organizations are not sharing information and resources, essentially doing their own thing, startup growth is stunted. According to Brad Feld, author of Startup Communities, one of the crucial components to a healthy startup ecosystem is Network Density. This concept is based on the existence of a well-connected community of startups, groups, events and individuals that work together to benefit the whole.

Last week I witnessed first hand that the silo perception in Milwaukee may soon be an old school mentality. The Milwaukee Quick Pitch event at Miller Park was hosted by Jessica Silvaggi and Brian Thompson from the UWM Research Foundation, along with Kalpa Vithalani from The Medical College of Wisconsin, and Laura Savatski from The BloodCenter of Wisconsin. This pitch event showcased teams from their respective incubators. By working together, inviting new faces like myself and other industry folks from outside their own institutions, it was obvious that these three groups were doing their part to foster Network Density.

This is not the first time I have met groups and individuals that are sharing and connecting within the startup community here in Milwaukee. I would love to hear from you about other examples of groups, individuals and events building Network Density. If you are still stuck in with the “siloed” opinion, I’d like to hear from you as well. With leaders like Jessica, Brian, Kalpa and Laura showing us the way, we can all learn to work together and advance the Milwaukee startup ecosystem.

Ed Javier has been working in the tech space for more than 15 years. He is an experienced executive that helped build and scale start-up companies such as Cars.com and HomeFinder.com; lead technology SaaS product launches into new industries; and most recently, as the General Manager, pivoted and sold the leading real estate website in the Philippines to Rocket Internet. Ed and his family recently moved to the Milwaukee area. Connect with Ed on LinkedIn. 

 

Join us for Happy Hour!

Happy 2016! It has been a while since Startup Milwaukee has hosted a happy hour. Join us for happy hour at 6pm on February 4 at NOVO. Meet dozens of fellow digital entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts. Local startups featured at this event will include:

  • Bright Cellars is the monthly wine club that matches you with wine that you’ll love.
  • NightStir is a nightlife logistics app that let's Milwaukeeans keep friends in the loop on their nightlife whereabouts.
  • Okanjo's Native Commerce Platform drives new revenue for online publishers, advertisers and SMBs.
  • Seiva Technologies manufactures smart fitness apparel that provides athletes with real-time analysis on their muscle activity and joint angles, resulting in better performance than ever before.

This is a free event with a cash bar, register here.

OnRamp Madison: Pitch Your Startup to Corporations

Startup application now live for OnRamp Madison 2015: https://www.f6s.com/onrampmadison2015/apply
In an effort to increase connections between startups and established corporations, the UW Athletic Department, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and gener8tor have created OnRamp – an event that gives young companies the opportunity to pitch their products and services, one-on-one, to established corporations. This is event is completely free for startups and entrepreneurs.
OnRamp Madison, hosted by the UW Athletic Department
Date: August 27th
Time: selected startups will be notified of their time slot
Location: Camp Randall Stadium
Apply now for your chance to pitch to one of the participating corporations:
* American Family Insurance
* Harley-Davidson
* Kohl's
* Northwestern Mutual
* UW Athletics
Startup application (deadline Sunday, August 23): https://www.f6s.com/onrampmadison2015/apply
Following each OnRamp event, participating corporations will select at least one startup to either purchase from, mentor (at least two lunches/coffees) or invest in.
OnRamp takes place three times per year, rotating between Milwaukee, Green Bay and Madison. Startups must apply during each event's respective application window.

 

Announcing gener8tor's OpenBETA Lunch Series in Madison

Interested in learning more about startups? Looking for team members, a team to join or a chance to network with other entrepreneurs? Love free food?
Join the gener8tor team for OpenBETA, a new summer lunch series in Madison. From July 2 - August 6, gener8tor will host a lunch and speaker from the Madison startup community on Thursdays from 12 - 1 pm at 30 W. Mifflin Street, 5th Floor, Madison, WI 53703. Speakers will cover a range of topics including pitching, fundraising and more.
 
OpenBETA kicks off on July 2 with guest speaker Melissa Turczyn and her talk, Legal Mistakes New Startups Should Avoid. Melissa Turczyn is a partner and member of the Transactional Practice Group, as well as Co-chair of the Venture Best ™ Team. Her practice focuses on all aspects of corporate law, with an emphasis on venture capital.

To sign up to attend OpenBETA, join gener8tor's Meetup Group and register here.

Upcoming OpenBETA Topics: July 9, 2015: The Lean Startup July 16, 2015: People July 23, 2015: Pitching July 30, 2015: Fundraising August 6, 2015: How to Get into an Accelerator

 
Questions about the program? Interested in bringing OpenBETA to Milwaukee? Feel free to reach out to Maggie Brickerman (Maggie@gener8tor.com) and Sara Woldt (Sara@gener8tor.com).
 

gener8tor Office Hours in Milwaukee

Tuesday, June 2, 11am-3pmWard4: 333 N Plankinton Ave, Suite 211

We're looking to invest in Milwaukee startups!
Meet with the gener8tor team in Milwaukee on Tuesday, June 2 to learn more about our Milwaukee 2015 program!
gener8tor invests its community, capital, expertise, mentorship and network in capable, early-stage entrepreneurs with innovative business models. gener8tor works with the startups in its portfolio to create successful, scalable companies.
gener8tor is seeking to invest in high-growth businesses, including software, IT, web, SaaS, e-commerce and hardware. Accepted companies receive up to $120,000 and 12 weeks of mentorship-driven programming. gener8tor is a proud member of the Global Accelerator Network (GAN) and is sponsored by American Family Insurance.
gener8tor is a Top 15 accelerator in the US as ranked by the Seed Accelerator Rankings Project: http://www.seedrankings.com
Applications are currently being accepted: http://www.f6s.com/gener8tormilwaukee2015/apply
Deal Terms & Perks:
- $20,000 cash investment in exchange for 6-9% common stock equity
- $50,000 of guaranteed follow-on capital from gener8tor, Angels on the Water and Wisconsin Investment Partners (convertible note)
- Additional $50,000 of guaranteed follow-on capital for Wisconsin-based companies from the BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation (convertible note)
- Access to staff designer and interns (development, marketing, social media, journalism, business development, sales, and more)
- $500,000+ in deals and perks from vendors like SoftLayer, Rackspace, Amazon, PayPal and Microsoft
- Support from the gener8tor team and network of alumni & mentors

WERCBench Labs: an immersive program for technology innovators in Milwaukee

WERCBench Labs is a program of the Mid-West Energy Research Consortium (M-WERC) that brings together world leading companies, tech colleges and universities that share a passion for making things.

WERCBench Labs is seeking teams or individuals with ideas, products or technologies related to energy, power or controls that want to develop their technology into a product and business. This includes makers, engineers, scientists, and programmers across all funding stages. Along with a globally recognized teaching team, 50 world-class mentors will provide guidance, coaching, and insights throughout the 12-week training program and beyond to the teams accepted into the program.

There is no direct cost or requirement to give up equity to participate in the program. Selected start-ups will receive a $20,000 grant; $10,000 at the start of the program and $10,000 upon successful completion of the program.

The program helps start-ups build products and scale businesses by providing access to technology, market insights and connections for team building, storytelling, customer acquisition and marketing, business modeling, design, legal advice and fundraising.

Participants will have access to unique production capabilities, high performance computing, rapid prototyping facilities and small-scale production and testing equipment.

The program will take place June 8 to August 27 at the Energy Innovation Center located in Century City Tower, once home to Eaton Corporation's world-renowned testing and production facility. Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible. The formal application deadline is May 29 but WERCBench Labs will be reviewing applications on a rolling admissions basis.

Apply today, click here!

Launch Milwaukee: launch a startup in 54 hours.

Startup Milwaukee is excited to partner with the Milwaukee Hardware Hackathon to announce, Launch Milwaukee an intense weekend-long competition where engineers, entrepreneurs, makers and designers come to learn, collaborate, and build great things. Launch Milwaukee promotes the rapid creation and development of hardware and software startup ideas in Milwaukee. Participants are given the opportunity to pitch an idea and ask for help building their idea during a 60-second window on opening night. Teams organically form around shared interests and the building process begins. Participants do not need to have an idea to pitch, and can come individually or with a team.

Teams will have all the necessary tools to develop hardware and software prototypes such as 3D printers, CAD software, and Raspberry Pi's. Prizes will be offered in multiple categories to recognize the hard work and creativity teams put forth during the weekend and to help continue the development of their idea in the months to follow.

Details of the event:

    paypal canadian pharmacy

  • Dates: June 5th-7th
  • Location: Historic Pritzlaff’s Ward 4 (second floor)
    333 N Plankinton Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53203
  • Buy your tickets now: www.LaunchMilwaukee.com Tickets include food & drinks throughout the weekend. Use the discount code: STARTUPMKE for a 30% discount.
  • If you have questions, please feel to reach out to:
    Brandon Alberti - launchmke@gmail.com

Milwaukee startup aims to connect veterans to colleges!

 Home Front Alliance (based at Startup Milwaukee's 96square coworking space) is proud to announce the launch of its state-of-the-art college-connection platform called "CollegeRecon." After 18 months of research, development and testing, CollegeRecon is now available to those who've served, those currently serving and their families.
CollegeRecon revolutionizes the way Veterans view their post-military lives by equipping them with the most expansive and easy-to-use online tool in the world. This platform, which is completely free for the military, bridges the current gap between college-bound service members and colleges and universities looking to enroll these honorable men and women.

CollegeRecon also serves not-for-profit colleges and universities. There are over 3,000 live school profiles currently on the site and each is able to receive college-bound military user's profiles at no cost and begin communicating. Colleges and universities are able to utilize the site for their own recruiting efforts by registering with Home Front Alliance as a "Patriot Sponsor" institution and searching for potential applicants.

The purpose of CollegeRecon is to foster introductions between Veterans and not-for-profit post-secondary institutions.

Small Shops United to Present January 14th at 1 Million Cups

Also announcing search for a PHP/SQL Programmer

Small Shops United, a Milwaukee area startup creating technology-based marketing and fundraising solutions for small businesses, local schools, and non-profits, will be presenting at 1 Million Cups on Wednesday, January 14th (9am). 1 Million Cups is a weekly event giving entrepreneurs an opportunity to discuss their startup with an audience of advisors, mentors, and fellow entrepreneurs. Events are held at 9am each Wednesday morning in the Historic Pritzlaff Building (325 N. Plankinton Ave).

Additionally, Small Shops United will zithromax for lyme disease treatment be announcing their search for a back end developer as they begin to build their in-house team. It’s a ground floor opportunity to join a growing startup based here in Milwaukee. Interested programmers with a strong PHP/SQL background should reach out to Eric Tallmadge: eric@smallshopsunited.com

 

Get Your Startup in front of Corps at OnRamp on January 22!

In an effort to increase connections between Wisconsin’s startups and established corporations, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Milwaukee Bucks, and gener8tor are sponsoring OnRamp – an event that gives young companies the opportunity to pitch their products and services to established Wisconsin corporations.

The event is intended to help startups in the critical effort to find sales channels and to provide a way for established companies to engage with the entrepreneurial community. It highlights our commitment to helping Wisconsin’s emerging entrepreneurs succeed.

Participating corporations include:
*Milwaukee Bucks
*Harley-Davidson*American Family Insurance
*Rite-Hite
*US Cellular
*MillerCoors
*Northwestern Mutual

Startups wishing to apply are encouraged to research the participating corporations. Each participating corporation will receive those viagra mexico online startup applications that requested to pitch to them and those whose applications indicate a potential customer opportunity. Participating corporations will then choose 4-6 startups to pitch them at the event.

Those startups selected to pitch at the event will be notified on 1/19 and offered a time slot to pitch at the 1/22 event. Startups are requested to arrive at the BMO Harris Bradley Center (1001 North 4th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53203) at least 30 minutes before their scheduled pitch. No technology will be available at the event, however you can use your laptop to present. Startups are encouraged to bring brief handouts of PowerPoint presentations or sales collateral to aid in their presentation. Startup pitches will last 20 minutes including Q&A.

At the conclusion of the event, participating corporations will select at least one startup to either purchase from or mentor (at least two lunches/coffees). Organizers will notify each selected startup.

Apply before the January 16th deadline: https://www.f6s.com/onrampwisconsin#/apply

Looking back at 2014 & more!

As we get ready to celebrate the new year, our Matt Cordio took a look back at important stories and major milestones reached by startups in Southeast Wisconsin in 2014, some highlights:
  • Over $43 million of investment capital raised by local digital and tech companies.
  • 11 companies participated in Milwaukee-based accelerator programs, gener8tor and The Water Council’s BREW.
  • One big exit, Zeon Solutions $37.5 million.

Read the complete story here.

We have wrapped up events for 2014, we are looking forward to seeing you in January 2015:

Happy Holidays, Startup Milwaukee

The Commons Moves to Walker's Point

The Commons, Milwaukee Today we are excited to announce The Commons, an initiative led by Startup Milwaukee in partnership with The Greater Milwaukee Committee has new home! We are moving to a 4,000 square foot office in The Kramer Foundry Building  above Colectivo & Stack'd in Walker's Point.

We would like to thank our Landlord Randy Elliott of Pierce Engineers for helping us secure the space and Mandel Group for helping us locate the office space. We are excited to be a part of Milwaukee's emerging innovation district in Walker's Point where tech and creative firms such as PKWARE, 88nine Radio Milwaukee and Ward5 Code School are setting up shop!

Read complete coverage of the announcement:

The Commons Launches with an intense 48-hour long event in Walker's Point, click here to learn more. 

96square Turns 1!

One year ago today, Startup Milwaukee launched 96square. We started with a few initial tenants, over the year we have grown to 19 companies with over 45+ employees working out of the space. Before 96square Milwaukee lacked a place where growth-oriented entrepreneurs could go to gain access to affordable, scaleable office space and a community of supportive peers during the earliest stages of their companies.

Building a Community of Like-minded Entrepreneurs At Startup Milwaukee we felt that a physical space for entrepreneurs in Milwaukee needed to happen to increase collisions among entrepreneurs to ultimately accelerate the growth of their companies and increase the pace of innovation. A year later I have no doubt that our tenants have developed their own community where knowledge sharing and co-learning happens almost everyday.

Enabling Growth in Milwaukee We’ve seen Rent College Pads scale-up  from just one desk a year ago, to over 10 desks today as they continue their recently documented growth trajectory. We’ve also seen companies such as Find My Spot, Homefront Alliance, SpotHopper and Snapifeye grow their footprints at 96square as well.

Providing Access to Capital We promised we would provide more access to capital through 96square. Since our founding we’ve had local groups such as CSA Partners (Milwaukee) and Wisconsin Super Angel Fund meet with entrepreneurs in our space. We’ve even attracted investor groups from around the Midwest to hold office hours in Milwaukee for the first time, these groups include AmFam Ventures (Madison), Hyde Park Angels (Chicago) and Techstars Chicago. All through our efforts we’ve made over 73 connections between these groups and startups in Southeast Wisconsin.

Thanks to Our Team While I often get to serve as the face of 96square, there is a great group of volunteers who produce events that serve as the glue of 96square the team includes: Steve Anderson and  Brandon Alberti of Snapifeye, Brennan Stehling of SpotHopper and my fellow Startup Milwaukee co-founders Alicia Boknevitz, Tim Grove and Joe Poeschl! Also importantly, thank you to our real estate partners David Florshiem and Ronnie Reum.

Where does 96square go from here? We are excited to watch the continued growth of the space. Right now demand outstrips supply and we are nearing capacity, stay tuned!

Want to work @ 96square? Desks start at $110/month and that includes: access to fiber internet, unlimited use of conference rooms, access to our community kitchens and a network of like-minded entrepreneurs who are committed to growing here in Milwaukee. To learn more about leasing a desk visit 96square.org.

Additional Reading: Co-working space 96square aims to help Milwaukee start-ups collaborate. - by Kathleen Gallagher of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 1/28/14

Founder of Milwaukee’s First Angel Network, Jeff Rusinow, to Headline gener8tor's Launch Event

MILWAUKEE – Local angel investor and former retail executive, Jeff Rusinow, will keynote gener8tor’s Premiere Night event October 21, as five startup companies present their businesses to over 400 attendees.The event will feature companies that have completed gener8tor’s Milwaukee 2014 accelerator program, which provides funding, mentorship, and training for high-tech entrepreneurs. The program culminates with a Premiere Night event where each entrepreneur pitches their company to an audience of potential investors.

Jeff Rusinow has been an active member of the early-stage venture capital community in the Midwest for over the past 15 years, when he founded Milwaukee's first angel network, Silicon Pastures. He earlier spent 22 years in retail management, holding senior executive positions at Macy's, Gimbel's, Hudson Bay Company and, most recently, Kohl's Department Stores, where he served as an Executive Vice President until leaving corporate mainstream in 2000.

Jeff has been on the Board of Directors of a number of private and public companies, as well as non-profits, over the past several years. As an angel investor, he has invested in over 30 startups, and has had 6 successful exits. He has been the Chairman and lead investor in  two startups that have been acquired by Fortune 500 companies. He is a Founding Donor  of BrightStar Foundation and is on the Investment Committee of the Wisconsin Super Angel Fund.

“Jeff has been a critical supporter of gener8tor through his mentorship, investment and cheerleading support. We’re thrilled to have him keynote our firth Premiere Night,” said Troy  Vosseller, gener8tor Co-Founder.

The companies to be featured at the Premiere Night event:

 

Calling All College Students: The Commons is Accepting Applications

Interested in launching a startup? Want to tackle a corporate innovation challenge? The Commons Launch weekend is officially accepting applications from college students to participate in a 48-hour kick-off event Friday, November 7th through Sunday, November, 9th. During the event, participants will be able to connect with students from around Southeast Wisconsin to form teams to create startup companies or conquer innovation challenges presented by local companies. This is a FREE event for students of all skill sets, areas of study and levels at local colleges and universities. Ready to apply? Click here.

Why should students apply?

  • Connect with some of the area's top employers & take on real-world business challenges
  • Start your own company; build a team or join the founding team of a startup
  • Exclusive access to network of mentors & corporate executives
  • Great resume builder!

Have more questions? Check out our website.

Not a college student? We are also looking for seasoned entrepreneurs, corporate executives and faculty members to mentor student teams throughout the launch. To apply to be a mentor, click here.

Brightstar will invest $50k in each gener8tor alumni company

MILWAUKEE, Sept. 3, 2014 – BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation Inc. today announced the formation of a partnership agreement with gener8tor, a Milwaukee- and Madison-based business accelerator that invests in technology-enabled, rapidly scalable, early stage companies. BrightStar has made a commitment to invest $50,000 in each company that comes out of the bi-annual gener8tor accelerator program that meets BrightStar’s mission and main investment criteria, creating high-quality jobs in Wisconsin. The most recent class had five participants that were picked from nearly 400 applicants. “BrightStar's partnership enables gener8tor to attract and retain the region's most promising new companies,” said Joe Kirgues, gener8tor co- founder. “We're thrilled to partner with BrightStar as we continue our shared mission of improving our community through job and wealth creation.”

BrightStar also announced that its investment committee has authorized funding for two new companies: Forward Health Group Inc. and Swallow Solutions LLC, both based in Madison. These investments total $400,000. The companies were first screened for their ability to create a sufficient number of quality jobs and then passed the committee’s investment criteria for their stage of development.

“BrightStar is very excited to commit to two companies that improve the standard of care and overall costs within health care,” said Dan Matola, CFA, chief investment officer at Jacobus Wealth Management and BrightStar investment committee member. “Swallow Solutions offers a medical device and therapy to help treat dysphagia, a huge cause of patient re-admittance, and Forward Health allows health systems to better leverage the vast amount of data they collect in health records to improve treatment and allocation of resources.”

BrightStar is a 501(c)(3)-designated non-profit foundation created to facilitate job creation and increase Wisconsin’s economic activity by deploying donated funds into equity stakes in early stage rapid growth companies. Entrepreneurs interested in learning more about the businesses of these companies may contact the foundation’s portfolio manager, Todd Sobotka, at tsobotka@brightstarwi.org.

Introducing The Commons

Startup Milwaukee is excited to partner with Innovation in Milwaukee and several local academic institutions to announce The Commons. The Commons will give college students from around Southeast Wisconsin the opportunity to launch a high-growth startup or work on innovation challenges from local companies in a supportive environment. We hope The Commons will create the region's next generation of entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs and have a significant impact on Southeastern Wisconsin. Get involved with The Commons here.

What local leaders are saying about The Commons: 

  • “What’s exciting about this (The Commons) from my perspective as president of the Medical College of Wisconsin is that this gives us probably our best opportunity to connect directly with the creativity sector.” - Dr. John Raymond, President, Medical College of Wisconsin (source)
  • The Commons is really about moving southeastern Wisconsin forward, creating jobs, and keeping bright, entrepreneurial and innovative students here in southeastern Wisconsin. - Matt Cordio, Co-founder & CEO, Startup Milwaukee
  • “I strongly believe that this project will strengthen a vibrant community where our current students will stay as well as serve as a catalyst to attract talented professionals from outside Wisconsin.” - Dr. Mary Meehan, President, Alverno College (source)
  • “Mandel Group is here to support the efforts of The Commons and find The Commons an appropriate home. From our standpoint and first-hand experience with creative, students and startups, The Commons is the conduit between their ideas and making them possible, teaching them entrepreneurial skills that are many times lacking, and facilitating access to capital to drive new businesses, jobs and our regional economy.” - Barry Mandel, President, The Mandel Group (source)
  • “I find that higher education too often looks at things in the rear view mirror. It’s time to get out front in moving things forward and this (The Commons) is a good way to do it.” - Neil Hoffman, President, MIAD (source)
The Commons in The Media: 
Connect with The Commons: 

Get your startup in front of established corporations at OnRamp

In an effort to increase connections between Wisconsin’s startups and established corporations, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and gener8tor, in collaboration with Forward Fest and Madworks, are sponsoring OnRamp – an event that gives young companies the opportunity to pitch their products and services to established Wisconsin corporations. OnRamp will be held Thursday, August 28th, 2014 at Madworks at University Research Park. The event is intended to help startups in the critical effort to find sales channels and to provide a way for established companies to engage with the entrepreneurial community. It highlights the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and gener8tor’s commitment to helping Wisconsin’s emerging entrepreneurs succeed.

Participating corporations include American Family Insurance, CUNA Strategic Services, and more to be announced soon!

Startups wishing to apply are encouraged to research the participating corporations. Each participating corporation will receive those startup applications that requested to pitch to them and those whose applications indicate a potential customer opportunity. Participating corporations will then choose 4-6 startups to pitch them at the event.

Those startups selected to pitch at the event will be notified on 8/24 and offered a time slot to pitch at the 8/28 event. Startups are requested to arrive at Madworks (505 S Rosa Rd #225, Madison, WI 53719) at least 30 minutes before their scheduled pitch. No technology will be available at the event, however you can use your laptop to present. Startups are encouraged to bring brief handouts of PowerPoint presentations or sales collateral to aid in their presentation. Startup pitches will last 20 minutes including Q&A.

At the conclusion of the event, participating corporations will select at least one startup to either purchase from or mentor (at least two lunches/coffees). Organizers will notify each selected startup.

Apply to OnRamp: https://www.f6s.com/onrampwisconsin#/apply