Capital Entrepreneurs

Sector67 Offers ‘Summer Makerships”

Posted on May 17, 2013

Sector67 is offering a small number of youth ‘Makerships’ this Summer. A ‘Makership’ gives students a 3 month opportunity to use Sector67 to complete a project of their choosing. It includes free membership, $100 for project materials, as well as a mentor to help them complete their project.

Any project is eligible, as long as it involves making something (software, crafts, electronics, mechanics, etc). Sector67 is accepting applications until June 1, and this program is only available to students under 18 years of age. For more information and to apply, go here.

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Fetch Rewards Wins UW Innovative Minds Prize

Posted on May 16, 2013

Fetch Rewards won the $10,000 Innovative Minds Prize on May 10 at UW-Madison. Fetch Rewards is a mobile application designed to reinvent the grocery shopping experience by adding several benefits to the environment. The mobile phone application lets shoppers directly scan purchases into their phones, providing a running tab of the grocery bill and automatically triggering available coupons. It also saves the shopper time at the checkout aisle.

The Innovative Minds Prize recognizes the top UW student innovation of 2013 that is best positioned for commercial development. For more, go here.

Posted in Capital Entrepreneurs, Madison News, Press | Tagged fetch rewards, innovative minds prize | Leave a comment

2013 Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference June 4-5

Posted on May 16, 2013

The 2013 Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference will be held June 4-5 in Middleton this year. Conference highlights include speakers Jason Lucash (Co-founder of OrigAudio; Named Emerging Entrepreneur of 2012 by Entrepreneur Magazine) and Roy Thiele-Sardiña (Managing partner of HighBAR Partners), as well as the Finalists from the Governor’s Business Plan Contest. In keeping with the year’s “Back to Basics” theme, the conference will provide hands-on information, advice and best practices for companies as they launch, grow and succeed with their innovative ideas.

For more information and to register to attend, go here.

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TEDxMadison Returns June 1

Posted on May 14, 2013

Ever find yourself on TED.com wondering why there isn’t a local TED event to showcase Madison’s innovators? Well this year, there is! TEDxMadison is a 1-day conference held at MMoCA on June 1 that will feature 11 of Madison’s forward-thinkers spreading their ideas.

This is the 2nd TEDx event in Madison, with the first event happening in 2011. The theme of the 2013 event is ‘FORWARD’ which incorporates both the spirit of TED as well as Wisconsin. More information is available here.

Posted in Madison News | Tagged tedxmadison | 1 Comment

SnowShoe Joins TechStars

Posted on May 13, 2013

SnowShoe (makers of the SnowShoe Stamp) was selected for the TechStars summer program in Boulder, CO. SnowShoe is the fifth Madison startup to take part in TechStars, and they are the first to join the program’s Boulder location. The program starts today and runs through August 9th.

“We are extremely excited to be taking part in TechStars this summer.” – SnowShoe CEO Claus Moberg

TechStars provides participating companies with a small amount of funding, direct mentorship from successful entrepreneurs, and access to a world-wide network of alumni and supporters. The incubator was started in Boulder in 2006, and also runs programs in New York City, Boston, San Antonio, Chicago, and London. Read more here.

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UW Innovative Minds Prize

Posted on May 9, 2013

UW Student entrepreneurs have another shot to win big this Friday (May 10) at the Innovative Minds Prize, held at 3:30 p.m. in the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery Town Center.

A number of student teams will be competing for the first-ever $10,000 Innovative Minds Prize, awarded to the student team that demonstrates the year’s most market-ready innovation. Judges will choose from winning entries from the university’s signature competitions: Innovation Days, the Qualcomm Wireless Innovation Prize, the Wisconsin Energy and Sustainability Challenge, and the G. Steven Burrill Business Plan Competition. The prize is sponsored by the law firm Perkins Coie LLC.

The keynote address will be given by Patrick Heaney, who earned master’s (2007) and Ph.D. (2009) degrees in materials science and turned his dissertation into a successful local company, NCD Technologies. NCD applies a nanoscale diamond coating technology to a new generation of super-strong tools.

More info is available here.

Posted in Madison News | Tagged innovative minds prize, ncd technologies | 1 Comment

Ronin Featured in InBusiness

Posted on May 8, 2013

Educational training game maker Ronin Studios and Consulting was recently featured in InBusiness magazine. Ronin makes mobile and web based games used by businesses and organizations for corporate training and other business objectives. Ronin’s games put a new spin on traditionally dry corporate training. For more on Ronin, check out the full article here.

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MobCraft Hosts Craft Beer Week Dinner

Posted on May 8, 2013

Chef Tom Baertschy and MobCraft Brewer Andrew Gierczak are teaming up to put together a four course beer dinner at 8 Seasons Grille in Madison as part of the Third Annual Madison Craft Beer Week.

The dinner will feature four of the MobCraft startup’s own beers, each paired with a food course. The event takes place Saturday, May 11 at 7pm. For more information and to reserve your spot, go here.

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gener8tor Founders’ Series: Belly

Posted on May 7, 2013

The VP of Business Development from Belly will be speaking at the Founders’ Series Meetup hosted by gener8tor in Madison on Wednesday, May 8 at 5:30pm.

Belly is a universal loyalty program that offers unique and exceptional rewards to local businesses through a single customer loyalty card. Belly replaces traditional ‘Buy 10, Get 1 Free’ punch cards with a rewards platform that is tailored to each business’ personality, connecting customers on a much more personalized level to the places they already love. Customers can use a physical card, iPhone App or Android App to scan in on the provided in-store iPad to earn points at every store where Belly is accepted. Belly is based in Chicago and has over 4,000 merchants using their service.

Ryan Jeffrey currently serves as the VP of Business Development at Belly. Ryan was also a Junior Board Member at Spark Ventures and an Analyst at Lightbank in Chicago, and is a UW-Madison graduate.

For more information and to RSVP, go here.

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2013 Burrill Business Plan Competition

Posted on May 6, 2013

university-of-wisconsin-madison-school-of-business The 2013 Burrill Business Plan Competition at UW-Madison wrapped up last week. This year’s competition attracted 32 different entries from UW students that competed for $27,500 in prizes. The top teams included:

3in1 Holders – A self adjusting fishing rod holder that keeps bait at a steady height even in choppy waters.

Re Prosthetics – Developing a high-performance prosthetic that can replicate a patient’s lost hand using 3D printing technology.

Fetch Rewards – A free grocery shopping mobile application that enables customers to build one-to-one relationships with their favorite grocery stores and CPG brands while shopping.

Read more about this year’s competition here.

Posted in Madison News, Press | Tagged 3in1 holders, burrill business plan competition, fetch rewards, re prosthetics | Leave a comment

Lustig Featured in Isthmus

Posted on May 2, 2013

LustigNate Capital Entrepreneurs co-founder Nathan Lustig was profiled in the Isthmus recently. His roots, as well as his role in the Madison entrepreneurial community and abroad, where highlighted. He is a serial entrepreneur, and after being selected for the first Startup Chile class in 2010 he has lived primarily in Chile – but remains very much connected to the Madison entrepreneurial community.

“Madison is one step below the Austins and Boulders of the tech world. We could easily be at their level in five to seven years if we keep at it.” – Nathan Lustig

Check out the full article here, and follow his blog here.

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Speed Match-up Event for Entrepreneurs

Posted on April 12, 2013

If you are dreading another networking event where you find yourself trapped in a corner with a person you have nothing in common with, there is a solution…

Applications are now being accepted for MyEntrepreneurNet‘s Entrepreneur Speed Matching Event being held at the Dreambank on April 23rd. MyEntrepreneurNet is a searching and connecting platform for entrepreneurs in Madison that profiles and then connects you with likeminded entrepreneurs in the community based on business types, interests, locations, commitment, personality, etc. MyEntrepreneurNet works to create as much support amongst entrepreneurs as possible so you can find potential partners, reach out to experts in different fields or create mastermind groups around certain topics.

On the 23rd of April we are holding a matching event at the Dreambank that will match entrepreneurs (who have completed profiles) in the flesh. Everyone you are introduced to will have something in common with you, so you won’t have to use that mundane question ‘So… what do you do?’. It is strictly for entrepreneurs only, NO pitching allowed.

MyEntrepreneurNet is grateful to the Dreambank for its support in organizing and supplying the space for the 23rd. We hope to see you there.

To learn more and RSVP for the event click here. The application deadline is April 19th so that the data can be compiled and sorted.

Posted in Capital Entrepreneurs | Tagged dreambank, myentrepreneurnet | 1 Comment

Epic, Healthcare IT, City Leaders, and the Startup Community

Posted on April 8, 2013

The Wisconsin State Journal featured a number of articles this weekend on the Madison startup community.

The second of a two part article highlighting “Life After Epic” ran on Sunday and focused on the important role the Madison entrepreneurial community has among Epic alums. These entrepreneurs are creating both healthcare and non-healthcare related startups, and are a quickly growing part of the Madison startup community. Check out the full Life After Epic article here.

“Churn like this is a great thing for the Madison tech community as a whole.” – Forrest Woolworth, Co-Founder of Capital Entrepreneurs

Madison’s increasing role as a great place for healthcare IT innovation was highlighted by another article. These companies have already created hundreds of jobs, and the article touched on a “grand vision” for making Madison into an even better place for healthcare IT. Check out the full healthcare IT article here.

“I love the vibrancy that these bright folks bring to our community in general and bring to health care.” – Frank Byrne, President of St. Mary’s Hospital

An article featuring Madison city leaders including Mayor Paul Soglin and Alder Scott Resnick focused on plans of how to make the city more startup friendly. Check out this full article here.

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Asthmapolis Raises $5 Million

Posted on April 5, 2013

Asthmapolis_Logo_Website Asthmapolis has just closed a $5 Million Series A round of funding from The Social+Capital Partnership. Asthmapolis makes an FDA approved “smart” asthma inhaler that helps patients and health providers better monitor, visualize, and understand the behavior of asthma by utilizing a sensor that attaches to an inhaler.

Asthmapolis, on the other hand, is on a mission to hack your inhaler.

Asthmapolis will use the funding to build new sensors that work with other inhaled medications, accelerate plans to secure regulatory clearances in countries outside of the US, and also help market their products. For more information, check out articles on TechCrunch and MobiHealthNews.

Posted in Capital Entrepreneurs, Madison News | Tagged asthmapolis, funding | Leave a comment