Innovate Wisconsin 2019 by BizTimes Media

Imagine Top Financial Talent Working for You

What could you achieve with the best minds in the financial industry working toward your goals? Being nationally recognized as a great place to work helps Baird attract and retain top talent. And because weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re employee- owned, we know our success depends on yours. Imagine the power of you and Baird.

rwbaird.com | 800-79-BAIRD

ÂŠ2019 Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated. Member SIPC. MC-308173.

A NEW ER A

WISCONSIN I N N O VAT I O N MOST PEOPLE HAVE A VERY

STRONG SENSE OF ORGANIZ ATIONAL

OWNERSHIP, BUT I THINK

what PEOPLE have

TO OWN I S

an innovation agenda. — Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO & UWM alumnus

ISCONSIN HAS a tremendous history of innovation. The typewriter, the blender and cast iron bathtubs were invented in Wisconsin. Over the years, manufacturers in the state have created innovations to improve numerous products, including motorcycles, overhead cranes, hydroelectric units and diving equipment. In the 21st century, the East and West coasts are widely considered the hotbeds of American innovation, especially for high-tech industries. But Wisconsin, while overlooked by some, remains an innovation hotbed. In this new era of business, companies throughout the state are creating interesting and exciting innovations for new industries. SwanLeap’s software has brought artificial intelligence into the logistics sector and has propelled the company to the top of the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing companies. Many other Wisconsin companies are doing fantastic, innovative things. Exact Sciences developed leading-edge technology to detect colon cancer. Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics is on the forefront of stem cell use. Shine Medical Technologies produces isotopes for medical imaging. Phoenix makes neutron generators for the medical, defense and energy sectors. You can read about all of those companies and many other stories of Wisconsin innovation in the pages of this, the second edition of Innovate Wisconsin. v

Bring this Magazine Cover to Life INNOVATEWI.COM / 1

INNOVATIONTRENDS TABLEOFCONTENTS

W I S C O N S I N 2 0 1 9

A S U PPL E ME N T O F

Welcome to Innovate Wisconsin.............1 Letter from the publisher........................4 Letter from the governor........................6 A word from WEDC.................................8

TRENDS IN INNOVATION 10 innovative Wisconsin star tups to watch. . .................................................13 Ar tificial intelligence takes hold in Wisconsin....................................16 Venture studios are growing innovation in Wisconsin..........................20 Star tingBlock designed with collaboration in mind..............................22 Enviro-ser v transforms business to farm hemp in Wisconsin .. ....................23

BIOTECH Phoenix expanding ser vices with move to Fitchburg...........................30 Fujifilm’s new plant is significant for regenerative medicine............................34 Q& A: Exac t Sciences CEO Kevin Conroy . . .......36

INNOVATE WISCONSIN 2019 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120 PHONE: 414-277-8181 FAX: 414-277-8191 WEBSITE: www.innovatewi.com ADVERTISING EMAIL: ads@biztimes.com EDITORIAL EMAIL: andrew.weiland@biztimes.com REPRINTS: reprints@biztimes.com Additional copies $12 each PUBLISHER / OWNER

Dan Meyer dan.meyer@biztimes.com DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Promentis progressing down long pharmaceutical road...............................38

Mary Ernst mary.ernst@biztimes.com

SOFTWARE

EDITOR

America’s fastest-growing company reflec ts on journey..................................40

MANAGING EDITOR

Higher ed adapts to growing demand for computer science................42 Wisconsin becoming bigger player in video game development...................44

RESOURCES

LEADERS IN INNOVATION (sponsored)

Higher education....................................46

Big Systems.............................................25 HellermannTy ton.....................................26

For tune 10 0 0 and Inc. 50 0 0 companies...............................47

Mueller Q A AS.........................................28

Early-stage organizations.......................48 Early-stage investors. . .............................50

EDITORIAL Andrew Weiland andrew.weiland@biztimes.com Molly Dill molly.dill@biztimes.com REPORTERS:

Lauren Anderson lauren.anderson@biztimes.com Maredithe Meyer maredithe.meyer@biztimes.com Arthur Thomas arthur.thomas@biztimes.com Alex Zank alex.zank@biztimes.com

SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR OF SALES

Linda Crawford linda.crawford@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES:

Paddy Kieckhefer paddy.kieckhefer@biztimes.com Molly Lawrence molly.lawrence@biztimes.com Maggie Pinnt maggie.pinnt@biztimes.com Christie Ubl christie.ubl@biztimes.com SALES INTERN

Tess Romans tess.romans@biztimes.com

PRODUCTION & DESIGN GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Alex Schneider alex.schneider@biztimes.com ART DIRECTOR

Shelly Tabor shelly.tabor@biztimes.com Madison Goldbeck FREELANCE ART DIRECTOR madison.goldbeck@biztimes.com Meredith Jensen CONTRIBUTING WRITERS meredith.m.jensen@gmail.com Elizabeth Clarke, Catherine COVER ART Jozwik and Dan Shafer Casey Hoaglund INTERN REPORTER

ADMINISTRATION

caseyhoaglund@miad.edu

ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR

Sue Herzog sue.herzog@biztimes.com

Economic development organizations. . ..51 Investment capital. . .................................52

2 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

Independent & Locally Owned — Founded 1995 —

Understanding your industry comes from

walking in your shoes And chances are, we’ve walked in ‘em.

construction/ real estate finance food & beverage manufacturing technology From the boardroom to the courtroom, Davis|Kuelthau is your trusted partner. With experience in every Wisconsin industry cluster and the span of business law services, Davis|Kuelthau, s.c. is well-positioned to help you succeed — whether a Midwestern-rooted, first generation business or a multinational, multigenerational Fortune 500 company. First-hand industry know-how. Business acumen. Personalized legal service. We are Davis|Kuelthau.

BROOKFIELD | GREEN BAY | MILWAUKEE BROOKFIELD | GREEN BAY | MILWAUKEE www.dkattorneys.com www.dkattorneys.com

PUBLISHER’SLETTER

TO THE SECOND EDITION OF INNOVATE WISCONSIN. In this annual publication, we highlight the amazing innovations coming from businesses throughout the state. Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics is one of the nation’s leading stem cell technology companies. Promentis Pharmaceuticals developed a drug to treat a wide range of adult impulse control diseases. Exact Sciences developed leading-edge technology to detect colon cancer. Those are just some of the many examples of the incredible impact Wisconsin entrepreneurs have made or will make on the world. Innovate Wisconsin is here to tell those stories. But it is also here to dig in to some of the challenges Wisconsin’s innovators are facing. How will they attract enough funding to capitalize on their great idea? Are the state’s schools doing enough to fill the talent pipeline Wisconsin’s innovative companies will need, and can those schools develop the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators to help our state’s economy grow? 4 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

Sure, Wisconsin faces its share of challenges, and is often overlooked nationally, but the state punches above its weight in terms of innovation. For example, one of the state’s most innovative companies, SwanLeap, topped the Inc. 5000 list last year, bringing Wisconsin some much-deserved recognition. Those stories and more are told here, at Innovate Wisconsin. Thank you to WEDC and to all of our advertisers and supporters for making this year’s edition of Innovate Wisconsin possible. Also, our cover was created by a MIAD student who works in their Innovation Center. Be sure to download the Zappar app to animate the cover of this magazine. Just follow the directions on page one. Check it out and enjoy!

DAN MEYER, founder and publisher, BizTimes Media

FROMTHEGOVERNOR INNOVATIONTRENDS A LETTER FROM

THE GOVERNOR

I’ VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT MAKING SURE that economic development is a 72-county strategy in Wisconsin, and we have to do more to support the Main Street businesses across our state. As I mentioned during this year’s State of the State Address, there’s more to an economy than counting job creation alone; we have to get to work on building an economy that works for everyone.

G OV. TO N Y E V E RS

At last look, Wisconsin ranked an anemic 40th nationally in terms of best states to start a business, according to WalletHub, and Wisconsin currently lags in small business creation, which is where most family-supporting jobs are created. That’s why we’re diving headfirst into supporting startups and small businesses by creating an innovation and entrepreneurship committee focusing on supporting our small businesses, seeding capital funds, and technology development at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. In addition to supporting our small businesses and startups, we have to focus our efforts on diversifying economic opportunity and industries across our state. The bottom line is that economic development and protecting our environment shouldn’t be mutually exclusive, they should work in tandem, and that’s why we’re setting a goal of having all electricity produced in Wisconsin be 100% carbon free by 2050, and why we’re creating an Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy to work with us on finding a Wisconsin-based solution on this issue. Creating a clean economy isn’t just about mitigating and adapting to climate change, it’s about producing our own energy to reduce reliance elsewhere, helping Wisconsin families and businesses save money on electricity generation, and transitioning to an economy that will keep our state strong for future generations. In addition to supporting our small businesses, we also have to work harder to help often-marginalized people re-enter the workforce. That’s among the reasons my budget bans the box statewide to help

6 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

reduce employment barriers and empower the folks rejoining our communities to have the support they need to be successful. But truly creating an economy that works for everyone also means connecting the dots – we have to get back to the fundamentals of economic development, and that means tackling the pressing issues facing our state, like fully funding our public schools and fixing our crumbling roads and infrastructure. Our budget includes historic investments in K-12 education, an $18 million increase for our Wisconsin Technical College System, and invests $150 million more in our University of Wisconsin System. Education is the great equalizer, and I believe every kid should have access to a high-quality education – regardless of their ZIP code – from pre-K to our university and technical colleges system. Additionally, our budget also includes more than $600 million in new revenue for historic investments in Wisconsin’s transportation and infrastructure and makes a $6.6 billion investment in our state’s transportation needs – the largest in our state’s history – while authorizing the lowest amount of bonding for highway purposes in the last two decades. And it’s why I’ve made significant investments in our state and University of Wisconsin System infrastructure in my capital budget that estimates indicate would create more than 40,000 jobs statewide and $4.5 billion in economic activity. At the end of the day, we have a lot of work to do in economic development, and we need to make sure we’re thinking about economic opportunity and prosperity holistically. We have to connect the dots on these issues so Wisconsin is a great place to live, work and play. On, Wisconsin!

TONY EVERS Governor

Partnering for Growth

Our region’s dynamic business economy offers both unprecedented opportunities and ever-present challenges: globalization, a next-generation workforce and advanced technology have all made conducting business more competitive and fast-paced than ever before. At Reinhart, we know how essential it is for companies to have a legal partner that understands the wide range of complex issues they face. That is why our experienced attorneys serve as strategic advisers to clients across southeastern Wisconsin and worldwide, helping them to navigate regulation, protect assets, expand capabilities and accelerate growth. Jerry Janzer, CEO

reinhartlaw.com · 800.553.6215 MILWAUKEE · MADISON · WAUKESHA · CHICAGO · ROCKFORD · MINNEAPOLIS · DENVER · PHOENIX

INNOVATIONTRENDS WEDCLETTER

PEOPLE, PLACE

AND PASSION

BEHIND E VERY INNOVATION IS VISION – the ability to imagine a better outcome. And while visionaries are often lauded for their unique individual attributes, their success invariably draws upon the wide-ranging talents of the team drawn together to support their aspirations. At the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., we celebrate these connections – not only between the people on a shared mission to improve the world, but also between those people and the place where they choose to pursue their passion. For we understand the interdependency of individual, business and community prosperity. Companies are drawn to thriving communities, which in turn rely upon the creative energy of their residents to build the social infrastructure necessary to spark new interest and investment. It is a pattern we see repeating throughout Wisconsin.

M A R K H O GA N

In fiscal year 2018, WEDC invested $5.6 million in 26 community development projects benefitting Wisconsin communities large and small. Together, these projects represent more than $147 million in planned capital investment designed to foster these communities’ quality of life. One such grant supported the recent construction of the Sherman Phoenix, an entrepreneurial and wellness hub on the site of the former BMO Harris Bank in Milwaukee’s Sherman Park neighborhood. The property, which was damaged by fire in the summer of 2016, now houses small businesses offering a variety of goods and services, including arts and cultural activities. A consistent theme across all of these projects is the increased pride that results from welcoming, shared spaces within a community – pride that fuels further economic growth. Wisconsin’s investments in its communities and the support we provide to entrepreneurs is drawing nationwide attention. Combined with our state’s strong reputation for educational excellence and unmatched quality of life, Wisconsin’s vibrant startup scene is helping to attract a new generation of innovators, as the many stories in this publication attest. We are proud to partner with Innovate Wisconsin to showcase the many visionaries throughout our state who are not only imagining a better future, but who are also bringing that future to life. And we are thankful to our more than 600 economic development partners across the state that help fan the flames of innovation in Wisconsin.

MARK R. HOGAN Secretary and CEO Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.

8 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

InWisconsin.com

PEOPLE. PLACE. PASSION. A public art installation on Third Street, Wausau | Photo:Wausau River District

Behind every innovation are people working from a place that inspires them to pursue their passion. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is proud to recognize the many visionaries throughout our state who are boldly imagining a more innovative future.

SPONSORED CONTENT

FROM THE ASHES, SHERMAN PHOENIX REGENERATES TO SPUR A NEW ECOSYSTEM The Sherman Phoenix, a community-driven entrepreneurial and wellness hub in Milwaukee’s Sherman Park neighborhood, is more than just a startup incubator—it’s a symbol of hope for a neighborhood that was still recovering from civil unrest in August 2016, when the BMO Harris Bank building was severely damaged by fire. Today, in the former bank building, the Sherman Phoenix houses small businesses—most owned by people of color—offering prepared foods, wellness services, and arts and cultural activities, along with a food hall, patio and community gathering spaces.

“

That is how we change the trajectory of this community and many like it, so that in all of Wisconsin and all of Milwaukee, communities like this can rise up.

”

Juli Kaufmann, Co-Developer, Sherman Phoenix

Co-developers Juli Kaufmann and JoAnne Sabir explain that the project not only gives local entrepreneurs an affordable space to launch and grow their businesses, but also plays a key role in rebuilding the neighborhood. “Our goal is to build local wealth and circulate that wealth, so that we’re not only raising up businesses, they are raising up employees and together we’re creating paychecks,” says Kaufmann. “The bottom line is that we’re circulating wealth in Sherman Park, and that wealth stays here. “That is how we change the trajectory of this community and many like it, so that in all of Wisconsin and all of Milwaukee, communities like this can rise up,” she adds. “That’s the story of the Sherman Phoenix.”

InWisconsin.com

The Sherman Phoenix, Milwaukee | Photo: Robert Knuth

COMMUNITY WITH A CAUSE By offering support through mentorship, business coaching and networking, the Sherman Phoenix is helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses, generate jobs and contribute to the economic growth of the community. Redeveloping the 20,000-square-foot, 90-year-old building is a massive—and costly—undertaking, but thanks to support from the public and private sectors, Sabir and Kaufmann have raised over $2.5 million for the project. More than 100 people have contributed through an online crowdfunding campaign, and the Sherman Phoenix has received a $250,000 grant from WEDC and $215,000 from the City of Milwaukee. This project showcases the community’s strengths of diversity and entrepreneurial initiative, and also exemplifies the support that exists for community economic development initiatives in Milwaukee. •

INNOVATIONTRENDS

INNOVATIVE

WISCONSIN STARTUPS TO WATCH By Elizabeth Clarke, for BizTimes

reative entrepreneurs across the state have formed companies around their innovations. While they are in various stages of their growth, some have shown great promise. Here’s the scoop on some of the most exciting startups in Wisconsin:

Understory Inc. Madison CEO: Alex Kubicek understoryweather.com Traditional radar-enabled weather centers collect data by analyzing conditions observed in the atmosphere with their large radar dishes, often perched on a tower above trees and buildings. Understory’s patent-pending weather stations sit at the ground level, where they can account for variances due to local features such as building density, land cover, elevation and terrain. The weather stations generate real-time weather data that senses hail, wind, rainfall, dew point, humidity, barometric pressure, wind chill, heat index and solar index. The company is on its way to redefining real-time weather information for insurance, agriculture, academics, utility companies and other industries that rely on this type of data in their day-to-day operations. The startup is also currently working on new technology that can collect data to identify areas with high pollution levels and offer recommendations to improve local air quality.

Wordzen Inc.

ReNeuroGen LLC

Mequon Founder: Ajay Goel gmass.co

Elm Grove Founders: Kirkwood Pritchard & Stephen Naylor

The No. 1 Sales & CRM tool on Google’s G Suite Marketplace isn’t a Silicon Valley tech platform like Salesforce or HubSpot. It’s an email marketing tool called GMass created by Mequon company Wordzen Inc. With more than 100,000 users and an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars, the email marketing platform built by developer Ajay Goel has taken off. GMass is a program that allows users to mail merge and send mass emails using Gmail, and Goel said even Google’s own employees use it. “We have customers at almost every major tech company,” Goel said. “I didn’t call them; they found me.” Unlike some of its competitors, GMass can be used from within the Gmail interface, which is familiar to many people already, without logging in to and learning another platform.

FluGen Inc. Madison CEO: Paul Radspinner flugen.com FluGen aims to improve public health by developing a vaccine that can prevent disease caused by all forms of the potentially deadly influenza virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the burden of illness during the 2017-’18 influenza season was especially high, with an estimated 48.8 million people getting sick with the flu. FluGen is developing RedeeFlu, an influenza vaccine that uses M2-deleted viruses to activate the body’s immune defenses, just like a wild-type influenza infection, without production of infectious viruses. The vaccine is designed to ignite multiple defense systems within the body. The company believes the diverse immune response induced by RedeeFlu will lead to improved efficacy against routine seasonal influenza viruses, including those that have mutated, and in older adults. It recently announced preliminary data from a human challenge trial showing, for the first time, protection against a highly mismatched influenza virus.

KYC. Those three letters, which sound similar to a fast-food restaurant name, are the moniker for a therapy developed by a professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin that could help reverse the effects of stroke and multiple sclerosis. Kirkwood Pritchard, who developed KYC with his team, described it as “a novel tripeptide that inhibits myeloperoxidase production of toxic oxygen radicals.” The drug has been shown to dramatically decrease, and speed recovery from, brain injury in trials in mice. When Pritchard and his investigators saw the impact of the tripeptide – a 56 percent reduction in stroke lesions in animals – they knew they had to commercialize it. So he brought experienced biotechnology startup executive Stephen Naylor on board and the pair established ReNeuroGen LLC. “With KYC, we have the potential to block 80 to 90 percent of the secondary brain injury that takes place in any neurodegenerative disease. I’m very excited about it,” Pritchard said.

Invenra Inc. Madison CEO: Roland Green invenra.com Invenra Inc. is a biotechnology company that is focused on discovering and developing early-stage immuno-oncology drugs for treating ROLAND GREEN cancer patients. Its technology uses a cancer patient’s own immune system to attack his or her cancer and hopefully minimize the damage experienced by otherwise healthy cells. “Our B-Body multi-specific antibody technology has several important applications,” said Kimberly Kaufman, vice president of operations. “One is to create therapeutics that can selectively kill cancer cells and leave healthy cells alone using our SNIPER platform. Another is our ARCHER technology that mimics natural protein clustering to drive important biological pathways. Yet another is to connect cancer cell-specific targets to immune cells and turn on the immune system in the cancer environment.” Kaufman said Invenra recently entered a collab INNOVATEWI.COM / 13

INNOVATIONTRENDS

The new UAS Labs facility in Windsor.

oration with Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and Dr. Paul Sondel, a pediatric oncologist, to identify new therapy for children with neuroblastoma.

Dianomi Therapeutics Inc.

UAS strives to enhance wellness and quality of life through innovative probiotic solutions. It is one of the few fully-integrated probiotic suppliers, which means it controls the whole manufacturing process, from probiotic strain selection and fermentation to packaging a finished product. Its probiotic-only facilities enhance purity and stability, according to the company. Additionally, UAS Labs is a company that prides itself on being built on scientific research. It employs gold-standard clinical trials and in-house laboratories to confirm the safety, efficacy and benefits associated with its probiotic strains and blends, the company says. UAS’ three proprietary “superstrains,” which gained the designation through rigorous clinical research, are at the forefront of its probiotic offerings. In May 2018, UAS Labs unveiled a new probiotic fermentation facility in Windsor.

Madison CEO: Barry Kurokawa dianomitx.com Dianomi Therapeutics was formed in 2017 to develop the Mineral Coated Microparticle technology invented by its scientific founders. The technology, licensed from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, has the potential to improve efficacy and safety profiles of a wide range of drug molecules. Martin Ostrowski, chief operating officer and general counsel, said Dianomi’s technology was designed to mimic the protective qualities of bone mineral and tissue to preserve and control the release of drug molecules. The company intends to apply its technology to improve drug durability and stability, and to increase efficacy. “A unique attribute of our proprietary technology is its ability to provide sustained delivery of active therapeutic proteins and small molecules without losing functionality,” Ostrowski said. The company intends to develop improved versions of approved products, which have already undergone significant R&D, clinical and regulatory development efforts. “If we can successfully capitalize on these efforts and navigate an expedited development timeline, there is a real opportunity to significantly offset burdensome costs associated with drug development,” he said.

UAS Laboratories LLC Wausau CEO: Kevin Mehring uaslabs.com UAS Labs is a business-to-business premium probiotic supplier. Products from this Wausau-based company can be found in more than 45 countries around the world. 14 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

Fasetto Inc. Superior CEO: Coy Christmas fasetto.com Founded off a 2013 Kickstarter campaign, Fasetto is dedicated to closing connectivity gaps through powerful hardware and software solutions. The company’s founders, Coy Christmas and Luke Malpass, wanted to address local connectivity deficiencies. It’s a problem often experienced in rural regions, since telecommunications companies and wireless providers often focus more on areas with larger populations. The company started as a cloud storage solution, allowing users to send a 1 GB file in an average of 10 seconds over a Wi-Fi or cellular data connection, or even between devices with no Internet connection. Fasetto’s recent offerings include products such as Forum, an all-in-one presentation-sharing device that utilizes common technologies such as Wi-Fi and browsers to connect with the audience on any device. This product builds more opportunities for innovation in regions that were previously thought to be excluded as tech hubs. .

Matt Howard runs an EatStreet company meeting.

Ionic

EatStreet Inc.

Madison CEO: Max Lynch ionicframework.com

Madison CEO: Matt Howard eatstreet.com Founded in 2010, EatStreet serves more than 250 metropolitan areas and 15,000 restaurants nationwide. The company employs more than 1,000 people, including approximately 150 in Madison. EatStreet allows hungry diners to order food for delivery or pick-up from their favorite local restaurants. The app was developed after one of the co-founders experienced many frustrations with the tedious process he encountered while trying to order a sub sandwich – a process that resulted in an incorrect order. Diners can either log on to the EatStreet website or download the app to review local restaurant menus and place an order. One can even read Yelp reviews, learn about the restaurant’s reward program or track a delivery in the app. “People like to see the full menu, learn about the specials and pay with a credit card,” said Matt Howard, co-founder and chief executive officer of EatStreet. “We offer a better overall experience by simplifying the ordering process and removing complications like language barriers.”

Ionic was founded in 2012, when using web technologies to build native apps was still in its early stages. Today, Ionic is the world's most popular cross-platform mobile development technology stack, powering companies in diverse industries, from startups to global brands. Ionic’s technology makes it easier and faster for businesses to build apps, the company says. While Ionic doesn’t do any app development internally, its customers use the platform to build their own high-quality apps. “Ionic is powering apps for major brands like Amtrak, AAA, GE, Burger King and Target,” said Max Lynch, Ionic’s co-founder and chief executive officer. “With several million developers using Ionic today, our platform has become a major way that app development gets done.” According to Lynch, Ionic caters to the largest pool of developer talent in the world and offers a way to build one single app that works on iOS, Android, Windows, Mac OS X, and any device that runs a web browser. This makes it significantly cheaper and faster to build with, and much easier to hire for, he said. v

Legal Counsel at the Speed of Innovation

™

At Reinhart, we’ve been advising business leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators throughout our region since 1894, never wavering in our commitment to achieve client success through insightful counsel coupled with agile, efficient service.

reinhartlaw.com · 800.553.6215 MILWAUKEE · MADISON · WAUKESHA · CHICAGO · ROCKFORD · MINNEAPOLIS · DENVER · PHOENIX

INNOVATIONTRENDS Photo courtesy of UWM

Zeyun Yu, UWM associate professor of computer science (far right), shows facial recognition work by his doctoral student, Reihaneh Rostami, to Matthew Friedel, senior lecturer in UWM’s School of Information Studies (standing), and some of his students who are working on voice recognition.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

TAKES HOLD IN WISCONSIN

By Catherine Jozwik, for BizTimes

ntil recently, machines perform-

ing AI Wisconsin, a nonprofit organiza-

ing tasks in the workforce, such

tion striving to educate businesses and

as data processing and custom-

individuals about AI’s vast potential, de-

er service, might have seemed to the av-

fines AI as “taking internal data in a com-

erage American like plots out of a science

pany and combining that with external

fiction novel.

data sources.” Leland is the co-founder

Artificial intelligence has existed in some form or another for 60 years. Now,

Cimphoni.

with many smartphone apps, including

In modern day workplaces, artificial in-

Uber and digital voice assistants like Am-

telligence often performs repetitive tasks,

azon’s Alexa, AI is rapidly becoming a

including data entry. AI is also rapidly

part of our daily lives.

augmenting more “human” tasks, like

Brent Leland, board chair of Advanc16 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

of Delafield technology consulting firm

customer service.

For all things ISO Certification weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got you covered. When it comes to the world of ISO standards, WMEP has you covered. We can perform an assessment of your current status to the requirements of the standard, work with your team to the extent you require to achieve certification.

ISO AUDITS/CERTIFICATIONS

We can also be your source to conduct an internal audit of your system. WMEP personnel can work either as a coach or as an active participant in implementing your system.

ISO 9001:2015 SA-8000 SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY QSR/GMP MEDICAL/PHARMA AS-9100 AEROSPACE IATF 16949 AUTOMOTIVE ISO 14001 AWS WATER STANDARD ISO 13485 MEDICAL DEVICES

Contact Jim Sullivan today for a no-obligation, free consultation: jsullivan@wmep.org | 608.354.1346 WMEP.org

INNOVATIONTRENDS “We are seeing things like the chatbots scenario,” said Ken Kortas, AAIW member and information technology consulting practice leader for Wauwatosa-based accounting and consulting firm Wipfli. AI has been incorporated in a number of Wisconsin businesses that work with large amounts of data, including large insurance companies like Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. AI enables these companies to create risk profiles using client data. Northwestern also has its own innovation labs. “Insurance companies are ahead in that way,” Leland said. Less than two years ago, AI was perceived as more of a novelty than a valuable business tool, Leland said. Now, more mid-level Wisconsin businesses are getting on board, either by using software with AI capabilities (Google’s grammar module, for example) or by hiring a team of AI engineers. “There are more and more companies that have done pilot projections and proof of concepts,” Leland added. Many companies, including Milwaukee-based wine subscription service Bright Cellars and Pound Social, a subsidiary of Combined Locks -based animation software company Dodles Inc., use AI, which applies complex algorithms and natural language understanding to compile data and client information. Pound Social, for example, uses AI technologies to help Instagram users increase their targeted audience, while Bright Cellars employs quizzes to match users with wines. “Basically, what would be a very time-consuming effort they have automated with AI. The amount of leverage is unbelievable,” said AAIW executive director Oliver Buechse. Hiring AI engineers is a costly endeavor. A majority of AI professionals are highly educated and command hefty salaries. But integrating AI can be cost-effective for many workplaces. “Our aim is to not have Wisconsin left behind, as the state can be a bit risk-averse. The whole purpose is to drive change,” Leland said. A key goal of AAIW is to educate Wisconsin business owners and individuals about AI’s vast economic potential. In addition to offering a number of business workshops, the organization strives to combine an inventory of knowledge with 1,000 use cases on its website. “We are hoping that over the next six months, we are able to build a robust inventory accessible to both businesses and individuals,” Buechse said. The organization also plans to implement a self-learning module on the site. Wisconsin universities have recognized the 18 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

importance of equipping students with upto-date technological skills. The Milwaukee School of Engineering’s $34 million Dwight and Dian Diercks Computational Science Hall is set to open this fall, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Disruptive Technologies virtual and on-site lab launched last fall. Matthew Friedel, senior lecturer at the UWM School of Information Studies, co-founded the lab with associate professor Jacques Du Plessis. “The lab was really our efforts to work with strategic partners on evolving technology,” Friedel noted. Friedel, also a software developer, said initiatives such as the Disruptive Technologies Lab, along with his practical and theoretical courses, prepare students to meet the technological demands of the ever-changing workforce after graduation, and encourage innovation and entrepreneurial thinking. “The cool part is, I get to help create the workforce that’s going to do that for Wisconsin companies. We’re building practical applications in the area so, when students go out, they will have built some type of software,” he said. “Some students do go out and create their own companies.” Despite its vast economic potential, some companies are still reluctant to integrate AI technologies in their workplaces. Local experts attribute this to fear of the unknown. “When your co-worker is a bot, there is this fear, ‘Is this going to take my job?’” Leland said. However, he and experts agree that AI will augment, not replace, many jobs. Buechse and Leland believe that Wisconsin will face a significant labor shortage in the near future. However, this can be remedied. Companies that lack skilled workers can use AI to help increase worker productivity. “The thing you hear is that it’s so hard for businesses to find and keep employees,” Leland said. “Using AI could help mitigate these losses. There are more opportunities than risk.” Buechse said that if too many Wisconsin companies are unwilling to integrate AI technologies into their workplaces, the state could potentially face a net job loss in the next decade. “We would become what I call ‘the digital Rust Belt,’” Buechse said. According to Kortas, jobs that involve a lot of repetition, among them truck driving and data processing, are likely to be the most affected by AI. “I think the reality is, all jobs will be impacted in some form. But we will have a whole new industry of jobs created because of AI,” he said. v

“Basically, what would be a very time-consuming effort they have automated with AI. The amount of leverage is unbelievable.” — Oliver Buechse, executive director, AAIW

What does it mean to be an innovator? At Husch Blackwell we look at old challenges in new ways to develop cutting-edge legal products and services that create value for our clients.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

LEGAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT

On select projects we use a variety of machine learning software tools to condense labor-intensive processes, resulting in cost containment and efficiencies.

Our Legal Project Management team ensures that clients always know the status of their projects and promotes efficiency and transparency.

DESIGN THINKING MINDSET

DEDICATED INNOVATION TEAM Our team listens to the specific challenges of clients and attorneys and uses technology, processes, and people to create solutions.

huschblackwell.com

Brainstorming, experimentation and empathy are how we intentionally craft simple and practical legal services to meet our clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ever-evolving needs.

555 East Wells Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202 414.273.2100

INNOVATIONTRENDS Photo courtesy of gener8tor Shaniqua Davis, founder of gener8tor alumnus company Noirefy.

W H AT I S A V E N T U R E S T U D I O? Venture studios are companies that provide the resources and knowledge necessary for startups to develop and grow, often focusing on building multiple new or young companies at one time. A blog post written by experts at Tangelo, a Silicon Valley venture studio that works with midcap companies that have a product in the market, says multiple venture studio models exist and each studio’s level of involvement varies. However, most studios get involved in their startups’ day-to-day operations, taking on tasks such as raising capital funds, establishing staffing resources, conducting market research, developing brand strategies and running marketing campaigns. Venture studios also give the assisting organization an ownership stake earlier in the formation of a startup.

VENTURE STUDIOS

ARE GROWING INNOVATION IN WISCONSIN By Elizabeth Clarke, for BizTimes

he Venture Studio model has been gaining popularity in recent years across the nation. Their

popularity has been growing in Wisconsin as well, giving entrepreneurs trying to enter the market a real opportunity to grow locally.

W H AT A DVA N TAG E D O V E N T U R E S T U D I OS P ROV I D E TO S TA R T U P S? According to Craig Dickman, managing director of Green Bay venture studio operator TitletownTech, one big advantage for startups working with a venture studio is they can leverage the studio’s network and reputation to attract quality employees and build their own high-profile networks of reliable, knowledgeable stakeholders to help their companies scale. Dickman also said access to the pooled resources venture studios offer makes it possible for many startups to enter larger markets sooner than they would if they worked independently. Additionally, each venture studio is equipped with a team of experts in the fields they focus on. Ben Stanley, managing director of startup accelerator gener8tor’s Madison and Milwaukee locations, describes having access to a devoted team of experts to help startups navigate day-to-day tasks efficiently and effectively as a “tremendous head start.” Stanley also says that venture studios offer a greater level of experimentation by reducing risk for the individual founders, thanks to risk being partly assumed by additional investment parties.

G E N E R8TO R With offices in Milwaukee, Madison and Minneapolis, gener8tor is a self-described concierge 20 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

Photo courtesy of gener8tor

each cohort of gener8tor. The first iteration, in which gener8tor selects applicants to build a business from scratch in house, is included in the Madison cohort that runs through June 13. Stanley believes gener8tor can add more value to the communities where it operates by creating new jobs and wealth from scratch. “The core mission of our company is to help communities more effectively invest in themselves,” he said. “Like the rest of the programs run under the gener8tor umbrella, the Accelerator Studio is one expression of that mission.”

T I T L E TOW N T E C H Jeff Golfman, founder and president of gener8tor alumnus company The Raw Office.

startup accelerator aimed at assisting startups being built from scratch. Three times per year, gener8tor filters through a growing pool of applicants from all over the world and admits five startups to its program. Its traditional 12-week, equity-based accelerator program includes resources such as funding opportunities, network building and partnerships with an internal team of experts. “Our spring 2019 accelerator in Madison attracted more than 1,000 applications and included startups from every continent except Antarctica,” Stanley said. “We initially chose the concierge accelerator model because we believe there is no one-

size-fits-all approach to building a high-growth startup. While there are fundamentals everyone should follow, each industry, innovation and founder have a unique path to market,” he said. Stanley believes the benefit of gener8tor’s approach is that founders get an intensive, personalized experience during the program to help them quickly and effectively identify and address new opportunities, identify and resolve issues, and position themselves to obtain the financing needed to scale. “The best entrepreneurs make their own luck, and we help each company in our portfolio determine the best roadmap to do so,” he said. Recently, gener8tor began experimenting with the studio model with the launch of an Accelerator Studio option it hopes to include in

Craig Dickman, managing director of TitletownTech.

Photo courtesy of TitletownTech

TitletownTech, under construction west of Lambeau Field in Green Bay’s Titletown District, grew through a partnership between the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft. This one-stop-shop will offer early-stage and existing businesses a customized opportunity to build, grow and scale within their respective markets through three components: an innovation lab, a venture studio and a venture fund. Dickman is excited about the opportunities the venture studio will create for businesses trying to enter the market locally. “Right now, we see too many organizations trying to enter markets such as technology leave (Wisconsin) for major markets,” he said. “Our goal is to bring the resources they need to grow here.” “One reason we are excited about TitletownTech is that it gives existing organizations new ways to connect into the entrepreneurial ecosystem beyond just listening to a pitch at the end of an event,” he said. “We work in full partnership with early-stage businesses and offer a dynamic, customized model full of the resources they need to reach a point where they are ready to scale on their own within the market. We bring together the resources to build each venture, not ventures to fit the resources.” The venture studio will not include a formal application process but will instead be fueled by organizations who are introduced to the studio through various sources. “We are currently meeting with businesses who have interest,” Dickman said. “And we believe most of our venture studio partners will come from the venture fund and the innovation lab, but also through the five innovation councils that are being developed and through less formal meetings taking place with early-stage companies within the market.” Dickman and his team plan to have four or five companies in residence at all times once the venture studio is operating at full capacity. v INNOVATEWI.COM / 21

Photos courtesy of Molly Dill

STARTINGBLOCK MADISON AIMS TO

FOSTER COLLABORATION By Molly Dill, staff writer

tartingBlock Madison opened last year at 821 E. Washington Ave., near the state Capitol. The three-floor entrepreneurial hub, six years and $10 million in the making, is part of American Family Insurance’s Spark Building. Six months in, about 37 early-stage companies with 159 total full-time and 79 part-time employees are now working out of the StartingBlock space. Community partners, including venture funds, also have offices in StartingBlock.

STARTINGBLOCK COMPANIES Arch Virtual bluDiagnostics Blueprint for Education BRIO Bump Studios Carepool Inc. Changing the Face of Politics Chefs for Seniors Coach Catalyst Co-D Therapeutics Inc. Digsite ESM FactoryFix Feelings at Work GrocerKey Hankr Highly Holos Hemp for the Future LUM Murfie Inc. OmniValley PayCove Polco Politiscope Rebate Bus RehabPath Soha Diamonds Stratus Silver Lining XSELL Health 22 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

INNOVATIONTRENDS From breakout spaces for after-5 meetups to huddle rooms to phone booths, StartingBlock aims to foster collaboration among its users. Chandra Miller Fienen is the executive director. One area includes pods of cubes for monthto-month renters, while offices around the edges of the space are for more established startups. There are also a number of open tables and huddle spots around the space. “One of the pieces we focus on, certain centers will cluster around a certain type of technology. Madison, just given its size and density, we don’t have that competitive advantage, but we try to build a more holistic place around entrepreneurship where any company regardless of their business model or discipline can find this as a home,” said Scott Resnick, entrepreneur-in-residence at StartingBlock. v

Above: StartingBlock opened in June 2018 in American Family Insurance’s eight-story Spark Building. Left: The lobby of the three-floor StartingBlock space, which is above AmFam’s DreamBank community space, is flanked by open workspace. Below left: Nathan Thorin of StartingBlock tenant Holos uses a virtual reality program. Holos, a virtual and augmented reality company founded in 2016, allows people to compute spatially, and aims to make it easier for developers to create in the space. Bottom Left: An outdoor patio and green roof are available to entrepreneurs in the warmer months. Bottom right: A one-on-one meeting spot outside the Madison office of startup accelerator gener8tor.

FLORIDA COMPANY

TRANSFORMS BUSINESS TO FARM HEMP IN WISCONSIN By Dan Shafer, for BizTimes

o say Enviro-Serv Inc. made a change to its business would be a huge understatement. Until recently, the Florida-based company’s primary business was in pest control and government contracting services in its home city of Tampa. But in February, it announced plans to begin farming industrial hemp in central Wisconsin. So what does this next incarnation of the company have to do with the work it had been doing for years? “Nothing,” said Chris Trina, chief executive officer. “This is a brand new endeavor.” Beginning in May, the company will be starting a hemp farm in Beaver Dam, where it is leasing nearly 30 acres of farmland. The state of Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection approved Enviro-Serv’s license in early 2019. The company will be farming on 7 to 10 acres to start and is in the process of acquiring the seed needed to get started. Enviro-Serv will be planting to harvest cannabidiol. Before setting course for Wisconsin, Enviro-Serv was a “micro penny stock.” Shares of the company’s stock were trading at one tenth of a penny, Trina said. “We were always a multi-diversified com-

Melody Walker of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection walks through a field of hemp with a grower in Sauk County.

pany, but primarily tied to pest control and government contracting,” he said. “But we’ve always been a holding company. And basically, anything that can bring my shareholder value up, we were open-minded in looking into it.”

The number of licenses to grow industrial hemp issued by the State of Wisconsin grew five-fold in 2019.

So in October, Trina met with consultants familiar with the 2018 Farm Bill, which included language that legalized hemp at the federal level, removing its classification as a controlled substance (hemp is closely related to marijuana but has none of the effects of the drug that get a person “high”). Trina bet that the bill would get passed and signed into law quickly. He was right. The bill passed Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support on Dec. 12, and President Donald Trump signed it into law on Dec. 21. The State of Wisconsin had the framework in place to manage this change, since it passed a law in November 2017 allowing people to grow industrial hemp via a pilot program. The 2014 Farm Bill gave states the option to set up a program, and Wisconsin was among more than 30 other states that did so. However, said Donna Gilson, spokesperson for the DATCP, “the Drug Enforcement Agency at the federal level still had industrial hemp on the controlled substances list. It was considered the same thing as marijuana even though it had very low THC levels. That was creating a lot of legal ambiguities. So, Congress came back in 2018 and with the Farm Bill that passed late last year, they said, ‘OK, industrial hemp is no longer on the controlled substances list,’ which is probably why we got

Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection INNOVATEWI.COM / 23

INNOVATIONTRENDS Photo courtesy of DATCP Alyssa Mianecki, a lab technician at the DATCP, prepares a hemp sample for oven drying.

so many more applications this year.” That they did. The number of licenses to grow industrial hemp issued by the State of Wisconsin grew five-fold, from 247 in 2018 to more than 1,400 in 2019. “We expected there to be an upswing in interest this year because they had last year to sit back and watch how it went and also because that legal uncertainty was removed,” Gilson said. “We knew there would be an upswing. I don’t think we expected the upswing that we got. We had a really dramatic increase.” One of those companies to be approved was Enviro-Serv. Trina said it all happened extremely quickly, even though farming in Wisconsin was not the company’s initial plan. Enviro-Serv started looking for a place to farm hemp in the city of Homestead, Florida, where it has formed a partnership with a farm and is working with the University of Florida

24 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences to advance the project. But Florida is “not as far along as other states” for hemp growing, Trina said, and that effort may take more time. Next, Enviro-Serv went to Michigan, where recreational marijuana became legal in December, but “Michigan is not allowing the general public to get certified for growing hemp, unlike Wisconsin and Minnesota, which are.” Then, he said, one of the company’s large shareholders contacted him about 29 acres of farmland, and encouraged him look into Wisconsin as a place to farm hemp. “I called Madison, I went online (to apply for a license), and to my amazement, it was not a difficult process,” he said. “We did get approved, and we got approved within 10 days.” Trina said there is a great deal still for the company to learn, but it’s jumping in head first. “We’ve been attending all these hemp expos since October and we’ve learned a truckload of information and made some very serious contacts,” he said. “It is learn-as-you-go. There is an extreme learning curve and mistakes will be made. But it is a business decision. This is a new and explosive industry. The demand for hemp products and demand for hemp CBD oil is out there. There is a viable end user at all levels for hemp.” Part of what’s changed and makes this so different for companies is the federal recognition in the 2018 Farm Bill that allows companies to transport the seed and product across state lines, which was “an open question before,” Gilson said. Now, Trina said, “You can transport it, insure it, grow it, harvest it, process it without going to prison. It’s a big deal.” Enviro-Serv will continue its pest control business, but the company’s hemp farming will be its main focus going forward. Upon making the formal plans official in mid-March, Trina called it the “biggest most monumental achievement to date at Enviro-Serv,” adding that “the company will have much more to announce about our Wisconsin endeavor and other states, as well, as this is merely the tip of the iceberg.” v

Big Systems

Not too long ago, we delivered a new 3D printer to a manufacturing engineer at a major consumer package goods company. Chances are you enjoy a beverage or food item from one of their containers each and every week. After giving the client some time to use the printer, we asked him how it was going, and he said: “Our printer continues to make me smile – it’s like Christmas morning every time the parts finish printing!” We experienced that same sense of wonderment and joy when we delivered the newest in 3D technology to a room of wide-eyed students at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School. We demonstrated the printer and trained what

we hope are future designers, engineers and manufacturers. They immediately went to work creating fun and functional items like cell phone covers, jewelry and components for competition robotics. Big Systems has been in the business of helping clients with graphic output, manufacturing support and educational print solutions for over 25 years. Our goal each and every day is to match our customers with the right wide format printers, 3D printers, software and supplies at the best price. You are only limited by your imagination. So C’mon, Print Brilliant!

N59W14053 Bobolink Ave, Menomonee Falls, WI 53051 Contact: (262) 703-9000 bigsys.com

LEADERS IN INNOVATION INNOVATEWI.COM / 25

HellermannTyton

How does a company differentiate itself making something you already use? By delivering a better experience and becoming known for it. At HellermannTyton, we believe products and relationships form a promise and an expectation that we will provide customers with greater value. Innovation has been the spark igniting our people, processes and product development since the start of our global company over 80 years ago.

7930 N Faulkner Rd Milwaukee, WI 53224 Contact: 414.355.1130 hellermann.tyton.com

LEADERS IN INNOVATION 26 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

We are celebrating our 50th year in North America, looking to our past with genuine appreciation and forging ahead with purpose. The many markets we serve share a common trajectory: upward. We are proud of our role in that trajectory and excited about what’s over the next horizon. As cars, refrigerators and manufacturing facilities become ever more intelligent – with added cameras, sensors, radar and data systems – we get the opportunity to help

manufacturers with technical solutions to physically manage all the wires and cables. As solar and wind farms expand across the nation and the world, we provide expertise in protecting electrical connections and crews who work around them. Our product managers seek out customer challenges to solve. Our engineers collaborate with chemists and stakeholders to fuel imaginations and invent these solutions. Our manufacturing experts take these solutions from idea to reality. Our marketers and sales teams educate customers on how these products offer assurance, reliability and overall cost savings. We could be describing most companies like ours. But there’s the question at the beginning of this article. A better customer experience starts with understanding customer needs and delivering superior products and services, which are a direct result of our people.

They are our most valuable resource, so we hire the best talent and provide the opportunities and tools to create challenging and fulfilling careers.

Our employees support the community in many ways, such as volunteering to read to children at a local school.

To nurture our culture of innovation, we have a strategy called the 3Cs: Growing Careers, Building Competence and Creating Community. People grow as individuals and as a community inside and outside the company. Ideas come from all corners of the company and are shared directly with the president, individually or at group listening sessions. Having a transparent and entrepreneurial culture of engaged employees accelerates our success. We thank our teams through numerous perks, like company bonuses, and a workplace that inspires. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve only glimpsed what the next 50 years will bring, but thanks to our customer promise and our winning culture, we are ready for anything. Bring on tomorrow.

LEADERS IN INNOVATION INNOVATEWI.COM / 27

mueller QAAS

Quality Affordability

Accessibility Strategy

262-696-3680 | MYQAAS.COM Compliance | Health Benefits Consulting | Health Provider Consulting

N19W24400 Riverwood Dr. Suite 100 Waukesha, WI 53188 Contact: (262) 696-3680 myQAAS.com

LEADERS IN INNOVATION 28 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

Mueller QAAS is an employee benefits consulting firm focused on helping employers develop strategies to offer quality, affordable, and accessible benefits to their employees. Mueller QAAS is led by Jim Mueller, former President of Frank F. Haack and Associates and Zywave. While at Zywave, Jim dealt with domestic and international brokers and saw how these customers viewed the employee benefits world. This experience showed Jim that few brokers were embracing transparency and objectivity, even though it could produce better outcomes for their clients. Like a traditional insurance broker, mueller QAAS can connect employer groups with fully

insured and self-funded solutions for medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits. What makes mueller QAAS different is their commitment to providing advice that is free from any financial conflicts of interest. Mueller QAAS offers clients a transparent disclosure of compensation and does not accept override or bonus payments that encourage brokers to push certain products. With offices in Waukesha and Milwaukee, mueller QAAS serves dozens of high-profile clients throughout Southeastern Wisconsin. To learn more, visit www.myQAAS.com or call (262) 696-3680.

W I S C O N S I N 2 0 2 0

Did you miss out on this edition of INNOVATE WISCONSIN?

Call today to see how you can get involved! Contact Media Sales today. (414) 336.7112 or advertise@biztimes.com

A PRODU CT OF

BIOTECHINNOVATIONS Rendering of the new Phoenix headquarters being built in Fitchburg.

PHOENIX LLC 2555 Industrial Drive, Monona WEBSITE: phoenixwi.com CEO: Ross Radel WHAT IT DOES: Manufactures commercial neutron generation technologies. EMPLOYEES: About 70 full-time, 20 part-time

30 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

PHOENIX EXPANDING SERVICES

PHOENIX LLC DESIGNS AND MANUFAC TURERS PARTICLE ACCELER ATORS, primarily neutron generators, that are used for a broad range of applications in health care, energy and defense. Phoenix Nuclear Labs, which By Elizabeth Clarke, for BizTimes has since shortened its name to Phoenix, was founded in 2005 in Monona by Gregory Piefer. After he completed his doctorate in nuclear engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Piefer was moved by an idea championed by his Ph.D. thesis advisor, Gerry Kulcinski. He set out to “commercialize near-term applications of nuclear fusion technology as a way of generating near-term revenue that could be reinvested to incrementally advance fusion technology to the next level on a long-term path to clean, fusion energy,” said Evan Sengbusch, president of Phoenix. It’s the original idea that spurred Piefer to create Phoenix that Sengbusch says continues to be a long-term drive for the company. “We are currently focused on the first phase, which is commercializing a few key medical and industrial applications of neutron-generating fusion sources,” he said. This includes producing radioisotopes used in medical imaging, high resolution neutron imaging of high-value defense and industrial components like aircraft engine turbine blades, and inspection of nuclear fuel for carbon-free energy generation. Furthermore, providing next-generation fusion capabilities also became the inspiration for the company’s name. “The name Phoenix was tied to the notion of a nuclear renaissance, with Phoenix’s technology playing a key role in helping the nuclear industry rise from the ashes,” Sengbusch said. As Phoenix developed as an organization, the use of radioisotopes in nuclear medicine grew. “Nuclear medicine uses radiation to provide diagnostic information about the functioning of a person's specific organs, or to treat them. Diagnostic procedures using radioisotopes are now routine,” said Jonathan Cobb, senior communication manager at the World Nuclear Association.

WITH MOVE TO FITCHBURG

These procedures are so routine that “over 40 million nuclear medicine procedures are performed worldwide each year” with half of those taking place in the U.S. In 2010, Piefer left his role at Phoenix to become founder and CEO of SHINE Medical Technologies Inc., a company that spun out of Phoenix and is aimed at becoming the world leader in the safe, clean, affordable production of medical isotopes. “SHINE was spun off based of a market need for alternative production technologies, other than nuclear reactors, for the medical isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99),” Sengbusch said. According to Cobb, the market for Mo-99 is substantial. “Of fission radioisotopes, the vast majority of demand is for Mo-99, and the world market is some $550 million per year,” he said. The world's supply of Mo-99 comes from only five reactors, none of which are located in the U.S. and all of which are between 52 and 61 years old, according to the World Nuclear Association.

The Phoenix Neutron Imaging Center will be one of two Phoenix buildings built in Fitchburg.

Great ideas can come from anywhere. And out of nowhere.

inpro.com • 800.222.5556

Innovate Wisconsin.indd 1

3/11/19 9:47/ AM INNOVATEWI.COM 31

BIOTECHINNOVATIONS

Phoenix timeline 2005 2008 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Company founded First private investment in conjunction with first major U.S. Army grant funding award SHINE spun out and first Department of Energy award of $25million for moly-99 production

Phoenix moved from Middleton to larger facility in Monona First Phoenix system delivered to U.S. Army in New Jersey

“There was a large U.S. Department of Energy program funding technology development in this area and SHINE was an awardee of this program,” Sengbusch said. When SHINE spun off from Phoenix, it made sense for the two companies to operate independently, he said. “Manufacturing high volumes of a specialty radioactive chemical product is a fundamentally different type of business than manufacturing low-volume, high-cost capital equipment,” Sengbusch said. SHINE and Phoenix announced in August 2014 that they successfully operated their second-generation neutron driver prototype for 24 consecutive hours with 99% uptime. The operating success preceded a January 2015 announcement that the two companies would enter into an exclusive, long-term development and supply agreement. Now, SHINE and Phoenix consider themselves sister companies and Sengbusch believes it remains logical for the two organizations to continue operating independently. The companies will continue to have a close customer-supplier relationship and maintain a close proximity and cultural connection as they both continue expanding independently. SHINE opened its global headquarters in downtown Janesville in January 2017. Building One was completed on the medical isotope production

“There was a large U.S. Department of Energy program funding technology development

First isotope production prototype operational Delivery of first commercial system (and first international system) to U.K.

in this area and SHINE was an awardee of this program." —Evan Sengbusch Phoenix President

Delivery of first system for semiconductor manufacturing First major institutional financing raise; expansion to second production facility Production of first nuclear fuel inspection systems; broke ground on Phoenix Neutron Imaging Center Beginning commercial operation of Phoenix Neutron Imaging Center

32 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

campus in February 2018 and SHINE installed its first Phoenix production accelerator in October 2018. The first production unit is a state-of-the-art accelerator system that was designed and built by Phoenix specifically for the SHINE medical isotope project. SHINE is using the unit to gain operating experience, train employees and develop maintenance procedures prior to construction of its commercial production facility. Not only does Piefer remain directly connected to Phoenix’s work through its partnership with SHINE, but also as an active member on the Phoenix board of directors. In September 2018, Phoenix announced it would be leaving its leased facilities in Monona and heading to a new facility in Fitchburg. The property, located at Highway 14 and Lacy Road, will be home to two new Phoenix buildings: Phoenix’s headquarters and its new imaging center. The two buildings are estimated to cost a combined $12 million to $15 million. “The first building being constructed is the Phoenix Neutron Imaging

Rendering of the new Phoenix headquarters being built in Fitchburg.

Center,” Sengbusch said. He describes the facility as a “standalone neutron imaging services business that will give access to Phoenix technology to a much broader range of customers through easily accessible, low-cost neutron imaging services.” Completion of the 10,000-square-foot facility housing the Phoenix Neutron Imaging Center is planned for mid-2019. The state-of-the-art neutron imaging center will be the first facility of its kind to offer commercial neutron imaging services by utilizing Phoenix’s high-intensity neutron technology. Services will include providing neutron activation analysis, radiation effects testing and X-ray imaging, in addition to neutron imaging applications, such as visualizing internal flaws in cast parts, loading uniformity in munitions, and defects in low-density and energetic materials.

“The second building being constructed will serve as Phoenix’s new corporate headquarters. It will provide the much-needed manufacturing and office space to keep up with growing demand for Phoenix systems and our growing personnel headcount,” Sengbusch said. Construction of Phoenix’s new 50,000-square-foot headquarters building is expected to begin in 2019, with completion planned for 2020. Phoenix has been preparing for the move by building its equity through a $15 million investment round. The company has already raised $4.5 million from three investors. Sengbusch believes Phoenix’s current growth is being driven by significant traction with a few key customers and markets, including the U.S. Army for neutron imaging, nuclear fuel inspection and isotope production in conjunction with SHINE. “Having a stable baseline business with a handful of key customers has allowed us to use internal research and development resources to incrementally modify our core technology to address other market opportunities with huge growth potential,” he said. Phoenix’s growth doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon, with its innovative technologies constantly driving the company to begin new endeavors. “I am personally most excited about all the new prospective applications for which our technology could be used now that it’s reaching maturity,” Sengbusch said. “We’ve just scratched the surface of where and how this technology can be commercially implemented, and we have a long list of new market opportunities we are currently evaluating, some of which could be very large and have a big impact on humanity.” v

“

As one of the nation’s most innovative and accessible universities, UWM plays a key role in economic development for our region and beyond. I invite you to see how we partner with businesses to develop the talent pipeline and create new products and services that keep Wisconsin competitive.

”

- Mark A. Mone, UW-Milwaukee Chancellor

uwm.edu/chancellor INNOVATEWI.COM / 33

BIOTECHINNOVATIONS Photo courtesy of Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics A rendering of the Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics stem cell manufacturing plant, which is expected to be operational by March 2020.

FUJIFILM CELLULAR DYNAMICS’ $21 MILLION PLANT

new Madison stem cell manufacturing plant could have a significant impact on the Wisconsin medical landscape and the field of regenerative medicine,

along with the local economy. In January, Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Japanese electronics manufacturer Fujifilm Corp., announced plans to build a $21 million plant across the street from the com-

IS SIGNIFICANT FOR REGENERATIVE MEDICINE

pany’s headquarters at 525 Science Drive. The facility is expect-

By Catherine Jozwik, for BizTimes

Although in November the company reduced its staff by 10

ed to be operational by March 2020. FCDI also has a facility in Novato, California.

percent, cutting marketing, sales and administrative jobs in an effort to focus its resources on the applications of regenerative medicine, chief executive officer Seimi Satake said the company does plan to hire more skilled employees soon. “We are planning to increase staff in the near future,” he said. In 2015, Fujifilm Holdings Corp. purchased Cellular Dynamics International Inc., a company founded by developmental biologist James Thomson in 2004, for $307 million. Thomson, director of regenerative biology at the Morgridge Institute for Research in Madison and a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor, is best known for his work with isolating human induced pluripotent cells, or iPSC. 34 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

“It is very encouraging that Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics is making this long-term investment here in Wisconsin. It reflects the strengths of the Madison community in biotechnology and stem cell research,” Thomson said. James Thomson Satake said the company, in part, chose Madison as the site of the plant due to the city’s abundance of skilled medical professionals, particularly in the regenerative medicine field. Madison is home to several medical and biomedical facilities, among them the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and Waisman Biomanufacturing. “We value the strong connections we have made with the city, state and partners, such as the University of Wisconsin, and we see many possibilities for FCDI in Madison,” Satake said. “The area is rich in talent and expertise.” Like embryonic stem cells, iPSC can be applied to many treatments in regenerative medicine, including cancer, Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, without the controversy and ethical considerations associated with embryonic stem cells. FCDI’s four cell therapy programs, which focus on treating congestive heart failure, different types of cancers, Parkinson’s disease, and ocular diseases and conditions, “were developed to address unmet patient needs, (in instances) where replacement of dead and damaged cells can create positive outcomes,” Satake said. What he refers to as the company’s “advancing therapies” pipeline would focus on these medical needs. According to Satake, manufacturing and developing the extremely sensitive iPSC cells is highly complicated. Workers must have very specialized skills similar to those involved in color film processing, including “precisely arranging over 100 types of compounds across 20 photosensitive layers in a thickness measuring just 20 microns.” “Furthermore, Fujifilm’s image processing technology with machine learning can be applied to improve productivity in both the development and manufacturing processes. For instance, the system can provide stable

predictability for iPSC to change certain cell types,” Satake said. In addition to the company employing direct manufacturing for iPSC cells, Satake believes FCDI’s plans to provide contract manufacturing will help the company maintain growth. It is aiming to evolve the stem cell therapies to human trial level within the next two to three years. “The facility is designed to accomplish several stages of clinical study. As the programs advance, we will scale up the facility,” Satake said. Madison-area experts feel the new FCDI plant will benefit the city economically by providing jobs for University of Wisconsin graduates and other skilled workers. “Any new biomanufacturing effort like this provides new opportunities for our students and faculty, including new jobs and new opportunities for public-private R&D partnerships. This increased local investment from Fujifilm is an endorsement of our biomanufacturing ecosystem, which continues to thrive here in Wisconsin,” said William Murphy, Harvey D. Spangler Professor of Biomedical Engineering, professor of orthopedics and rehabilitation, and director of Forward BIO Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. David Gamm, chief scientific officer and co-founder of Madison-based Opsis Therapeutics, in which FCDI is an investor, believes the new plant will help cement Madison’s reputation as a leader in the field of regenerative medicine and advanced medical technologies. “This is an important facility for us, as it gives yet another option in Madison for generating clinical-grade cell products,” Gamm said. “As such, we are in a great position to build a strong footing in cell therapeutics.” According to Opsis co-founder Carter Cliff, its mission is “to advance iPSC-manufactured retinal cell therapies.” Benefitting patients is one of the program’s key aims. “The medical community will be engaged over time as we endeavor to establish safety and efficacy of our candidate products. We have established a Scientific Advisory Board of thought leaders that includes UW faculty and clinicians,” Cliff said. Satake asserts that staying ahead of the regenerative medicine curve is one of FCDI’s main long-term goals. “Fujifilm will continue to be on the leading edge and plans on expanding facilities to meet the needs of regenerative medicines and contract development manufacturing organizations businesses,” he said. v

“We value the strong connections we have made with the city, state and partners, such as the University of Wisconsin, and we see many possibilities for FCDI in Madison.” — Seimi Satake, CEO, Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics

INNOVATEWI.COM / 35

BIOTECHINNOVATIONS Photo courtesy of Exact Sciences A rendering of Innovation One, a 138,000 square-foot building being developed at University Research Park to serve as Exact Sciences’ corporate headquarters.

EXACT SCIENCES CEO KEVIN CONROY

IN 2014, MADISON - BA SED E X AC T SCIENCES CORP. introduced a product that could revolutionize cancer screening. Cologuard, a noninvasive, at-home screening test that detects the presence of colon cancer in stool samples, has been used by millions of Americans age 50 and up, a segment of the population that grows every year. The test, covered by many insurance providers, could inspire others that detect other forms of cancer. “Cologuard is all about removing barriers and making it easier to get screened,” said Kevin Conroy, chief executive officer of Exact Sciences. Reporter Catherine Jozwik recently interviewed Conroy about the company’s extensive growth, recent partnership with Pfizer Inc. and future goals.

How long did it take to get Cologuard from the conception stage to market? “Cologuard took shape between 2009 and 2014. When I joined the company as CEO in April 2009, we moved it to Madison and essentially rebooted the entire operation. “Successful research and development over the next few years culminated in a pivotal, 10,000-patient study published in The New England Journal of Medicine in April 2014, which validated the effectiveness of Cologuard to detect cancer and pre-cancers. From there, we had to get the product approved. “In August 2014, Cologuard became the first product to take part in the FDA and (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) parallel review pilot program, in which both agencies simultaneously review medical de36 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

vices. This was huge for us, because it meant we got our product approved, and Medicare insurance coverage for Cologuard, all within a few months.”

How did Exact Sciences gain the financial backing to launch Cologuard? “When you’re trying to create a new product and improve cancer screening rates, nothing is easy. In April 2009, the country was in the midst of a recession. At the time, we had a market capitalization of $30 million and $30 million cash in the bank. That means investors valued us at $0 – we had a lot of work to do. As a publicly-traded company, we focused our efforts on institutional investors. We outlined our idea, the team and our path forward. “From there, it was a matter of helping investors understand the size of the colorectal cancer screening problem, and the ability of a new test to truly transform the market. “Colorectal cancer is the No. 2 cancer killer in the United States, but it is treatable if detected early. It’s estimated that more than 30 million Americans are not current with colorectal cancer screening guidelines, because they are not willing to get a colonoscopy. So, we met with a lot of people, told them about the opportunity to get more people screened for colorectal cancer, and our vision for how a new kind of test could make a real difference. During my time as CEO, we’ve done 4,500 investor meetings, 130 investor presentations and 12 capital raises. From those efforts, we’ve been able to raise $1.8 billion, which gives us the ability to think big and invest in the longterm growth of the company.”

Exact Sciences has e x p e r i e n c e d m a s s iv e growth over the past several years, with the company’s annual revenue more than doubling since 2017. What has helped fuel this growth? “Our growth is driven by demand for Cologuard. At the end of February, we announced we’ve now helped screen 2 million Americans for colorectal cancer – 1 million of those in the last year alone. We’re tremendously honored

to have earned the trust of those patients and the nearly 147,000 health care professionals who prescribe Cologuard. “Also helping drive these numbers is widespread insurance coverage for Cologuard. Today, 94 percent of people who get a Cologuard test have zero out-of-pocket costs because Cologuard is a screening test and is covered by most insurance plans as a preventive benefit. In the last year alone, we’ve added about 80 million Americans whose insurance covers Cologuard.”

What are some long-term goals for the Exact Sciences and Pfizer partnership? “The partnership is all about getting the life-changing power of Cologuard in front of more doctors, nurses and health care systems. We have a co-promotion agreement with Pfizer. “Recently, Pfizer extended the agreement to the part of their sales team that calls on OB-GYN offices. For many women, their OB-GYN is the primary care doctor, so we think this could make a huge difference in improving screening rates. I think years from now, people will look back at the Exact Sciences-Pfizer relationship as a turning point in the fight to end colorectal cancer.”

Cologuard uses protein and DNA biomarkers to detect the presence of colorectal cancer. How can these biomarkers be applied to other types of cancer detection? “We have plans to extend our technology and processes to take on the top 15 deadliest cancers. Our whole goal as a company is to make early detection possible, because we know that cancer is a disease of the DNA and that DNA can be found in the blood. “For the past seven or eight years, we’ve been working with Mayo Clinic to identify and validate biomarkers across a variety of forms of cancer. We hope to bring those findings to market in the form of new cancer screening tests. When cancer is detected too late, there is often little that can be done to change outcomes. Early detection changes lives. That’s what energizes us and guides Exact Sciences’ development.” v

“Years from now, people will look back at the Exact Sciences-Pfizer relationship as a turning point in the fight to end colorectal cancer.” — Kevin Conroy, CEO, Exact Sciences

INNOVATEWI.COM / 37

BIOTECHINNOVATIONS Klaus Veitinger, CEO of Promentis Pharmaceuticals.

PROMENTIS PROGRESSING

DOWN LONG PHARMACEUTICAL ROAD By Molly Dill, staff writer

TRICHOTILLOMANIA IS A NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDER afflicting about 1 percent of the U.S. population. Those with the condition pull out their own hair, causing noticeable hair loss and significantly impacting self-esteem, health, employment and quality of life. After a promising Phase 1 clinical trial, Milwaukee-based Promentis Pharmaceuticals Inc. in December entered Phase 2 of clinical trials for a drug to treat the condition, which is believed to be exacerbated by glutamatergic imbalance and oxidative stress – factors Promentis’ compound targets. And Promentis has raised most of a $26 million Series C round of investor funding to fuel its next stage of growth, with 38 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

Brookfield-based Golden Angels Investors among the contributors, which also include OrbiMed, F-Prime Capital Partners, Aisling Capital, Black Pearl GmbH and individual investors. Promentis’ lead compound, SXC-2023, has the potential to treat not just trichotillomania, but also a wide range of adult impulse control diseases, including obsessive compulsive disorder, and substance-related and addictive disorders, said Klaus Veitinger, chief executive officer. “Right now, the goal is to show safety and efficacy for our mechanism of action,” Veitinger said. “…because once you are there, there are a lot of options because this mechanism’s applicable to a whole host of psych disorders and even some neurological disorders.” Promentis was established in 2007 by Dr. David Baker, a Marquette University professor and associate chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences, and John Mantsch, the chair of Marquette’s Department of Biomedical Sciences. The company has previously raised a total of $5 million from investors. With its recent Series C raise, the company adjusted its leadership structure. Veitinger, a venture partner with OrbiMed, was named chief executive officer and Daniel Lawton was named president in

March 2017. They replaced Chad Beyer, who had served as president and CEO before this most recent investment. Veitinger and Dr. Stephen Squinto also joined the Promentis board as OrbiMed representatives. Dr. Tom Beck, executive partner at F-Prime, was named chief medical officer of Promentis and was appointed to the board. And Stacey Seltzer joined the board as a representative of Aisling. Promentis’ technology, which was in-licensed by Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, must go

“The one thing about our industry is it's a little bit almost like building the next 747, so its...a big project, very complex.” — Klaus Veitinger, CEO, Promentis

through one more phase of development before it can be brought to market, which Veitinger estimates will be around 2023. “The one thing about our industry is it’s a little bit almost like building the next 747, so it’s…a big project, very complex, and you have to think it through from the beginning to the end,” Veitinger said. Pharmaceuticals are notoriously difficult to develop, with an arduous and costly process of testing to gain FDA approval. “This is not an uncommon pathway at all,” said Michael Harrison, Milwaukee business development manager at state industry organi-

zation BioForward Wisconsin. “It’s a very long road. Just getting initial funding, a lot of them are beholden to NIH grants to begin with. If they see a commercialization potential then they start with SBIR grants because it’s very hard to get funding.” Promentis has targeted trichotillomania because there is nothing approved to treat it, and there is a clear medical need, Veitinger said. “You can receive several benefits from the FDA for going after rare diseases, so that was probably part of their reasoning,” Harrison said. “That being said, there are a lot of underappreciated or under-recognized psychiatric disorders. It’s less rare than people thought it was initially.” The company, which has most of its employees in Milwaukee and a couple in a Boston office, is also working to launch a parallel study on obsessive compulsive disorder, for which it would need additional funding, he said. When Promentis was founded, there was a lot of investor interest in psych drugs, but it died down over the past few years, Veitinger said. Now, that interest is emerging again. “Psych is always a tempting investment for investors because there’s a lot of unmet need,” Veitinger said. “But it’s also sometimes scary because a lot of things have to play out, so it’s seen as risky.” Promentis is among a few Wisconsin companies focused on small-molecule drug development, of the 90 or so in the pharmaceutical sector, Harrison said. The company has been lucky to gain the funding to continue its testing to this phase. “Because of the riskiness and the lack of funding for those types of startups, we don’t have a lot of them,” he said. “It’s somewhat uncommon for them to get this far as a private entity as they have.” Long-term, Promentis is expected to either go public or have a merger event, Veitinger said. That Promentis has advanced this far in its development without being acquired or selling its formula to a large pharmaceutical company is notable, Harrison said. It speaks to the strength of the company’s leadership that it was able to secure early-stage funding from Wisconsin investors. “Promentis is a very successful and important part of that pharmaceutical ecosystem because it’s something that we don’t have a lot of,” he said. “It’s an excellent model for people to go after and see how they found success.” v INNOVATEWI.COM / 39

SOFTWAREINNOVATIONS

AMERICAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S FASTEST-GROWING COMPANY

REFLECTS ON ITS JOURNEY By Molly Dill, staff writer

40 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

IN AUGUS T 2018, Madison-based logistics technology startup SwanLeap was named the fastest-growing private company in America, topping the Inc. 5000 with three-year growth of 75,000% and almost $400 million in 2018 revenue. The annual list by Inc. magazine creates its ranking based on percentage revenue growth from 2014 to 2018 for companies with greater than $100,000 in 2014 revenue and greater than $2 million in 2017 revenue. Eight months later, chief executive officer Brad Hollister is dealing with growing pains as the six-year-old company continues to evolve. But he plans to apply for the Inc. 5000 again this year. In November, SwanLeap was also No. 1 on Deloitteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2018 North America Fast 500 based on similar growth metrics. How did SwanLeap do it? Hollister pointed to the cost savings SwanLeap provides its customers. On average, Swan-

Leap’s software allows companies to save 27.6 percent on shipping costs. In addition, SwanLeap has differentiated itself with its lightning integration format, he said, which sidesteps the traditional evaluation process that entails a request for information and then a request for proposals. Instead, the company encourages logistics firms to implement its software and then find gaps in their systems where assistance is needed. “What we’re looking at here is doing a oneday integration of an entire business system that

“We're also doing something that is pretty unprecedented in

When companies implement SwanLeap’s platform, they are able to gather data needed to make better decisions on finances and operations, Hollister said. Hollister and Jason Swanson founded SwanLeap, originally called ClearView Audit LLC, in Hollister’s Elkhart Lake basement in 2013. The idea for SwanLeap came out of a previous startup, which failed, but led to the current company. Hollister ended up renegotiating the terms of a contract for Racine-based Rogan’s Shoes to help them save money on shipping, and it snowballed from there. “The idea is just a series of very important improvements on a bunch of other pieces,” Hollister said. “We consolidated a lot of pieces and we brought them into one platform, but we also made the platform way better than what’s out there.” The business has thrived, he said, because SwanLeap thought about the product from the customer’s perspective. “We actually continued to grow by hiring to revenue and spending only to our revenue,” he

said. “We’re not looking to take on capital and make these, what I call, irresponsible decisions.” And they never set small goals. On the wall of that basement, they had a goal: get to 100,000 users and become a billion-dollar company. “The goal for the company this year is continuing with international expansion,” Hollister said, with SwanLeap on the cusp of bringing on its first Latin American and European customers. “We’re also doing something that is pretty unprecedented in our industry, and that is that we’re completely rewriting the code from scratch,” he said, and making it more open. Since it has gained more prominence from the Inc. 5000, SwanLeap has been able to gain more market validation in the enterprise software space. And it’s learned it needs to shore up its processes as it scales for growth. But Hollister has found running a startup is just as challenging when you get bigger. “It’s not any easier than it was with t wo employees and no money. It’s the same,” he said.v

our industry, and that is that we're completely rewriting

Innovation at Fiserv Forum brought to you by

the code from scratch.”

Phone: 800-236-7914 Project contacts:

— Brad Hollister CEO Swan Leap

• Adonica (Abaxent), ext. 6881 • Wayne (HBS), ext. 1601

17,500+ Happy Wifi Users Abaxent and Heartland Business Systems developed new stadium wifi technology into handrails

normally can take up to a year or more with our competitors,” Hollister said. “It’s exciting because it really drastically changes the industry.” Hollister previously worked as a freight broker and for a publicly-traded trucking company, and he saw that some of the existing logistics technology was antiquated. SwanLeap’s platform uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide transportation management, shipping technology, and freight and parcel auditing. Its goal is to streamline the supply chain using a technology that was not previously harnessed in logistics, he said. INNOVATEWI.COM / 41

SOFTWAREINNOVATIONS

HIGHER ED ADAPTS

TO GROWING DEMAND FOR COMPUTER SCIENCE By Dan Shafer, for BizTimes

dvances in technology are changing the way business is done in just about every industry, and institutions of higher education in Wisconsin are undergoing major

changes to evolve their computer science programs into new frontiers. Nationally, the number of undergraduates majoring in computer science doubled from 2013 to 2017, according to The New York Times. In Wisconsin, that number is growing significantly, too, led by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which has seen its computer science program explode in popularity over the past decade.

A rendering of an interactive classroom planned for the new Dwight and Dian Diercks Computational Science Hall at MSOE.

42 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

Photo courtesy of MSOE

“There’s been a huge increase in demand,” said Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau, associate chair of the Department of Computer Sciences at UW-Madison. “We’ve become the biggest major (within the entire university). I don’t know if that’s ever happened before. It’s pretty amazing how much it’s grown.” In 2009, there were fewer than 200 undergraduates majoring in computer science at UW-Madison. In 2018, that number soared past 1,500 and is showing no signs of slowing down. Other schools in Wisconsin are seeing increases, too. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s undergraduate computer science major headcount has grown more than 50 percent over the past five years. The Milwaukee School of Engineering received a $34 million donation to open a new computational science facility, which will include the new bachelor of science in computer science degree that was introduced in fall 2018, where interest “exceeded what we originally thought,” said Eric Baumgartner, vice president of academics at MSOE. With this growth in interest and enrollment in computer science programs, many institutions are struggling to keep up with the demand. The number of tenure-track faculty in the subject rose only about 17 percent nationally during the time period in which majors doubled, according to The New York Times. Ethan Munson, associate dean for academic affairs at UWM’s College of Engineering and Applied Science and a professor of computer science, said this has been a significant trend among departments for some time. And while UWM didn’t feel that pinch as early as some other schools, it is now. “We do have staffing problems,” he said. “But because of the budget difficulties that the UW System has had – and UWM among the system schools has had as much if not more (difficulties) than everybody else – we’ve had extremely little hiring in computer science. We haven't been even trying to hire new faculty because we don’t have the budget space to do so, and it is very challenging. We have the capacity to serve the students that we have, but if we saw continued enrollment and growth, it would be very challenging to serve more students.” Part of the problem, too, he said, is the nature of how qualified professors become qualified for these roles in any field spiking in popularity, given the amount of time it takes to get a doctorate, which can be up to eight years in computer science. The steep trajectory of the program’s

growth at UW-Madison has been met with a different and more aggressive response, Arpaci-Dusseau said. “We’ve probably tripled the size of our teaching faculty in the last five to six years,” he said. The computer science program at the state’s largest university is ranked 13th nationally by U.S. News & World Report, and now that

The University of WisconsinMilwaukee's undergraduate computer science major headcount has grown more than 50 percent over the past five years.

it’s the largest major on campus, it garners an added bit of attention. To that end, UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank in January 2018 convened a 12-person task force that included faculty, business leaders, department alumni and others to study the future of computing on campus in an in-depth way from a variety of angles. Nine months later, the task force produced a report titled “Wisconsin in the Information Age.” Arpaci-Dusseau, a member of the task force, said a big part of the report was the recognition that computing and data are transforming just about every field.

“Everybody has data to analyze and everybody has some computational things that they need to do,” he said. “There’s a sense that, more and more, these computational and data science skills really need to be pervasive. Hopefully, that extends out then into the state and the workforce and existing businesses, as well as to the creation of new businesses.” While Wisconsin has some technology companies with major presences – Verona-based health care technology giant Epic Systems Corp. was founded by Judy Faulkner, a UW-Madison computer sciences alum – it’s not exactly Silicon Valley or Seattle when it comes to being internationally recognized as a tech hub. But given how prevalent computing and data are becoming in so many different industries, even companies that might not first and foremost be identified as a “technology company” have a need for employees with computer science skills. “In Milwaukee, even though we have companies where computing is important to them, none of them are seen as principally computing companies,” said Munson, naming Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc., GE Healthcare, and Rockwell Automation Inc. among those hiring computer science majors. Baumgartner also pointed to the Milwaukee Tech Hub, which includes Northwestern Mutual, Rockwell, Johnson Controls International plc, Advocate Aurora Health, Kohl’s Corp., Foxconn Technology Group, gener8tor, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Milwaukee Bucks, MillerCoors LLC and many more, and how it is working to grow an ecosystem around tech in Milwaukee, even among non-traditional tech companies. In a way, he said, all companies are becoming technology companies. Arpaci-Dusseau also noted that the “brain drain” trend of students in tech leaving the state after graduation is changing, and more computer science graduates are staying after finding opportunities closer to places like Madison, which is seeing a “growth of satellite campuses of big companies,” he said. Companies like Google, Microsoft and Zendesk (which now employs 350 people in an office near the state Capitol) have established a presence in Madison, which doesn’t have the high costs of living and retention challenges seen in coastal cities. “There’s more and more opportunity here than there ever was before to stay,” Arpaci-Dusseau said. v

INNOVATEWI.COM / 43

SOFTWAREINNOVATIONS

WISCONSIN BECOMING

A BIGGER PLAYER IN VIDEO GAME DEVELOPMENT By Dan Shafer, for BizTimes

44 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

Alyssa Finley, a video game industry leader and former creative director of Telltale Games, delivers the Endnote Speech at the M+DEV Midwest game developers conference at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison on Oct. 19.

THOUGH WISCONSIN IS NOT TR ADI TIONALLY a place known for video game development, the industry has been leveling up in the state, with a goal of becoming a bonafide hub. “There are a lot of video games that are made here,” said Jennifer Javornik, vice president of sales for Madison-based Filament Games LLC and co-chair of the Wisconsin Games Alliance. “In the last few years, there have been some really big successes.” Brian Pelletier, current executive director of the WGA and senior artist at Madison-based Human Head Studios Inc., said there are now more than 70 registered businesses in Wisconsin whose primary focus is game development, a number he estimates has doubled in the past decade. “We’ve been seeing this growth since 2010,” he said. “Our focus is to continue to grow and support game development here in Wisconsin.” To that end, this October will feature the third annual M+DEV conference for professional game developers. The conference, hosted by the WGA, is now supported by the Madison Region Economic Partnership and Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., and it showcases people and companies from all over the Midwest region who work in the gaming industry.

Javornik, a co-chair of M+DEV, said the conference was established as a way to work on the challenges Wisconsin and the Midwest at large have in getting recognition in the industry. “In terms of big games conferences, there hasn’t been much in the Midwest region,” she said. “We really wanted that to be a beacon to industry that there is a viable resource here.” Like in so many other industries, game development studios from all over the country are competing for talent. In many ways, that talent has clustered on the coasts. In a place like Wisconsin – or Madison, where much of the state’s gaming industry is based – part of the way to grow the industry is to tell its story. “We’re all really interested in bringing more business to Wisconsin,” said Javornik, who mentioned interest in trying to lure investment from the Apples and Microsofts of the world to the state. “If we can talk about ourselves not just as individual studios but as a region, that gives a lot of investors and publishers a better sense that they’re not investing in a couple of guys in the middle of the state, that there’s actually a whole industry that’s supporting them.”

Madison-based Raven Software, a subsidiary of Activision, has long been a crucial player in the creation of the “Call of Duty” franchise.

Over the past few years, through the conference and WGA and its partners, silos are breaking down, and people working in gaming are talking more often, working to connect the dots from otherwise disparate parts of the industry. They’re getting better aligned, with studios small and large working in concert with higher education institutions and forging a more knit-together community. “We’re really focused on awareness,” Javornik said. “We have to change our talking points to not just talking about our studios, but what’s happening here so publishers are aware. As studios put out world-renowned games that have a high level of awareness, I think that helps get the word out.” One of those world-renowned games Wisconsin has helped bring to the world is perhaps the most popular video game franchise of all – “Call of Duty.” That’s because of Madison-based Raven Software Corp., which will celebrate its 30th year in business next year. The game studio now employs more than 200 people, and in addition to being a major contributor for “Call of Duty,” it has helped build big-name games like titles for “Star Wars,” “Star Trek” and Marvel, among many others. Raven was founded by Brian and Steve Raffel in 1990 and was acquired by Activision Publishing Inc. in 1997. It was the first studio acquired by the now-juggernaut game publisher. When the acquisition happened, more studios began to grow around Raven, and several spinoff companies now have sizable operations in their own right.

Brian Raffel said this “Raven effect” is proof that game studios can thrive in a place like Madison. “They saw that it could be done in this area, it could be done by Midwest people who had a passion and didn’t have to go to L.A. or Seattle,” he said. “And I think Madison has always been a real positive environment to do business in with

“We really wanted... to be a beacon to industry that there is a viable resource here.” — Jennifer Javornik, VP of sales, Filament Games

all the university and state support.” In many ways, Raven’s success is why the industry has the foothold in the state that it does. “Raven is the real reason there’s a lot of game companies in Madison,” said John Bergman, founder and CEO of Wauwatosa-based Guild Software Inc. and Raven’s first-ever employee. “A lot of that is the way things work. One par-

ticular company will grow and be successful and have hundreds of employees and then they’ll kind of pollinate out in the local area.” Raffel said Madison has always been a positive environment in which to do business, and he is pleased to see the focus on growing the gaming industry take shape in recent years. “Now we’re seeing, particularly in Madison, they’re trying to attract gaming talent,” he said. “I think they’re seeing the positive impact on the economics of the area. With mobile games and online games, there are so many more opportunities for gamers to get their games in front of the customers in different ways.” Bergman said he considers being in Wisconsin to be a “great asset” for his company, and for companies in the game development industry. “The low cost of living, the availability of competent tech people, there’s definitely a lot of talent around here, more than the coasts are usually aware,” he said. “The only thing that’s kind of unfortunate is we produce so much talent and we don’t have enough of an industry to keep them all here and we send them out to the coasts and some other places that are better known for development at this time.” And though the game development industry feels the “brain drain” issue the way many industries in the state do, particularly in tech, Madison and Wisconsin have seen a nice run of success stories in recent years. In 2015, two games created in Madison made Apple’s top 25 best games of the year for iPad, including the No. 1 game, “Prune,” which was made by Joel McDonald, a former Raven employee. Madison studio PerBlue Entertainment Inc. sold its “DragonSoul” game in 2016 for $35 million, and has since landed on Disney’s short list of mobile games developers. Major publishers like South Korea-based Bluehole Inc. and North Carolina-based Epic Games, which makes the hugely popular “Fortnite,” have opened satellite offices in Madison. It’s all further proof that what’s happening in the game development industry can happen here in Wisconsin. Worldwide, the video game market is booming, having grown to a global value of about $138 billion, up 13.3 percent over the past year, according to industry research firm Newzoo, with projections putting it at more than $180 billion by 2021. And make no mistake, Wisconsin is already a part of that growth. But with more awareness of what’s happening here and more alignment among the players here in the state, gamers in Wisconsin could soon be expanding into new worlds. v INNOVATEWI.COM / 45

INNOVATIONRESOURCES

WISCONSIN

SOURCE: Wisconsin Technical College System SUPERIOR

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

ASHLAND

N ICO L E T A RE A

WIS CO N S IN IN D IA N HE A D

SOURCE: University Wisconsin System

PHILLIPS

MINOCQUA RHINELANDER

RICE LAKE

U W- SU P ER I OR NEW RICHMOND

MEDFORD

MENOMONIE RIVER FALLS

SPENCER

MARSHFIELD

UW-Stevens Point at Wausau

STEVENS POINT

U W- R I V ER FA LLS

OSHKOSH MAUSTON

LA CROSSE

REEDSBURG

UW-Green Bay, Manitowoc Campus

UW-Fond du Lac UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County

S O UT HWE ST WIS CO N S IN

UW-Green Bay, Sheboygan Campus

FENNIMORE

UW-Milwaukee at Washington County

COLLEGE BLACKHAWK

U W- MILWAUK EE

UW-WHI T EWATER U W- P L AT T EVI L L E UW-Whitewater at Rock County

UW-PA R KSIDE

UW- EX T EN S I O N • Cooperative Extension (COOP) • UW - Extension Conference Centers

Continuing Education, Outreach and E-Learning (CEOEL) and UW Colleges Online will be aligned with the receiving four-year UW Institutions

46 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

2018-19' ENROLLMENT 10,811 8,443 10,569 43,820 27,466 10,294 4,400 7,979 6,139 7,713 9,500 2,590 13,590 2018-19' ENROLLMENT 507 594 1,557 364 300 769 869 1,473 597 530 840 535 897 2,659

SOURCE: University Wisconsin System, Office of Policy Analysis and Research

In 2017, the UW System Board of Regents passed a resolution approving the restructure of UW Colleges and UW Extension. The resolution allowed UW System president Ray Cross to join the 13 two-year UW Colleges with the UW’s four-year comprehensive and research institutions. Divisions within UW-Extension were assigned to UW-Madison and UW System Administration. The goals of the plan are: to expand access to higher education by offering more courses at two-year campuses; to keep the two-year campuses as affordable options by maintaining current tuition levels for existing courses; to reduce barriers to transferring credits; to further regional administrative operations; and to take advantage of shared talent at the UW System’s institutions. The changes went into effect in 2018. UNIVERSITIES UW-EAU CLAIRE UW-GREEN BAY UW-LA CROSSE UW-MADISON UW-MILWAUKEE UW-OSHKOSH UW-PARKSIDE UW-PLATTEVILLE UW-RIVER FALLS UW-STEVENS POINT UW-STOUT UW-SUPERIOR UW-WHITEWATER UW - COLLEGES UW-EAU CLAIRE – BARRON COUNTY UW-FOND DU LAC UW-FOX VALLEY UW-GREEN BAY, MANITOWOC CAMPUS UW-GREEN BAY, MARINETTE CAMPUS UW-GREEN BAY, SHEBOYGAN CAMPUS UW-MILWAUKEE AT WASHINGTON COUNTY UW-MILWAUKEE AT WAUKESHA UW-PLATTEVILLE BARABOO SAUK COUNTY UW-PLATTEVILLE RICHLAND UW-STEVENS POINT AT WAUSAU UW-STEVENS POINT AT MARSHFIELD UW-WHITEWATER AT ROCK COUNTY UWC ONLINE

MADISON WATERTOWN

FORT ATKINSON JANESVILLE MONROE

UW-Milwaukee at Waukesha

U W- SYST E M A D M I N I ST RAT I O N

MORAINE WEST PARK BEND

BL AC KHAWK

UW-MA D I S O N

LAKESHORE

BEAVER DAM

PORTAGE

MA D IS O N A RE A

UW-Fox Valley

UW-O S HKOSH

FOND DU LAC

VIROQUA

UW- G REEN BAY

UW-ST EVEN S PO I N T

• Division of Business and Entrepreneurship (DBE) • Broadcasting and Media Innovation (BAMI)

CLEVELAND

SPARTA TOMAH

U W- E AU C L A I RE

UW-Platteville Richland

GREEN BAY

APPLETON

WE ST E RN

UW-Stevens Point at Marshfield

U W-LA CROSS E

F OX VA LLEY

WISCONSIN RAPIDS

BLACK RIVER FALLS

UW-Green Bay, Marinette Campus

STURGEON BAY

WITTENBERG

M ID - STAT E INDEPENDENCE

U W- STOU T

MARINETTE

WAUSAU

CHIPPEWA FALLS EAU CLAIRE

UW-Eau Claire – Barron County

N ORTHEAST WISCONSIN

ANTIGO

N O RT HCE N T RA L

CHIP P E WA VAL L E Y

MEQUON MILWAUKEE WEST ALLIS

PEWAUKEE

M ILWAUKEE AREA OAK CREEK

WAUKESHA

RACINE

ELKHORN

WAUKESHA COUNTY

KENOSHA

GATEWAY

2017-18' ENROLLMENT 7,000

CHIPPEWA VALLEY

18,083

FOX VALLEY GATEWAY LAKESHORE MADISON AREA MID-STATE MILWAUKEE AREA MORAINE PARK NICOLET AREA NORTHCENTRAL NORTHEAST WISCONSIN SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN WAUKESHA COUNTY WESTERN WISCONSIN INDIANHEAD PRIVATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ALVERNO COLLEGE BELOIT COLLEGE

50,000 18,000 10,550 33,412 7,100 35,473 17,186 1,849 19,635 32,000 7,469 20,112 11,379 20,196 2018-19' ENROLLMENT 1,851 1,275

CARDINAL STRITCH UNIVERSITY

2,355

CARROLL UNIVERSITY CARTHAGE COLLEGE CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY - WI EDGEWOOD COLLEGE LAKELAND UNIVERSITY LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY MARIAN UNIVERSITY MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY MILWAUKEE INSTITUTE OF ART & DESIGN MILWAUKEE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING MOUNT MARY UNIVERSITY NORTHLAND COLLEGE RIPON COLLEGE ST NORBERT COLLEGE SILVER LAKE COLLEGE VITERBO UNIVERSITY WISCONSIN LUTHERAN COLLEGE BELLIN COLLEGE OF NURSING COLUMBIA COLLEGE OF NURSING

3,358 2,748 8,004 2,160 2,600 1,472 2,000 11,600 630 2,610 1,404 600 900 2,200 429 2,610 1,200 511 149

HERZING UNIVERSITY (WI)

6,000

MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN

1,200

NASHOTAH HOUSE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY WI SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY TRIBAL SCHOOLS COLLEGE OF MENOMINEE NATION LAC COURTE OREILLES OJIBWA COMM. COLLEGE

86 105 286 303

WISCONSIN

INC. 5000

FORTUNE 500

There were 43 Wisconsin companies on the 2018 Inc. 5000 list, with Madison-based SwanLeap taking the top spot at $99 million in 2017 revenue and 75,661 percent three-year growth. The annual list ranks the fastest-growing companies in America based on percentage revenue growth over three years, for those with revenue greater than $100,000 in year one and $2 million in year three. v RANK

COMPANY

LOCATION

SwanLeap

Madison

Diamond Assets

Milton

316

Driftless Glen Distillery

Baraboo

393

TechCanary

Milwaukee

480

Penrod

Milwaukee

484

EyeKor

Madison

514

Rent College Pads

Milwaukee

655

Farwell

Madison

670

TESCHGlobal

Grafton Muskego

895

Approyo

901

Evoke Brand Strategies

Madison

1235

Intelligent Video Solutions

Waukesha

1262

Dynamic Solutions Worldwide

Milwaukee

1353

Tundraland Home Improvements

Kaukana

2059

Bluetree Network

Madison

2136

Creative Marketing Resources

Milwaukee

2181

Delta Defense

West Bend

2371

Hurt Electric

Menomenee Falls

2517

Continental Mapping Consultants

Sun Prairie

2748

Miller Public Adjusters

Appleton

2771

Bevara Building Services

Waukesha

2837

GSF Mortgage

Brookfield

2950

OnCourse Learning

Brookfield

3099

Aladtec

River Falls

3319

Chandra Technologies

Madison

3379

Vantage Point

Kenosha

3436

Blue Door Consulting

Oshkosh

3447

Newport Network Solutions

Menomonee Falls

3653

Information Technology Professionals

Madison

3687

Black-Haak Heating

Greenville

3786

WDS Construction

Beaver Dam

3888

Steel Solutions

Franklin

4087

Breckenridge Landscape Group

New Berlin

4243

ZMAC Transportation

Racine

4263

Millenium (Lake Geneva)

Delavan

4367

Surface Mount Technology

Appleton

4434

Americollect

Manitowoc

4565

Synergy Consortium Services

Verona

4613

Sunseed Research

Madison

4624

Midwest Restoration

Little Chute

4823

Warehouse-Lighting Com

New Berlin

4889

Midwest Prototyping

Blue Mounds

4904

MacDonald & Owen Lumber Co.

Sparta

414 311

157 487 104

143

372 488

445

WISCONSIN

FORTUNE 1000

Wisconsin had nine companies on the 2018 Fortune 500 list, and 13 more in the Fortune 1000. The annual list ranks the largest U.S. companies by revenue.

104: Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., Milwaukee, $29.3 billion 143: ManpowerGroup, Milwaukee, $21 billion 157: Kohlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Corp., Menomonee Falls, $19.1 billion 311: A merican Family Insurance Group, Madison, $9.5 billion 372: WEC Energy Group, Milwaukee, $7.6 billion 414: O shkosh Corp., Oshkosh, $6.8 billion 445: R ockwell Automation Inc., Milwaukee, $6.3 billion 487: F iserv Inc., Brookfield, $5.7 billion 488: Harley-Davidson Inc., Milwaukee, $5.6 billion 567: S chneider National Inc., Green Bay, $4.4 billion

593: Quad/Graphics Inc., Sussex, $4.1 billion 597: Bemis Co. Inc., Neenah, $4 billion 602: Snap-on Inc., Kenosha, $4 billion 660: C UNA Mutual Group, Madison, $3.5 billion 682: Alliant Energy Corp., Madison, $3.3 billion 688: R egal Beloit Corp., Beloit, $3.3 billion 694: Sentry Insurance Group, Stevens Point, $3.3 billion 732: A.O. Smith Corp., Milwaukee, $3 billion 825: Plexus Corp., Neenah, $2.5 billion 854: Gardner Denver Holdings Inc., Milwaukee, $2.4 billion 887: R EV Group Inc., Milwaukee, $2.3 billion 982: Rexnord Corp., Milwaukee, $1.9 billion INNOVATEWI.COM / 47

INNOVATIONRESOURCES

RESOURCES

FOR EARLY-STAGE BUSINESSES BizTimes Media has complied a list of resources by region for early-stage companies seeking incubator or accelerator space, innovation centers and co-working opportunities.

SOU THE A S T BizStarts

1555 N. RiverCenter Drive, Suite 210

Milwaukee

414-973-2334

bizstarts.com

BREW Accelerator

247 W. Freshwater Way, Suite 500

Milwaukee

414-988-8750

thewatercouncil.com

CELEB Beloit

437 E Grand Ave.

Beloit

608-361-6611

beloit.edu/celeb/

The Commons

333 N. Plankinton Ave.

Milwaukee

414-671-9255

thecommonswi.com

FaBcap Accelerator

756 N. Milwaukee St., Suite 400

Milwaukee

414-287-4143

fabwisconsin.com

gBETA

313 N. Plankinton Ave., Suite 211

Milwaukee

414 502-8880

gbetastartups.com

gener8tor

313 N. Plankinton Ave., Suite 211

Milwaukee

414-502-8880

gener8tor.com

Irontek

635 Third St.

Beloit

608-312 4333

irontek.co/

Hmong Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce

6815 W. Capitol Drive, Suite 204

Milwaukee

414-645-8828

hmongchamber.org

Hudson Business Lounge

310 E. Buffalo St.

Milwaukee

414-220-9460

thehudson.org

Jefferson Area Business Center

222 Wisconsin Drive

Jefferson

608-674-9000

jeffersonabc.com

Multicultural Entrepreneurial Institute

2778 S. 35th St., Suite 203

Milwaukee

414-383-4633

multiculturalinstitute.com

Northwest Side Community Development Corp.

4201 N. 27th St.

Milwaukee

414-444-8200

nwscdc.org

SC Johnson Integrated Manufacturing and Engineering Technology Center

2320 Renaissance Blvd.

Sturtevant

262-898-7524

gtc.edu

Scale Up Milwaukee

247 W. Freshwater Way

Milwaukee

414-905-0118

scaleupmilwaukee.org

Startup Milwaukee

Milwaukee

startupmke.org

Technology Innovation Center

10437 Innovation Drive

Wauwatosa

414-778-1400

mcrpc.org

UWM Innovation Campus

1225 Discovery Parkway

Wauwatosa

414-906-4670

uwmref.org/innovationcampus

Ward4

313 N. Plankinton Ave.

Milwaukee

262-309-0737

ward4mke.com

Whitewater University Innovation Center

1221 Innovation Drive

Whitewater

262-472-5290

whitewatertechpark.org/

Wisconsin African American Women's Center

3020 W. Vliet St.

Milwaukee

414-933-1652

waawcenter.org

Wisconsin Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Business Initiative Corp.

1533 N. RiverCenter Drive

Milwaukee

414-263-5450

wwbic.com

Workspace at Bishop's Woods

250 N. Sunnyslope Road, Suite 200

Brookfield

262-955-7935

workspaces.us

100State

316 W. Washington Ave., Suite 675

Madison

608-268-9384

100state.com

American Family Business Accelerator

6000 American Parkway

Madison

800-692-6326

dreamfearlessly.com

Central Wisconsin Community Action Council

1000 Highway 13, P.O. Box 430

Wisconsin Dells

608-254-8353

cwcac.org

Center for Technology Commercialization

432 N. Lake St., Suite 435

Madison

608-263-0398

wisconsinsbir.org

Common Wealth

1501 Williamson St.

Madison

608-256-3527

cwd.org

Beloit, Madison

414-502-8880

gbetastartups.com

Madison

414-502-8881

gener8tor.com

SOU TH CENTR AL

gBETA gener8tor

48 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

821 E. Washington Ave.

SOU TH CENTR AL - continued Horizon Coworking

7 N. Pinckney St., Suite 300

Madison

608-313-4774

horizoncw.com

Janesville Innovation Center

2949 Venture Drive

Janesville

608-206-7121

janesvilleinnovation.com

Madworks Coworking

505 S. Rosa Road, Suite 225

Madison

608-305-4623

madworkscoworking.org

Matrix Coworking

6302 Odana Road

Madison

608-819-5319

matrixcoworking.com

MGE Innovation Center

505 S. Rosa Road, Suite 175

Madison

608-441-2800

universityresearchpark.org/the-property/ mge-innovation-center/

Richland County Economic Development

20 S. Court St., P.O Box 262

Richland Center

608-342-1751

prosperitysouthwest.com/richland-county

Sector 67

56 Cory St.

Madison

608-241-4605

sector67.org

StartingBlock Madison

821 E. Washington Ave.

Madison

Synergy Coworking

5201 Old Middleton Road

Madison

608-709-5550

synergymadison.com

University Research Park, @1403

1403 University Ave.

Madison

608-441-8000

universityresearchpark.org

UW-Extension Division for Business and Entrepreneurship

432 N. Lake St.

Madison

608-263-7794

uwex.edu/Business-and-Entrepreneurship

Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center

8520 University Green

Middleton

608-262-6900

cropinnovation.cals.wisc.edu

Wisconsin Small Business Development Center

432 N. Lake St., Room 423

Madison

608-263-0221

wisconsinsbdc.org/madison

Advocap

19 W. Fist St., P.O. Box 1108

Fond du Lac

920-922-7760

advocap.org

AeroInnovate

625 Pearl Ave.

Oshkosh

920-424-0833

aeroinnovate.org

Appleton Coworking

120 N. Morrison St., Suite 101

Appleton

920-659-0781

appletoncoworking.org

Bemis Innovation Center

2301 Industrial Drive

Neenah

920-527-5000

bemis.com/about-bemis/bemis-innovation-center

Door County Business Development Center

185 E. Walnut St.

Sturgeon Bay

920-743-3113

doorcountybusiness.com

Environmental Research and Innovation Center

783 Pearl Ave.

Oshkosh

920- 424-3148â&#x20AC;?

uwosh.edu/eric

gBETA

1825 N. Bluemound Drive

Appleton

414 502-8880

gbetastartups.com

startingblockmadison.org

NOR THE A S T

Northeast Wisconsin Technical College Small Business Initiative

2740 W. Mason St.

Green Bay

920-498-7124

nwtc.edu/business-industry/small-business-initiative

NWTC Learning and Innovation Center

2438 S. Bay Shore Drive

Sister Bay

920-746-4970

nwtc.edu/about-nwtc/places/learning-and-innovation-center-in-sister-bay

Chippewa Valley Innovation Center

3132 Louis Ave.

Eau Claire

715- 836-2842

eauclaire-wi.com/entrepreneurs/chippewa-valley-innovation-center/

Coulee Region Business Center

1100 Kane St.

La Crosse

608-782-8022

crbc.biz

WEST

Couleecap

201 Melby St.

Westby

608-634-3104

couleecap.org

Chippewa Valley Technical College Applied Technology Center

2322 Alpine Road

Eau Claire

715-833-6237

cvtc.edu/atc

Kickapoo Culinary Center

16381 Highway 131

Gays Mills

608-735-4341

kickapooculinary.org

Northwest Regional Planning Commission

1400 S. River St.

Spooner

715-635-2197

nwrpc.com

Platteville Business Incubator

52 Means Drive

Platteville

608-348-2758

pbii.org

NOR THW E S T/NOR TH CENTR AL Ashland Area Enterprise Center

422 Third St. West, Suite 101

Ashland

715-682-8344

ashlandareadevelopment.com

The Development Association

205 Belknap St.

Superior

715-392-4749

wegrowbiz.org

Entrepreneurial and Education Center

100 N. 72nd Ave.

Wausau

715-848-2016

growingyourbusinesswausau.com

Lincoln County Economic Development Corp.

801 N. Sales St.

Merrill

715-536-0383

co.lincoln.wi.us/departments

St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center

1091 Sutherland Ave.

River Falls

715-425-3066

stcroixinnovation.org

Vilas County Economic Development Corp.

555 Enterprise Way

Eagle River

715-337-0061

vilascountyedc.org

INNOVATEWI.COM / 49

INNOVATIONRESOURCES A N G E L I N V E S T O R S & V E N T U R E C A P I TA L F I R M S COMPAN Y

ADDRESS

CITY

PH O N E

WEB S IT E

4490 VENTURES

111 N. Fairchild St., Suite 240

Madison

608-501-0000

4490.ventures

AMERICAN FAMILY VENTURES

111 N. Fairchild St., Suite 400

Madison

800-692-6326

amfamventures.com

ANGELS ON THE WATER

43 E. Seventh Ave.

Oshkosh

920-232-8904

angelsonthewater.com

ARENBERG HOLDINGS LLC

234 W. Florida St., Suite 308

Milwaukee

920-889-9035

arenbergholdings.com

BAIRD CAPITAL

777 E. Wisconsin Ave.

Milwaukee

414-765-3500

bairdcapital.com

CAPITAL MIDWEST FUND

10556 N. Port Washington Road, Suite 201

Mequon

414-453-4488

capitalmidwest.com

CHIPPEWA VALLEY ANGEL INVESTOR NETWORK

P.O. Box 3232

Eau Claire

715-878-9791

cvain.com

CREAM CITY VENTURE CAPITAL

720 E. Wisconsin Ave.

Milwaukee

414-271-1444

innovation.northwesternmutual.com/ventureinvestments/cream-city-venture-capital/

CSA PARTNERS

333 N. Plankinton Ave., Suite 205

Milwaukee

FOLEY VENTURES

777 E. Wisconsin Ave.

Milwaukee

617-226-3167

foleyventures.com

GARY COMER INC.

20875 Crossroads Circle, Suite 100

Waukesha

262.798.5080

gcionline.com

GOLDEN ANGELS NETWORK

250 N. Sunnyslope Road, Suite 200

Brookfield

262-439-4421

goldenangelsinvestors.com

HEALTHX VENTURES

316 W. Washington Ave., Suite 925

Madison

608-618- 3863

healthxventures.com

IDEA FUND OF LA CROSSE

232 Third St. N, Suite 202

La Crosse

608-498-4557

ideafundvc.com

INVENTURE CAPITAL

2820 Walton Commons West, Suite 125

Madison

608-468-6605

inventure-capital.com

INVESTMKE

750 W. Virginia St.

Milwaukee

KEGONSA CAPITAL PARTNERS

101 Nob Hill Road

Madison

N29 CAPITAL PARTNERS LLC

N29 Capital Partners 5256 US Hwy 51

Manitowish Waters

NEW CAPITAL FUND

2100 Freedom Road

Little Chute

920-687-7201

newcapitalfund.com

NEW RICHMOND ANGEL INVESTMENT NETWORK

P.O. Box 3232

Eau Claire

715-878-9791

newrichmondareaedc.com

NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL FUTURE VENTURES

720 E. Wisconsin Ave.

Milwaukee

866-244-2295

nmfutureventures.com

PEAK RIDGE CAPITAL

44 E. Mifflin St., Suite 401

Madison

608-310-9520

peakridgecap.com

PHENOMENELLE ANGELS

505 S. Rosa Road

Madison

608-441-2728

phenomenelleangels.com

ROCK RIVER CAPITAL PARTNERS

821 E. Washington Ave.

Madison

SILICON PASTURES

10437 W. Innovation Drive, Suite 100

Wauwatosa

617-308-7672

siliconpastures.com

SYMPHONY ALPHA VENTURES

22 E. Mifflin St, #400

Madison

608- 294-4090

symphonyalpha.com

THIRD COAST ANGELS

Jack@thirdcoastangels.com

VENTURE INVESTORS/ 30VENTURES

505 S. Rosa Road

Madison

608-347-2745

30ventures.net

VENTURE MANAGEMENT

401 Charmany Drive, Suite 320

Madison

608-819-8888

vmllc.com

WINNEBAGO SEED FUND

124 W. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 240F

Neenah

winnebagoseedfund.com

WISC PARTNERS

401 Charmany Drive, Suite 310

Madison

wiscpartners.com

WISCONN VALLEY VENTURE FUND

csapartnersllc.com

https://www.aurorahealthcare.org/the-futurebegins-here 608-205-0100

kegonsapartners.com n29capitalpartners.com

rockrivercapital.com

thirdcoastangels.com

Milwaukee

WISCONSIN ALUMNI RESEARCH FOUNDATION

614 Walnut St.

Madison

608-960-9850

www.warf.org

WISCONSIN INVESTMENT PARTNERS

P.O. Box 45919

Madison

608-692-7481

wisinvpartners.com

WISCONSIN RURAL ENTERPRISE FUND

1400 S. River St.

Spooner

715-635-2197

nwrpc.com/index.aspx?NID=881

WISCONSIN SUPER ANGEL FUND

1101 N. Market St., Suite 200

Milwaukee

414-405-4848

wsafund.com

WISCONSIN VENTURE CAPITAL ASSOCIATION

wisconsinvca.org

GRANTS/LOANS ADAMS COUNTY RURAL & INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CORP.

P.O. Box 236

Friendship

BROWN FIELD GRANTS

101 S. Webster St., PO Box 7921

Madison

608-339-6945

FIRST AMERICAN CAPITAL CORP.

10710 W. Scharles Ave.

Hales Corners

FOCUS ON ENERGY BUSINESS PROGRAM

12075 Corporate Parkway, #100

Mequon

1.800.762.7077

IMPACT 7

2961 Decker Drive

Rice Lake

715-434-1717

impactseven.org

MADISON DEVELOPMENT CORP.

550 W. Washington Ave.

Madison

608-256-2799

mdcorp.org

MILWAUKEE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP.

757 N. Broadway, Suite 600

Milwaukee

414-269-1440

newmedconline.com

WISCONSIN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CORP.

4618 S. Biltmore Lane

Madison

608-819-0390

wbd.org

WISCONSIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP.

201 W. Washington Ave.

Madison

608-210-6700

inwisconsin.com

WISCONSIN HOUSING & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

611 W. National Ave.

Milwaukee

414-227-4039

wheda.com

Madison, Milwaukee, Kenosha, Racine, Appleton

608-257-5450

wwbic.com

1-888-936-7463 414-604-2044

SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER

adamscountywi.com/indexdev.shtml dnr.wi.gov/topic/Brownfields/ aiccw-facc.org focusonenergy.com/business

wisconsinsbdc.org

WISCONSIN WOMEN’S BUSINESS INITIATIVE CORP.

NONPROFIT FUNDING BRIGHTSTAR WISCONSIN FOUNDATION

710 N. Plankinton Ave., Suite 340

Milwaukee

414-224-6000

brightstarwi.org

IDEADVANCE SEED FUND

432 Lake St., Suite 417

Madison

608-263-3315

uwideadvance.org

DON’T SEE YOUR ORGANIZATION LISTED? SEND YOUR INFORMATION TO MOLLY.DILL@BIZTIMES.COM FOR INCLUSION IN THE NEXT INNOVATE WISCONSIN.

50 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

E C ONOM IC DEVELO PMENT ORGA NI ZATI O NS PHONE

Grow North

grownorth.org

Brittany Beyer executive director bbeyer@grownorth.org

visionsnorthwest.org

Mari Kay-Nabozny executive director mari@nwwib.com

715-365-4468

Visions Northwest

715-635-2197

7 Rivers Alliance

CO N TACT N A ME / E MA IL A D D RE SS

WEBSITE

608-787-8777

Iron Ashland Vilas Burnett

Washburn

Florence

Sawyer Price

Polk

Oneida

Forest Marinette

Rusk

Barron

Lincoln

Langlade

Taylor

Chris Hardie, CEO chris@7riversalliance.org

7riversalliance.org

Bayfield

Douglas

St. Croix

Chippewa

Menominee

Marathon

Dunn

Milwaukee 7

866-596-6463

mke7.com

Pat O'Brien , president pobrien@mke7.com

centergy.net

Gordon Crow, executive director director@centergy.net

Eau Claire

Pierce

Centergy

715-551-6650

New North

920-336-3860

Momentum West

715-874-4673

Madison Region Economic Partnership (formerly Thrive) Prosperity Southwest

momentumwest.org

madisonregion.org

Paul Jadin president pjadin@madisonregion.org

608-571-3864

prosperitysouthwest. com

Ron Brisbois, president gcedc@grantcounty.org

Waupaca

Monroe

Manitowoc

Winnebago

Calumet

Marquette Green Lake

Juneau Vernon

Kewaunee

Brown

Outagamie

Adams

La Crosse

Steve Jahn executive director steve@momentumwest.org

608-571-0401

Portage

Door

Jackson Waushara

Jerry Murphy executive director jmurphy@thenewnorth.com

thenewnorth.com

Wood

Trempealeau

Buffalo

Shawano

Clark

Pepin

Oconto

Sauk

Sheboygan

Fond du Lac

Columbia

Washington

RE GI O N

Dodge

Richland Crawford

Ozaukee

Waukesha Milwaukee

Jefferson

Dane

Iowa

Grant

Racine Walworth

Rock

Green

Lafayette

Kenosha

REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTORS T ERRI TORY

CO N TACT

Heather Smith 608-210-6758 heather.smith@wedc.org

Marie Steenlage 608.210.6755 marie.steenlage@wedc.org

Jim Rosenberg 608.210.6715 jim.rosenberg@wedc.org

Tim Weber 608.210.6772 tim.weber@wedc.org

Jon Bartz 608.210.6846 jon.bartz@wedc.org

TER R ITOR Y

CONTACT

Neil White 608.210.6739 neil.white@wedc.org

Kristian Vaughn 608.210.6822 kristian.vaughn@wedc.org

Melissa Hunt 608.210.6780 melissa.hunt@wedc.org

Jason Scott 608.210.6790 jason.scott@wedc.org

Mark Tallman 608.210.6852 mark.tallman@wedc.org

Douglas

Bayfield

Iron Ashland Vilas

Washburn

Burnett

Sawyer

Florence

Oneida

Price

Forest Polk

Lincoln

St. Croix

Langlade

Taylor Chippewa

Menominee

Dunn Pierce

Marinette

Rusk

Barron

Oconto

Marathon Eau Claire

Clark

Pepin

Wood

Buffalo

Shawano

Door Kewaunee

Portage

Waupaca

Brown

Outagamie

Jackson

Naletta Burr 608.210.6830 naletta.burr@wedc.org

Mark Tallman 608.210.6852 mark.tallman@wedc.org

Trempealeau

Adams

Monroe

La Crosse

Juneau Marquette

S TAT E W I D E C O N TA C T S Barb Lamue, vice president, Business and Community Development 608.210.6760 | barb.lamue@wedc.org Mary Gage, senior Economic Development Director 608.210.6750 | mary.gage@wedc.org Mary Perry, senior Economic Development Director 608.210.6740 | mary.perry@wedc.org

Manitowoc

Winnebago

Waushara

Green Lake

Calumet

5 Fond du Lac

Sheboygan

Vernon Columbia

Sauk

Richland

Dodge

Crawford

Washington

Dane

Grant

Jefferson

Iowa

Ozaukee

Milwaukee

Waukesha

Racine Lafayette

Green

Rock

Walworth Kenosha

INNOVATEWI.COM / 51

INNOVATIONRESOURCES

INVESTMENT

CAPITAL

Source: PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor data

The venture capital was distributed among

Venture capital investment in Wisconsin companies was

+10 DEALS

+90.2%

in 2018

from 2017

STATE RANK

BY VC DEALS IN Q4 2018 1

STATE

CAPITAL INVESTED

DEALS

CALIFORNIA

$28.4 billion

653

STATE

CAPITAL INVESTED

DEALS

WISCONSIN

$70.3 million

20 12

NEW YORK

$2.9 billion

226

NEW HAMPSHIRE

$47.3 million

MASSACHUSETTS

$2.7 billion

161

NEVADA

$36.9 million

NORTH CAROLINA

$1.5 billion

226

DELAWARE

$31.4 million

TEXAS

$643.7 million

105

VERMONT

$22.1 million

GEORGIA

$626.9 million

KANSAS

$19.3 million

UTAH

$491.2 million

SOUTH CAROLINA

$11.6 million

ILLINOIS

$489.3 million

KENTUCKY

$10.5 million

WASHINGTON

$393.3 million

RHODE ISLAND

$9.9 million

COLORADO

$387.3 million

ALABAMA

$6.7 million

MINNESOTA

$332.5 million

LOUISIANA

$6.2 million

WASHINGTON, D.C.

$312.9 million

IOWA

$6 million

PENNSYLVANIA

$297.5 million

OKLAHOMA

$5.3 million

ARIZONA

$269.6 million

MONTANA

$5.3 million

MARYLAND

$268 million

IDAHO

$5 million

OHIO

$241.4 million

ARKANSAS

$4.3 millioon

FLORIDA

$206.5 million

WEST VIRGINIA

$3.1 million

NEW JERSEY

$179.7 million

NEBRASKA

$3 million

VIRGINIA

$176.5 million

HAWAII

$3 million

MISSOURI

$154.6 million

ALASKA

$2.2 million

OREGON

$144 million

MAINE

$1.9 million

MICHIGAN

$138.7 million

NEW MEXICO

$430,000

INDIANA

$96.8 million

MISSISSIPPI

TENNESSEE

$79 million

NORTH DAKOTA

CONNECTICUT

$75 million

WYOMING

Source: 4Q 2018 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor 52 / INNOVATE WISCONSIN | 2019

REFURBISHED

, T N

REFURBISHED

Available Sizes: 10, 20 40 and 45 feet long Purchase or Rent

IE C FI F O E G T E OS H C : T N SELECT CONTAINER O , E G A CUSTOMIZED STOR

Who can benefit from permanent or temporary storage? Construction Companies Farms Government Agencies/ Municipalities

Trucking Companies Health Care Shops and Restaurants Hunting Land and Groups

Shopping Centers Schools and Colleges

Milwaukee | WI | 53221 •

PHONE:

Benefits to using a temporary storage container: Not taxed as a permanent structure Able to be moved from one location to another Very cost effective compared to a new building or addition Very quick, on demand storage, usually delivered within a few days. Units are weather tight and very secure Little or no preparation is needed for the area the container is going

414-483-1111 •

EMAIL:

selectcontainerllc@gmail.com

selectcontainer.com Select Container is Wisconsin’s leading provider of used and new shipping containers. Containers may be purchased or rented, depending on the customers need. We are the ONLY Company to offer refurbished containers, which are less expensive than new containers but still provide a professional looking appearance at your location. Call us for a quote and check out our website to see before and after pictures of our refurbished units.

DEEPLY DEEPLY INVESTED INVESTED At Wisconsin Bank & Trust, we offer a full-service banking solution to serve At Wisconsin Bank & Trust, we offer a your business needs. From commercial full-service banking solution to serve services, to wealth advisory and your business needs. From commercial personal financial solutions, we are services, to wealth advisory and invested in your entire financial personal financial solutions, we are well-being. invested in your entire financial well-being.

RETIREMENT PLAN SERVICES RETIREMENT PLAN SERVICES

COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL

TREASURY MANAGEMENT TREASURY MANAGEMENT

WisconsinBankandTrust.com

1186-19

WisconsinBankandTrust.com

1186-19

WEALTH ADVISORY SERVICES WEALTH ADVISORY SERVICES