Action Financial Strategies

A moment in time

Historically speaking, down economies can cause people to rethink the future – and the concept of entrepreneurship. True to this trend, the State of Wisconsin Department of Revenue reported a 26.4% increase in business tax registrations from 2019 to 2020 for Brown County.

“This increase didn’t happen only because of COVID-19,” said Kee. “Many entrepreneurs noodle on an idea for years, and often it’s just not the right time for them to start – for whatever reason – maybe personally, maybe professionally ... But during the pandemic, it was almost like everybody was on the same playing field and restricted to the same moment of time. That caused some people, especially those who had been contemplating businesses for a long time, to seriously rethink their ideas and actually take action.

“I think that’s one of the main drivers of the business growth,” said Kee. “It’s really exciting. You can go back years and see some of the different success stories that happened – companies that were built and started around 2008 and 2009 after the recession, and it’s a very similar narrative to what happened during COVID-19. I think we’re in the first inning of a new wave of companies and products being built that we’ll be using on an everyday basis 10 years from now.”

Franklin also cited a significant number of people being laid off amidst the pandemic, which made them re-evaluate their employment situations – that being, if the fit is not somewhere else, they were going to have to create the fit themselves.

“Obviously in the Midwest, work ethic is exceptional; everyone knows how hard people here work,” said Franklin. “Many have gone back to work in some form or fashion, but I’ve met with some who haven’t been able to find suitable employment, for whatever reason, instead deciding to use the skill sets they developed over a 20- or 30-year careers and formulate their own businesses.

“For example, someone who had done boat construction is now a boat mechanic, and someone else has a specialty in flooring installation, so they started their own business doing floor installing and handyman work. They’re relying on their talents to be able to start up and provide for their families because they can’t see any other way forward,” he added.

Franklin explained that the free and low-cost access to many entrepreneurial resources in the Greater Green Bay area (like the Startup Hub) is one contributing factor to make these startup dreams a reality. “You can’t have the access we have in Green Bay to the people we have access to, in, say, San Francisco, at the same cost.”

“We also have a growing network of people willing to help,” he said. “While every community has its own network and connections, not every community is willing to help any person at any level. I think that’s part of what separates the Greater Green Bay area from a lot of other communities.”

The Startup Hub The Urban Hub

The 50,000-square-foot building known as the Startup Hub is located at 2701 Larsen Rd. in Green Bay just down the road from the Green Bay Botanical Garden. It was designed to be a low-cost center to help startup businesses save.

“Think about it,” said Hub Manager Ron Franklin. “If you’re a new business and able to save on, say, rent, utilities, maintenance and internet, you can reinvest those dollars into your business and scale significantly more quickly than you could if you were paying full-price rent somewhere else. Whether it’s hiring new staff, entering new markets or creating new products, we’re helping them to be able to grow in that way, as well.”

Since its formal reopening in 2019, the Startup Hub currently operates at 94%* occupancy. The manufacturing space occupancy is currently at 96%, with the office space at 92% (however previously the space exceeded full occupancy in terms of office space, resulting in the need to rent more rooms from Northeast Wisconsin Technical college through its partnership with the Chamber).

Recent updates to the Startup Hub’s major spaces include the newly-christened Associated Bank and Microsoft rooms, which yield state-of-the-art technology such as presentation systems, surround sound, a whiteboard wall, ergonomic chairs and updated furniture throughout.

*as of May 4, 2021, and the time of printing

Learn more at thestartuphub.org. Located in suite 200 at 340 N. Broadway, the Urban Hub co-working space is an extension of the Startup Hub based in the heart of the Rail Yard Innovation District in Downtown Green Bay. It was designed to be a low-cost center for startup businesses.

The Urban Hub is a direct outgrowth of fulfilling entrepreneurial needs and furthering downtown innovation and development as defined in the Chamber’s strategic plan. “Because we oversee both locations, we don’t limit the offerings to either side,” said Hub Manager Ron Franklin. “Startup Hub tenants can’t come work at the Urban Hub or vice versa, but they both still have access to the exact same network of services and people, and can do all of the same things.”

In addition, recently introduced at the Urban Hub is a new resident program for entrepreneurs focused on using the space as a “home base” for their companies. This allows for organic collaboration that drives results and ideas for employees of startups and corporate members who need offsite space for idea generation and retreats.

Various memberships are available. Learn more at theurbanhub.org.

Enter the Tundra Angels

Within the Chamber’s overall strategic plan, initiative seven focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship. On the road to entrepreneurship, one of the most challenging hurdles – and critical needs – is startup capital.

“A key ingredient of a robust and vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem is that entrepreneurs can access capital at some of their earliest stages,” said Matthew Kee, the Chamber’s startup development manager. He explained that, for high-growth ventures, angel capital is the round of capital after family and friends contribute and before venture capital is pursued.

“We’ve found that a lot of entrepreneurs don’t necessarily understand these stages of capital,” said Kee. “That’s why it’s important to engage with somebody like me: ‘What’s the lay of the land? What’s the trajectory and process of getting startup funding? What does that look like? Who do I talk to first?’ There are a lot of steps in that journey, and for somebody doing it the first time, it becomes confusing, because you don’t have a sense of who to go to and what kinds of conversations to have.”

In 2019, the Chamber began the process of tapping the community for a discussion about what bringing capital to the area looks like. The result was the creation of an angel investor group. Last July the Startup Hub launched Tundra Angels, the only formal angel investor group in Northeast Wisconsin. Tundra Angels’ investment thesis is that it invests in high-growth, highly scalable companies that typically have technology as a key component. The group already has nearly 20 members, all from the Greater Green Bay area, but is open to interested investors in Northeast Wisconsin for an annual fee to participate. The network aims to deliver capital, connections and customers to early-stage companies. For some, Tundra Angels could be that middle-ground solution to filling the funding gap on a local level.

“Every three months, we gather as a group for a pitch meeting,” said Kee. “As manager of Tundra Angels, I’m responsible for having conversations with companies and selecting which few should pitch in front of the group. We see which member is interested in investing, and soon after, launch into an in-depth due diligence process with the entrepreneur(s) to ultimately reach a point where we’re either comfortable making the investment or passing on it.”

Chief Operating Officer Paul Knoll attended the quarterly Tundra Angels pitch event in April on behalf of The Village, a Tundra Angels investor.

“The Chamber has had an ongoing relationship with The Village for quite a while,” said Kee. “Chamber President and CEO Laurie Radke mentioned how they’re really doing some great work in the innovation space and thought it would be worth having a chat with Paul about the innovative work we’ve been doing as a Chamber, including Tundra Angels.”

Soon after this initial meeting, The Village became an investor.

“I work with Laurie in my Vistage group, so I know her quite well,” said Knoll.

“She’s helped us out with a number of things, including connections at the Chamber. We’re looking forward to now be working with Matthew and the Tundra Angels.”

Village Investments is one of three entities that comprise The Village, which also includes Village Companies and Village Real Estate.

“Basically we take funds that we have through The Village and invest in other companies – oftentimes startups looking for capital, much like Tundra Angels does,” said Knoll. “Most of our Village investments have begun by meeting up with an individual through our network, so looking at multiple opportunities and having a process for it will be different. Either way, companies need to put together a business case: Why should The Village (or anybody else Matthew’s representing) put dollars in you? Do you believe in the people that are doing the work? The idea? The market? You’re trying to sort out all of that as they’re presenting.”

After attending his first Tundra Angels event, Knoll reported it was a valuable experience hearing from the customer base and being able to discuss not only investment opportunities, but also manufacturing opportunities, since one of the Village Companies businesses, MCL, is a contract manufacturer.

“What we find with our entrepreneurs and some of the people starting up businesses is that they need a manufacturing partner,” said Knoll. “They’ve got a great idea, maybe they have an outstanding sales channel, maybe they already have financial backing…but they don’t have a manufacturing background or plant. Then there are the difficulties of hiring skilled employees, safety and environmental regulations, and all of the things that go along with manufacturing; that’s a big hurdle for most. We can provide a dual service, where we can potentially invest and then maybe even also be their manufacturing partner.”

Knoll shared that occasionally people have an existing supplier and had a prototype built with another manufacturer but want somebody else to redesign the next production version of it and be ready to build, sometimes as soon as a few months later. “That’s where we come in. We’ve done that at least two or three different times in the past year, and we’re actually in the process of doing that again right now,” he said. “There’s a whole bunch of ways the conversation gets going. Sometimes it’s as simple as two people with an idea – one with a technology idea and one with an application idea – and they came together with the help of an investor and/or manufacturer like us to make it happen. There’s a thousand stories and every one has its own flavor, but sometimes it’s just that simple.”

At the time of publication, two Tundra Angels investments have been made public with several more that have been committed to and are in the process of being finalized.

To submit your idea or startup for consideration, or to express interest in becoming a Tundra Angels investor, contact TundraAngels@ greatergbc.org.

For more information, visit TundraAngels.org or contact Kee at mkee@greatergbc.org.

Paul Knoll, chief operating officer, The Village Companies Pulaski sign change for a day in honor of Skee-Ball alley roller

Visit the Chamber’s YouTube channel to hear Tundra Angels Manager Matthew Kee provide an in-person overview of the group.

Welcome to The Village

Game development, metal fabrication, consumer products, ecommerce: What do businesses in these industries have in common? Along with several others and a pair of additional entities, they form The Village: A local family of companies that works together to delight customers while helping their people to grow and make an impact in the community.

With more than 300 employees between Village Companies, Village Real Estate and Village Investments, The Village currently is one of the largest employers in Pulaski, Wis. Its two biggest businesses, Bay Tek Entertainment and MCL, have existed in the area for more than 40 years. From contract manufacturing, 3D printing and consulting to branding and licensing, with its diverse offerings The Village strives to be a great customer to its suppliers and a great supplier to its customers.

Relocating and redefining

“Over time, through acquisitions and startups, we’ve added a number of businesses to our village – frankly, long before it was called ‘The Village,’” said Chief Operating Officer Paul Knoll. “We’ve been calling it that for a while, but it’s been more of a concept and a way to act; now it’s also formally becoming an entity, and we’re redefining what it means to be a ‘village.’ ”

Knoll explained that, until recently, the businesses of The Village Companies were operated independently, spread out across Green Bay, Appleton and Kaukauna, Wis. It was two years ago when chairman and major shareholder Larry Treankler shared a vision of uniting the companies, “like it was back when we worked in our basements, around our kitchen tables – where we had all of our businesses working together instead of being separate,” said Knoll.

With this strategy already in place, last year’s COVID-19 pandemic became an accelerant for the Pulaski move, presenting opportunities and benefits for The Village as a whole to gain a number of efficiencies.

Today, The Village Companies is in the process of combining its eight businesses into a single entity on land owned by Village Real Estate. The integration process includes creating a common base for operations, human relations, information technology and research and development departments.

Casting a “net”

“We’re always trying to grow The Village Companies,” said Knoll. “So if you think about Village Investments looking to buy a company in part or whole, we may then move it over from Village Investments to Village Companies as another company we’d operate.” Together these entities represent a variety of products and services, including (but certainly not limited to) hunting blinds, games, military- grade gear, virtual currency for gaming, software, medical technology, batteries and air purification devices.

“We think of all that as our ‘net’ (like our network, ‘net’), but also our ‘net’ (like a fishing net),” said Knoll. “Every company and investment gives us visibility to new options. Through an investment we’re going to understand who that company works with – their suppliers and customers – and that might create new connections for us to help somebody else. It’s amazing how often something completely unrelated connects together and we create another opportunity within our Village. Whether on the investment side or the business ownership and operations side, we see it all over the place. It’s really kind of a cool theory that we’ve proven a number of times.”

Making an impact

“Because our businesses are local, our local suppliers and customers are very important to us,” said Knoll. “That relationship is key. Almost anything we can get in the area, we do, and we buy from local metal and plastics suppliers where we can.”

Ten percent of The Village profits also are reinvested into the community mostly through the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation.

“Our employees contribute to our economy, and we believe that the charities we give to are positive to the community and the economy,” said Knoll. “We’re trying to generate wealth for our suppliers and customers. If we do a good job, their businesses do well, and then they give back. We’re proud to be a part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem here.”

To learn more about The Village, visit thevillage.bz.