Newsletter July 2012

Get Inspired by Jeff Rusinow August 7th!

It's time for our midsummer Inspirational Entrepreneur Event, where we'll hear from and honor entrepreneur, community leader, and angel investor Jeff Rusinow. We'll also get updates on the Wisconsin State Fair and possibly partake in a few cream puffs! The event is Tuesday August 7, 2012 from 4:00pm to 6:00pm at the We Energies Auditorium, 231 West Michigan Street, Milwaukee, WI 53203.

 

Jeff Rusinow has been an active member of the early-stage venture capital community in the Midwest since 2000, when he founded Milwaukee's first angel network Silicon Pastures. He has 22 years in retail management with Macy's, Gimbel's, the Hudson Bay Company and Kohl's Department Stores, and is also Chairman and lead investor of Aurora Spectral Technologies - a BizStarts-assisted start-up success. His non-profit initiatives include support to the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, The Wisconsin Humane Society, the American Bird Conservancy, and the Tirimbina Rainforest Fund.  Find out more and Register HERE.

 

We'll look forward to seeing you on August 7th!

July Pitch Preview Review, Hosted and generously sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek, S.C.  

BizStarts Pitch Previews provide opportunities for our entrepreneurs to present their startups and get feedback on their presentations from seasoned entrepreneurs, investors and business people. The valuable feedback they receive helps them prepare for launch, leverage potential and hear straightforward advice on success.

Read on to learn how winning prizes motivate buyers, a completely new way to find your best job ever and how you can do away with alphanumeric passwords and make them more personal than ever before:

Our July 18 Pitch Preview companies were:  

• Touch a Prize: Interactive Marketing Promotions: 

  Touch-A-Prize provides auto dealers with real time data collection and leads while providing consumers with fun games that give them an opportunity to receive coupons, merchandise prizes, and chances to win up to $50,000.It is an online/on-site game software platform that can be customized to rapidly roll out powerful, targeted, interactive  marketing promotions. Founder Bob Kames feels strong growth is on track for this year with over 80 auto shows booked and more to come. Other markets, such as major and minor league sports, are opportunities for future expansion.  
   

  Founder:  Bob Kames, Jr.
   

• The Good Jobs:
  The Good Jobs has designed a site, and a method, to provide job seekers and organizations ways to target each other by providing relevant information on job opportunities with the 'right fit'.

    

  In this unique site, candidates seek jobs in companies that match their career and personal preferences, designated by 'badges" to define the unique corporate culture, professional development and benefits they prefer. Employers share their goals, culture and values through their profile, their badges. The Good Jobs provides a platform where organizations can use the strengths of their unique culture as a competitive recruiting advantage. Job seekers identify their life and work style priorities to match to companies' unique offerings and work environments.
  Founders: Anne Nimke and Betsy Rowbottom

• Avimir: 

  Alphanumeric password requirements are becoming more and more difficult to manage for user authentication. The challenge we face presents a paradox: the need for greater security necessitates harder access methods to prevent unauthorized breaches in that security.
   

  Avimir's mission is to change conventional and increasingly complex approaches to passwords and security by offering simple, language-neutral, and personalized solutions to digital access. In doing so, Avimir will make the process of creating intelligent access both more fun and more functional by integrating interactive media.
   

  You develop your own avimirs by authenticating yourself to a device, such as your mobile phone, website, by interacting with a personally designed audio or visual clip, biometric or an augmented reality image. They can be as simple or sophisticated as you'd like depending on the level of security desired which provides a more personal and a more memorable level of digital security.
  Founder: Michael Hill

Want to find out more about these start-ups? Contact Venture Track Director Todd Sobotka.

WIN Luncheon August 9

UWM Chancellor Lovell to discuss innovation economy.

UWM Chancellor Mike Lovell will speak about his vision for UW-Milwaukee and the innovation economy at the August 9 luncheon meeting of the Wisconsin Innovation Network in Milwaukee.

The luncheon will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 10499 Innovation Drive, Wauwatosa. Registration and networking begins at 11:30 a.m., lunch at noon and the presentation at 12:30 p.m. The cost is $10 for students, $25 for WIN members, Governor's Business Plan Contest participants and Milwaukee County Research Park tenants, $35 for non-members and included with WIN corporate memberships.

WIN is the membership arm of the Wisconsin Technology Council, the independent, non-profit science and technology adviser to the governor and the Legislature. WIN-Milwaukee meetings are held in cooperation with BizStarts Milwaukee and sponsored by the UW-Milwaukee and the UWM Research Foundation.

Details and Registration

Entrepreneurs: Ready to start with BizStarts? Submit on our website!

We've been working with more entrepreneurs and start-up companies than ever. If you'd like to get started on working with BizStarts, there's an easy new way to send your information in - right on our website, BizStartsMilwaukee.com!

Right on our front page, click the "Begin BizStarts" button, and you'll go to our Inquiry Submission Form. This will get your information to us quickly and easily, any time of day or night. We'll follow up to discuss within 1-2 business days!

John Torinus Blogs: "Angels Will Trump Crowdfunding"

Crowdfunding became a big buzzword this year with passage of the JOBS act in April, which was was created to fund young companies. But securities laws were put into place for a reason: to protect unaccredited investors. The law installed caps of 5% to 10% of income in a scale up to $100,000. Entrepreneurs have to look at every shareholder as a potential plaintiff, which means careful record keeping, controls and communication. Courts and juries tend to favor the investor, making small shareholders more risk than benefit. Accredited angel investors, who understand risks and startups, will have more to do with driving that strategy than crowdfunding. Also, the final rules and regulations on crowdfunding have not been put in place yet. Find out more detail from our Chairman John Torinus, who writes a regular blog: http://johntorinus.com/general-blog/the-startup-economy/angels-will-trump-crowd-funding/

SpeechTails gets Act 255 accreditation

Mark Your Calendars

Fast Pitch Pitch your three minute idea and walk away with $5,000! In three minutes entrepreneurs pitch their business or business concepts to a group of judges from the business and investment community. Hear creative and interesting concepts from people who will showcase those ideas and learn what it takes to advance them.

August 8, 5:30pm: Rock/Walworth Counties, Blackhawk Technical College, Janesville FastPitch Competition. Details

September 21: Creative Milwaukee At Work where Milwaukee convenes, connects and collaborates. Details

October 4: Fourth Anniversary Event.  Come and help us celebrate four years of successes. Hosted by Gale E. Klappa, Chairman, President and CEO of We Energies and Wisconsin Energy Corporation, this is your opportunity to celebrate, network and hear about new companies, updates, and initiatives. More details will be released soon.