Tom Still

Articles written by Tom Still, Wisconsin Technology Council

Attracting more venture capital is a priority for Wisconsin

Wisconsin entrepreneurs and researchers do a world-class job of coming up with ideas that will transform health care, energy, manufacturing and other industries. Finding the investors who can move those ideas forward is too often the problem.

 

Entrepreneurs live on the edge – and our economy is the better for it

A few days before he willingly stepped down as president and chief executive officer of the alternative energy company he helped to launch, Eric Apfelbach told a crowd of entrepreneurs they were probably a little bit crazy.

 

For Milwaukee’s water cluster, the best product may be ‘bottled’ collaboration

Let no one accuse Rich Meeusen, the chief executive officer of Milwaukee’s Badger Meter, of being less than passionate when he talks about the future of the region’s cluster of water technology companies and researchers.

 

From west of the Mississippi, a tinge of envy over Wisconsin’s business climate

The passage of Wisconsin’s $62 billion state budget has drawn mixed reviews at home, but onlookers from Minnesota and beyond have taken note that policymakers here haven’t abandoned their commitment to fostering a more diverse economy. Recent press accounts in the Twin Cities have noted that a few technology companies are moving to Wisconsin – even if only a few miles over the border – because Wisconsin’s investment tax credits have helped those companies attract “angel” or venture capital.

 

Instead of waiting for jobs to come back, try making your own

The climb back from the recession will be a long one so far as many laid-off workers are concerned. For many of jobless or under-employed Americans, the answer is not waiting for that old job to reappear – but creating their own jobs by becoming entrepreneurs.

 

Investment Board Reinforces Confidence in Wisconsin's Venture Capital Future

The local venture capital environment continues to evolve with the quality of startups in Wisconsin and the Midwest being some of the best in United States,” said Chris Prestigiacomo, SWIB’s portfolio manager.

 

Is the worst over for Milwaukee? Some economic rankings suggest that’s true

Is the worst over for Milwaukee? Some economic rankings suggest that’s true. Is the Milwaukee area economy finally bouncing back?

 

Other states offer models for Wisconsin’s next steps in attracting capital

While Wisconsin has done well of late in nurturing angel capital investments, it still lags in another vital component of its innovation economy – building and attracting venture capital.

 

Reasons for hope: Why Wisconsin’s tech industry is positioned to weather 2009

Economists are hanging black crepe on the New Year’s baby even before the tyke pushes the old guy out the door. And no wonder: From the financial industry to real estate to auto manufacturing, there’s plenty of grim news seeping into almost every sector.

 

Reversing the brain drain: How can Wisconsin attract and retain more college grads?”

A Wisconsin Alumni Association and Competitive Wisconsin Inc. survey that found 58 percent of the 2,600 UW graduates responding from Chicago, the Twin Cities, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., would consider making career moves to Wisconsin. Most of those grads are Wisconsin natives who want to return home for family or lifestyle reasons.

 

Taking pot shots at angels: Federal regulation could kill investing

The financial sector reform bill being pushed by U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., takes direct aim at the wings of angel investors for reasons that defy explanation. If passed, this “Washington-knows-best” attempt to regulate some of the nation’s most productive risk-takers could destroy the entrepreneurial economy.

 

The many faces and flavors of entrepreneurism in Wisconsin

Across Wisconsin entrepreneurism takes a variety of shapes and forms that involve young and old, city dwellers and rural residents, garage inventors and moms with good ideas, and sectors of the economy that have little or nothing to do with medical technology.

 

The mathematics of job creation in Wisconsin calls for quantity and quality

The challenge facing Gov.-elect Scott Walker isn’t to create 250,000 jobs over the next four years, as the numbers suggest that’s possible. The real challenge is to create the high-quality, well-paying jobs Wisconsin needs.

 

While not immune to market busts, angel and venture capital should weather the financial crisis.

The shock waves emanating from the meltdown of the global financial industry are being felt in sectors large and small, but angel and venture capital may stand up to the crushing economic currents better than most.

 

Wisconsin has made great progress in attracting investments, but much work remains

Years of hard work and coordination at the public and private level is finally paying off for Wisconsin’s entrepreneurial and investment communities, which are providing much-needed momentum in a state economy that has felt it share of pain.

 

Wisconsin’s academic R&D assets provide foundation for future growth

It’s more than 60 years old, attracts $17 million in research grants and contracts annually, and its scientists have found ways to reduce post-surgical bleeding, prevent fetal deaths, reduce the body’s rejection of transplants and provide safer blood transfusions