Two elements showcasing entrepreneurial activity by Wisconsin’s middle- and high-school students will be featured at the 14th annual Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference, to be held June 7-8 at Madison’s Alliant Energy Center.

To learn more and register for the event, visit www.witrepsconference.com.

  • A Student Showcase held during the evening reception on Tuesday, June 7, will include projects from Brookfield Academy, BadgerBOTS, Project Lead the Way Wisconsin and the Tech Council’s Wisconsin YES contest. In addition to a live robot demonstration, attendees will see 3-D printed hair spray containers, hot chocolate wands made with the help of 3-D printers, a heart-rate monitor watch and app that’s used to spark physical activity in youth, and more. The Showcase is sponsored by Mortenson Construction.
  • The grand prize winner of the 2016 Wisconsin YES!, a statewide youth business plan contest for students in middle and high school, will present her winning idea during the conference’s closing luncheon on Wednesday, June 8. Abbie Merrill, a junior at Oshkosh West High School, topped more than 130 entries with her customized app that allows users to select state Legislatures they want to follow, summarize topics of interest and notify citizens once a bill has been signed into law. The contest is sponsored by IBM, The Boldt Company, Intrepid Charitable Partners and the Wisconsin Technical College System.

Produced by the Tech Council, the Entrepreneurs’ Conference is one of the largest events for entrepreneurs and early stage investors in the Upper Midwest. More than 500 people are expected to attend the two-day conference at the Alliant Energy Center, 1919 Alliant Energy Center Way, just off Madison’s South Beltline Highway. Other highlights will include:

  • Pat Quirk, UW graduate and software expert whose companies have been involved in more than $10 billion in exits over time;
  • Erik Iverson, the new managing director of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation;
  • Representatives from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation;
  • The 2016 Ken Hendricks Memorial “Seize the Day” award recipient, Mark Gehring;
  • Diligent Dozen: Top 13 finalists from the Governor’s Business Plan Contest square off;
  • 15 panels and seminars to help emerging companies launch, grow and succeed;
  • Innovation Showcase featuring more than 40 companies from around the state; and
  • Plenty of chances to connect with seasoned entrepreneurs and investors over food and refreshments

Sponsors so far include: Aberdean Consulting; Advanced Materials Industrial Consortium; Alliant Energy; Altapure; American Family Insurance; American Transmission Co.; Ascendancy Advisors; AT&T; Baird Capital; Baker Tilly; BDO; BloodCenter of Wisconsin; BMO Harris Bank; Capitol Bank; Carroll University; Center for Technology Commercialization; City of Fitchburg; Dedicated Computing; DeWitt Ross & Stevens; Findorff; First Business Bank; Godfrey & Kahn; Google; HealthX Ventures; Hewlett Packard Enterprise; Madison College; Madison Gas & Electric; Makin’ HEY! Communications; Marquette University; Michael Best & Friedrich; Midwest Prototyping; Mortenson Construction; Murphy Desmond; Neider & Boucher; New Horizons of Wisconsin; Perkins Coie; Quarles & Brady; RDC National; Red Arrow Production; Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.; Rockwell Automation; Uber; University Research Park; UW-Madison Discovery to Product (D2P); UW-Madison Office of Corporate Relations; UW-Madison Office of University Relations; UW-Milwaukee Research Foundation; Venture Investors; WERCBench Labs; Whitewater University Technology Park; Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek; WIPFLI; Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation; Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.; Wisconsin Health and Educational Facilities Authority; Wisconsin Technical College System; World Wide Technology; and WTN Media.

For more information, visit www.witrepsconference.com or call 608-442-7557.