MADISON – Finalists representing diverse tech-based sectors
in Wisconsin’s startup economy will present live to judges in the Governor’s
Business Plan Contest during the 12th annual Wisconsin
Entrepreneurs’ Conference in Madison.

The 13 contestants (the total includes one tie) have
survived three rounds of judging in the contest organized through the Wisconsin
Technology Council, which produces the contest in conjunction with its partners
and sponsors. The contest began in late January with nearly 300 entries; more
than 2,900 entries have been received since the contest began in 2004.

This year’s finalists will deliver seven-minute pitches on
their business ideas beginning 3:15 p.m. Tuesday,
June 3
, during the conference. Winners will be announced June 4 during a closing luncheon – and
all 25 finalists will be eligible for prizes. To register for the conference at
Madison’s Alliant Energy Center, visit www.WiTrepsConference.com

Ideas from this year’s crop of
finalists include software and business service plans tied to real estate
searches, interactive fitness technology, golf tournament scoring and
management, using social media for focus groups, software to help pathologists
diagnose certain liver diseases, and Medicare decision-making software. Manufacturing
ideas cover innovations in lightweight composite castings, water purification,
colorized 3-D printing and “crowd-sourced” craft beer. Health-related plans include
a test for monitoring transplant rejection, 3-D analysis for people who must
recover from falls, and a wireless marker system for breast cancer removal.

Entries were submitted in four
categories: Advanced Manufacturing, Business Services, Information Technology
and Life Sciences.

Finalists submitted full business plans for review by a
panel of more than 80 judges established by the Tech Council, which is the
non-profit and non-partisan science and technology adviser to the governor and
the Legislature. Each plan describes the core product or service, defines the
customer base, estimates the size of the market, identifies competition,
describes the management team and provides key financial data.

The executive summaries of the Top 25 contestants are available
for inspection by accredited investors through the Wisconsin Angel Network,
which has more than 25 member angel networks, private equity funds or corporate
strategic partners.

More than
$100,000 in cash and in-kind prizes have been pledged thus far for the 2014
contest. Sponsors of the 2014 contest thus far include: 100state;
5Nines; Aberdean Consulting; Ascendancy Advisors; American Family Insurance;
American Transmission Co.; AT&T; BDO; Cleantech Open; Cresa Madison; Exact
Sciences; Kollath & Associates; Madison Gas & Electric; Makin’ HEY
Communications; Marshfield Clinic Applied Sciences; Michael Best &
Friedrich; Midwest Prototyping; Mortenson Construction; Murphy Desmond; Nelson
Schmidt; Pieper Properties; Quarles & Brady; Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren;
Revelation PR, Advertising & Social Media; Smith & Gesteland; Sports
AdvantEDGE; State of Wisconsin Investment Board;
Tweedee Productions; University Research Park; UW-Madison Office of Corporate
Relations; and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. To become a sponsor, call Joy Sawatzki
at 608-442-7557.

The 2014 “Diligent
Dozen” are listed below. Reporters wishing to contact individual contestants
may do so through the Wisconsin Technology Council by calling 608-442-7557.

Melinda
Caughill, 65 Inc., Mequon
Marianna
DeMyer, Roving Blue, Lena
Don
Fleming, Organic Research Corp., Oak
Creek
Heather
Johnston, Find My Spot, Milwaukee
Laura
G. King, Elucent Medical, Madison
Cedric
Kovacs-Johnson, Spectrom, Madison
Michael
E. Mitchell, TAI Diagnostics, Elm
Grove
Judy
Reinhold, Kaliber Imaging Inc., Elgin,
Ill.
Will
Robus, Little Green Pencil, Madison
Pradeep
Rohatgi, Intelligent Composites, Milwaukee    
Henry
Schwartz, MobCraft Beer LLC, Madison
Bill
Sotis, WebRacing LLC, Madison        
Monika
Wingate, Digsite, McFarland

Other conference highlights include:

· Nationally known speakers, such as Jack Lynch of
Renaissance Learning and Dave Lambert of
Internet2

· The annual Ken Hendricks Memorial “Seize the
Day” award, which will go to Craig and
Lea Culver
of Culver’s Franchising System

· Panel
discussions
for emerging companies on how to “Launch, Grow and Succeed”

·
Innovation
Showcase
featuring more than 50 companies from around the state

· Plenty of chances to connect with seasoned entrepreneurs and investors over food and
refreshments

Register or
learn more by visiting www.WiTrepsConference.com.