Fifteen panels will dive into best practices, success
stories – and even how to learn from failure – at the 13th annual
Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference, June 2-3 at Madison’s Alliant Energy
Center.
Tracks within the two-day conference are built around
three distinct stages that matter to all startup companies: launch, grow and
succeed. More than 60 seasoned entrepreneurs, investors and others who work
with emerging companies will take part in each discussion. To register, visit www.WiTrepsConference.com.
“Early bird” registration is open through May 11 and special hotel rates apply
through early May.
The
Launch Track will include these panels: “Seven questions to ask when figuring out your
capital-raising strategy;” “Marketing 1001: Effective tactics and strategies
entrepreneurs need to know;” “Numbers that matter: Key business metrics,
capital planning and proformas;” “Equity crowdfunding in Wisconsin: Trends,
trails and trials;” and “The ABCs of Accelerators: Finding what’s right for
you.”
The
Grow Track will feature: “Building your team: Finding the right managers and advisors;” “Scaling
your business: How to foster a culture of growth and spur rapid scaling;” “Failing
fast: What does it mean and how do you pivot before it’s too late?”; “Alternatives to convertible debt: The
Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE);” and “Using social media to market
your startup.”
The
Succeed Track will include: “Are you the ‘it’ in IoT:
Fitting your company into the Internet of things?”; “Angels on new clouds: Emerging funds in Wisconsin;” “Water, power,
food and data: The latest from The Water Council, M-WERC, FaB Wisconsin and The
Milwaukee Institute;” “The story behind
the numbers: Understanding business valuation;” and “Capitol round-up:
How state legislation is affecting Wisconsin’s tech economy.”
“Our panel
line-up is designed to help entrepreneurs at all stages, and from all industry
sectors, learn from veteran ‘treps, investors and others who have walked this
path before,” said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. “Our
panelists are willing to share their experiences with others … from successes
to occasional failures, pivots and reboots.”
Produced
by the Tech Council, the conference is one of the largest events of its kind in
the Upper Midwest. More than 500 people are expected to attend the two-day
conference, to be held June 2-3 at the Alliant Energy Center, 1919 Alliant
Energy Center Way, just off Madison’s South Beltline. Additional speakers and
features will be announced in coming weeks, all under the theme of “Nurturing
Entrepreneurial Roots.” Other highlights:
–
A
keynote presentation by Jerry Jendusa,
co-founder and former CEO of EMTEQ and now a principal with STUCK LLC.
–
The
2015 Ken Hendricks Memorial “Seize the Day” award recipient Jim Berbee, of Berbee Information
Networks Corp.
–
Diligent Dozen: Top 12 finalists from the
Governor’s Business Plan Contest square off
–
Innovation Showcase featuring more than 45 companies
from around the state
–
Plenty
of chances to connect with seasoned
entrepreneurs and investors over food and refreshments
Sponsors so far include: Aberdean Consulting; Alliant
Energy; American Family Insurance; American Transmission Co.; Ascendancy
Advisors; AT&T; Baird Capital; Baker Tilly; BDO; BloodCenter of Wisconsin;
BMO Harris Bank; City of Fitchburg; Concordia University; CORE Business
Consulting; Cresa Madison; Dedicated Computing; DeWitt Ross & Stevens; Exact
Sciences; Filament Games; Fine Point Consulting; First Business Bank; Godfrey
& Kahn; Google; Group Health Cooperative; HP Enterprise Services; Madison
College; Madison Gas & Electric; Makin’ HEY! Communications; Marquette
University; Marshfield Clinic Applied Sciences; Michael Best & Friedrich; Mid-West
Energy Research Consortium; Midwest Prototyping; MIOsoft; Murphy Desmond; Neider
& Boucher; Nelson Schmidt; NEW Capital Fund; New Horizons of Wisconsin;
Nordic; PowerBuy 4 You; Quarles & Brady; RDC National Inc.; Reinhart
Boerner Van Deuren s.c.; Safenet Consulting; Tweedee Productions; University
Research Park; Uber; UW-Madison Discovery to Product (D2P); UW-Madison Office
of Corporate Relations; UW-Milwaukee Research Foundation; Venture Investors;
Whitewater University Technology Park; Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek; WIN-Lake
Superior; Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.; Wisconsin Technical College
System; and WTN Media.
For more
information, visit www.witrepsconference.com or call 608-442-7557.
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