MADISON – Jeff Rusinow, who founded
Milwaukee’s first angel network and who has been a part of six successful
startup “exits” over time, will be inducted into the Wisconsin Investor Hall of
Fame during a Nov. 4 dinner tied to the Wisconsin
Early Stage Symposium.
Rusinow was elected by a group of
state investors that included the past three inductees: Dick Leazer, a founder
of Wisconsin Investment Partners, the state’s oldest angel investment network;
George Mosher, a Milwaukee “super angel” investor; and Roger Ganser, a
co-founder of Venture Investors LLC, the state’s oldest and largest venture
capital fund.
Rusinow will be honored during a dinner of about 65 invited
angel and venture capitalists following the first day of the Early Stage
Symposium in Madison.
“Jeff Rusinow has been an integral part of Wisconsin’s early
stage investing scene for 15 years,” said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin
Technology Council. “He joins a group on honorees who helped lay the groundwork
for angel and venture investing in Wisconsin today.”
Rusinow founded Silicon Pastures in 2000 after spending 22
years in retail management, holding senior positions at Macy’s, Gimbel’s,
Hudson Bay Co. and Kohl’s Department Stores, where he was executive vice
president until leaving the corporate mainstream.
He has directly invested in more than 35 startups, including
six successful exits that included BUYSEASONS Inc., BuyCostumes.com,
ModernMed and Revolution EHR. He is also president of ETR Group, which
previously owned and managed the world’s largest Christmas-specific portal on
the Internet, Christmas.com.
Rusinow is a founding donor of BrightStar Foundation and
serves on the investment committee of the Wisconsin Super Angel Fund. He is the
lead angel investor in three recent graduates from Gener8tor, a Wisconsin-based
accelerator: Review Trackers, Men’s Style Lab and LivBlends.
Rusinow also serves on the board of the American Bird
Conservancy and the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, and is the author
of three books on angel investing.
The dinner, sponsored by Baird Capital, is produced by
the Wisconsin Angel Network.
WAN is a program of the Wisconsin Technology Council, and works with the
state’s angel groups as well as early stage funds and other private equity
investors.
The
2015 Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium
will be held Nov. 4-5 at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in
Madison. Previously announced speakers
include Zach
Halmstad, founder of
JAMF Software; Sue Marks, founder and chief executive office of
Cielo; and Mike
Splinter, the former
chairman of Applied Materials and Intel executive. The conference will also
feature:
–
A
dozen panel discussions
and educational seminars
featuring leading entrepreneurs, investors and others tied to the tech sector.
–
“Office
Hours,” offering the opportunity to meet with subject experts on a variety of
topics in small discussion groups or one-on-one.
–
SBIR/STTR
awards luncheon to recognize grant recipients from the past year.
–
The
2nd annual “Excellence in Entrepreneurial Education” award
presentation.
–
The
“First Look” forum
featuring selected campus-based technologies.
–
Exhibit
hall showcasing more than 40 Wisconsin companies.
–
A
Nov. 3 “Wisconsin
WOMEN Reception”
(Women, Opportunities, Mentors, Networking, Entrepreneurs) with a presentation
by Sue Marks. This event is open to both men and women.
–
A Nov.
4 reception, two luncheons, two breakfasts and other networking opportunities,
including an investors-only dinner.
Learn
more and register for the conference at www.wisearlystage.com.
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