A new tool for small and midsize businesses
WISCONSIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP. (WEDC)
Sophisticated business intelligence can be a huge differentiator. SizeUpWI is a free customized platform for small and midsize business owners and entrepreneurs that provides the market research and business intelligence needed for growth and success. Get industry data analysis that empowers you to:
- Discover potential customers and suppliers
- Optimize advertising and marketing to ideal customers
- Analyze the characteristics and spending of consumers in the area
- Validate or reject your assumptions about future business performance
- Rank your industry performance across multiple measurements...
Pure entrepreneur: Roving Blue's Marianna "Yana" DeMyer keeps innovation bubbling to the surface
INSIGHT PUBLICATIONS
OCONTO COUNTY -- So goes the wisdom of American writer and anthropologist Loren Eiseley. All her life, Marianna “Yana” DeMyer says she has felt a pull toward the magical powers of water. But when it comes to her water purification and sanitation business, Roving Blue, there’s no magic required. Just science.
DeMyer has been inventing all her life, she says, but never did anything with her inventions until Roving Blue. Created out of her home in rural Oconto County, the company offers a range of personal, portable products that use ozone to kill bacteria and viruses in water. These include the Ozo-Pen, which is as small as it sounds, and the new GO-3 water bottle cap — a purifier for a Nalgene water bottle that sold out of its first major run for Christmas 2022....
Great minds make GreatPlates
INSIGHT PUBLICATIONS
OSHKOSH -- Life with six children in a blended family is a lot of fun, but it can get messy. Just ask husband and wife team Rick Kellow and Beth Kuehl, creators of The GreatPlate.
After one too many spilled soda cans in the family’s basement rec room, Kellow searched for a product that would hold both a snack and beverage upright on a stable surface. Ten years ago, that product didn’t exist, so Kellow sketched some designs and created a prototype.
“We aren’t designers or product development people,” says Kellow, who works in the mortgage industry along with Kuehl. “All we did was design [a product] the way we would like it to be, and people are catching on to it.”...
Bullseye: Brothers hit the mark with Fondy Axe Company
INSIGHT PUBLICATIONS
FOND DU LAC -- This past fall, Fond du Lac’s downtown welcomed a new entertainment option to the neighborhood with the opening of Fondy Axe Company. The brainchild of brothers T.J. and Tyler Schultz, the axe-throwing venue is a new way for people to get together and enjoy a night out. The brothers became interested in axe throwing about three years ago, and they liked it so much they signed up for rec leagues. From there, their interest and dedication to axe throwing grew, and now they participate on the national circuit....
Application deadline is Feb. 5 for for VentureHome – Oshkosh
WISYS
OSHKOSH -- WiSys VentureHome – Oshkosh is a program established to foster entrepreneurship and connect local startups to statewide resources. Level Up! is an action-oriented, 5-month program to help business owners take their scalable business or idea to the next level. The program is divided into a range of foundational aspects for businesses such as validating customer needs, identifying market segments, setting up governance, finding early adopters, etc. The programming provides a combination of educational events, personalized goal setting, and tangible milestones on each topic with the help of the VentureHome resources and mentor network. ...
Building up the next generation of entrepreneurs: Green Bay Chamber accelerator program aims to fill gap in support system for tech startups
THE BUSINESS NEWS
GREEN BAY – The Greater Green Bay Chamber is doing what it can to help foster the next generation of entrepreneurs with the launch of its new 10-week tech accelerator program “Build Up.” Lamarr Banks, Urban Hub Community manager, said the program aims to fill a gap in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. “We see a gap in the ecosystem where a lot of early-stage companies that use technology to build a company don't have the support they need,” he said. “So, we wanted to create a program that can offer them some support.” Banks said the program will focus on a broad range of verticals. ...
Marinette woman opens two places: One for coffee, one to help adults with special needs
GREEN BAY PRESS GAZETTE
MARINETTE - As the mom of a special needs adult, Jennifer Shiller of Marinette worried about the future. It’s an apprehension shared by other parents. If something happens and neither parent is able to provide care, what will become of their child?
“Every parent of a child with disabilities has the same fears,” she said. “They want to have a safe, loving place where their adult children can grow. As they say, ‘It takes a village to raise a child,’ and that especially applies to the special needs community.”..
Learning life skills through entrepreneurship: Four finalists participate in Junior Achievement entrepreneurship pitch contestTHE BUSINESS NEWSNORTHEAST WISCONSIN – Taking a leap into entrepreneurship is something many inspire to one day do. Taking that leap before even graduating high school is on a whole new level of inspiring. Aaron Vanden Heuvel, Gabe Hansen, Maya Wiltzius and Issac Johnson are all under the age of 18 – and they are also all successful small business owners. From pumpkins and caramel-cinnamon rolls to bike repair service and horseback riding lessons, these four youth-founded companies are holding their own in their respective niches... Read More 8>
Creating connections through steam, sweat and relaxation: Kov Sauna -- Appleton's first wood-fired sauna -- opens behind Moon Water CafeTHE BUSINESS NEWS APPLETON – Nathan Litt said when he was first introduced to the world of sauna, he was “hooked” immediately. It would be an understatement to say he was intrigued. From there, Litt said he immersed himself in sauna – learning about its popularity in European culture, as well as the hubbub of mobile sauna in the Twin Cities and Duluth, Minnesota. “I’ve always loved sauna,” he said. “But it became more than a hobby – it turned into a passion.” After seeing the success of saunas in Minnesota, Litt said he thought Appleton could also benefit from what he describes as a relaxing experience and culture... Read More 9>
A startup windup: Entrepreneurs pitch New North's NEW Launch Alliance
INSIGHT PUBLICATIONS
NEW NORTH -- New North, Inc. and its NEW Launch Alliance, created through a grant in 2020, are in the business of fostering entrepreneurship throughout the 18-county region. Over the last three years, the community has been introduced to innovative businesses via the NEW Launch Alliance annual pitch event held in conjunction with WBD, Inc. and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. Last year’s honorees included Two Rivers coffee shop The High Lift, online gift registry platform Divorcist, and the Menasha-born grilling technology known as Brat Wave.
“We have so many great business ideas underway here in the New North region,” says Barb LaMue, president and CEO of New North, Inc. “We have held the pitch competition for several years, and I have to say each year the range of business ideas and quality of the presentations continues to get stronger.”... Read More 10>
Investing in the future: Northeast Wisconsin's angel and venture investment communities show promising growthINSIGHT PUBLICATIONSMatthew Kee is on a mission to be the investor he needed when embarking on his startup journey. A startup founder in the financial technology space, Kee moved to Green Bay in 2016 while in the early stages of seeking investment for his business. “There were very few onramps I had to the [local] startup and investor ecosystem,” Kee says. “Being that I wasn’t from the area, I didn’t have any pre-existing connections or phone calls that I could place.”... Read More 11>
Something fierce: Jim Ver Voort made a bet on his father's old fashioned mix business
INSIGHT PUBLICATIONS
FREEDOM -- After 23 years as a chiropractor in Freedom, Jim Ver Voort found himself at a crossroads — take over his father’s bottled old fashioned mix business or let the family tradition fall to the wayside.
He made a gamble on the beloved old fashioned mix and took ownership of Gary’s Premium Cocktails — along with his two brothers and two business partners — in 2017. This ultimately led to an unexpected partnership with Appleton-based New Morning Coffee Roasters in support of domestic abuse survivors around the world...
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