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MadREP Report: December 7, 2017
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Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation: Advancing Innovation & Entrepreneurship
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WARF Managing Director Erik Iverson |
Just over a year ago, Erik Iverson joined the
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), as its new managing director. Now, Iverson is moving the UW-Madison technology transfer office in a new direction with big plans to advance innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) in the Madison Region.
While the 90+ year-old WARF is widely known for its work in intellectual property, its I&E focus centers around education, acceleration, and funding. Directly and in partnership with UW-Madison, gener8tor (a nationally-ranked accelerator that invests in high-growth startups), and venture capital and community partners, WARF provides a host of resources to entrepreneurs including
Discovery to Product (D2P), Upstart, Wisconsin Entrepreneurial Bootcamp (WEB), gBETA, UW Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic, Madworks, and Merlin Mentors. And it's
tripling its investment in entrepreneurial programs over the next several years, announcing earlier this year an additional $60 million, including $10 million for a new seed fund and $50 million for a new venture fund, to support startups affiliated with UW-Madison.
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To lead all this new activity, WARF is currently in the process of hiring a new Chief Venture Officer (CVO), for which it received an overwhelming 100+ applications. Iverson -- who came to Madison from Seattle -- is an absolute believer in the Wisconsin idea, and is optimistic about Madison and Wisconsin. In a recent presentation, he summarized the ongoing conversation with the remaining CVO candidates as follows:
"There's stuff going on in Madison -- we see it, we hear it, and we want to be a part of it."
Stay tuned for more at the upcoming
WARF Entrepreneurons event on December 12, the topic of which is
D2P 2.0: UW-Madison's Entrepreneurship Focus.
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Talent & Training:
UW-Madison retains 6th place in national research ranking
The National Science Foundation released its 2016 Higher Education Research and Development Survey data, showing that UW-Madison retained 6th place in the national research rankings. The university remains a research powerhouse with nearly $1.16 billion in annual expenditures for research across all fields, about half of which comes from federal awards. The university's research enterprise is a powerful economic engine as well as a creator of knowledge and innovation. The benefits are felt throughout the state and beyond. According to the UW-Madison Data Digest for 2016-17, more than 362 UW-Madison-related startup companies support nearly 25,000 jobs, generate $113.6 million in state tax revenue and contribute $2.3 billion to the state economy.
Startup Scene:
StartingBlock's building rises, but new center is still 'at the starting line'
It's taken five years of fundraising, scrapped plans, and deliberation in city hall, but an entrepreneurship center in Madison is becoming a brick-and-mortar reality. As the building goes up, the team behind StartingBlock is hammering out the specifics of what the new space is going to be when it holds its public opening projected for the fall of 2018. The general premise of the project, which has received significant city, state, and federal funding, is to offer real estate to startups of varying sizes in a location teeming with people, organizations and resources to help them out. Founder of video game company PerBlue and one of StartingBlock's early organizers, Forrest Woolworth, and StartingBlock director of operations and interim executive director Chandra Miller Fienen said that PerBlue exemplifies the kind of entrepreneurial churn that StartingBlock will foster: It will house nascent companies, help them grow, and eventually let them "graduate" when they get too big for the center.
Business Expansion:
Pinnacle Foods is interested in more land and adding jobs
Pinnacle Foods has its eyes set on seven acres of vacant land and plans to bring more than 100 jobs to Beaver Dam in the coming years. The Community Development Committee recommended the land purchase and Beaver Dam Area Development Corporation Vice President Trent Campbell told the committee that the land purchase is for a future expansion once Pinnacle grows in the Ryder Systems facility. In September, Ryder Systems sold its cold storage facility to Pinnacle Foods for $37.5 million. Ryder System is a cold storage facility and is housed in a 327,000-square-foot food packaging and distribution center. It was reported in September that the transition from Ryder to Pinnacle is expected to be complete by Dec. 15. According Campbell, Pinnacle intends to retain Ryder's current 150 employees and plans to add 100 jobs to that workforce. "This is a very positive deal for Beaver Dam," he said.
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Regional Economy:
New WEDC report shows growth in supported entrepreneurs
A new report from WEDC shows companies supported by the agency's entrepreneurship programs generated over $385 million in capital in 2016 -- a 17 percent increase over 2015's $328 million. The 314 businesses getting direct assistance from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation's entrepreneurship programs paid workers $111 million in total wages, supporting 717 part-time jobs and 2,133 full-time jobs -- up 22 percent from 2015. "Readers of this report should keep in mind that the aggregate impact of a healthy startup ecosystem reaches far beyond the companies WEDC is involved with, either directly or indirectly," wrote WEDC Vice President Aaron Hagar in an introduction to the report. "It is impossible to capture the full impact because the whole is greater than the sum of the parts."
Community Highlight:
Economic Recovery Plan sparked by Tyson Foods' closing reviewed
In December 2015, Jefferson County was declared "distressed" due to the imminent closure of Tyson Foods' century-old plant. Even before the plant closed, the City of Jefferson had begun taking steps to address the potential economic impact. One such action was to apply for an Economic Development Administration grant to undertake an Economic Recovery Plan, which it was awarded. Vandewalle & Associates, the City of Jefferson's longtime planning consultant, has been working on the study and recently presented a general overview of the findings to the Jefferson Common Council Committee.
The overall project objective is to "position Jefferson for economic recovery and growth by identifying asset-based opportunity areas and aligning initiatives to sites with greatest potential for redevelopment and economic growth." The study identified six opportunity areas, each with initiatives to help implement them: recreation and nature-based activities, healthcare, small-town living, business and workforce development, value-added food production, and the green economy.
Startup Scene:
Nationwide chain Industrious opens posh Madison coworking offices
Madison has a variety of co-working spaces, and now there's a new option -- Industrious -- which opened in November at 25 W. Main Street in downtown Madison. Occupying the entire fifth floor, with 20,000 square-feet of offices that look out on the State Capitol as well as lake views, Industrious offers an upscale, industrial-chic version of co-working. Industrious is a nationwide, for-profit chain that started in 2013. In November 2015, Industrious was one of Inc. magazine's "Top 15 companies to watch in 2016," and in September 2016, the co-working company landed $37 million from investors. The Madison site is already 25 percent occupied, with tenants ranging from a lawyer to a young marketing firm. How did Madison rate to be part of a company whose other branches are in cities such as Chicago, New York, Boston, Austin, Texas, Los Angeles and Seattle? "We're investing in growing cities with a strong economic outlook," said Ryan Ledoda, head of the Madison office.
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State of the Sector
December 12, 8-10am
Accuray, Madison
Accelerate Madison presents a new signature event that will bring together business leaders to assess the Greater Madison's current and projected economic standing as a global technology leader. At the 12/12 event, new data and analysis will be released in partnership with MadREP and UW-Extension.
Learn more.
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WEDC: Fabrication Laboratories Grant
Deadline: December 14
To help prepare students for jobs of the 21st century, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is providing grants of up to $25K to eligible Wisconsin public school districts or up to $50K for consortiums of two or more public school districts to create and/or expand fab labs.
Apply by 12/14.
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WEDC Global Trade Venture: Mexico
Registration deadline: December 18
WEDC will lead a global trade venture to Guadalajara and Mexico City, Mexico from January 27-February 2, 2018. Wisconsin companies are invited to participate in the program, which will include one-on-one meetings with potential partners in the market.
Find out more.
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2018 Economic Forecast: A Global Perspective
January 9, 10:30am-2pm
Fluno Center, Madison
Join Madison International Trade Association for the ninth annual global economic forecast conference to look into the future of the global economy.
Register online.
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Open for Entries: 2018 Wisconsin Governor's Business Plan Contest
Deadline: January 31, 2018
Designed to encourage entrepreneurs in the startup stage of tech-based businesses in Wisconsin, the contest links up-and-coming entrepreneurs with resources, mentoring, management talent, and possible sources of capital.
Learn more.
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Career Ready Internship Program
Deadline: February 4, 2018
This UW Center for Academic Excellence
program
matches current juniors and seniors with employers based on talent needs and career interests, with the goal of diversifying the workforce through the development of talented, low-income students. For more info, contact
Duane Cooper
at 608.265.9205.
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who support our region's economic future through their generous financial contributions.
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