Innovation
A place for peace: New Sojourner Center will be impactful project
When Sojourner Family Peace Center opens its brand new, 72,000-square-foot facility later this year, it will not only transform Milwaukee's approach to healing survivors of domestic abuse,
The Commons moves to Ward4
Entrepreneurial skills accelerator The Commons has moved from Walker's Point to the Ward4 co-working space in the Historic Pritzlaff Building near Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward.
‘Making Deals:’ Einhorns target technology startups in Midwest
Daniel Einhorn isn't big on PowerPoint presentations. He used to give them, but found he never quite got all the way through his slides.
When an early stage company pitches him seeking an investment from his Mequon-based venture capital firm, Capital Midwest Fund, he likes to hear the initial presentation in about 10 minutes.
What Einhorn is most interested in at the first meeting is how the entrepreneur plans to get the product into the market. He asks a series of questions to which he expects thoughtful responses.
“What I'm trying to learn in that first meeting is critical thinking,” Einhorn said. “What I have learned in the last 10 years is it is almost exclusively about management. You have your product, you have your technology. You wouldn't have gotten to see me without having something there.”
He doesn't care whether the company does direct sales or distribution. What he cares about is why you chose one over the other and the thought process behind the decision.
Einhorn and his team at Capital Midwest are among a small group offering venture capital investments in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin companies completed 10 venture capital deals worth a total of $18.5 million in the first quarter of 2015, while California saw 420 deals totaling $8 billion, according to a MoneyTree Report by PwC and the National Venture Capital Association, which was based on data from Thomson Reuters.
It's safe to say Wisconsin doesn't hold a candle to Silicon Valley when it comes to venture capital investment. However, that figure is an improvement over the first quarter of 2012, when just two venture capital deals were completed in Wisconsin, totaling about $4.5 million.
When an early stage company pitches him seeking an investment from his Mequon-based venture capital firm, Capital Midwest Fund, he likes to hear the initial presentation in about 10 minutes.
What Einhorn is most interested in at the first meeting is how the entrepreneur plans to get the product into the market. He asks a series of questions to which he expects thoughtful responses.
“What I'm trying to learn in that first meeting is critical thinking,” Einhorn said. “What I have learned in the last 10 years is it is almost exclusively about management. You have your product, you have your technology. You wouldn't have gotten to see me without having something there.”
He doesn't care whether the company does direct sales or distribution. What he cares about is why you chose one over the other and the thought process behind the decision.
Einhorn and his team at Capital Midwest are among a small group offering venture capital investments in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin companies completed 10 venture capital deals worth a total of $18.5 million in the first quarter of 2015, while California saw 420 deals totaling $8 billion, according to a MoneyTree Report by PwC and the National Venture Capital Association, which was based on data from Thomson Reuters.
It's safe to say Wisconsin doesn't hold a candle to Silicon Valley when it comes to venture capital investment. However, that figure is an improvement over the first quarter of 2012, when just two venture capital deals were completed in Wisconsin, totaling about $4.5 million.
Creative Alliance and MiKE combine innovation events
Creative Alliance Milwaukee and The Greater Milwaukee Committee's Innovation in Milwaukee (MiKE) have announced they will combine their annual innovation events into a new annual conference focusing on creativity and innovation, which will be held on Wednesday, October 7.
Exporting Wisconsin: Medical device companies thrive
Medical device manufacturing is emerging as one of Wisconsin's most dynamic industry sectors and is projected to become a key driver for exports from the state.
Bubbler Quote of the Week
“Is it any wonder then that tools have emerged to manage the geographic spreading of work? Video conferencing, email,...
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The Internet of Things: Milwaukee firms create smart products for new age
The Internet of Things will change the ways we live, work and play.
By 2020, there will be 50 billion...
Maximizing the 4-Generation Workforce
Now that people are living well into their 80s, as opposed to their 40s as was the case a century ago, it is not entirely uncommon to find a 20-year-old working alongside a 70-year-old.
Milwaukee Biz Blog: Holiday perks include naughty and nice in Wisconsin politics
A source close to the toy industry has once again leaked a copy of Santa's perks list for Wisconsin politicians and newsmakers.
The Supreme Court and the tricky issue of software patents
Prior to adjourning for the summer, the United States Supreme Court rendered an opinion relating to the patent eligibility of computer-implemented inventions. In Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, the Court held that all claims of a patent owned by Alice Corp., including method, system, and computer-readable medium claims, are drawn to an abstract idea and, therefore, are not patent-eligible. The opinion is one in a recent series of cases addressing patent eligibility.