Crowds.io, a Milwaukee-based online startup incubator, plans to open a permanent office space in downtown Milwaukee.
The startup has leased a 2,300-square-foot space from RFP Commercial Inc. at 1247 N. Water, above burger restaurant AJ Bombers.
Crowds.io has three employees, and plans to expand to seven by the end of the year, said founder Coby Skonord.
Skonord founded the company after he graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in May 2013, and launched the Crowds.io website last year. The website consists of a public platform, which is a global network of people building new companies, and a private platform used within universities to track internal ideas that could be commercialized.
There are about 270 products featured on the public-facing portion of the site, which serves as a virtual startup incubator by assisted companies with their go-to-market plans.
The company has been working with UW-Whitewater to develop its private network of student entrepreneurs.
“Basically right now the (UWW) technology park interfaces with the business school,” Skonord said. “But they want to reach out to other colleges and get them involved. That’s really what we pitched was the ability to connect all those colleges and get them involved in entrepreneurial initiatives on and off campus.”
Crowds.io, which has raised $350,000 so far through a network of investors and the Whitewater Community Development Authority and plans to raise another round in the next three months.
