Three Milwaukee startups will travel to Lambeau Field in Green Bay on Oct. 17 to pitch to Rise of the Rest, the bus tour led by AOL co-founder Steve Case, for the chance to win $100,000.
Rise of the Rest aims to connect with entrepreneurs in emerging startup ecosystems. Among the eight finalists in the northeast Wisconsin pitch competition are Mequon-based 65 Inc., Milwaukee-based Scanalytics Inc. and Milwaukee-based Ideawake.
The businesses will be judged by Case, chairman and chief executive officer of Washington, D.C.-based venture capital firm Revolution LLC, David Hall, a partner at Revolution and Wendy Lea, CEO of Cincinnati-based Cintrifuse Syndicate Fund.
Melinda Caughill, co-founder and chief marketing officer of 65 Inc., will present the company’s expert, individualized Medicare enrollment guidance service.
Scanalytics co-founder and CEO Joe Scanlin will pitch the company’s Internet of Things floormat sensors, which provide data on how people interact with their physical environments.
Coby Skonord, CEO of Ideawake, will propose the startup’s idea management software, which allows companies to involve employees, customers and other stakeholders more deeply in strategic planning.
Also pitching are Green Bay-based Lane Hub, Oshkosh-based In Our Hands LLC, Marinette-based OrendX, De Pere-based illumyx and Oneida-based Indigenous Pact PCB Inc.
The startups were required to be headquartered in Wisconsin, but Madison companies were not eligible. They also need to have a live product or service or be in active beta; have measurable performance indicators, such as revenue, customers or successful beta results; and be in the process or near the start of raising an early-stage funding round.
The judges will evaluate the companies on: having a bold idea, whether it scales and can employ a large number of people, whether the team has the skills and leadership to move the team forward, whether there is strong customer growth or revenue, the business model, and application and supporting materials.
The Rise of the Rest bus is traveling to York, Lancaster and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Indianapolis, Indiana; Columbus, Ohio; and Green Bay and the Fox River Valley, Wisconsin on this latest tour, which runs from Oct. 10 to 17. Each day, Case will personally invest $100,000 in a local startup via the pitch competition.
