BrightStar Wisconsin Announces Three New Investments
MILWAUKEE, July 9, 2019 – BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation Inc. today announced that it has completed investments in three Wisconsin early-stage companies. They bring to 52 the number of BrightStar investments in Wisconsin companies since its founding.
Arbré Technologies, Inc. ($100,000) provides horticulture-based businesses with innovative software and radio-frequency identification (RFID) solutions that solve inventory efficiency, visibility, and traceability challenges. The company’s products seamlessly connect the vertical supply chain by integrating software, hardware and other best-of-breed systems. These systems harvest precise data that help businesses become more predictive and make better decisions. Arbre’s research and development efforts continue to be focused on developing technologies that help horticulture-based businesses serve their customers and grow as efficiently as possible.
“I am excited to have partnered with the Winnebago Seed Fund and Brightstar Wisconsin on this round,” said Benjamin Meyers, vice president of Arbre Tech. “Because Arbre Tech was a winner in a BrightStar Hatch pitch event, it felt natural for us to work with Wisconsin-backed funds whose goal is to help Wisconsin companies like Arbre Tech to grow and succeed.”
AssuredLeads, Inc. ($100,000) increases sales for commercial insurance agents, brokers and carriers. Its SaaS platform provides sales leads, training resources, communication tools, data analytics and an intuitive CRM. These products are sold through their proprietary software marketplace.
“We’re excited to bring on BrightStar as an investor and partner of AssuredLeads,” said Travis Batiza, AssuredLeads’ CEO. “BrightStar’s investment will enable us to execute a hiring plan that will further accelerate our growth. We look forward to working with such a dynamic organization, which shares our commitment to creating jobs in Wisconsin.” AssuredLeads cloud-based platform offers a customizable dashboard that provides easy-to-view snapshots of new leads, CRM tools and reports. It allows users to streamline the sales and underwriting process and gather data insights into marketing effectiveness, and agent performance and engagement.
Curate Solutions, Inc. ($50,000) provides a vital resource to businesses and associations that are affected by the decisions of municipal governments like cities, towns, villages and school districts. There are approximately 89,000 of these and other municipalities in the United States that exercise their decision-making authority, implement decisions and announce opportunities for bids and requests for proposals daily.
Curate’s document-reading technology scan through hundreds of thousands of agendas and minutes from local meetings like plan commission meetings each week and sends its customers only the relevant snippets of discussion — like proposed or approved ordinances, policies or rezoning applications — straight to their inbox.