Archive for category: BrightStar News

12 local entrepreneurial pitch winners advance to Dec. 2 

NEW Launch Alliance regional pitch competition 

Local contest winners demonstrate variety of creative business ideas in New North region 

NEW NORTH, November 24, 2021 – Twelve entrepreneurial pitch winners who advanced from local pitch competitions hosted by a collaboration of several local partners will vie for additional prize money at a regional pitch competition hosted by New North Inc. The NEW Launch Alliance HATCH Event will take place on Thursday, December 2, at 5 p.m. at the Urban Hub, located at 340 North Broadway, Suite 200, in Green Bay. Participants will have a chance for broader investor attention, along with prize money of $3,000 for first place, $2,000 for second place and $1,000 for third place.

The top winners will be invited to give an update to an even wider investor/business audience during the New North Summit, scheduled for June 9, 2022, at Lambeau Field.

“We were excited by the wide range of creative business ideas shown at these local pitch events,” says Barb LaMue, president and CEO of New North Inc. “It demonstrates the vibrancy of the entrepreneurial community across the New North region.”

Seven local partnering organizations hosted four different events during Startup Week in Wisconsin, November 15-19. First-place winners at the local level received $1,000 cash, while second-place finishers and judges’ choice designations were given $500 each.

In all, 32 entrepreneurial pitches were made during the local qualifying events. These events – Audible, Fast Pitch, LevelUp and Accelerate – were hosted by the Greater Green Bay Chamber, FVTC Venture Center, Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce, Envision Greater Fond du Lac, Progress Lakeshore and Sheboygan County Economic Development Corp.

Details of the 12 companies that will advance are as follows: 

Alto Gear, presented by Benjamin Leibham: Outdoor products to store and protect ice climbers’ equipment, manufactured from repurposed billboard vinyl, making each wrap unique and saving vinyl from entering landfills.

AppEase, presented by Nicole Tilot: Automatically transfers electronic medical records between medical providers and insurance companies for the purpose of underwriting life, disability and long-term care insurance applications.

Blank Sheet Fabrications, presented by Mark Blank: Provisional patent for a custom tailgate handle for classic pickup trucks, which fits into the original and aftermarket tailgates while keeping the original look and function of the vehicle.

Blossom Baby, presented by Marissa Dyess: Offers sustainable baby clothing to save parents and grandparents time and money; expandable baby clothing caters to the growth of infants.

Brat Wave LLC, presented by Jesse Foster: Patent pending contoured cooking sheet for cooking the curves of a bratwurst.

Divorcist, presented by Elizabeth Paulson and Eliza Cussen: Online gift registry and community of support for those experiencing divorce and breakups.

Doggy Dupa Dog Leash, presented by Brian Jankowski: Patent-pending double leash solves the problems with walking two dogs with a double bungee leash that swivels and does not tangle because it is slack free, allowing dogs to independently roam up to 6 feet, cross under each other freely without tangle, with lead length changing as the dogs walk.

GoGuide, presented by Carter Brown: A software and platform that connects customers of guided trips to guides and instructors for a wide range of outdoor activities, creating a more personal booking experience by enabling customers to research, compare, communicate and book by guide rather than booking a faceless company and getting matched with a guide after the fact.

Homeschool Art Box, presented by Sarah Harmeling: Monthly subscription box which is an ‘open and go’ homeschool art curriculum. It includes a full art history lesson, art appreciation, and instructions and supplies to complete a related art project. Targeted for Grades 1-8, it completes the prep work for parents of research, gathering supplies and creating art projects.

INKBOX, presented by Bill Zimmermann: Secure, vandal-resistant and climate-controlled vending machine that dispenses best-selling printer ink cartridges, placed outside high-traffic locations in communities that are underserved by brick-and-mortar retail stores.

Sativa Building Systems, presented by Zachary Popp: Sustainable green-building materials with the Z Panel, a patented, hemp-based wall panel that is 100 percent breathable and non-toxic, as well as mod-, rot-, pest- and fire-resistant, in addition to being carbon negative.

The High Lift LLC, presented by Emilee Rysticken: A modern coffee shop and community gathering space, located in a former, renovated auto body shop in a rural community with a wide range of hours, ample seating, outdoor green space and a drive-thru for a place to relax, study and gather with friends.

“The qualifying pitch events would not have been possible without the support of our local partners,” LaMue adds. “Their input and collaboration have been invaluable to making a successful competition.”

Sponsorship has been provided by New North Inc., the BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation and Wisconsin Business Development (WBD).

While there is no charge to attend the event, registration is requested and available at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/new-norths-new-launch-alliance-pitch-ticket…

 

We, at Brightstar Wisconsin Foundation, are always looking to make investments in new Wisconsin companies. That is how we will continue to support Wisconsin entrepreneurs and early-stage business.

MILWAUKEE May 25, 2021— BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation, Inc. is pleased to announce its investment committee has approved three Wisconsin early-stage companies for investment. Pyran, Inc. of Madison will receive $150,000 investment. Cert-N, LLC of Green Bay and COnovate, Inc. of Milwaukee, will each receive $50,000 investments coming from BrightStar with assistance from WEDC’s Capital Catalyst program. WEDC matches BrightStar dollars to eligible startups targeting emerging growth companies supporting very early business creation.

Pyran was formed in the spring of 2018 by a chemical engineering team at UW-Madison, co-founders Dr. Kevin Barnett and Professor George Huber, who discovered a new chemical pathway to make materials out of corn cobs. The technology allows paint, coatings, adhesives and plastics companies to shift away from petroleum-based products to plant-based ones resulting in the same product but from an eco-friendly, abundant source that can also cut costs by 40%. The company has an exclusive license agreement for the patents with WARF, who also invested in this round.

Cert-N is a SaaS (Software as a Service) platform that helps Value Added Resellers simplify the tracking of Technology Provider OEM’s vendor loyalty programs and maximize the loyalty value dollars available.

COnovate is developing patented composite materials into commercial ready products for Lithium-ion battery (LIB) anodes. With these new CophiteTM materials, battery performance will surpass current LIBs. COnovate is receiving its second BrightStar investment, which will help begin commercialization efforts for its unique CophiteTMmaterial. The first $50,000 investment enabled the purchase of new analytical equipment allowing for the development of CophiteTM.

MILWAUKEE, May 7, 2020 – BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation, Inc is pleased to announce it has been awarded a Capital Catalyst Grant (CCG) from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC). The goal of the CCG program is to increase the availability of capital to startups and emerging growth companies to support their growth and attract additional private investment. WEDC does this by providing matching grants to seed funds like BrightStar and other eligible entities dedicated to stimulating entrepreneurship.

BrightStar will match the $300,000 award with its own funds to make up to $600,000 in grants or investments in innovative early stage businesses with the potential to create good jobs in Wisconsin. These funds will particularly target very early stage companies that have the greatest trouble attracting first investors due to little or no revenues. Returns on BrightStar investments come back to the foundation and are used assist additional companies and create a supportive environment for business creation and job development.

The grant complements BrightStar’s HATCH program initiatives whereby the foundation has held regional competitions for identifying new ideas and inventions. Many of these winners need smaller start-up capital in the $25,000 to $50,000 range and these funds, matched with BrightStar’s donor driven funding, will be able to assist these organizations with early investment.

“Brightstar is a valuable partner in supporting startup activity across Wisconsin and provides WEDC an important perspective as we develop programs and initiatives. They have a unique model that has generated interest from across the country and points to the creative and collaborative ways we solve problems in Wisconsin” commented Aaron Hagar, WEDC Vice President – Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

MILWAUKEE, March 4, 2020 – BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation Inc. today announced that it has invested in two more Wisconsin based companies: Stem Pharm, Inc. and AgriCycle Global, Inc. These investments bring to 54 the number of early-stage Wisconsin companies in which BrightStar has invested.

Stem Pharm, Inc. is a Madison biotechnology company focused on creating adult stem cell derived neural organoids to evaluate drug treatments for neural diseases. Its unique in vitro models will explore new therapeutics for the most devastating central nervous system (CNS) diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, and brain cancers such as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

AgriCycle Global, Inc. is a Milwaukee based vertically integrated company with a portfolio of ethically sourced and up-cycled consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands. Agricycle sells fully traceable, 100% natural, organic and hand-grown fruits from ancestral trees empowering over 35,000 rural farmers from across the world to help eliminate food waste and create economic opportunity. Agricycle has three main product lines. Jali Fruit Co. is a family of fun, tropical sun-dried fruit with no added ingredients. Tropicoal Ignition is better-for-everyone charcoal made with coconut shells, cassava and palm, which burns hotter and lasts longer than traditional charcoal. Thirdly, What the Fruit?! is a gluten-free alternative flour line made out of 100% fruit.

Joshua Shefner, Agricycle’s CEO and founder, studied structural engineering at Milwaukee School of Engineering. BrightStar discovered him at our 2018 Hatch event in Chippewa Fall and recommend him for the Global Student Entrepreneur pitch program. He won the regional event and was a semi-finalist at the national event, both firsts for someone from Wisconsin. That lead Agricycle to being accepted into an inaugural 15-week Target Incubator in Minneapolis that had more than 400 start-ups apply for only eight slots in the program.  Agricycle is now getting support from organizations around the world, including US Agency for International Development, the World Food Programme and the African Development Bank

Another recent BrightStar investment, “Give Me Liberty”, is a film that has now received acclaim from critics around the world. The freewheeling yet profound comedy was shot entirely in Milwaukee and was co-written, directed, and produced by individuals from the area.  It debuted in Milwaukee and went on to become only the fourth film ever to be invited to both the Sundance and Cannes film festivals. It was also nominated for four Spirit Awards and won the John Cassavetes Award for the best independent movie with a budget under $500,000 in February 2020.

The $20,000 film investment marked the first time that BrightStar has deployed capital in an investment opportunity other than tech-based start-up companies. Hopefully this test investment leads to a new separate effort to leverage BrightStar’s unique model to help build the creative space ecosystem. Talent from this space has become essential over the past decade to fill new jobs in innovative large corporations, small businesses, and early-stage companies throughout the state. Investments in this space would expand on and complement BrightStar’s ongoing Wisconsin angel and venture investing mission.