MILWAUKEE, WI – October 16, 2017 – BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation, along with NEWaukee, a Wisconsin-based social architect firm, are proud to announce the HATCH Finale. HATCH is a community-based startup platform to help develop “napkin” ideas into early-stage companies. BrightStar has funded successful pitch competitions in Stevens Point, Wisconsin Rapids, Wausau and Marshfield. Each of the four regional […]
BrightStar Concludes 4th HATCH event, finale set for November Todd Sobotka discusses HATCH on GrowthMinded Milwaukee Podcast MILWAUKEE, Wis., Aug. 7, 2017 – The BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation recently created and sponsored its fourth installment of the HATCH pitch competition in central Wisconsin. HATCH is a community-based startup platform to help develop “napkin” ideas into early-stage companies. […]
BrightStar’s Investment Committee Chair, Todd Sobotka, recently spoke with Todd McLees on the GrowthMinded Milwaukee podcast about the mission and projects of BrightStar Wisconsin. Listen for information about BrightStar’s investment criteria and strategy, their HATCH initiative, and their investment philosophy for the state of Wisconsin. Click here to listen to the podcast.
BrightStar Wisconsin and NEWaukee Announce $2,000 Pitch Event Winner HATCH Event Awards Prize to Unpublished.io Wausau, Wis. – A crowd of 130+ gathered at the YWCA for the Wausau HATCH event on Thursday, June 22nd. Four businesses pitched their ideas to compete for a $2,000 prize. The winning pitch was made by Stevens Point based Unpublished.io. […]
BrightStar announces three new investments MILWAUKEE, May 1, 2017 –BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation Inc. today announced investments in three new companies, including SimpleMachines Inc. of Madison. The company has created a new processing chip that is used to reduce costs and energy usage in data centers while substantially increasing processing speed. “Brightstar has been an amazing […]
Check out BrightStar’s 2016 Annual Report that we have just released! Brightstar Wisconsin 2016 Annual Report About the BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation Inc. BrightStar is a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation created to facilitate job creation and increase Wisconsin’s economic activity by deploying donated funds into equity stakes in early-stage, rapid growth companies. This new approach will enable […]
BrightStar announces first 2017 investment and sale of tax credits MILWAUKEE, Feb. 28, 2017 – BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation Inc. today announced its first investment of 2017, HuTerra Rewards. They offer a technology platform that empowers consumers to more efficiently support nonprofits and local businesses in their community. Once a consumer downloads the HuTerra app, receipts […]
Shortly after selling agricultural machine maker Miller St. Nazianz Inc., John W. Miller jumped into a riskier endeavor: start-up investing. “I could have gone anywhere after selling the company, but I decided I wanted to stay and build more in Wisconsin,” said Miller, who sold Manitowoc County-based Miller St. Nazianz in 2014. “I’m only 42, […]
BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation has invested a combined $550,000 in three Milwaukee-based startups, the nonprofit said Thursday in a news release. The most recent additions to BrightStar’s portfolio, which now comprises 32 companies, are: Access HealthNet, which gives employees of business clients the ability to purchase and schedule common medical procedures from local providers; OnKöl, which […]
Alana Platt waits in a line at the back of an auditorium at the Monona Terrace convention center in Madison. When it’s her turn, Platt takes her place in the spotlight, in front of a red curtain, and presents the Whitefish Bay-based company she’s been working on for the past year-and-a-half—a fundraising management tool for […]
