Last Thursday, Madison Magazine hosted The Best of Madison Business Awards 2014: Inside the Ecosystem. The winners form a network of support that keeps the high-tech and biotech sectors, as well as the larger economy, growing.
The ongoing importance of highlighting Wisconsin’s entrepreneurial needs, challenges and successes has been a key focus for Madison Magazine. And for that, we thank them. As a community, it’s critical for all of us to collaborate on initiatives that support the entrepreneurial ecosystem—from mentorship to business modeling to seed funding and even networking. Wisconsin businesses, communities, universities, associations, state government and WEDC must remain committed to advancing startups from ideas or research to commercialization.
One of the key takeaways included the need for additional seed capital to match the exceptional amount of innovation and research taking place in Wisconsin. Getting new companies to commercialization requires more seed funding at earlier stages to “de-risk” and get more venture capitalists to the state. Our community needs to keep progressing and collaborating, which is why WEDC is placing an emphasis on this area with its Capital Catalyst program. Soon we’ll be launching some exciting seed funds with the university system and further expanding our community partners.
As we remain committed to the entrepreneurs in our state, we hope to provide a well-rounded look inside the ecosystem right here on our Launch In Wisconsin blog. And, we greatly appreciate the work Madison Magazine has done to keep the spotlight on the importance of this critical group of business owners, entrepreneurs and community leaders who keep our ecosystem going strong.
This year’s group of winners came from a variety of backgrounds and experience. To read more about the winners and their backgrounds visit: http://www.madisonmagazine.com/Madison-Magazine/January-2014/Best-of-Madison-Business-2014-Inside-the-Ecosystem/
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