Entrepreneurs from all sectors and stages of business growth are invited to attend Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference on June 4-5, 2019, in Milwaukee.

Registration is open for the event and the full agenda is available at www.witrepsconference.com.

Returning to Milwaukee for the first time in six years, the conference features three major speakers, a plenary panel on improving diversity and inclusion in young companies, 12 panel discussions in the “Launch,” “Grow” and “Succeed” tracks, and more.

The top 13 contestants in the 2019 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest will square off on June 4, with awards taking place on June 5 following the final round of voting by the judges.

Jeff Rusinow, who will speak on June 4, founded Milwaukee’s first angel network, Silicon Pastures, in 2000. His best deal exits include BuySeasons, ModernMed and Propeller Health, which collectively sold for more than $300 million. He will reflect on two decades as a “lean-in” angel; tell inside stories on deals that went well and not-so-well; reveal internal deal statistics for the first time; and offer advice to startup founders and angels on how not to be consumed in the “food chain” of investing.

John Zeratsky, scheduled to speak on June 5, was co-creator of Google Ventures’ Design Sprint, a process combining strategy, design, behavioral science and Lean startup principles, and the subject of his best-selling book Sprint. He has run more than 150 sprints with startups such as Slack, Nest, Blue Bottle Coffee and Uber. With stories and illustrated examples, Wisconsin native Zeratsky will explain the Design Sprint process and show how it can be used by any team to create solutions and test risky ideas fast.

Also on June 4, serial entrepreneur Sue Marks of Cielo will accept the 2019 Ken Hendricks Memorial Seize the Day Award. Headquartered in Brookfield, Cielo is the world’s leading strategic recruitment process outsourcing partner. In January 2019, the company reported serving 177 clients from 95 countries in 39 languages and employing about 2,000 people worldwide. The company began when Marks founded it as Pinstripe in 2005. She previously founded two other startups in the human resources field, ProStaff and HRFirst, which were sold in 2000.

“Connecting the I-Q Corridor” is the 2019 theme for the event, where ‘treps from around the state and beyond will showcase their innovations, services and technologies. Other highlights will include:

  • a livestream of the two keynote speakers available for purchase, also accessible after the conference by attendees;
  • a June 4 plenary discussion on diversity and inclusion;
  • an Innovation Showcase featuring exhibits from more than 40 Wisconsin companies;
  • a presentation by the winner of the Wisconsin YES! youth business plan contest;
  • plenty of chances to network with seasoned entrepreneurs and investors over food and refreshments, including a June 4 reception; and
  • a social media contest with valuable prizes.