From a cloud-based platform for local governments to automated supply chain software for global manufacturing companies, the finalists in the software category of Wisconsin Inno's 2021 Fire Awards are leveraging software-as-a-service (SaaS) models to help their customers solve complicated and pressing industry challenges.
The annual Fire Awards program recognizes companies, groups and organizations that are "heating up" the state's technology ecosystem. The following finalists were nominated by the public and selected by the Wisconsin Inno and Milwaukee Business Journal editorial team in the software category. A panel of independent judges will choose one winner from each of the five Fire Awards categories.
We asked all of the Fire Awards finalists about their accomplishments, challenges and how Wisconsin's startup and technology ecosystem could be improved. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.
- Debtle
- Forj
- OpenGov
- Part Analytics
- Zywave
Debtle
Sheboygan
Founded and led by Stephanie and Houston Hoskins, Debtle is a cloud-based platform designed to enable organizations to negotiate and settle debt such as medical bills or college fees directly with individuals. The company has launched pilots with health care providers and plans to expand to other industries. Debtle was the winner of this year's Summerfest Tech Pitch Competition and the Healthcare Innovation Pitch Competition. It also participated in two nationally ranked accelerator programs this year: Acceleprise and MassChallenge.
Biggest accomplishment in the past 12 months: "Debtle has enthusiastically participated as a finalist in multiple pitch competitions whose missions are directly linked to growing Wisconsin’s technology and startup ecosystem, and engaged local and regional decision-makers and leaders on behalf of all Wisconsin startup interests. ... Over 90% of capital raised by and for Debtle in the last 12 months has been spent in Wisconsin. Debtle has intentionally chosen Wisconsin-based service providers, contractors and consultants."
Biggest challenge in the past 12 months: "Raising buy-in for the belief that a tech startup in Sheboygan County can be successful and disruptive has been the biggest challenge that we have successfully overcome. ... A lack of focus on startups locally (is also a challenge). We are in a county with several large organizations and the economic focus is on those companies. Local policymakers and municipalities are hesitant to shift funding or programming towards startups."
Milestone the organization is working toward in the next 12 months: "Debtle is excited to officially launch version 2.0 of our software solution. This launch will move Debtle beyond beta and closed pilots and to a broader market. We anticipate growing our team by an additional four to six full-time team members."
How Wisconsin’s technology and startup ecosystem could be improved: "The state needs to facilitate more founder-friendly terms. Incentives should move away from individual investors towards companies willing to pilot new technology or sign on as a first client or early user. Tax waivers or incentives for startups would go a long way. For example, incentives for hiring locally. Also, several other states have research and development tax credits for software development.
"Unifying the efforts across rural counties (is another area for improvement). Some counties are achieving so much while others completely ignore the startup world. The larger cities definitely have ecosystems and are able to pull everyone together for events or initiatives but the rural communities have less community available."
Anything else to add: "The importance of committing to adopting technology and being an early user, client or strategic partner for a startup cannot be overstated. If every business in Wisconsin committed to piloting one new technology annually, Wisconsin would easily lead the region in attracting, launching and growing startups."
Forj
Milwaukee
Led by Kurt Heikkinen, Forj is an early-stage technology company aiming to revolutionize the member experience for professional associations. Its platform has hosted more than 200 large, complex virtual events and more than 500,000 attendees were hosted on the Forj platform in the last 18 months. In the last year, the company has raised $6 million in venture capital funding, and hired a chief marketing officer and chief technology officer, among other milestones. In 2022, the company said it plans to launch a member experience platform to fuel always-on engagement in its client communities.
Biggest accomplishment in the past 12 months: "Forj raised $6 million in venture funding led by Baird Capital and (Gary Comer Inc.). We are using the proceeds to build our company and our core team in Milwaukee. We’re excited to be part of Wisconsin’s tech and startup ecosystem, investing in talent here while demonstrating to the investor community that Wisconsin companies are investments worth pursuing."
Biggest challenge in the past 12 months: "In order to excite investors and gain their financial support, we had to develop and present our strategic vision, brand strategy and business plan while serving dozens of professional association clients who needed virtual event technology in the height of the pandemic."
Milestone the organization is working toward in the next 12 months: "We will launch the Forj Member Experience platform. This innovative product will modernize the member experience for professional associations and fuel 100% year-over-year growth for Forj."
How Wisconsin’s technology and startup ecosystem could be improved: "Many bright, ambitious entrepreneurs in the Wisconsin startup ecosystem who could benefit from mentoring. There are a number of groups helping to create opportunities for entrepreneurs to learn, connect and collaborate with others, and (we) see the need for that continuing to grow along with our tech and startup ecosystem."
Inspiring book: "Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike" by Phil Knight
OpenGov
Milwaukee / San Jose, California
OpenGov makes cloud-based software for state and local governments. Amid the pandemic, its customers used its Citizen Services solution — which automates workflows for permitting, licensing and code enforcement — to enable reopening plans, distribute grants, conduct virtual inspections and enable economic development. This demand drove 78% year-over-year growth in its Citizen Services segment and 39% revenue growth overall, according to the company. OpenGov president and Milwaukee native David Reeves leads the Milwaukee team and has built a relationship with Marquette University to link recent graduates with OpenGov roles.
Biggest accomplishment in the past 12 months: "Since we made plans to open our Milwaukee office back in June 2020, we’ve hired 38 people in a 17-month period, which has been tremendous. We’re building strong relationships with other like-minded Milwaukee organizations: The Greater Milwaukee Committee, MKE Tech Hub Coalition, Milky Way Tech Hub, The Hoan Group, and local universities, businesses and startups. It’s been an exciting year for our city and OpenGov’s Milwaukee office, and we’re having fun building an innovative company and culture."
Biggest challenge in the past 12 months: "Though Milwaukee houses several large organizations where technology is embedded into various company functions, it’s been challenging finding tech leaders who are cloud-software focused. This is especially true regarding senior software engineers and those with experience in the industry, so we’re building our bench and future leaders from within to develop local expertise in Software-as-a-Service."
Milestone the organization is working toward in the next 12 months: "We’ll continue making strategic improvements and investments to maintain our industry-leading growth to enable our mission of powering more effective and accountable government. ... We’ve had a lot of success with our Milwaukee office. The midwest talent pool is loyal, and we’re investing in employees that will stay here long-term. We’re excited about the future."
How Wisconsin’s technology and startup ecosystem could be improved: "We need to market Milwaukee to attract more established software companies and tech workers. Culturally, we have amazing sports teams, a beautiful art museum, miles of lakefront with greenspaces... We boast a low cost of living with less red tape compared to Silicon Valley, to boot. Most often, tech workers can work from anywhere. Marketing Milwaukee serves both the general economy and the tech economy. ... In addition to attracting more terrific talent, we need to invest in upskilling and reskilling individuals here in Milwaukee to build a software-focused talent pool here in the city."
Inspiring thought leader: OpenGov board member John Chambers and Marquette University President Mike Lovell
Part Analytics
Brookfield
Part Analytics is an automated supply chain software platform for global manufacturing companies founded and led by Jithendra Palasagaram. This year, the company raised $3 million in venture capital funding and more than doubled its team from five employees in August 2020 to at least 15 to date with multiple roles still open. It also added new features to its platform including inventory management, quoting automation and price variance. Finally, the company added multiple big customers this year including multinational manufacturer Emerson Electric Co., medical technology company Hologic Inc. and semiconductor maker Plexus Corp.
Biggest accomplishment in the past 12 months: "We raised a $3 million venture round, which means we can make additional investments in product development, sales and marketing, and customer success to continue to support our customers and solve supply chain challenges. We've added several enterprise and small business customers and we’ve grown our annual recurring revenue by 500%."
Biggest challenge in the past 12 months: "Adapting to remote and distributed teams — not just for our own team, but also for our customers."
Milestone the organization is working toward in the next 12 months: "Doubling our customer base and revenue. Making sure we have the right processes and systems in place to support our team members as we grow the team."
How Wisconsin’s technology and startup ecosystem could be improved: "Better incentives for private equity, venture capital and angel investors to make serious commitments to fund Wisconsin-based tech companies. It would also be helpful to build a more supportive tech community to help train, attract and retain talent — especially as larger tech hubs continue to draw talented development and product management professionals out of state."
Inspiring podcasts: "20VC" by Harry Stebbings, "The Official SaaStr Podcast" by SaaStr, "This Week in Startups" by Jason Calacanis and "Reveal: The Revenue Intelligence Podcast" by Gong.io.
Zywave
Milwaukee
Milwaukee-based insurance technology company Zywave was founded 25 years ago as a leading content provider for employee benefits professionals. Over the past few years, the company has experienced exponential growth, becoming a household name in insurance technology and the Milwaukee area's largest software company. In the past year, Zywave acquired five insurance technology companies and is also growing organically, investing in its staff and research and development. Under its current CEO Jason Liu, Zywave is aiming to be the leading full-service insurance software company globally.
Biggest accomplishment in the past 12 months: "Over the past year we’ve doubled in size, acquired five companies and have significantly expanded our portfolio of solutions to serve multiple new markets. That growth has led us to bring more tech jobs to Milwaukee and create even more opportunities for existing employees."
Biggest challenge in the past 12 months: "Our massive, accelerated growth has put Zywave in hiring mode and recruiting the next generation of great leaders is and will continue to be a significant priority. Additionally, in the face of this growth, we are focused on maintaining and continuing to cultivate the phenomenal culture for which Zywave is known."
Milestone the organization is working toward in the next 12 months: "We are looking forward to surpassing 1,000 employees working here at Zywave, which will be a huge milestone for us. We also have a goal of surpassing 20,000 customers. Currently, we partner with more than 15,000 customers in 10 countries, but we are eyeing that 20,000 mark in the next 12 months."
How Wisconsin’s technology and startup ecosystem could be improved: "People in Wisconsin, and in the Midwest in general, need to think bigger and more boldly. If you look at high-growth companies on either the west or east coast, they think bigger and act more boldly."
Inspiring books: “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t,” by Jim Collins, “Escape Velocity: Free Your Company’s Future from the Pull of the Past,” by Geoffrey Moore and “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance" by Angela Duckworth
