In the turbulent national economy that marked 2022, Wisconsin's innovation ecosystem celebrated numerous successes this year — from fast-growing tech companies to organizations that are effectively helping startups raise capital.
In its fifth year, the Wisconsin Inno Fire Awards honors individuals, companies and organizations across the state that are setting the technology ecosystem ablaze.
After seeking nominations, the Wisconsin Inno editorial team selected 15 finalists across three categories. A group of outside judges — Wisconsin Technology Council president Tom Still, angel investor Jennifer Abele and Frontdesk co-founder Kyle Weatherly — will select five winners.
Winners will be announced and featured in December in the Milwaukee Business Journal and Wisconsin Inno.
Below is a list of the 2022 finalists for Wisconsin Inno's Fire Awards and some of their key accomplishments from the year. Growth statistics were submitted by the companies or on their behalf via the nomination forms.
Note: Wisconsin Inno sought nominations across five categories but narrowed it to three based on the nature of the nominations submitted.
Growth-stage company finalists
- AkitaBox (Madison): This facilities management software developer grew its product usage by more than 15x in the first nine months of 2022.
- Atomix Logistics (Milwaukee): A shipping fulfillment solution for e-commerce brands, Atomix grew from two to 25 employees and from $100,000 to $2.6 million in revenue between 2021 and 2022.
- Geneva10 (Delavan): This logistics firm rolled out a customized warehouse management system and also built an augmented reality-enabled paint app called ColorPic for its interior paint line, Prestige Paints. It added 125 jobs in 2022 and projects another 200 in 2023.
- Ready Set Technologies Inc. (De Pere): A virtual reality software company for retailers and consumer packaged goods companies, Ready Set closed a $3.25 million funding round and announced a partnership that will open its VR retail tools to Australian clientele.
- RoofMarketplace (Milwaukee / Whitewater): This online marketplace for roofing project quotes closed a $5.5 million funding round led by a Chicago venture capital firm with participation from multiple customers. It has grown from 3 to 29 employees in the last 24 months.
Ecosystem supporter finalists
- Gener8tor (Milwaukee / Madison): This well-known startup accelerator celebrated its 10-year anniversary and surpassed 1,000 startups served — 67% of which are led by underrepresented founders. It runs more than 100 annual programs and has around 150 employees.
- Matthew Kee (Green Bay): Manager of the Tundra Angels investing group, Kee began running the group as a private entity separate from the Greater Green Bay Chamber, where it originated. He also founded Upward Initiative, designed to help founders with their fundraising pitches.
- Milwaukee Founders Community (Milwaukee): This founder-led group started last year and held three well-attended Founder/Fest events in 2022, with a fourth planned in December. It raised thousands of dollars from sponsors and awarded the money to local founders as microgrants.
- MKE Tech Hub Coalition (Milwaukee): This nonprofit organization has grown to more than 130 members. It launched a tech talent attraction website, hosted MKE Tech Week including an event with AOL founder Steve Case and awarded $80,000 in grants to startup founders, among other programs this year.
- UWM Business Innovation Incubator (Milwaukee): Led by Matthew Friedel, this program launched this fall and is focused on supporting startup founders that have fundable ideas, with a focus on equity and inclusion. Ten startups are currently participating in the first cohort of the 11-month program.
Inno Picks finalists
- Advanced Ionics (Milwaukee): This green hydrogen technology company garnered national attention this year, ranking in the top five at TechCrunch's Startup Battlefield competition. It grew to 20 employees and secured three paid demonstration projects for 2023.
- City of Kenosha (Kenosha): The city adopted a master plan for a 107-acre innovation district on the city's former Chrysler plant site that could create up to 5,000 jobs. It also secured funding to launch a gBETA startup accelerator program with gener8tor.
- Experience Milwaukee Podcast (Milwaukee): Led by Steve Glynn and Adam Derus, the podcast launched Work in MKE, a series helping companies including Harley-Davidson, Northwestern Mutual and ManpowerGroup attract and retain talent.
- Formlabs (Boston / Milwaukee): This Boston-based 3D printer company opened a major office in Milwaukee's Third Ward and committed to hiring 150 employees there within three years.
- Zywave (Milwaukee): This insurance technology firm announced its ninth acquisition in three years and surpassed 1,000 employees. For the first time, it gathered all of its U.S. employees in Milwaukee for a two-day "ZyFest" held at the Summerfest grounds.
