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Inno Guides are designed to serve as an onboarding tool for anyone that’s new to the state's ecosystem, as well as a refresher for those looking to learn more about Wisconsin's startup and tech communities and the resources available to them. If you think we’re missing anything, email us at WisconsinInfo@AmericanInno.com.
Critical to the growth of an innovation economy is funding and access to capital. Whether a single entrepreneur seeking seed financing or a rapidly growing company looking to raise a Series C, young companies often rely on investors to grow and scale their ventures.
In Wisconsin - where the number of funding deals for local startups has steadily increased since 2012 - a handful of regional venture capital firms, angel investors and other groups have placed a renewed focus on the state, hoping to capitalize on the concentration of educational talent coming out of local universities and the entrepreneurial zeal of startup founders in every corner of the state.
Below is a comprehensive guide to some of the most notable venture and angel investors in Wisconsin, who are eager to support the growing tech and life sciences economy. We’ve also included a few additional resources for founders and investors as they pursue their entrepreneurial journeys.
Venture Capital
- 4490 Ventures - Madison-based 4490 Ventures is a growth-stage venture firm, typically investing $4-$8 million in Series A or B rounds. 4490 has led rounds in Wisconsin startups like EatStreet, ABODO and Understory.
- American Family Ventures - American Family Ventures is the venture branch of Madison insurance giant American Family Insurance. AFV typically invests between $500,000 and $2 million in early stage companies that could impact AmFam’s business or the insurance industry. Though based in Madison, most of AFV’s investments have been out of state, though AFV did participate in the Series A round for Madison apartment search startup ABODO.
- Badger Fund of Funds - The Badger Fund of Funds was created by a state initiative, which committed $25 million of public investment to spur venture capital growth in Wisconsin. The Badger Fund supplemented that public investment with $10 million of private investment, and will invest that $35 million in venture capital funds across the state. According to a 2017 Journal Sentinel article, “new venture capital funds must raise $6 from other investors for every $4 from the Badger Fund.” To date, the Badger Fund has invested in two seed stage funds, the Idea Fund of La Crosse and the Winnebago Seed Fund, and one growth stage fund, Rock River Capital Partners.
- Baird Capital - Milwaukee-based Baird Capital is one of the state’s most active investment firms, raising $3.1 billion and making almost 300 investments since 1989. Baird focuses investments in three main buckets: healthcare, industrial solutions, and technology and services. Baird has made numerous investments across Midwest cities like Minneapolis, Chicago and Detroit. Recent Wisconsin investments include participating in the Series B round for Madison-based Datica.
- Bascom Ventures - Bascom Ventures is a part of the Alumni Ventures Group network, which operates funds dedicated to investing in startups out of specific universities and sourcing investment from alumni. Bascom Ventures is the fund dedicated to University of Wisconsin. Bascom has raised two funds and made ten investments in UW-led startups to date.
- BrightStar Wisconsin - Unlike most traditional venture funds, which operate on a for-profit basis, The BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation leverages charitable donations as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and uses them to make equity investments in early-stage companies. The goal of those investments is to create jobs in Wisconsin by helping Wisconsin-based tech companies scale. According to BrightStar, “earnings and return of proceeds on investments made will be reinvested again and again.” The four-year-old venture has made around forty investments in early-stage Wisconsin companies. Recent investments include ImageMoverMD, Exit 7C, Lumanu and HuTerra.
- CMFG Ventures - CMFG Ventures is an arm of CUNA Mutual Group. CMFG looks to invest in fintech and insurance technology startups in order to support CUNA Mutual’s business of insuring credit unions. The venture unit is based in CUNA Mutual’s Madison headquarters, though most of its investments to date have been in Illinois.
- Capital Midwest Fund - The Mequon-based Capital Midwest Fund invests in advanced manufacturing, B2B, and healthcare technology companies based in the Midwest. Among its over fifteen portfolio companies are Milwaukee-based HarQen and Fitchburg-based PegEx.
- Cream City Venture Capital Fund - The Cream City Venture Capital Fund is a venture effort from Milwaukee financial services giant Northwestern Mutual. The fund plans to make seed to Series A investments of $100,000 to $250,000 exclusively in startups based in Southeastern Wisconsin. Cream City Venture Capital announced a $5 million fund in October of 2017.
- CSA Partners - Milwaukee’s CSA Partners invests in early-stage high growth companies focused in the Midwest. Recent CSA investments include Madison-based weather data startup Understory.
- HealthX Ventures - HealthX Ventures is a Madison-based venture firm that focuses on digital health startups, particularly in the Midwest. Recent investments include Madison sleep data analysis startup EnsoData, Madison medical imaging software company ImageMoverMD and Madison healthcare API startup Redox.
- Idea Fund - Located in La Crosse, The Idea Fund was the first venture capital fund to receive a commitment investment from the Badger Fund of Funds. The Idea Fund closed its $13 million fund in 2017 and while it has yet to make its first investment, managing director Jonathon Horne told Xconomy in an interview last year that they plan to invest in ten to fourteen early stage Wisconsin companies in the next four years.
- Kegonsa Capital Partners - Based in Madison, Kegonsa Capital Partners has invested through its seed fund and coinvestment fund, both of which have now completed their investment periods. Now, Kegonsa manages the Badger Fund of Funds in partnership with New Mexico-based Sun Mountain Capital, while also continuing to help its portfolio companies grow.
- Milwaukee 7 Venture Fund - Supported by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, the $1 million M7 Venture Capital Fund aims to support startups in Southeast Wisconsin with loans, grants or equity investments of $50,000 to $125,000. In early 2018, Milwaukee 7 made its first four disbursements to Milwaukee-area startups.
- N29 Capital Partners - N29 Capital Partners is based in northern Wisconsin and works closely with startup accelerator Gener8tor, according to their website. N29 was the lead investor in Re Mixers, an industrial adhesive company founded by two UW graduates.
- Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures - In January, 2017, Northwestern Mutual announced the launch of its $50 million Future Ventures fund. The company revealed plans to invest between $500,000 and $3 million in early-stage startups over the next several years via the fund, with an emphasis on Series A and B rounds. According to the company, the fund's focus areas are in digital health, data analytics, client experience, and the changing preferences of consumers. The fund is led by venture partners Craig Schedler, who is based in Milwaukee, and Mark Batsiyan, who is based in New York. Current portfolio companies include LearnVest, Betterment, gabi and rize.
- Rock River Capital - Rock River is a new venture fund that was established in 2017 with funding from the Badger Fund of Funds. Managed by two UW grads who moved back to Wisconsin to head up the fund, Rock River will make $1-$2 million growth investments, according to a 2017 article.
- Venture Investors - Venture Investors is a Madison-based investment firm focusing on seed- to growth-stage investments in healthtech companies. Venture Investors typically makes initial investments of $250,000 to $2.5 million, and has over $200 million of assets under its management. Recent investments include Madison companies FluGen and Elucent Medical and Wauwatosa-based TAI Diagnostics.
- Venture Management LLC - Madison investment firm Venture Management claims 19 current portfolio companies and almost a dozen successful exits, predominantly focused on Wisconsin-based seed and growth-stage companies. Portfolio companies include Swallow Solutions, Phoenix and SOLOMO Technology.
- Winnebago Seed Fund - The Winnebago Seed Fund is another of the new venture funds that received a commitment from the Badger Fund of Funds. With $4 million from the Badger Fund of Funds, Winnebago raised $11 million to invest in early stage companies, with a focus in Northeast Wisconsin. In November of 2017, Winnebago made its first investment in Milwaukee healthtech startup Sift Medical Data.
- WISC Partners - With offices in both Silicon Valley and Madison, WISC or Wisconsin Investment and Strategic Capital Partners takes a hands-on approach to helping early stage companies in Wisconsin grow. Their portfolio companies include PegEx, Imbed Biosciences and Rowheels.
Angel
- Golden Angels Investors - Golden Angels is a Wisconsin angel network that has existed since 2002. Now boasting over 100 members, the group invests both in the Midwest and in Silicon Valley startups. Some Wisconsin portfolio companies include Dynamis, Fishidy and PerBlue.
- Phenomenelle Angels - Phenomenelle Angels is an early stage fund that invests in women- and minority-owned or managed businesses in Wisconsin and the Midwest. Portfolio companies include HarQen, Stemina and TrafficCast.
- SymphonyAlpha Ventures - SymphonyAlpha is a healthtech focused, angel-level investment entity headed up by Symphony Corporation founder Ravi Kalla.
- Wisconsin Angel Network - The Wisconsin Angel Network (WAN) is an initiative of the Wisconsin Technology Council. WAN is partially funded by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and aims to serve multiple needs of Wisconsin’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, including: “angel network and early stage fund formation; facilitating investor collaboration, investor education events, communications, and other resources designed to connect investors seeking opportunities and entrepreneurs seeking capital.”
- Wisconsin Investment Partners - Operating since 2000, Wisconsin Investment Partners now includes over 90 members and over 40 current investments. Looking to make early stage investments in tech and life sciences companies, WIP’s recent investments include EnsoData, Beekeeper Data and Swallow Solutions.
- Wisconsin Super Angel Fund - Founded in 2013, the Wisconsin Super Angel Fund is a Milwaukee-based venture capital firm that invests in and mentors early-stage in-state businesses. According to the firm, the fund is industry agnostic and focused on early exit opportunities.
- Adam Berger - Berger’s day job is at Doering Fleet Management, but he also serves as a board member for BrightStar Wisconsin and does his own angel investing. Investments include, HarQen, Getter and Okanjo.
- John Miller - John Miller sold his family’s farm machinery business in 2015 and has since become an active investor in Wisconsin. He’s the founder of Arenberg Holdings, which counts ABODO, Understory and Scanalytics among its portfolio companies.
- Jeff Rusinow - Jeff Rusinow is an active angel investor in Wisconsin, with current investments in local companies like Wantable, Endsulin, Aurora Spectral Technolgies and ImageMoverMD
Additional Resources
- Wisconsin Portfolio - The Wisconsin Portfolio, put together by the Wisconsin Technology Council, is a helpful summary of recent funding activity in the state, and gives a good overview of Wisconsin’s startup landscape.
- Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest - The Governor’s Business Plan Contest is an annual startup competition where Wisconsin early stage companies compete for over $100,000 in cash and in-kind prizes. According to the Wisconsin Technology Council, past finalists have launched companies that have raised more than $200 million in successive funding.
- Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation - The Wisconsin Economic Develop Corporation (WEDC) operates two main programs to aid Wisconsin entrepreneurs. The Technology Development Loan program is aimed at entrepreneurs looking to go from idea phase to product development and market, while the Qualified New Business Venture program looks to accelerate high-potential early stage businesses.
