As 2020 comes to a close, we thought we'd revisit some of the more interesting conversations and topics we covered at Wisconsin Inno this year, from startups pivoting their businesses due to the Covid-19 pandemic, to the innovators working on vaccines for the virus.
Venture capital deals need to increase in Wisconsin. Revived association pushes to make it happen.
The amount of venture capital dollars flowing through Wisconsin-based companies is significantly lower than those in neighboring states like Minnesota and Illinois, but a revived association is hoping to change that.
The Wisconsin Venture Capital Association, started more than 15 years ago, was dormant for roughly a decade, but is under new leadership and has support from some of the largest VC firms and investor groups in the state.
FluGen CEO talks Covid-19 vaccine development in Bytes with the Beat event
At Wisconsin Inno’s Bytes with the Beat event in September, Paul Radspinner, the president and CEO of FluGen, revealed the startup’s progress on developing a Covid-19 vaccine as the pandemic raged on.
The event, which took place Sept. 29, focused on FluGen’s unique approach to developing vaccines, what the biggest challenges are in making them, and what vaccine-makers need to do to ensure patients they are safe and effective. See a recap of the conversation below.
Crisis Innovators: How 5 Wisconsin startups are fighting Covid-19
In August, we explored the companies in Wisconsin that were addressing the virus head-on, whether it be through developing a vaccine, designing Covid test kits or helping retailers abide by social distancing guidelines.
At their core, Crisis Innovators are working to keep people safe amid the virus, and improve the lives of everyone as we endure what is shaping up to be a long and frustrating era.
Bytes With the Beat: gener8tor's Troy Vosseller chats Covid, diversity in tech
In Wisconsin Inno's first-ever Bytes With the Beat in July, an event series designed to hear from influential founders, investors and others in the local tech ecosystem, Troy Vosseller, the co-founder of nationally ranked Wisconsin accelerator gener8tor, spoke about how the two biggest stories of the year – the Covid-19 pandemic and our current moment of social injustice following the murder of George Floyd – have impacted the Wisconsin tech community.
Your next lobster dinner could come from a lab in Wisconsin
In July, we spoke with the founders of a Madison startup that is developing methods to bring crustacean delicacies to the dinner table – not by harvesting the creatures from the sea, but by growing the meat in a lab.
Can a $50M fund for diverse founders change the face of Milwaukee tech?
When Jet Constellations announced it was launching a new venture capital fund in Milwaukee to invest in startups specifically led by Black and Brown entrepreneurs, the move was widely applauded as it showed local initiative toward achieving equity in venture capital deals. As a deeper dive, we examined how the fund could be the catalyst Milwaukee needs to make its tech scene more diverse.
Amid Covid-19, a look at how Wisconsin startups are pivoting
In April, when the state’s stay-at-home order was in full effect and thousands of organizations were shuttering their doors or issuing mass layoffs, we talked with Wisconsin startups as they were scrambling to navigate the nation’s new normal — and save their businesses from the economic upheaval.
In a separate story, we spoke with four local startups on how Covid-19 was impacting their business.
