SixLine Semiconductor, a Middleton-based company, won the grand prize of the Diligent Baker’s Dozen, this year’s business plan contest for the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference.
The Diligent Baker’s Dozen contest held Thursday at the Italian Community Center in Milwaukee is a star of the annual Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference, an event hosted by the Wisconsin Technology Council that’s meant to foster innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the state.
This year, 13 contestants from across Wisconsin competed to win cash and in-kind prizes to fund their tech-based business ideas. Since the contest began in 2004, it has awarded nearly $2.6 million in funding to startups, according to the Wisconsin Technology Council’s website.
The 13 contestants were split into four categories: life sciences, advanced manufacturing, business services and information technology. Of the four categories, SixLine Semiconductor, in the advanced manufacturing category, took home the grand prize.
SixLine Semiconductor CEO and founder, Katy Jinkins pitched in front of the judges on Wednesday. The company won both the grand prize and the advanced manufacturing category. According to a press release, SixLine Semiconductor is working with aligned carbon nanotubes, which are 50,000 times thinner than a human hair, to take wireless electronics to new levels by increasing their speed and performance.
The other category winners include Soul Mobility, WorkShift and IQDecide, according to the council’s press release. Soul Mobility took the prize for the life science category with its power attachment for manual wheelchairs. WorkShift, which connects the hospitality industry to available talent, won in the business services category. IQDecide, a software tool that seeks to provide objective cancer assessment to aid in treatment decisions, won in the information technology category.
Germantown-based contestant Chocolate Rescue for Dogs Co. secured the Bright New Idea Award. With a background in physics, company founder and CEO Amadeus Benitez invented a dog treat that counteracts the effect of chocolate poisoning.
“It’s like a filter,” said Benitez. Unlike activated charcoal, the product specifically targets the toxins in chocolate, binding to them and stopping the dog’s body from absorbing them, Benitez explained.
Benitez and business partner Arek Schmocker explained they plan to target bigger pet stores on the level of 4,000 to 5,000 locations in the near future. According to Benitez, Chocolate Rescue for Dogs Co. recently secured the backing of a third-party, independent study on dogs that demonstrated the treat significantly reduces the toxins available for absorption soon after ingestion.
The contestants came from a pool of 150 entries submitted in January. After three rounds of judging, the 150 dwindled to a baker’s dozen, who, on Wednesday, pitched their product and detailed their business strategy in seven-minute presentations followed by three minutes of questions from a panel of judges. The judges belong to venture capital firms, research institutions, and legal, technological and scientific enterprises.
Major sponsors include AT&T, Husch Blackwell, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. The Wisconsin Technology Council, the conference's host, is an independent nonprofit that provides science and technology guidance to the governor and Legislature while promoting entrepreneurship and innovation via its membership arm, the Tech Council Innovation Network.
Below is a comprehensive list of all 13 contestants:
- Chocolate Rescue for Dogs Co., Germantown
- Empower2Retain, Eau Claire
- Energy Tech Innovations, Milwaukee
- FASTMedical, Beloit
- Flux XII, Madison
- Graceful Management System, Madison
- Güd Medical, Winneconne
- Home Perks Network, Madison
- IQDecide, Madison
- RoseTech Creativity Center, Marshfield
- SixLine Semiconductor, Middleton
- Soul Mobility, Oconomowoc
- WorkShift, West Allis
