Six Wisconsin startup founders were recently selected for the second cohort of the WiSys VentureHome-Eau Claire accelerator, the first seed accelerator in the area.
Venture Home-Eau Claire is run out of CoLab, a co-working site in downtown Eau Claire and the first site of the WiSys VentureHome initiative, which aims to establish startup hubs in communities with University of Wisconsin System campuses. The initiative is done in partnership with Madison-based nonprofit WiSys.
The accelerator launched in April of 2020 with a first and pilot cohort that "saw many successes including securing of funding, grant awards, industry connections and new partnerships," organizers said.
Programming for the second cohort will continue over the next five months. The six founders are:
- Brandon Pessman, Eco Fighter
- Bill Lobner, Green Fleet
- Tiffany Hoage, CRISPRIN Classrooms
- Sam Fitzhenry, Max Bossert, Logan Ickert and Nick Hersperger, ParityBlu
- Shannon Camlek, Kris Johnson, Stone Story
- Patrick Rebman, David Mullen, Vacation Docks
"Through WiSys VentureHome-Eau Claire we are not only helping founders achieve the next level for their startups, but we are also elevating Eau Claire's ability to serve entrepreneurs with scalable business ideas,” said Ann Rupnow, director of entrepreneurship at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Eau Claire has been a feeder to the Twin Cities tech economy in the past. Jamf Software, for example, was founded in Eau Claire and maintains an office there.
