‘The Crucible’: How to (and not to) pitch to investors is Aug. 18 WIN-Northeast topic

Learn the “do’s” and “don’ts” of pitching to investors by watching a panel of seasoned investors critique a live early stage presentation at the Thursday, Aug. 18 meeting of the Wisconsin Innovation Network’s Northeast Wisconsin chapter. Due to construction, this month’s luncheon will be held at the Fox Valley Technical College Main Campus building, 1825 N. Bluemound Drive, Room C190AB, Appleton (Entrance 15). Registration and networking begin at 11:30 a.m., lunch at noon and the presentation at 12:30 p.m.

Value of intellectual property to economy topic of Aug. 23 Tech Council Innovation luncheon

Possible changes being considered in Congress to the U.S. patent system and the potential effects on innovation, especially for tech-based businesses, will be the topic of an Aug. 23 meeting of the Tech Council’s Wisconsin Innovation Network in Madison. The event is being held in conjunction with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. Erik Iverson, managing director of WARF, will be joined by Laurie Self, vice president and counsel for government affairs at Qualcomm on behalf of the Innovation Alliance, as well as Scott Button, a managing director at Venture Investors LLC and a board member of three tech-based companies, including recently acquired NeuWave Medical.

Conservative case for clean energy topic at Aug. 30 Cleantech Network forum

The political left has historically “owned” clean energy from a policy and political perspective. Mark Pischea of the Conservative Energy Network will discuss how political conservatives must be engaged to pave the way for future clean energy policy during the Aug. 30 Wisconsin Cleantech Network forum. The forum will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Wisconsin Energy Institute, 1552 University Ave., on the UW-Madison campus. Refreshments and snacks will be provided.

Force for Positive Change Award: Apply by Sept. 15 to win one of four $25,000 awards

Wisconsin social enterprises are blurring the lines between traditional for-profit and nonprofit models. The competition is intended to celebrate social enterprise in Wisconsin, including organizations that take a business model approach to making a positive difference in our state by deliberately addressing social challenges affecting people and/or the planet.

Number of early stage investment deals climb 13 percent in year, Tech Council report shows

The 2016 edition of “The Wisconsin Portfolio,” an annual publication of the Tech Council’s Wisconsin Angel Network, shows a sharp increase in angel and venture investment activity for the previous calendar year. At least 128 Wisconsin early stage companies raised investment capital in 2015, a 13 percent jump from the prior year. More than $209 million was raised by those 128 companies, which was down from the 2014 total of $346 million but largely explained in the context of one major deal: SHINE Medical Technologies’ $127.4 million debt financing round in 2014.

BioEnterprise Report: Midwest healthcare startups raise record $1.04B in First-Half of 2016

Xconomy: U.S. Army Awards Phoenix Nuclear Labs $3.6M in Contract

JSOnline: Cellectar snags $2 million contract

BizTimes: Looking Glass Investments launches second fund

JSOnline: Phoenix Nuclear wins Army contracts

Business Journal: Scale Up Milwaukee opens applications for Scalerator 4 program

Xconomy: Markable Downloads $1.9M For App That’s Like Shazam For Fashion

Madison Startups: FlashLapse Wins SWEDU

WisBusiness: Osceola’s Bending Branches a dominant paddle maker

JSOnline: FluGen begins clinical trial on universal influenza vaccine

BizTimes: Gearbox Express raises $1.5 million round

Release: Exact Sciences’ shares, revenues and losses are up

Business Journal: Dynamis Corp. adds two members to its board

Xconomy: Invenra Raises $3M to Develop Antibodies with, and for, Drug Makers

Xconomy: MobileIgniter to Shut Down After Five Years and Multiple Pivots

Xconomy: Drones, Understory, & Cellectar: This Week’s Wisconsin Watchlist

BizTimes: Baird launches $300 million private equity fund

Journal Sentinel: Madison pharmaceutical company raises $3 million from investors

JSOnline: Is your company an attractive acquisition target?

WisBusiness: Kiio raises $227,000 in debt

Xconomy: Insulete Co-founder on Hopes, Challenges for Diabetes Gene Therapy

WisBusiness: Madison’s growing startups are helping more than one industry

WisBusiness: Stock analysts’ advice for Exact Sciences