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 In This Issue
ESS coming up Nov. 12-13
Ganser elected to Investor HOF
Venture deals climb in Wis.
Solomo wins 'Rise of the Rest'
SHINE lands $125M financing deal
Venture Investors at WIN-Madison
Comply365 nabs $12M round
SEC panel backs accreditation fix
RevolutionEHR brings investor gains
Connecture plans IPO
EatStreet rounds grows to $10M
Deals, acquisitions and news
Upcoming events                    
 Did You Know?
With $67.1 million invested in venture deals so far this year, Wisconsin ranks 25th in the U.S. in total dollars invested over the year, according to National Venture Capital Association's data. The state is just ahead of Tennessee and below Rhode Island for the year.
 Become a WAN Member
Your $750 WAN membership also includes a membership to the Wisconsin Innovation Network (WIN). This "dual" membership is a $500 value included at no additional cost to you.

Your WIN membership entitles you to one free pass to both major conferences (Wisconsin Entrepreneurs' Conference and Early Stage Symposium), as well as regular WIN events in Madison, Milwaukee, Appleton, Central Wisconsin, Western Wisconsin and the Lake Superior regions.

For more information on WAN memberships, call
608-442-7557 or
click here to join.
 WAN Leadership
Advisory Committee
Tim Keane (Chair)
Golden Angels Network
Lisa Johnson
Wis. Economic Development Corp.
Dick Leinenkugel
Northwoods Angels
Thomas Shannon
Shamrock / BrightStar Foundation
Tom Still
Wisconsin Technology Council
Andy Shrago

Wisconsin Investment Partners
David Ward
Angels on the Water

Emeritus: Lorrie Keating Heinemann, co-founder

Staff
Dan Blake
Director
608-442-7557
dblake@wisconsinangelnetwork.com
 'WisBusiness: The Show'
On the latest episode, Liz Schrum interviews Susan Healy of Ascendancy Advisors; Tom Still discusses the growing number of venture capital investments in Wisconsin; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report features health care and property assessments.

Previous Shows:
Ralph Kauten, Quintessence Biosciences
Vicki Elkin, The Fund for Lake Michigan
 Wisconsin Technology   Council
The Wisconsin Angel Network is a program of the Wisconsin Technology Council.

Join the Tech Council's mailing list to stay up-to-date on news, events, programs and more!

Other quick links:
Wisconsin Innovation Network
Tech Council Newsroom
Inside Wisconsin by Tom Still
 Newsletter Sponsors
 
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                                                                                                   October 2014

Register now for the Nov. 12-13 Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium

Register now for the upcoming Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium, being held Nov. 12-13 at Madison’s Monona Terrace. This year’s conference, with a theme of “30X10,” will celebrate a rich history dating to 1984. Originally the Madison Venture Fair, the event has
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been called the Wisconsin Venture Conference, the Wisconsin Life Sciences & Venture Conference – and for the past 10 years – the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium. Nearly 500 companies have presented during the conferences in one format or another. Other highlights will include:

-- A presentation by Kevin Conroy and Maneesh Arora on the story of Exact Sciences, which moved from Boston to Wisconsin.
-- A plenary session made up of the leaders of major academic research institutions on Wisconsin’s “I-Q Corridor.”
-- Presentations by more than 45 companies in the Wisconsin Angel Network Investors’ Track and the annual Elevator Pitch Olympics.
-- SBIR/STTR awards luncheon to recognize grant recipients from the past year.
-- More than a dozen panel discussions featuring leading entrepreneurs, investors and others tied to the tech sector.
-- “Office Hours,” offering the opportunity to meet with subject experts on a variety of topics in small discussion groups.
-- The inaugural “Excellence in Entrepreneurial Education” award presentation.
-- The annual “First Look” forum featuring selected campus-based technologies.
-- Exhibit hall showcasing more than 40 Wisconsin companies.
-- A first-night reception, two luncheons, two breakfasts and other networking opportunities, including an investors-only dinner.


Learn more and get registered at www.wisearlystage.com.
 Venture Investors founder elected to Wisconsin Investor Hall of Fame
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Roger Ganser, the nationally known founder of Venture Investors LLC, Wisconsin's oldest andlargest venture capital firm, will be inducted into the Wisconsin Investor Hall of Fame during a Nov. 12 dinner tied to the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium.

“It’s terrific that there is still the opportunity to focus on early stage company financing through the Early Stage Symposium,” Ganser said. “Every state has to be looking at the importance of venture capital. We have to be looking where the job opportunities are going to be.”

Also attending this year's dinner will be about 60 angel and venture capitalists.
 Wisconsin continues to climb in 2014 venture activity

More than $67 million of venture capital was invested in the first three quarters of 2014 in Wisconsin companies, more than double the amount invested in all of 2013, according to data from the MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association.

 

Twenty-two Wisconsin companies have raised venture capital so far in 2014, with six landing investment in the 3rd quarter of the year. The largest deal was a $14.5 million investment into Propeller Health, a Madison health tech company, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

 

According to the NVCA's data, there have only been 22 quarters since 1995 with six or more venture deals that were reported in the state. All three quarters in 2014 have seen at least six deals, with nine deals reported in the second quarter. That matches only the second quarter in 2000, the peak year for VC investments in Wisconsin.

 

"We’re already more than double the 2013 totals in dollars invested," said Wisconsin Technology Council President Tom Still. "That’s a healthy sign that Wisconsin companies are attracting investment dollars well beyond our borders. The story of Wisconsin’s early stage deal opportunities is being told.” Read more.

 SOLOMO wins "Rise of the Rest," $100,000 prize

SOLOMO Technology, a Madison physical location data anlaytics platform, won a Madison pitch competition and a $100,000 investment from AOL co-founder Steve Case as part of his "Rise of the Rest" Road Tour.

SOLOMO's founder, Liz Eversoll, a Wisconsin Technology Council board member, was one of nine presenters in the contest, which was held at the Majestic Theater in downtown Madison. SOLOMO is backed by a several Wisconsin-based early-stage investment groups and also Madison Development Corporation.

SHINE inks $125 million deal related to new manufacturing plant

SHINE Medical Technologies, a company based in Monona that plans to build a new nuclear medicine manufacturing plant, announced a $125 million financing deal with a New York healthcare investment firm.

The planned financing from Deerfield Management Company is a mixture of debt and equity, based on milestone-drive phases, according to a statement from SHINE.  Previous investors in SHINE have included Knox LLC, which led an $11 million round for the company in 2011, Wisconsin Investment Partners and Mulligan and Galt, two Madison based angel investing groups.

Wisconsin's investment landscape topic of Oct. 28 WIN meeting
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John Neis, managing director of Madison-based venture capital firm Venture Investors, talked about his firm's history as Wisconsin's oldest and largest venture firm, while also describing how the state's capital-raising environment has changed over time.

Neis, a board member of the Wisconsin Technology Council, serves on the board
s of several Madison companies. His firm was an investor in several of the state's biggest successes, including TomoTherapy, Third Wave Technologies and NimbleGen Systems. Neis was the featured speaker at the Oct. 28 Wisconsin Innovation Network luncheon in Madison. The meetings are held the last Tuesday of every month.

Contact WIN Director Maurice Cheeks to join.

Beloit's Comply365 lands $12 million investment from Drive Capital

Comply365, a company offering an enterprise content management platform, revealed recently it is the second Wisconsin-based investment for Drive Capital, a venture capital firm that raised a $250 million fund to invest in Midwest startups.

The company was founded in 2007 in Illinois by Kerry Frank and her husband, and had previously raised an angel round. Comply365 was recruited from Illinois to Wisconsin by state officials, including Gov. Scott Walker.

The deal was the largest so far for Drive Capital, which was started by veterans of Sequoia Capital, one of the largest Silicon Valley venture firms. Drive also invested in Aver Informatics, a digital health tech company started in Green Bay that has since moved much of its operations to Ohio, where Drive is based.

Accredited-investor definition revamp backed by SEC panel

The SEC's Investor Advisory Committee made several recommendations regarding the

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ongoing review of the accredited investor standard, including indicating an interest in expanding the accredited investor class as opposed to shrinking it based on raising the current standard ($200,000 or $300,000 joint in annual income or net worth of $1 million excluding value of home). Read the recommendations.

 

The Wisconsin Angel Network has submitted letters of protest to the SEC on behalf of angel groups, funds and individuals to raising the standard, which would likely have a devastating effect on the number of accredited investors in Wisconsin.

Investors score win with Madison software firm, RevolutionEHR
Several early Wisconsin investors in RevolutionEHR, a cloud-based practice management and electronic health record (EHR) software company, said they saw significant returns when the company recently raised additional growth capital from a San Francisco-based private investment group.

“As an early-stage investor it was great to experience a seven times return on my initial investment,” Madison area angel investor Sean Cleary said in a statement.  ” This is a great win for the Wisconsin start-up and investment community.”

Jeff Rusinow, another RevolutionEHR investor, gave the keynote at the Gener8tor premiere night in Milwaukee and talked about his success as an angel, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Milwaukee healthcare software firm plans for IPO
Connecture Inc., a Brookfield-based health insurance shopping and enrollment platform, plans to go public with a $86 million initial public offering.

The company had more than 400 workers at the end of July, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Connecture was launched in 1997, and its largest shareholders include Great Point Partners, Chrysalis Ventures, SSM Partners and LiveOak Equity Partners.

 Madison online food ordering startup hits $10 million funding mark
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EatStreet, a Madison firm that lets consumers order food online or through mobile devices, announced that it closed an addition $4 million in funding from SWIB and 4490 Ventures. The company had raised $6 million earlier in the year.

EatStreet has about 55 full time and 30 part-time employees in Madison. Read more on the company's growth plans in the Wisconsin State Journal.
 Deals, acquisitions, exits and news
MyHealthDirect, a company offering healthcare appointment scheduling software with offices in Milwaukee and Nashville, has raised $8 million in debt and equity funding. Equity investors included Chrysalis Ventures, Arboretum Ventures and Ares Capital Corp. made the debt investment. News release

Cellular Dynamics International, a Madison company developing and manufacturing human cells, was awarded a $1.2 million grant from the National Eye Institute. News release

Bloomer Plastics Inc., a Bloomer, Wis.-based engineered  films producer acquired Optium Plastics, a Delaware company. News release


Isomark, a Madison company developing technologies to aid in the rapid and early detection of various disease, received a $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Semba Biosciences, a Madison supplier of scientific instruments and chemical substances for researchers, said it will receive a $1.5 million SBIR grant. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Minnesota-based Deluxe Corp. purchased Wausau Financial Services, a Mosinee, Wis. based developed of accounting software, for $90 million. News release

Deltanoid Pharmaceuticals announced the successful completion of a phase 2B clinical trial for its lead experimental drug DP001 for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with chronic kidney disease receiving hemodialysis. News release
Upcoming Events
Nov. 12-13 - Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium, Madison, Monona Terrace

Nov. 20 - Wisconsin Angel Network reception at Lambeau Field, Green Bay

                                                           

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