What makes Wisconsin attractive to tech talent? Feb. 10 Tech Council webinar to focus on policy

Join us for the first in a four-part webinar series in which we unveil the Wisconsin Technology Council’s 2021 “white papers,” a biennial publication that contains ideas related to human capital, investment capital, tech infrastructure and creating a healthy climate for young companies and tech talent. Our webinar will feature recommendations tied to the entrepreneurial climate.

Panelists include state Rep. Tip McGuire, D-Kenosha, who is one of the four co-chairs of the Legislature’s informal Tech Caucus. Tech Council president Tom Still will moderate. They will be joined by Bill Hickey, principal of Wolf Track Ventures and Kathy Henrich, CEO of MKE Tech Hub Coalition.

Click here to learn more and register.

Wisconsin Tech Summit: Call for company applications and registration now open!  

Emerging companies are encouraged to apply by Friday, Feb. 12, 2021 to meet with major firms and explore potential business relationships around technology needs and innovation as part of the eighth annual Wisconsin Tech Summit.

The day-long event will be held Wednesday, March 17, 2021 virtually via Meeting Mojo. More information, including the online application form, can be found at wistechsummit.com. Past emerging companies are welcome to apply.

The Tech Summit will feature a series of brief meetings, or “speed dates,” to foster communication and partnership. It is produced by the Wisconsin Technology Council and the Wisconsin Healthcare Business Forum.

Participating major firms thus far: 3M, Advocate Aurora Research Institute, American Family Insurance, AT&T, Dedicated Computing, Exact Sciences, Findorff, Froedtert Health, J.P. Morgan, Johnson Controls, Kimberly-Clark, Marshfield Clinic Health System, Mead & Hunt, Northwestern Mutual, PDS, Promega, Rockwell Automation, Schreiber Foods, Titletown Tech, and WIPFLi.

Click here to learn more, apply and register!

GUEST COLUMN: Wisconsin well-positioned to build on “work-from-home” trends

By Kathy Henrich

Remote work is something that most had not previously experienced until March and now is the norm.  However, it is not new to tech workers.   I happened to be an early adopter when IBM sent us to work from home in 1994 when communications required physically wiring our homes with ethernet and two phone lines.   However, I was not alone. In 2019, 10.2% of mathematical and computer professionals worked 100% remote.

Click here to full Henrich’s full column.

>> NEW "WisBusiness: The Show"

The latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show” spotlights Jill Enos, managing director of TitletownTech in Green Bay. Enos works with innovators and startups to bring new business models to market.

Also, Tom Still presents “Tech Metrics,” which chart key indicators and events in the Wisconsin economy. He’ll also preview upcoming Tech Council webinars and opportunities, such as the webinar on Feb. 10 tied to our latest policy recommendations and the March 17, 2021 Tech Summit conference.

Sponsors include Exact Sciences, UW-Milwaukee and BDO.

View our full show archives here.

2021 Governor’s Business Plan update!

Thanks to everyone who entered the 2021 Governor’s Business Plan Contest! Judging is under way for 253 qualified entries with about 80 volunteers across the state. Some metrics of which we’re proud: More than 100 of the entries came from women, continuing the rise in the number of female entrepreneurs. About 25% came from people of color or diverse ethnic backgrounds. We’ll talk more about the breakdown of the entries in coming weeks.

How can you help? More offers of prizes, both cash and “service” prizes, are needed and welcome. You can help the finalists by chipping in; all cash goes directly to contestants who reach the final stages in June.
Contact Tammy Ehrmann: tammy@wisconsintechnologycouncil.com

Department of Health Services update

To date, there have been 544,260 positive COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin with 5,937 deaths.
So far, 578,336 vaccine doses have been administered and 108,713 people have completed their vaccine series.

Helpful links: 

• DHS’s COVID-19 vaccine webpage
• DHS’s COVID-19 vaccine general information, phases, and eligibility webpage
• DHS’s COVID-19: vaccine Frequently Asked Questions webpage
• DHS’s vaccine database portal

The State Disaster Medical Advisory Committee’s (SDMAC) Vaccine Distribution Subcommittee is responsible for making distribution decisions. SDMAC holds public meetings and anyone can submit public comments. You can find information about the SDMAC here. To register for the DHS weekly newsletter, click here.

The Tech Council is one of about 50 groups taking part in the “Stop the COVID Spread” coalition, which is a private-sector effort to do precisely what the name suggests: Encourage people to take common-sense steps to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

>> Click here for regularly updated metrics on the Wisconsin Hospital Association's COVID-19 Dashboard.

Please watch videos by Interim UW System President Tommy Thompson, a former Wisconsin governor and federal Health and Human Services secretary; Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan; Green Bay Packers players and healthcare workers from across Wisconsin. On Wisconsin!

ECONOMY

• Purpose.jobs: Tech workers are choosing Milwaukee as their home. Here’s why
• MKE Business Journal: Northwestern Mutual's new chief information security officer is 1st woman to serve in the role
• Economist: Can Amazon keep growing like a youthful startup with Jeff Bezos stepping down?
• WisBusiness: UW Foundation president says businesses with advanced technology will be economic winners
• InBusiness: 27 Wisconsin LGBT Chamber members earn perfect score for diversity and inclusion
• MKE Business Journal: Will PPP hit Wisconsin businesses hard at tax time?
• Insight: New North Summit offers mix of virtual, live programming from March – June 2021
• Quarles & Brady: PPP deductions sanctioned by Congress, other business tax provisions of the COVID Relief Bill

ENTREPRENEURS + INNOVATION

• WisconsinINNO: Weather tech company Understory adds to leadership team
• Forbes: How startups can foster growth and sustained success
• Information: MainStreet, which finds tax credits for startups, valued at $500 million
• i.c. stars Milwaukee has talent for hire!
• Insight: Hilbert entrepreneurs tap into growing maple syrup market
• Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship offers 21 ways to nurture your business in 2021
• Startup Mindset: Building a world-changing business – Interview with Instagram co-founder on strategy
• The Savvy Entrepreneur:[Podcasts] with Troy Vosseller, gener8tor and Joey Frayne, WEDC

INVESTING

• WEDC: Wisconsin’s emerging investors: Meet the managers – Martin, Guthrie, Kee and FitzGerald
• WisBusiness: GrocerKey has closed on a $2.4 million equity round totaling 18 private investors
• WisconsinINNO: Madison tech Moxe secures more funding from investors, including 3M
• Quartz: Silicon Valley’s iron grip on venture capital is slipping, winners include Madison, Wis.
• VentureBurn: ‘Iron Man’ launches new venture fund for sustainable tech - FootPrint Coalition Ventures
• CPA Practice Advisor: Venture capital investment in U.S. hit record $156 billion in 2020
• WisconsinINNO: Bemis Manufacturing boosts investment in medical device company

COVID-19 + HEALTH

• WISN: Those who had COVID-19 could get reinfected if the variants become dominant, Fauci says
• Wisconsin State Journal: COVID-19 vaccine demand surges in Wisconsin, but supply can't keep up
• WSJ: How coronavirus mutations are taking over
• EHR Intelligence: Epic Systems awarded “2021 Best in KLAS” for Top Overall Suite
• CapTimes: UW nursing, pharmacy students join effort to bring vaccines to rural areas
• Wisconsin State Journal: Does double-masking provide more protection?
• WPR: The pandemic is taking a toll on kids' mental health, school psychologists are worried

EDUCATION

• MKE Business Journal: Equity advocate Joan Prince to retire from vice chancellor post at UW-Milwaukee
• St. Croix EDC: UW-River Falls Science and Technology Innovation Center receives alumni gift
• CNBC: CDC director says schools can safely reopen without vaccinating teachers
• Wisconsin Examiner: The racial and income fault lines over ‘back to school’
• WLUK: Wisconsin school safety resource seeing early success in "Speak Up, Speak Out" program
• Insight: UW-Green Bay launches Institute for Women's leadership

Help us stay on top of events for our readers!
Please send your upcoming virtual events for consideration to laura@wisconsintechnologycouncil.com

UW-Madison Computer Sciences presents RED Talks with Leng Tan, SVP at Oracle on Thursday, Feb. 11. Join us on Leng's personal adventure and hear how she navigated through big corporations and startups. Learn how she rose from being the sole women engineer to Senior Vice President of Engineering and survived to tell the story.

BizStarts: P&L Basics with Thaime Nañez is on Friday, Feb. 12. During this virtual workshop, she will show you what a “profit and loss statement” is and what it can do for your business.

Angel Capital Association offers a free Demystifying Angel Investing: An Introduction to the World of Early-Stage on Wednesday, Feb. 17. Join us for a dynamic panel discussion with leading experts to explore the basics of angel investing, including three reasons to consider angel investing as part of your well-balanced portfolio.

WiSys offers Innovation in Materials and Manufacturing – Responding to the COVID Crisis’ scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 23 – Thursday, Feb. 25. The energizing three-part virtual symposium will feature stories of innovation in the fields, faculty networking and student research presentations. Attendees should register for this free event by Wednesday, Feb. 17.

Morgridge Institute for Research presents COVID-19: The Science of Vaccines on Wednesday, Feb. 24. Delve deeper into the science of viruses and vaccines. Experts in virology and vaccine development will share about how coronaviruses infect, how COVID-19 vaccines (including a new class of mRNA vaccines) protect us, and how scientists were able to make the vaccine possible within a year.

InBusiness’ IB Intros (virtual) is slated for Wednesday, Feb. 24. In this speed-networking format, you’ll connect with six other Madison-area professionals through a series of one-on-one conversations.

• WI Health Connect: Think you may have COVID-19? Free, confidential over-the-phone screening now available.
• Live dashboard with QUICK NUMBERS and FACTS on the IMPACT of COVID-19
• Michael Best has formed a COVID-19 Task Force to address business and legal implications.
• Reinhart’s Coronavirus Resource Center includes the impact of HR 6201 on employees.
• BDO monitors the latest COVID-19 business impacts and regulatory updates.
• Learn more about Epic tools that can help you and your organization treat and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
• WIPLFi: Information to help businesses and individuals weather the coronavirus.
• Quarles & Brady has created a resource of COVID-19 articles that impact clients and businesses.
• Wisconsin Department of Tourism is actively planning for Wisconsin’s economic COVID-19 recovery.
• Click here to sign up for the WisPolitics/WisBusiness daily healthcare report.
• Husch Blackwell explores issues at the intersection of law and public health emergencies.
• TASC is making its expertise and emergency benefit accounts available for free to Dane County employers in 2020.
• Neider & Boucher provides their clients with the necessary focus to help define and reach their goals during COVID-19.
• UW-Madison’s CROWE researchers track and analyze the economic impact of COVID-19 in Wisconsin and beyond.
• WMC launched a Coronavirus (COVID-19) Business Resource Center and Employer Toolkit.
• Godfrey & Kahn’s COVID-19 Resource Center provides timely insights on the unique legal challenges and business implications created by the pandemic
• Baker Tilly’s Coronavirus Resource Center: how an unplanned event such as the COVID-19 outbreak can affect your organization, employees, customers and suppliers.
• The Burish Group: UBS Business Owner Resiliency Center
• The Creative Company is offering a free crisis white paper download: How to communicate with clarity during COVID-19
• Aberdean Consulting has an updated Remote Office/Home Office Security Survey  
• MKE Tech Hub has a new outgoing newsletter for the tech community to stay informed and engaged. Click here to subscribe.
• UW-Madison launched a new COVID-19 dashboard for faculty, staff and students