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The passage of Assembly Bill 181, the early stage capital bill, was a highlight of the legislative floor period that ended this month. The bill is awaiting Gov. Scott Walker’s signature, so look for an announcement of that event soon. A collection of news coverage surrounding the bill’s passage is here. The state budget bill included other good news for the state’s tech-based economy, such as the lifting of the lifetime “cap” on investor tax credits. Both actions were backed by the Tech Council and the Wisconsin Growth Capital Coalition. As other items in the newsletter reveal, Wisconsin continues to attract the eyes of investors. Those include the launch of the BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation, the recent WIN meeting featuring Chicagoland investors, the birth of the Yahara Angel Network and much more. So much for summer being a “slow” time!     

Sincerely,
Tom Still, president

Pathways used by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp’s international team to better connect state companies to export and foreign investment will be examined at the Thursday, July 18 meeting of the WIN-Milwaukee chapter. Mark Rhoda-Reis, WEDC’s market development director for the Americas and Europe, will speak on the agency’s role in encouraging international trade and foreign direct investment. He will also discuss the upcoming trade missions to South America, China and the Midwest U.S. – Japan Conference. The luncheon will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 10499 Innovation Drive, Wauwatosa.  Registration and networking begins at 11:30 a.m., lunch at 12 p.m. and the presentation at 12:15 p.m. Register here. 

“Using the Small Business Administration to leverage private venture capital in an effort to target high-growth industries makes sense for America’s innovation sector," said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council and Wisconsin Innovation Network. "Of special interest to private investors will be the requirement that qualified companies in the program will include recipients of federal merit-based grants, such as Small Business Innovation Research grants. These are tech-based companies that have already demonstrated commercial potential and have survived a rigorous competitive process to win such grants. For investors, that means significant due diligence has already taken place and their risk is reduced because they are investing in companies with demonstrated potential.”

Click here for the full release and to read coverage of this story.
 

A lifetime cap on state angel investment tax credits was eliminated in the $70-billion, two-year budget Gov. Scott Walker signed into law Sunday. Read the full story here.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. today announced approval of early stage tax credits and loans for seven emerging Wisconsin companies.  

WEDC approved Qualified News Business Venture (QNBV) tax credits for MPSP LLC, Milwaukee; HuTerra LLC, DePere; and HealthMyne Inc., Madison. Xolve Inc., Middleton, was approved for a $330,000 Technology Business Development Investment loan. Shamrock Energy Corp., Neenah, was approved by a $150,000 Technology Development Fund Loan. Pegasus Sustainability Solutions Inc., Fitchburg, received QNBV certification and was approved for a $125,000 Wisconsin Venture Debt Fund loan. Wound Zoom Inc., Longmont, Col., was also approved by QNBV certification and a $400,000 Technology Business Development Investment loan. Wound Zoom will relocate to Stevens Point.

For more information on these companies, click here.

JSOnline: C5-6, UW-Stevens Point get grant for biofuel initiative
Researchers at C5-6 Technologies and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point are collaborating on technologies that they think can help develop next-generation biofuels and help move beyond the food vs. fuel debate that surrounds corn-based ethanol.

Virent secures DOE award for next generation biofuel conversion
Virent announced it has received a federal award of up to $4 million, subject to final contract negotiations with the U.S. Department of Energy, to develop carbon conversion efficiency of biomass to distillate products ideal for blending into existing diesel and jet fuel infrastructures.

InBusiness: Madison’s Idle Free Systems sees rapid growth
Madison-based Idle Free, whose APUs lower the energy consumption and operating costs of commercial trucks and school buses, recently announced that it saw remarkable year-over-year growth in 2012 of 250%, in the process doubling the size of its manufacturing facility and increasing its workforce by 30%.

WisBusiness: New catalyst could cut cost of making hydrogen fuel
A discovery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison may represent a significant advance in the quest to create a "hydrogen economy" that would use this abundant element to store and transfer energy.

Illinois investors encourage startups to look across border
Badger State entrepreneurs -- especially those with ideas for creating health-care or agriculture-related software companies -- shouldn't be shy about looking south to Chicago for funding and networking, a pair of Windy City investment pros said Tuesday. "Madison is connected to Chicago and Chicago connects Madison to the rest of the Midwest," Jeff Carter, a co-founder of Chicago's Hyde Park Angels to a Wisconsin Innovation Network gathering.

Cap Times: Madison goes 3-D, city a potential hotbed for 3-D printing
Madisonians, from scientists to businesses to hobbyists, are right up there in the eye-opening world of 3-D printer creations.

JSOnline: Drug research firm to open clinical trial unit at Aurora Sinai
Spaulding Clinical Research said Monday it plans to partner with Aurora Health Care to open a research unit at Aurora Sinai Medical Center. The 18-bed unit will conduct Phase I clinical trials that test the safety of potential drugs.

State Journal: Exact Sciences completes secondary stock offering
The Madison company is working to get its colorectal cancer test, Cologuard, on the market.

JSOnline: Businessman turns software company into national success
Dan Maynard twice had a chance to walk away from the company he founded. Instead, he stuck around, once buying it back for $1. Partly because he chose to stick with it, Connecture Inc. today employs more than 400 people, including 186 in Brookfield. Revenue last year totaled about $50 million, up from $30 million in 2011. This year, including a recent acquisition, revenue is projected to top $90 million.

JSOnline: Angel investor tax credits help raise $164M in 2012 Investors in 63 early-stage companies received $12.1 million of tax credits from the state in 2012 under a program designed to spur funding for young, high-tech companies, according to a new report.

JSOnline: Wisconsin ranked in top 5 states for medical imaging jobs
Wisconsin is one of the top five states for direct jobs in the medical imaging industry, with an estimated 6,920 people employed in the manufacturing, selling and servicing of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and other equipment, according to a new study from the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance.

JSOnline: UWM student lab buzzing with app developers
The AppBrewery is among a growing number of university-led initiatives crafting apps that might not otherwise get made. The group — technically known by the little-used name of UWM Mobile Innovation Lab — is planning to launch its first project in late summer. The Milwaukee County mobile app will feature bus schedules, with real-time GPS tracking of bus locations; county park maps and information; and events at the zoo.

JSOnline: Exact Sciences files to sell 5.5 million shares
Exact Sciences Corp., a Madison company developing a DNA-based, non-invasive test for colon cancer, said Tuesday it is trying to raise nearly $64 million in a stock offering.

Partnership to help Wisconsin companies in Foreign-Trade Zone
A new partnership between the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and the Port of Milwaukee will make it easier for state businesses to take full advantage of the regional Foreign-Trade Zone. This unique effort is designed to increase the participation in the Port’s Foreign-Trade Zone and boost international trade by managing tariffs and in some cases reducing or eliminating those fees.

Wisconsin Innovation Network (WIN) is The Tech Council's membership subsidiary - a community-based economic development organization dedicated to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. In association with the Tech Council, WIN programs focus on the needs and challenges faced by new and growing technology-based businesses in Wisconsin.

Individual Members
Philip Crawford
Tim Kane
Joel Moyer
William Reay