WANeVestor_masthead-5
 
 In This Issue
Welcome
4490 Ventures fund launched
2013 Wis. 'Treps Conference
Editorial board backs early stage fund
34 states with venture capital funds
Wisconsin Super Angel Fund
ACA 2013 Summit
Midwest Cleantech Open
Deals, acquisitions, exits and news
Upcoming events
 Did You Know?

Y Combinator, a well-known Silicon Valley startup incubator, held Demo Day pitches at the Computer History Museum in California this week. Among the tech startups pitching was wevorce, which offers a system for handling divorces that attempts to avoid the pain and cost of going to court. The company reports that only one out of their first 110 clients had to go to divorce court.

 Jargon
Brogrammer – a frat-boy-esque computer programmer; an anti-nerd.
 Become a WAN Member
For the first time, 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.
Richard Leazer
Wisconsin Investment Partners
Dick Leinenkugel
Northwoods Angels
Todd Leonard
Minnesota Angel Network
Thomas Shannon
Shamrock Partners
Tom Still
Wisconsin Technology Council
David Ward
NorthStar Economics

Staff
Dan Blake
Director
608-442-7557
dblake@wisconsinangelnetwork.com
 'WisBusiness: The Show'
In the latest edition of "WisBusiness.com: The Show," Liz Schrum talks with Kelly Lietz, vice president of marketing for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., about the "In Wisconsin" marketing campaign; Tom Still explains the job creation statistics in Wisconsin for 2012; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report for mid-March 2013 covers mining and power plant wages.

Previous shows:
Steve Lyons
Wisconsin Growth Capital Coalition
Zach Brandon
Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce
 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
 Minnesota Angel Network
Click here for more information on the Minnesota Angel Network.
 Newsletter Sponsors
 
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 Welcome to the March 2013 eVestor
The announcement of the new 4490 Ventures fund; tracking the efforts of the Wisconsin Growth Capital Coalition to shape the state’s early stage investment plan; trips to Milwaukee and Green Bay for Wisconsin Technology Council events; and meeting investors all across the state. A great first week as Dan Blake took the helm as the new Wisconsin Angel Network director!

 Blake, Dan 2
Blake, previously an Epic Systems project manager and a reporter and web producer with the Chicago Tribune, will partner with the passionate Wisconsin investment community during an exciting time in the state. The monthly eVestor is one way Blake and his colleagues at the Wisconsin Technology Council can keep investors plugged in on what’s going on. Look below for news on deals, exits, fundraising rounds, and upcoming events statewide.

Please reach out to Blake at 
dblake@wisconsintechnologycouncil.com with ideas on information you’d like to see in eVestor and how he can help provide additional resources to Badger State investors!

 New 4490 Ventures fund launched
The State of Wisconsin Investment Board and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation launched an early-stage venture capital fund focused on information technology. Named in reference to the 44° N latitude and 90° W longitude lines that approximate the center of the state of Wisconsin, the fund is a breakthrough step for both organizations. The fund was announced at the Wisconsin Innovation Network meeting held March 19 at the Sheraton Madison. Read more from Tom Still about the fund, which will produce typical investments from about $250,000 to $2 million, meaning about 20 deals over the next five years.

 Registration open for 2013 Wis. Entrepreneurs' Conference
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The 11th annual Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference will be held June 4-5 at the Marriott West in Middleton. Join investors, entrepreneurs and others with a focus on Wisconsin’s innovation economy at one of the Midwest's premiere networking and educational events.

2013 conference highlights include nationally known speakers Jason Lucash, co-founder of OrigAudio and Entrepreneur Magazine's Emerging Entrepreneur of 2012 and UW alumnus Roy Thiele-Sardina of HighBAR Partners. Like past years, the event will also include finalists from the Governor’s Business Plan Contest, the Ken Hendricks Memorial “Seize the Day” Award and other unique programming and networking.

Register here and stay tuned for more information on the Entrepreneurs’ Conference in upcoming eVestors!

 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel pushes for state-backed early stage fund
The newspaper’s editorial board urged the Legislature to establish a state-backed "fund of funds" to help power Wisconsin's entrepreneurs. The article outlines efforts in other states to do more for their entrepreneurs and how Wisconsin is lagging in the amount of venture capital it takes to significantly grow young companies. Read the entire editorial.

 Wis. would have plenty of company if it launches a capital fund
Across the nation, at least 34 states have either launched venture capital funds, created investment tax incentives or both to leverage private investments in startups and emerging companies. If the Wisconsin Legislature embraces an early stage capital plan at least as large as what has been proposed by Gov. Scott Walker, it would not be plowing new ground. Read Tom Still's full column here.

 Angel fund geared to young firms starts with $5 million
A new angel fund - the first to focus on very young companies in southeastern Wisconsin - has launched with more than $5 million to invest. Organizers of the Wisconsin Super Angel Fund raised money from more than 40 investors, including three foundations and an insurance company, said John Torinus Jr., a general partner and chairman of Serigraph Inc. in West Bend. The fund is the first early-stage fund to form in southeastern Wisconsin, said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. The other early-stage investors in the region are angel networks, where members receive information about companies and individually make decisions about whether to invest in them.

 ACA Summit to be held in San Francisco this April
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The Angel Capital Association’s 2013 Summit: “Navigating Change for Angel Success” will be held April 17-19 at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco. The event -- the largest gathering of angel investors and angel groups in the world -- will address many of the critical issues facing angels, including how crowdfunding will affect angel investing, how startups fare after going through an accelerator program and different strategies for valuing early-stage companies. More information about the ACA and the 2013 Summit can be found on the ACA website and look for conference details in next month's eVestor!


 Midwest Cleantech Open is accepting applications
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The 2013 Cleantech Open Accelerator is now accepting applications.
Submissions from entrepreneurs and inventors from across Wisconsin will be accepted in eight categories, including new sectors such as Agriculture, Information & Communication Technology, and Advanced Materials & Chemicals. Click here for more information on whether your company and solution are eligible. Entrepreneurs can SAVE $50 if they start the application process by April 10 at www.cleantechopen.org/launch.

Also new in 2013 is an expanded format for Cleantech Open’s Midwest Innovation Summit on October 16-17th in Minneapolis. All accelerator participants, after completing the five-month program, will be featured throughout as key participants in a full two-day regional conference and have 1-1 meetings with 50+ Midwest investors and commercialization partners. Cleantech Open will also allow all participants to showcase and meet 100+ investors and commercialization partners in November at the Global Forum in Silicon Valley.

For the past two years, the national entrepreneur of the year has come from the Midwest program, including HEVT from Chicago, Illinois in 2012. Successful Wisconsin-based graduates include Lightweight Structures (Hartland, WI), C56 Technologies (Middleton, WI), WholeTrees Architecture & Structures (Stoddard, WI) and Xolve (Middleton, WI).

 Deals, acquisitions, exits and news
Cellular Dynamics, a Madison stem cell technology developer, received a $16 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to create 3 induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines for each of 3000 healthy and diseased donors. Read the full announcement here.

An Oshkosh company has developed a chemical process that almost instantly creates a very pure form of activated carbon at near-room temperatures and at a fraction of the cost of traditional production methods. Annamalai “Karthik” Karthikeyan, a semifinalist in the 2013 Governor’s Business Plan contest, is looking for investors. Read more from the Northwestern here

The Greater Milwaukee Committee is leading an initiative, along with Gov. Scott Walker and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, to develop an "entrepreneurship ecosystem" that will try to spur the growth of high-potential business ventures. Read more in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel here.

Swallow Solutions, a company that develops products for people with swallowing difficulties, has raised $1 million in a funding round led by Venture Management LLC. More information about the raise here.

A start-up company formed by the founder of a Milwaukee-area drug ingredient maker is proposing to build a pharmaceutical research and development facility in Mequon, creating 50 jobs. Read the Journal Sentinel story here.

Primorigen Biosciences received a $1.2 million Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institutes of Health, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The funds will speed the company’s work on a new, cost-effective system for producing stem cells and transforming them into specific cell lines, such as blood, liver and neural cells.


 Upcoming Events

A WIN-Milwaukee event on Cybersecurity will be held April 11.

A WIN-Madison event will be held April 23 and will feature the outgoing interim UW-Madison Chancellor David Ward.

Wisconsin Cleantech Network Event
will be held April 10 from 5-7 p.m. at the Waukesha County Technical College’s Pewaukee Campus.

The Angel Capital Association’s 2013 Summit: “
Navigating Change for Angel Success” will be held April 17-19 at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco.

The 2013 BIO International Convention, which will be held April 22-25, 2013 at McCormick Place in Chicago. This is the world’s largest biotech event, with an emphasis on agricultural and industrial as well as medical biotech.

The
11th annual Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference will be held June 4-5 at the Marriott West in Middleton.



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