Welcome to the Wisconsin Innovation Network (WIN) eNewsletter for summer 2005, a periodical of news, events and programs that focuses on the needs and challenges faced by new and growing technology-based businesses in Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Innovation Network has chapters in the Chippewa Valley, Lake Superior Region, Madison, Milwaukee and Northeast Wisconsin. It is a non-profit subsidiary of the Wisconsin Technology Council, which works with organizations such as those listed (left) to enhance Wisconsin's technology development climate. Look below for upcoming WIN events.

Questions or ideas? Contact Sally Muller at sallym@wisconsintechnologycouncil.com

Entrepreneurs’ Conference draws record crowd

The third Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference attracted more than 450 attendees who heard from a number of nationally recognized speakers and leading entrepreneurs. Held in Milwaukee June 7-8, the conference exposed innovators to the best business practices and the brightest ideas from speakers around the country and from across the state.

Go to www.wisconsintechnologycouncil.com and click on the Entrepreneurs' Conference icon to see video of major presentations at the conference, as well as news releases, news coverage and photographs.

“Power of Angels” seminars set for October

The Wisconsin Angel Network will present “Power of Angel Investing” seminars in three locations in October. The seminars – which will be modeled on the well-attended Milwaukee event in June – will be held Oct. 17 in the Fox Valley, Oct. 18 in the Chippewa Valley, and Oct. 19 at Madison’s Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center as a part of the Tech Council’s fall early-stage investment and company coaching conference (Oct. 19-20).

The Power of Angel Investing seminar is a day-long program that is open to any accredited individual who is interested in angel investing. Members of existing angel networks will get first priority; registration for non-network members will open in August.

Please contact WAN director Joe Kremer (jkremer@wisconsinangelnetwork.com) with questions or go to www.wisconsinangelnetwork.com to learn more.

Alzheimer’s drug developer wins Governor’s Business Plan Contest

Mithridion Inc., a Madison-based company that is developing drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease, was the Grand Prize winner in the second annual Governor’s Business Plan Contest. Mithridion, the top-scoring plan in the Life Sciences category, received $20,000 in cash and a year’s free rent (valued at $80,000) in Madison’s University Research Park. In all, finalists shared nearly $200,000 in cash and in-kind prizes.

Major sponsors of the contest were the Wisconsin Department of Commerce; Mason Wells Private Equity of Milwaukee; American Transmission Co.; University Research Park; the law firm of Michael, Best and Friedrich; Cory L. Nettles of the law firm of Quarles and Brady; Madison Gas & Electric Co.; The Boldt Company; Loughrin Accounting & Tax Services; Smith & Gesteland LLP; the law firm of Foley & Lardner; J.P. Cullen & Sons of Janesville; the Kegonsa Capital Fund and the Fitchburg Technology Campus; Wisconsin Technology Network; the architectural firm of Potter Lawson; the law firm of Axley Brynelson; the Wisconsin Technical College System Foundation; and the Wisconsin Technology Council.

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“Seize the Day” award goes to Phillips Plastics founder Cervenka

Congratulations to Bob Cervenka, a founding member of the Tech Council, on winning the 2005 “Seize the Day” award for entrepreneurial spirit. The award was presented at the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs' Conference in Milwaukee. Phillips Plastics Co. founder and chairman Cervenka was selected from a pool of applicants by the steering committee for the conference, which included about 20 leaders from technology and business ventures. The award is a seven-foot metallic sculpture called "Out of the Box."

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At a time when some tech-based states experienced double-digit losses in “knowledge” workers, Wisconsin added jobs in some important sectors, according to a report released in June by the Wisconsin Technology Council.

The report, titled “Human Capital and Brain Power in the Wisconsin Economy,” was prepared by NorthStar Economics as the first of four follow-ups to the Tech Council’s 2002 report, “Vision 2020: A Model Wisconsin Economy.”

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Upcoming WIN events

Wisconsin Innovation Network events focus on the needs and challenges faced by new and growing technology-based businesses in Wisconsin. Over time, WIN events have effectively assisted companies in the areas of capital, networking, information, and business consultation referrals. If you have questions, contact Sally Muller, program director, at 608-442-7557x 22 or 1-888-443-5285.

Watch for e-mail notices about upcoming WIN meetings in Milwaukee, the Fox Valley and the Chippewa Valley. Specific topics and dates are pending. Here are scheduled meetings in Madison and Ashland.

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Progress on Biomedical Corridor to be discussed
August 23, 2005—WIN Madison, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Hear how local hospitals are working together to build a “Biomedical Corridor” in Madison. Speakers are Dr. Frank Byrne, president of St. Mary's Hospital, and Terri Potter, president and CEO of Meriter Hospital and Health Services. Also invited is Donna Sollenberger, UW Hospital and Clinics CEO. The event will be held at the Sheraton Inn, 706 John Nolen Drive, Madison. The cost is $35 for non-WIN member and $25 for members. Lunch is provided with registration.

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Learn what the state is doing to help entrepreneurs
September 19, 2005 – WIN-Lake Superior, 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Please join Pam Christianson, director of the state Department of Commerce Bureau of Entrepreneurship, and Erica Kauten, director of the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Network, to learn how you can plug into programs aimed at educating and assisting owners of start-up and emerging businesses. The event will be held at the Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College in Ashland. The cost is $15 for non-WIN members and $10 for members.

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UW-Madison Business School dean to discuss growth and trends
September 27, 2005—WIN Madison, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Dean Michael Knetter will speak on the UW School of Business' mission and growth, what the national “rankings” of business schools really mean, and how the school is helping to build the Wisconsin economy. The event will be held at the Sheraton Inn, 706 John Nolen Drive, Madison. The cost is $35 for non-WIN member and $25 for members. Lunch is provided with registration

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MATC and Business Incubators: What’s the connection?
October 25, 2005—WIN Madison, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Wisconsin Technical College System President Dan Clancy and Madison Area Technical College President Bettsey Barhorst will discuss Madison’s TEC Incubator and the relationship of MATC and the Wisconsin tech college system to our technology economy. The cost is $35 for non-WIN member and $25 for members. Lunch is provided with registration.

“I-Q Corridor" promotion launched at Mitchell Field

If you're passing through Mitchell Field in Milwaukee, check out our scrolling advertising display in the airport’s main concourse. It is co-branded with the Wisconsin Education Association Council; WEAC President Stan Johnson is a Tech Council board member. It invites visitors to learn more about “Great Schools” in Wisconsin as well as the state’s position in the technology-based “I-Q Corridor,” which connects Chicago, Wisconsin and the Twin Cities region in Minnesota.

Read more about the “I-Q Corridor"

A Madison firm that that has developed a 3-D atom probe microscope for use in the cutting-edge field of nanotechnology is the winner of the first Governor’s Small Business Technology Transfer Award.

Imago Scientific Instruments, which has turned technology developed at the UW-Madison into a rapidly growing company with 40 employees, was selected from among five finalists by a statewide panel of judges. The award, a $5,000 prize and a plaque, goes to a small business that best demonstrates a successful transfer of technology from the lab bench to the marketplace.

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Madison touted in magazine as biotech powerhouse

The June 20 edition of “The Scientist,” a magazine with about 80,000 circulation worldwide, described Madison as a “low-key hot spot” for biotechnology. Writer Ted Agres described Madison as "quietly emerging as a biotechnology and life science powerhouse." The magazine was released during the Biotechnology Industrial Organization (BIO) international convention in Philadelphia, which gave the story enhanced exposure among the convention's 18,000-plus delegates. In the same edition, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation was ranked among the nation's leading tech-transfer organizations.

To learn more, go to madison.com story, or visit the-scientist.com