Supporting local startups

Milwaukee's entrepreneurs are vital to the regional economy -- developing new products,
innovations and services that generate new wealth and create new jobs.

Milwaukee has all of the ingredients to become the next center for innovative new businesses. With Marquette University, Milwaukee School of Engineering, and UW-Milwaukee graduating skilled engineers each semester, coupled with the innovators already employed by Milwaukee’s many world class businesses, the region has the talent to create inventive new products. Our Midwestern work ethic ensures great ideas will quickly become tangible products.

MMAC wants to connect new and growing companies to the resources they need to take their businesses to the next level.

Fortunately, there are a growing number of resources for entrepreneurs and start-ups across the region, including:

BizStarts

BizStarts.com >
Empowering through Entrepreneurship

BizStarts works with entrepreneurs, service providers, capital connections and other resources to help launch and grow new companies that will create sustainable jobs.

From small stores to large, scalable start-ups, BizStarts is a one-stop center that offers all the help and connections entrepreneurs need including: one-on-one meetings, market assessment, team assessment, financial preparation and more. It assists entrepreneurs in Southeastern Wisconsin by:

Helping entrepreneurs starting new companies focus on what they need for success and connect them with the proper resources to expedite launch and growth.
Working with existing businesses looking to grow by providing connections to financial, management, and other resources to scale, grow revenues, and create jobs in the region.
Promoting a stronger entrepreneurial business culture and climate in southeastern Wisconsin.
Working in conjunction with other groups in the entrepreneurial space, from academic programs to other for-profit and non-profit organizations focusing on start-ups and scale-ups.

Milwaukee Venture Mentoring Service

MKE VMS is a free and confidential mentoring service for entrepreneurs in the Milwaukee Region. Learn more >

The Milwaukee Region is gaining momentum as a destination for startup founders and funders. To get to the next level, we must cultivate the next generation of startups. The MMAC has partnering with our entrepreneurship community to launch a new venture mentorship program in Milwaukee.

Based on an internationally recognized program developed at MIT, the program will connect entrepreneurs with teams of carefully selected mentors to scale their startups.

M7 Venture Capital Fund

LEARN MORE >

Recognizing the critical role of entrepreneurs in a growing economy, the Milwaukee 7 has launched the M7 Venture Capital Fund to provide capital to companies as loans, equity or loan to equity with grant support for financing assistance, market analysis, and other support services.

Supported through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation's Capital Catalyst program, the fund is intended to help companies achieve measurable business development milestones, such as feasibility assessments, product development and market validation. Loans will be made in amounts ranging from $50,000 - $125,000. Examples of eligible uses include, but are not limited to: product development or market validation to secure investor funding, new equipment or marketing and sales assistance. Companies selected will have a strong potential for follow-on funding and growth.

MKE Startup News

> Follow MKE Startup News to get an inside look at the founders and funders fueling MKE's startup scene

A new initiative of the MMAC and a group of startup company funders and founders, led by former Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, MKE Startup News aims to increase the economic impact that startup businesses have on the greater Milwaukee area.

MKE Startup News features:

Digital online profiles that highlight the stories of the founders and funders who make startups successful in the Milwaukee Region.
An economic tracker DataTool, developed by the Wisconsin Policy Forum, provides data on Milwaukee’s progress in terms of innovation and economic growth.

Scale Up Milwaukee

Learn more about programs and membership at scaleupmilwaukee.org

Scale Up Milwaukee, an initiative of the Greater Milwaukee Committee supported by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. , is changing the culture of growth in the region.

It convenes a diverse group of stakeholders (private sector leaders, public officials, investors, entrepreneurs, university faculty and local economic development support groups) to develop actionable strategies for high-growth, high-impact entrepreneurship in the region.

More than 100 organizations in the region like Lubar & Co., Mandel Group, Marcus Corporation, Milwaukee Bucks, Godfrey & Kahn and Town Bank are members of Scale Up, to take advantage of member benefits including Meet the Masters signature event, member meetings, peer-to-peer resources and networking, roundtables and more.

BUSINESS ACCELERATORS
Scale Up Milwaukee produces two accelerators that provide access to expert faculty, tools and other other resources to stimulate growth for businesses in the region.

SPARC
Growth training program for Black-, Hispanic-, and woman-owned businesses with annual revenue under $1M.
Growth Accelerator
High-growth training program for businesses with approximately $1M-$10M in annual revenue. Led by UWM faculty and industry experts, sessions focus on increasing growth ambition and capacity by improving sales and marketing, organizational development and finances.

Cluster Industry Accelerators

The Water Council's BREW 2.0 (Business Research Entrepreneurship in Wisconsin) Accelerator is a next-stage post-accelerator created to help young companies build connections and grow their company’s capacity. This virtual and in-person hybrid program focuses on expert-led sales and growth training tailored for water tech businesses. Afterward, participants have access to ongoing training opportunities to continue their growth trajectory.
The University of Wisconsin System-affiliated Food Finance Institute (FFI) Fellows Program supports food-focused entrepreneurs through the process of building an investible business model that includes a financing strategy to grow and scale a company. This national program serves Food, Beverage, Technologies, Value-Added Agriculture, and Processing businesses. Any food-focused entrepreneur in the U.S. can apply for the program. The Fellows program evolved from the earlier FaBcap Accelerator program from FaB Wisconsin to support food and beverage startups.

Marshalling our Resources

Interested in getting involved? Contact:
Marjorie Yoshida
Manager of Administrative Services, Milwaukee 7
414/287-4126
Email

As part of MMAC's economic development strategy, we have launched the Marshalling our Resources group to address mentorship, network coordination and access to funding for regional startups. This entrepreneurial support initiative creates a forum to coalesce the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, increase collaboration between support organizations, drive a regional entrepreneurial/innovation strategy, and improve the level of corporate involvement.

Supported by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and its Entrepreneurial Support initiative, the project includes partner organizations:

BizStarts
BrightStar
The Commons
FaB Wisconsin
gener8tor

Scale Up Milwaukee
UW-Milwaukee
The Water Council
Wisconsin Super Angel Fund
and many more

In addition, MMAC also works with the Wisconsin Center for Commercialization Resources – a consortium of UW-Milwaukee, Marquette University and the Milwaukee School of Engineering – to improve the commercialization process for academic research and development from these world-class institutions.

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