Contact: Tom Still at 608-442-7557
To register and learn more: www.wisconsintechnologycouncil.com/events/early stage
MADISON – Two speakers with national credentials will headline the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium, to be held Oct. 19-20 at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center.
Produced by the Wisconsin Technology Council and its partners, the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium will help emerging companies prepare to seek private financing. It will also include seminars for prospective angel investors, eight panel discussions and workshops for researchers seeking federal research grants. Keynote speakers are:
Winslow Sargeant is returning to Madison after successful private and public ventures. Sargeant, who earned his Ph.D. from the UW-Madison, has joined Venture Investors LLC of Madison as a partner after serving on the firm’s advisory board. From 1997 to 2000, Winslow co-founded Aanetcom, a start-up company with seed funding from Cisco Systems. In 2000, Aanetcom was acquired by PMC-Sierra for $900 million.
From 2001 to 2004, he was the program manager for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program on electronics innovation within the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Directorate. The SBIR program invests more than $100 million per year in seed and early-stage technology companies; Wisconsin companies annually win millions of dollars of competitive SBIR grants. Sargeant is a member of the board of directors of the UW Foundation. Sargeant will speak during the Oct. 19 dinner.
Jere Glover is the executive director of the Small Business Technology Coalition, a nationwide group of small high-tech companies. Glover is also an attorney with the firm of Brand and Frulla in Washington, D.C., representing small businesses. Drawing upon his experiences as CEO of several tech firms, Glover was a father of the SBIR program.
As counsel to the House of Representatives Small Business Committee, he directed hearings on small business and innovation that laid the groundwork for the SBIR in 1978. He was also the lead-off witness before Congress when the law was proposed and continues to be one of its most active supporters through SBTC.
Glover will speak during the Oct. 20 lunch. Tickets for either event are $65; full conference registration prices are listed on the web site.
