This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Laura Strong, board member for Forward Festival.
Strong, a strategic advisor for Madison-based firm Archeus Technologies, previews next week’s Forward Festival — an annual celebration of startups and entrepreneurship held in and around Madison. The event series includes dozens of gatherings throughout the week, covering a wide range of topics from cybersecurity to AI and more.
“This is Wisconsin’s largest celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship, and we continue to expand every year and evolve, actually quite a bit,” she said. “This year, for example, we have a number of events around the more artistic, creative side of entrepreneurship — so improv, being an author, investing in art.”
One of the premier events happening next week is the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce’s Pressure Chamber competition, a pitch contest that gives startup leaders a chance to tell their story and earn a spot on an upcoming trip to Silicon Valley. Six finalists have been selected for the event, being held at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Majestic Theatre.
Of the more than 50 events happening next week, 42 are happening in-person, which is the most since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re really excited about that,” Strong said. “It’s great to have the online events as well, because it makes those more accessible … but having the in-person events, you get a lot more of those spontaneous connections.”
While some events are focused on a specific topic or trend, others are meant to facilitate social connections within the state’s entrepreneurial community.
Strong highlights the increased focus on artificial intelligence, noting “we as the Forward Festival don’t plan all of these events. We encourage people in the community to develop events around topics they’re interested in.”
Related events explore the impact of the technology on small businesses, how to develop AI-related skill sets and how to leverage human capabilities within this context.
See the full list of Forward Festival events.
Listen to the podcast below, sponsored by UW-Madison:
