WisBusiness launches “Talking Trade” video podcast
WisBusiness.com is launching a new video podcast called "Talking Trade,'' exploring trade issues affecting Wisconsin and the Midwest.
The...
WisBusiness: The Podcast with Kathy Henrich, Milwaukee Tech Hub
This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: The Podcast” features Kathy Henrich, CEO of the Milwaukee Tech Hub Coalition, created to boost technology growth in southeastern Wisconsin.
The Tech Hub launched on Monday its second cohort of FOR-M -- a free, three-month virtual workshop series that helps entrepreneurs solidify a startup idea. Henrich noted that anyone -- even outside of the Milwaukee region -- can join at any time.
The first cycle had 19 ideas proceed to become full time companies that are seeing success in the marketplace.
The virtual program includes instructional and mentor-based evenings intended to help individuals advance an idea into a viable business opportunity.
“We intentionally start with a large funnel of individuals… some will go forward… and others, as we’ve seen as a result of COVID, will actually switch and change ideas and change concepts, but continue to apply the education and the concepts they learned,” Henrich said.
This year, the Tech Hub will also continue supporting the businesses with office hours and resources. This cycle will also be virtual compared to last year, which Henrich said provides both...
WisBusiness: The Podcast with Nick Novak, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce
From beer to boats, from Harleys to Havarti, it's anybody's guess who could win the latest "Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin" contest.
The fifth annual competition hosted by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and Johnson Financial Group aims to highlight the state’s manufacturing industry. The industry employs one in six Wisconsinites, WMC’s Nick Novak said in this week’s “WisBusiness: The Podcast”
After receiving 150 product nominations, the first round of public voting will narrow it down to 16 that will enter a tournament style bracket. Head-to-head competitions until mid-October will determine the winner.
“There’s so many different products that we make whether it be small engines or metal fabrication or cheese processing or a brewery that makes beer here in Wisconsin, there are so many things in that list already,” Novak said.
COVID-19 has impacted every industry in the state in some way including manufacturing. But Novak said he hopes that this contest is an opportunity for manufacturers to tell their “good news story.” He noted that many manufacturers stepped up to move production lines to make personal protective equipment or medical equipment.
WisBusiness: The Podcast with DSPS Secretary Dawn Crim
This week’s “WisBusiness: The Podcast” features Department of Safety and Professional Services Secretary Dawn Crim.
Crim said many Black families have “the talk” where parents talk to their kids about policing and how to act around the police to avoid coming to harm. This summer’s events -- George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis and the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha -- put inequities in the Black community at the forefront for Americans.
“That’s been the awakening is many racial backgrounds, many people of all walks of life witnessing and seeing what can happen when things are inequitable and unjust,” she said.
The DSPS secretary has an extensive background in developing and promoting Black leaders. She leads the most diverse agency in the Evers administration, and Crim serves as the only Black woman in the governor's cabinet.
She said the social justice crisis happening now is an opportunity for businesses to look across their agencies and see if they are making the best decisions they can for the workforce and Wisconsinites.
“The way you can make some of that best decision is...
WisBusiness: The Podcast with Joe Boucher, co-founder of the Wisconsin Innovation Awards
This week’s “WisBusiness: The Podcast” features Joe Boucher, co-founder of the Wisconsin Innovation Awards. These awards aim to connect and showcase innovators throughout the state, across industries and organizations of all shapes and sizes.
Boucher explained that innovation is a word to describe creative ideas in all industries and generations around the state.
“We all have good ideas... and we talk to others in our field, but not cross pollinate,” he said. “So the goal is to bring people together from the whole state of Wisconsin who are innovative and creative.”
While Boucher admitted he can’t measure innovation in Wisconsin through the innovation awards, he can bring out the innovators and create a culture of innovation and creativity in the Badger State.
Wisconsin Innovation Awards announced 10 finalists earlier this month chosen from over 400 nominations. Three winners will be chosen in early October during a virtual event.
Years past, there were 30 finalists and 10 winners announced in an in-person event, but due to the pandemic, Boucher said his team decided to do it differently.
“Usually, we have...
WisBusiness: The Podcast with Boosted Chews Co-founders Kit Chow and Aditya Parihar
This week’s “WisBusiness: The Podcast” features Kit Chow (pictured left) and Aditya Parihar (pictured right), co-founders of Boosted Chews, a caffeinated chocolate startup.
Chow and Parihar, soon-to-be seniors at UW-Madison, are on the board of Transcend UW, a club that runs a “shark tank” for students. They developed the company in November 2019 after trial-and-error aplenty.
“We started with doing a caffeinated juice and realized that the juice that we wanted to make, nobody else wanted to buy,” Chow said. The duo worked with the Department of Food Science and gAlpha out of gener8tor before developing the chocolate chews.
After developing a product that fit their standards -- and the market’s -- they started selling the Boosted Chews in March, a week before the state’s Safer at Home order took effect. While this put a damper on their plans for in-person sales, Chow and Parihar adjusted to meet an online customer base, including a subscription option.
“We realized there were a bunch of people that would just buy repeatedly every month… We said well, if you’re just going to keep getting it, we can offer...
