MILWAUKEE, WI – U.S. Bank in partnership with the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) presented 17 small businesses across Wisconsin with equity injections on Thursday as part of their “Journey to Growth” program. Award recipients, U.S. Bank executives, economic development partner representatives, WWBIC staff and dozens of other small business owners attended the presentation at Schitz Park in Milwaukee.
“We’re so grateful to U.S. Bank for their generosity and support of small business in Wisconsin through this program,” says Kathryn Dunn, WWBIC President and CEO. “By providing funding in the form of equity injections as well as training and technical support, they’re making a true impact in the lives of the small businesses we work with every day at WWBIC.”
The Journey to Growth program has been funded by U.S. Bank in an effort to help provide training as well as an equity boost to Wisconsin’s small business owners. On March 16, approximately 45 entrepreneurs started an 8-week online accelerator program where U.S. Bank and WWBIC provided intensive training on topics including cashflow, business credit, AI, marketing, financial planning, procurement, as well as one-on-one coaching with U.S. Bank mentors. At the conclusion of the accelerator, participants were invited to submit a video pitch. From those submissions, three winners were selected:
- 3rd place ($2,000) – VitaJug Smoothies, owned by Stephanie Castillo, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- 2nd place ($3,000) – Raising the Bar Catering, owned by Andrea Dennis, of New Berlin, Wisconsin
- 1st place ($5,000) – In the Garden of Eden, owned by Laurel Paschke, of Kenosha, Wisconsin
In addition to the accelerator and pitch competition, U.S. Bank provided funds for fourteen $5,000 equity injections as part of the Journey to Growth program to other WWBIC clients who received training and/or technical assistance across the state during the first quarter of 2026. These recipients are:
- Baeseman Consulting, Marathon, Wisconsin
- The Baker’s Connection, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Dane County Family Acupuncture, Madison, Wisconsin
- Driftless Healing, Viroqua, Wisconsin
- J.C. Santy Construction, Pulaski, Wisconsin
- JKP Properties, Kenosha, Wisconsin
- JustVeggiez, Madison, Wisconsin
- Nettle Witch Herbs, Madison, Wisconsin
- Partners in Grime Fox Cities, Appleton, Wisconsin
- Richmond and Associates, Janesville, Wisconsin
- Simply Gracen, Ferryville, Wisconsin
- Soft Lines, Ashland, Wisconsin
- True Skin, LLC, Elm Grove, Wisconsin
- Venerations, Herbster, Wisconsin
“This funding comes at a pivotal crossroads for my business,” says equity injection recipient Jenny Baeseman, Owner of Baeseman Consulting. “After a few years that included COVID, cancer, a brain aneurysm, and starting over, this support feels like exactly the right boost at exactly the right time. It’s the kind of momentum that doesn’t just help me keep going – it helps me finally get going in the way I’ve been working toward. It represents both validation and opportunity, giving me the confidence to lean into growth, take some smart risks, and bring [my products] to a much broader audience in a way that is both meaningful and sustainable.”
