Celebrating 20 years of ‘growth, talent and impact

Rachel Kroeger

Staff

December 29, 2025

GREEN BAY – “Hundreds of entrepreneurs,” Vice President of Economic Development Lisa Jossart said, have graced the hallways of the Greater Green Bay Chamber’s Startup Hub since its founding 20 years ago.

To celebrate the business incubator’s recent milestone anniversary, the chamber invited members of the community to hear firsthand from some of the 50 businesses currently occupying the space.

Located on the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) campus at 2701 Larsen Road on Green Bay’s far west side, Jossart said the Startup Hub first opened in December 2005, with the goal of creating a space “where people with big ideas could come for help.”

“Over the years, that simple idea turned into something much bigger,” she said. “It became a gathering place, a launching pad, and, for some of our tenants, even a second home.”

Fielding more than 150 annual inquiries, Shane Kanneberg – director of entrepreneurship and start-ups for the chamber – said local entrepreneurs look to the Startup Hub for resources and support.

“The Startup Hub is intentionally a welcoming space where entrepreneurs can come with questions, get connected to resources, test their ideas and grow,” he said. “They are using the offices and manufacturing bays to develop products, engage customers and grow their teams.”

Beneficial examples of success

According to Jossart, businesses that begin in an incubator space have roughly a 90% chance of surviving more than five years.

“Without that support, the number falls to just 44%,” she said. “In the last two decades, we have celebrated with many businesses that graduated from this space and transitioned into the community and their next steps.”

Founded by Greg Maloney, Promoting Abilities – an Ashwaubenon-based program “designed to help disabled adults learn life skills to be more independent,” per promotingabilities.com – began its journey at the Startup Hub.

“I started out with an 181-square-foot space [in the Startup Hub], and what I love about this space is it allows you to grow naturally,” he said. “As my needs changed and I needed more resources, the Startup Hub was always there – helping me take the next step.”

Throughout his seven and a half years as a Startup Hub tenant, Maloney said he grew to need “five times the amount of space” he started with – eventually graduating out of the hub and into a location in the community last year.

“[Dec. 16 was] actually my one-year anniversary since transitioning out [of the Startup Hub],” he said. “I have a standalone space in Ashwaubenon… and that’s what this Startup Hub is all about. It’s about partnering with individuals and businesses and giving you the tools and resources to be successful.”

Promoting Abilities’ mission, Maloney said, is similar to the Startup Hub’s.

“It’s taking individuals who, [in our case], are disabled adults, developing them, believing in them, instilling trust and skills and talents into them and allowing them to grow,” he said.

The goals of both Promoting Abilities and the Startup Hub, Maloney said, focus on how to prepare participants for continued success following their time in the program.

Jossart said initiatives and programs like the Startup Hub are able to sustain themselves and grow because of the chamber’s community partners, including NWTC.

“This milestone anniversary also speaks to the collaboration and partnership between the Greater Green Bay Chamber and Northeast Wisconsin Technical College,” she said. “They have helped connect students, faculty, entrepreneurs and others in meaningful ways to blend business and education.”

Dean of NWTC’s College of Business, Michael Vander Heiden, said having the Startup Hub on campus provides benefits to both its tenants and the college’s student body.

“Students and Startup Hub founders have access to talent, research and mentorship, while fostering real-world connections to innovation and business creation,” he said. “[For] example…, in 2019, we had one of the Startup Hub members come to our IT class and asked them to design monitors to bring in data so they could monitor their equipment 24/7. [It was] a great experience, not only for the students but also for that business owner.”

Through the years, Vander Heiden said the Startup Hub and NWTC’s Entrepreneurship Program have successfully launched dozens of business ventures across industries “ranging from technology and manufacturing to education and creative services.”

“Each of these businesses strengthens our local economy,” he said. “We celebrate the past 20 years of the Startup Hub’s work as a beacon for bold ideas, a resource for those willing to take risks and a trusted partner in shaping the future of entrepreneurship in our region.”

Flexible growth, community cheerleading

Jossart said the 50,000-square-foot facility has office, general-use and manufacturing space for tenants to rent as they grow their businesses.

“We have individual offices, we have office bays, we have manufacturing bays – there is manufacturing happening right here in this building every day – but more important than the space are those who bring this to life,” she said. “This place has always been about connecting [founders] to mentors, to other entrepreneurs and to important resources, and it takes a special kind of person to make those connections happen every day.”

Though not every business will go on to be successful, Lisa Harmann, a former incubator program manager, said the “beauty” of the Startup Hub is that the space gave them an environment to try.

“It provides a safe and supportive environment, as much as possible, to reduce the risk of starting a new business,” she said. “It was an exciting and challenging opportunity to be surrounded by such driven individuals who had faced their fears and pursued their dreams of starting a new business, instead of sitting back and wondering ‘what if’ for years down the road.”

Offering shared equipment, “just below market rent,” conference rooms and free shared Wi-Fi, Harmann said the Startup Hub’s power lies not only in its amenities but in the community it offers entrepreneurs.

“Equally as important is that we offer a listening ear, a soundboard to bounce ideas off of and a cheerleading section to encourage them and to celebrate their successes together,” she said.

The Startup Hub’s flexibility, Jesse Valley – the Startup and Urban hub’s operations site coordinator – said, is what attracts business owners and founders across industries to the space.

“We have a wide variety of businesses here,” he said. “Anywhere from counselors… to accountants, realty groups, hypnotists, a church and engineers.”

Valley said the Startup Hub also offers a virtual office for tenants who operate out of their private residences and need a formal business address.

“They rent the space here as a temporary office they can use once in a while for meetings and working out of it,” he said.

Currently at about 70% capacity, Valley said the Startup Hub also provides businesses flexibility as they grow – with the caveat that their intention should be to eventually leave the nest.

“We have [incrementally raised] rent,” he said. “So, we heavily discount their first year, and then each year it goes up a percentage, 10-15% usually. Once they’ve hit five years, they’re [paying] about what the market would [offer]. So, at that point, every year you stay past that, you’re going above what a market-rate [payment] would be… They’re welcome to stay if that’s a necessity, but it gets expensive.”

To further assist entrepreneurs in establishing a permanent presence outside of the hub, Valley said the chamber has both internal teams and external partnerships to connect entrepreneurs with resources for things such as business insurance, additional funding and real estate opportunities.

“Shane is working on adding [more] programming right now,” he said. “We’re going to start doing a bunch of different trainings that will… help them set up for their business. Because a lot of people come in with a hope, a dream and think they just need space [to work].”

Though admittedly “kind of cheesy,” Kanneberg said the incoming programs, both within the Startup Hub and the Greater Green Bay Chamber itself, are rooted in the organization’s belief that “our net worth is in our network.”

That’s why, new in 2026 and “for the first time in history,” Kanneberg said any business granted space in the Startup Hub will receive a complimentary, five-year chamber membership.

“We recognize part of growing a business that is truly greater is being an engaged member of the chamber,” he said, “so this is keeping with our commitment to elevate our businesses through growth, talent and impact.”

For more on the Startup Hub and the Greater Green Bay Chamber, visit greatergbc.org.