Tech Summit brings funders, founders together

MaryBeth Matzek

Contributor

April 3, 2024

GREEN BAY — Imagine getting 20 minutes to present your business idea to a series of potential investors as you seek funding to take your idea to the next level.

That was the case for 59 emerging companies from across the state last month at the 11th annual Wisconsin Tech Summit held at Lambeau Field.

Organized by the Wisconsin Technology Council, the goal of the event was to bring together major firms and emerging companies in a setting that allowed them to meet and explore potential business relationships around technology needs and innovation.

Working under the assumption that large and small companies travel in different “orbits,” even if they’re in the same business sectors, Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council, said they rarely cross paths by chance.

To help foster this type of communication, Still said the summit featured pre-scheduled, 15-minute strategic meetings between major firms and emerging companies — allowing both parties to learn more about the needs and developments of the other.

“They are like speed dates,” Still said. “I get more excited every year about what we see here.”

Seventeen investors were in attendance, including Google, TitletownTech, Schreiber Foods, Exact Sciences, Faith Technologies, CliftonLarsonAllen, Johnson Controls, Oshkosh Corp. and J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, just to name a few.

Andrew Verboncouer — a partner and CEO at Headway, a digital product agency in Green Bay — was on hand to help guide emerging entrepreneurs as they engaged with major firms during and after the event and said the focus was making that initial connection.

“The biggest thing coming out of (the summit was to decide) whether or not you want to book another call or meeting — (it was) about establishing that first contact,” Verboncouer said. “It’s all about alignment and how you can help a company with its pain point. Be honest about what you can do.”

Cordero Barkley, a founding partner at TitletownTech, praised the founders at the event for their “courage.”

“For funders, remember these companies are in their early stages,” he said. “The meetings (were) all about looking for alignment — (not to) push something that’s not there.”

Barkley also said investors “bet on the founder and their idea” when deciding whether or not to provide a cash infusion.

Verboncouer said it is also important for founders to know how and when to pivot, if necessary.

“Founders need to quickly adapt to a changing market,” he said.

The summit, Verboncouer said, provided them with opportunities to further that knowledge.

In addition to the individual meetings, he said the summit featured various presentations for investors, founders, economic development professionals and others in attendance — all focused on helping support entrepreneurial growth in the state.

Pitching dos and don’ts
Though asking for money is never easy, two investors shared with event attendees that what they look for extends far between just the financial ask.

The first meeting between an investor and founder, John Horne of the Idea Fund of La Crosse said, provides both sides with an opportunity to size each other up to see if there is a good fit.

“We’re investing in a person, and we want them to make sure they understand their risks,” he said. “When we ask questions, be open and honest. If you’re not, we will all find out soon enough.”

Jennifer Abele of VC414 in Milwaukee said first meetings are just that — a meeting, and founders expecting to walk away with an immediate investment will be disappointed.

She said VC414, which specializes in providing capital to startups founded by women and other undercapitalized backgrounds, asks founders to fill out a worksheet to see if they are a good fit before any meetings are held.

“The first meeting is exploratory,” she said. “We want founders to present in such a way that we want to know more. We also think ‘is this someone we still want to be working with 10 years from now? Can I put this person in front of a CEO I know and can they make the sale?'”

Horne said founders should have a “hook” that will attract the investor’s attention.

“Be concise in your elevator pitch,” he said. “One thing founders should not do is walk in and say ‘this is it, take it or leave it.’ That may work for some, but not for us. We are trying to get the sense of the person and acting like that does not leave a good impression.”

Abele said founders who try to over-explain or talk over her team will find VC414 is not interested in their venture.

“We focus on executive presence,” she said. “Show up on time and be respectful of our time. Also, wear business casual attire. You’re a CEO, look the part.”

Where does AI fit??
One significant topic of discussion at the summit was AI.

Buckley Brinkman, executive director and CEO of the Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and Productivity, said AI can change industries — including the state’s largest: manufacturing.

Brinkman said according to its most recent Wisconsin Manufacturing Report, 51% of manufacturers said AI has nothing to do with their business, and 40% said they plan to use AI as another piece of technology.

Trey Taylor, director of digital innovation with Fairbanks Morse Defense of Beloit, said his company has already invested heavily in AI and uses it to improve how the company services the engines it makes for the U.S. Navy.

“We can put on our (virtual reality) goggles and look at an engine to see what is wrong with it and then how to fix it,” he said.

Brandon Beard, company president with DuxxBak Composite Decking in Green Bay, said his company also uses AI but started slowly with downloading Chat GPT and using it to help answer questions.

“AI is not going away,” he said. “Manufacturers need to get started with it. Downloading Chat GPT and seeing how you can use it is a good place to start.”

Beard said he has plans to expand his company’s use of AI — including, for example, a chatbot on its website that could help answer customers’ questions.

Beard said to accomplish this, the company inputted information about its products into a database and used a large language module to help the chatbot answer questions.

“No one reads an owner’s manual anymore,” he said. “If you have a problem with your refrigerator, you’re going to YouTube to solve it, not the owner’s manual. We want our site to have tools like that to help people.”

Taylor said AI can also help Fairbanks Morse Defense save time by helping to solve problems remotely.

Instead of sending a repair person out to a ship to look at an engine, he said, the company can use AI and mixed reality to help a person on board fix the problem.

“Customers like having the ability to fix a problem themselves,” he said, adding that his team did a lot of upfront work to make sure it was the right tool for Fairbanks Morse Defense and it was providing the right answers. “By using AI, we can lower industry maintenance costs.”

Beard said he thinks companies that do not use AI are “foolish” to ignore it.

“The power and value it brings — it makes sense for a company to invest in it,” he said. “Ignoring it is like saying an abacus is better than a calculator.”

That being said, Beard said, AI isn’t infallible.

“Don’t use it blindly,” he said. “People can easily tell when Chat GPT is writing your emails. Use it where you will see the most ROI.”

Both Beard and Taylor said AI will eventually affect the workforce and how it is deployed.

“I think we will see radical shifts in the next five to 10 years as those working in the trades will see more throughput,” Taylor said. “They will be able to increase manufacturing production, allowing America to be competitive again when it comes to costs.”

Beard said he believes using AI will lead to more manufacturing jobs and more people will be attracted to them — in turn, increasing the number of younger people in the trades.

Utilizing resources
Joey Frayne, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.’s (WEDC) technology investment manager, said Wisconsin’s Qualified New Business Venture (QNBV) program provides tools that benefit investors, businesses and the state’s economy.

Early-stage businesses developing innovative products or processes can apply to the WEDC for QNBV certification.

Then, Frayne said, when an angel investor, angel investment network or a qualified venture fund invests in them, the investor is eligible to receive a tax credit equal to 25% of the invested amount.

Joey Frayne, the technology investment manager for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., discussed state programs that entrepreneurs and investors can use at the Wisconsin Tech Summit. MaryBeth Matzek Photo

“Innovative Wisconsin start-ups looking for equity investors benefit from this program since it makes investing more attractive,” he said.

Frayne said the QNBV program was created in 2005.

To qualify, a company must be based in Wisconsin and 51% of its workforce must be based in the state.

Technology development loans from the WEDC, Frayne said, are another tool investors and founders can utilize.

Companies providing high-tech or innovative solutions with national or global market potential, Frayne said, are eligible to receive the loans, which evolve to their needs as businesses move through their development cycle.

WEDC financing, he said, is limited to 20% or less of an identified project or funding cycle.

Frayne said the Capital Catalyst Program — which makes seed funds available to organizations and communities looking to stimulate entrepreneurship — can also help founders.

The WEDC, he said, provides matching funds ranging from $50,000 to $500,000 to approved communities and organizations that manage a seed fund to provide capital to high-growth startups or support research and development to commercialization efforts.

“These funds are managed locally, and the organization can provide grants, loans or investments in startups and innovative small businesses in their service area,” he said.

Founders, Frayne said, can also utilize the WEDC’s Entrepreneurship Partner Grant — which is awarded to eligible nonprofits so they can provide funding support and technical assistance to startups.

“There are tools out there from the WEDC that can help others support funders,” he said.