WEDC: Madworks program gives UW startups critical support

Madworks Program Gives UW Startups Critical Support

Innovative summer program will provide legal advice, funding, mentoring to 11 entrepreneurs

MADISON, WI. June 13, 2014 – The University of Wisconsin Law School’s Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic—in partnership with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), the University Research Park and local entrepreneurs—is launching a summer accelerator program to help 11 promising entrepreneurs along the business development path.

The 12-week program, called Madworks at Campus, will offer valuable and timely assistance to participating startups by providing business development expertise and mentoring, office space, and up to $10,000 of seed funding. The program, while open to all aspiring entrepreneurs, focuses primarily on UW-Madison faculty, staff and students

The funding, which is made available through a $90,000 grant from WEDC’s Seed Accelerator Program, will be disbursed at the end of the program based on participants meeting pre-determined benchmarks.

In addition to the funding from WEDC, Madworks has secured commitments for in-kind contributions from several private sources, including the Bradley Foundation, University Research Park, and gener8tor. Local entrepreneurs also are providing mentoring for program participants.

The 11 participants were selected by a panel of experts from a field of nearly 70 applications. They are:

· 900dpi LLC, a company that eliminates the setup and support hassle that comes with building websites as a freelance web designer or developer.

· BlueTipz LLC, an ice-fishing hardware startup with smartphone-connected alerting device that lets you catch more fish faster.

· CleMetric, a business that combines the power of streams computing, machine learning and visual discovery to develop advanced data analytics software for healthcare operations management and medical research.

· ConfPlus Inc., which provides event mobile solutions to enhance the user experience for all event participants.

· Deneb Outdoors, an outdoor brand that is creating the next generation of outdoor products that are high performing, sustainable and cost competitive.

· ivMD (planned company name). This startup plans to make medical software that handles medical decision making for organ donors and other patients who are critically ill.

· Metamodeling Analytics LLC, which uses best-in-class analytics to significantly accelerate and enhance complex simulations.

· SELA Medical, a company that overcomes the limitations of current topical anesthetic applicators and offers healthcare providers a universal applicator with selectable spray options, enabling its effective use with both indirect and direct laryngoscopes as well as other airway visualization devices.

· VexDel, data analytics software for customer analysis

· ZeroNine, which makes attorneys more effective at prior art search through a unique approach to search and various workflow improvements.

· Zuntik, an online calendar distribution tool that allows user to create, upload and manage virtual calendars and share them with their community.

“Madworks will provide the UW-Madison campus and community with a comprehensive program to help create and support high-growth startup companies,” said Reed Hall, secretary and CEO of WEDC, the state’s lead economic development organization. “The objective of the program is to take dedicated entrepreneurs with great ideas, and link them with experienced mentors who can guide them toward establishing a viable business and advancing their growth potential.”

Anne Smith, director of the L&E Clinic, said entrepreneurs with the best proposals will demonstrate that they have undergone early stage problem-solving and have a deep-seated passion for their idea.

“This project is not for the weak of heart,” Smith said. “We’re expecting a full-time commitment on the part of our entrepreneurs.”

The program will be based in the MGE Innovation Center in University Research Park. Madworks will have about 1,000 square feet that will include offices, conference rooms, and work space.

Smith sees the accelerator as a win-win for the L&E Clinic: it fulfills the clinic’s dual mission of helping set businesses on the path to commercial viability, at the same time it increases the value of legal education for students. Students will begin working with the startups in the accelerator program and continue working with them throughout the year.

While the L&E Clinic now provides free legal services for upwards of 250 entrepreneurs and small businesses a year, six years into its launch, co-founders Smith and Eric Englund have learned that entrepreneurs need more than legal advice to ensure their ongoing success. Through the Madworks program, the clinic and its partners are offering more comprehensive services for their clients. And taking a long-view approach with clinics helps the clinic progress, too, they say

“We’re really interested in helping the next generation of Wisconsin businesses evolve—in creating an environment where entrepreneurs will stay in the state with their businesses,” Englund said.