— A newly launched venture capital firm called VC 414 aims to invest in women and other underrepresented entrepreneurs.
The firm was established in January by venture capitalist and angel investor Jennifer Abele and former BMO Harris executive Raquel Filmanowicz. While the co-founders are continuing to raise dollars with plans to open the fund later this year, they’ve made some initial investments using their own capital commitments to get the ball rolling.
Speaking yesterday during a Wisconsin Technology Council event in Wauwatosa, Filmanowicz said the firm will invest with Black, Latino and Indigenous founders, as well as veterans, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ community and other women.
Along with financial technologies, the firm will be focusing on companies working with “tech-enabled” fashion, wellness and beauty ideas, as well as others. Filmanowicz also highlighted an opportunity to target businesses seeking contracts with government entities.
“We found that there aren’t many VCs kind of specializing in startups that have a govtech side to them, and we thrive in that environment … We can add a lot of value there,” she said.
Abele declined to share details on the target size for the fund, noting the firm’s strategy is evolving given national market trends.
“We’re reevaluating a little bit,” she said. “The fall of [Silicon Valley Bank] did not help anybody who’s raising funds, whether you’re a startup or a VC, it just is not a good market for that right now.”
Still, both co-founders said the firm is gaining traction with several early investments in companies developing social shopping applications, worker productivity programs and more. VC 414’s minimum check size is $200,000, and its first four investments were all for $250,000, Abele said. She added the firm’s maximum investment will likely be $1 million, but that will depend on the overall fund size.
Meanwhile, Filmanowicz said the firm is open to co-investing with other firms, though it will largely stay away from capital-intensive sectors like real estate. She and Abele have been meeting with other firms in Wisconsin and elsewhere to identify partnerships and new avenues for promising deals.
“We’ll lead a third of our deals, but part of our strategy is to reserve half of the fund for follow-on,” Filmanowicz said.
See more on the firm: https://vc414.com/
— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Kenneth Munson, CEO of Community Care.
The Brookfield-based nonprofit organization provides a variety of services to help its clients maintain an independent lifestyle longer, as an alternative to institutional care such as a nursing home. That includes help with hygiene, meals, transportation and rehabilitation, as well as providing dental and medical care.
Munson discusses trends affecting the independent long-term care industry, including workforce struggles and the state’s aging population. He said Community Care is facing hurdles both in finding caregiver groups to contract with, as well as in its own hiring efforts.
“It’s been an issue for a while, because of the demographics in many cases and because of the competition that pay has gone up in other fields. You know, a Kwik Trip or a McDonalds may pay more than some caregivers receive,” he said. “But the pandemic, there’s no doubt it has exacerbated the situation.”
He also shares his perspective on the long-term ripple effects of the pandemic on mental and physical health among Wisconsin residents.
“I certainly expect that we’re going to, in the next few years, continue to see needs that were unmet during the pandemic are going to lead to, unfortunately, some worse consequences,” he said.
Listen to the podcast here: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/wisbusiness-the-podcast-with-kenneth-munson-community-care/
See the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts: https://www.wisbusiness.com/category/podcast/
— Wisconsin groups including the Water Council are getting a $1 million federal grant to plan a “regional innovation engine” around water and energy resilience.
Dean Amhaus, president and CEO of the Milwaukee-based Water Council, says this regional project “could be a true game-changer” for economic development and helping businesses adapt to climate change and other challenges.
“We know businesses and communities are desperately in need of solutions to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change,” Amhaus said in a release. “With its strong water and energy solution companies and leading research universities, Wisconsin is uniquely positioned to provide those solutions.”
Funding comes from the National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Engine program. Applicants included the Water Council, the MKE Tech Hub Coalition, Wisconsin Technology Council, Marquette University, Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and Productivity, and Madison Region Economic Partnership.
After a two-year development period, these partners will apply for a 10-year, $160 million grant to launch the effort. This regional hub would span from Madison to Milwaukee, down into parts of northern Illinois and up to Green Bay and the Fox Valley area.
The partner groups are touting the region’s assets for such an effort, including established research universities, major companies in the energy and water technology industries and a strong manufacturing sector. Their plan will focus on developing private and academic research and development in these areas, building a “roadmap” for manufacturers and utilities as well as an inclusive workforce strategy, and other elements.
They plan to hold focus groups on these and other topics, expand “pathways within the investor community” to support these efforts, establish a talent development strategy and more, the release shows.
Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council, says his organization will work to leverage regional resources as part of the planning effort.
“Working with water is embedded in Wisconsin’s DNA,” Still said in a statement. “Those same roots run deep in manufacturing and its relationship to energy and water use. The nexus of the three will result in innovation that can address climate change, confront rising energy prices, create efficiencies and encourage private investment.”
See the release: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/the-water-council-wisconsin-wins-1m-nsf-engines-development-award-to-address-water-energy-resiliency/
See more details on the effort: https://thewatercouncil.com/nsf-resiliency-engine/
— The Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors is highlighting a “frustrating, vicious cycle” as a lack of inventory and low interest rates for current homeowners freeze the residential market.
“With little to no new construction of single-family homes or condominiums, and an overabundance of apartment construction, current homeowners cannot move because there simply is nowhere to move to,” GMAR wrote in its latest report.
April home sales in the Milwaukee region were 26.6 percent lower than in April 2022, according to the report. The group says residential unit sales will likely remain lower than last year’s figures through June, due to the “intense competition and record sales” seen in the first half of 2022.
Across the four-county metro area — Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties — 1,240 homes were sold in April. That number was 1,690 at the same time last year.
April home listings were also down 27.3 percent over the year, from 2,295 to 1,669.
Meanwhile, “empty nesters” and elderly homeowners who would typically be downsizing can’t find a smaller home to move into, GMAR says, while young families seeking more space are also stuck. And many first-time buyers in the area are also struggling to find a home, forcing them to spend another year renting, the report shows.
See the full report: https://www.gmar.com/resources/research-statistics/2023-housing-statistics
#TOP STORIES#
# U.S. probes alleged cybersecurity vulnerabilities at Rockwell plant in China
# A better whey? Researcher wants to convert cheese byproduct into eco-friendly plastic
# Health care a top issue for Wisconsinites, report finds
#TOPICS#
# AGRIBUSINESS
– Simple management steps for a high fertility cycle in your dairy herd
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=479&yr=2023
# CONSTRUCTION
– Final beam placed in crucial $456 million Wisconsin Center expansion project
– Local leaders celebrate ‘topping off’ of $456 million convention center expansion
– Construction begins on indoor gun range Mission94 in Somers
# ECONOMY
– Autism expert wants Madison bosses to embrace neurodiversity
– Should Wisconsin fund child care like it does roads? Here are some solutions to the child care crisis
# EDUCATION
– UW-Madison launches first American Sign Language program
– UW System president bans mandatory diversity statements in hiring
# HEALTH CARE
– Strengthening mental health support for Wisconsin farmers: A collaborative effort
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=481&yr=2023
# INVESTING
– Milwaukee-based logistics startup Renaissant closes $1.5 million seed round
# MEDIA
– ‘Jeopardy!’ champ Ben Chan on representing Green Bay, name-dropping Aaron Rodgers, raising the roof
# POLITICS
– Union reacts to Assembly Speaker Vos calling Act 10 “Act of the people”
# REAL ESTATE
– New $450M Kenosha downtown plan includes 1,000 housing units, market hall
# RETAIL
– Kohl’s shareholders re-elect board, ahead of first quarter call
# TECHNOLOGY
– The Water Council, partner organizations awarded $1 million to address water and energy resiliency
# TOURISM
– First look inside Deer District’s Trade Hotel, including its lavish presidential suite
# TRANSPORTATION
– Town of Lac du Flambeau mulls referendum that would pay tribe $1M per year to keep four roads open
# PRESS RELEASES
<i>See these and other press releases:
https://www.wisbusiness.com/press-releases/ </i>
MLG Capital: First-of-its-kind real estate divesting fund surpasses $1B in assets
