FRI AM News: WisBusiness: the Podcast with Craig Dickman, TitletownTech; DOR projects employment growth to slow in coming years

March 14, 2025

— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Craig Dickman, managing partner for TitletownTech in Green Bay.

He discusses the venture capital firm’s recently announced TitletownTech Startup Draft, a nationwide pitch competition coinciding with the 2024 NFL Draft that’s offering a $1 million investment to the winning entrepreneur.

“First time the NFL has ever hosted the draft in Green Bay, and so it’s just a great opportunity where there will be hundreds of thousands of people and hundreds of media outlets here, covering Green Bay,” Dickman said. “And we hope to show some of the innovation that’s taking place right here in Titletown and in the Upper Midwest.”

The application deadline is this Sunday, and up to 10 finalists will gather in Green Bay in early April for the “Startup Combine.” This event will give them the chance to pitch to prospective customers and work together with potential advisors.

The winner will be announced in a live broadcast April 24, several hours before the NFL Draft begins. Along with the $1 million investment from TitletownTech, the winner will also get other resources from Microsoft and the opportunity to collaborate with partners at the Microsoft AI Co-Innovation Lab in Milwaukee.

Dickman notes the contest is limited to startups that haven’t taken more than $10 million in capital, reflecting the firm’s focus on early-stage companies.

The VC firm — which is backed by the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft — is seeking applicants for the contest that are developing “emerging technologies” in key industries for Wisconsin, such as advanced manufacturing, supply chain and logistics, water, energy, digital health and sports.

“Those are really the sweet spot for TitletownTech, and so we’re certainly focusing and prioritizing those types of industries, because that’s where we can really unlock the unique power that’s the TitletownTech ecosystem and really help a company build,” Dickman said.

The podcast also highlights what firm leaders are hoping to hear from participating startups, the importance of building a sustainable enterprise and incorporating new technologies, the economic impact of the NFL Draft and more.

“Certainly it’s going to be the biggest event that Green Bay’s ever had,” Dickman said.

Listen to the podcast and see the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts.

Get more information on the competition here.

— Wisconsin’s employment growth in 2024 was behind the national rate and is forecasted to continue slowing over the next several years, the state Department of Revenue projects.

The agency yesterday released its February economic forecast, which shows state employment rose by 0.9% in 2024, compared to 1.3% growth at the national level.

“Despite continued labor market expansion, there are clear signs of cooling,” report authors wrote.

State employment growth is expected to fall to 0.4% in 2025, 0.2% in 2026 and “very minimal growth” for the next two years after that, according to the report. That roughly follows the national trend, with U.S. employment growth expected to hit 1.1% in 2025, 0.4% in 2026 and “near zero” in 2027.

DOR says state job growth in 2025 will be driven by education and health services, leisure and hospitality, trade, transportation and utilities, construction and other services. At the same time, manufacturing and information sectors “are expected to weigh on employment,” authors wrote.

Meanwhile, personal income in Wisconsin increased by 3.7% in the third quarter of 2024, above the national rate of 3.2% and the rate for the Great Lakes region, 2.8%. While property income — such as rental income, dividends and interest — had lower growth, net earnings and personal transfers were “the main drivers” of income growth for state residents.

See the report.

— Wisconsin’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.2% in January, though the state also set a new record for total nonfarm jobs with 3,053,300.

That’s according to the latest update from the state Department of Workforce Development, which shows state unemployment rose from 3.1% over the month but remained below the U.S. rate of 4%.

Meanwhile, the state labor force participation rate was unchanged at 65.9% in January, above the national rate of 62.6%.

And to reach the new record, total nonfarm jobs increased by 5,700 over the month and 20,900 over the year.

Scott Hodek, DWD section chief at the Office of Economic Advisors, says it’s too early to tell how the Trump administration’s policies such as tariffs are impacting the state economy.

“We’re seeing a lot of volatility overall, and we do expect that there are going to be impacts,” he said yesterday during an online briefing. “There generally are every time there are tariffs. One would expect, given historical studies of tariffs that have been placed in the past, we’ll probably see rising prices and that tends to have a dampening effect on the overall economy.”

Sector-level impacts will depend on how long tariffs are in place and whether affected businesses will be passing on costs to consumers or “eating those costs themselves,” Hodek said.

See the release and watch the briefing.

— February home sales in the greater Milwaukee area were lower than expected, even for what’s typically a slow month for the region.

The Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors yesterday released its February report, showing 937 sales for the month across Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties. That’s down 3.9% or 38 sales over the year, the report shows.

GMAR says “only eking out 937 sales is less than would be expected considering the demand that exists.”

Because demand in the region is strong but supply is limited due to a lack of new construction, home sale prices continue to rise. The average sale price was up 15.5% over the year in February, rising from $347,872 to $401,827.

Still, the group says a 0.4% increase in listings for the month is “encouraging” and marks the third month in a row of listings increasing. According to GMAR figures, listings have increased in 16 of the last 19 months, following “one of the worst periods of anemic listings … the market has seen this century,” referring to 2022 and 2023.

The area currently needs more than 5,200 more houses to meet current demand, but GMAR says there were just 2,151 permits for new construction across the four-county area through the end of 2024.

See the report.

Top headlines from the Health Care Report…

— Legislators at a Joint Health Committee public hearing questioned a Department of Health Services proposal to increase the fees for infant screening for congenital disorders.

And Dems at a contentious hearing strongly criticized GOP legislation to ban gender-affirming care for minors, saying doctors and families should be involved in those decisions.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

Sign up here.

Twin Ports bus service is a tale of 2 cities — and different funding levels

UW-Madison unions, employees worry about administrative centralization

TOPICS

ADVERTISING

– Beyond print: Quad/Graphics branches into promotional products

AGRIBUSINESS

– Wisconsin ag exports hit $3.97B – Gov. Evers boosts funding

CONSTRUCTION

– Construction of Medical College of Wisconsin cancer research center nears finish

– Committee backs more than $1 million in Green Bay ramp, bridge and water main projects

ECONOMY