WHO: The Doyenne Group and YOU
WHAT: The Doyenne Retreat: a multi-day, professional development, planning workshop
WHEN: Tuesday, February 21 – Thursday, February 23, 2017
WHERE: Hotel RED, Madison, WI

WHY:  It is an opportunity for you and your team to escape the day-to-day routine and focus on developing your next strategic move as an entrepreneur, team member, or executive. Whether you’re just launching your business, need to grow or expand to new markets, or it’s time to pivot and take your venture in a new direction when the retreat is over, you’ll return to work with a new sense of clarity, purpose and leadership.

At different points during the Doyenne Retreat, entrepreneurs, representatives from accelerators and financing institutions in the area, and other supporters of our entrepreneurial ecosystem, work 1:1 with attendees. They help identify key resources, partners and funding options for businesses to gain exposure, networks, capital and potential new business. This is a fantastic chance to build your network.

This is NOT a conference where speakers talk at you all day! This is a concentrated work session in a safe, constructive space. You and your team will roll up your sleeves and work hard (and play hard sometimes) while you’re here.  Through honest conversations about hurdles, goals and opportunities, entrepreneurs will gain a better understanding about what it will take to unlock their potential.

HOW:  In order to provide a personalized experience, we limit participation to 10 women-led ventures. Once accepted, ventures can bring a team of up to 4 members (male and female) to the Doyenne Retreat. The Doyenne Retreat costs $300 for up to four team members. Businesses can apply or be nominated by others to attend the event. Scholarships are available and all businesses are eligible to attend.

The Registration Deadline is Friday, February 10th.  The Late Registration deadline is Friday, February 17th. Registration and schedule can be found at http://www.doyennegroup.org/retreats.

CONTACT:  Amy Gannon / 608.620.3479

Don’t miss the Grand Opening of the meeperBOT Shop & Meeper Maker Space. The Friends & Family invite is from 10am-2pm on February 4th, open to the public afterward from 2pm-8pm. It will be a fun event with food, fun and lots of great maker activities for the kids – coding, building & driving!

Come see the one-of-a-kind Meeper Maker Space where kids will learn to code and build and even make BOTS! There will be activities every hour, including BOT Code, Brick Print and Hands-on BOT Build Kit exercises.

Visit our hands-on, interactive meeperBOT Shop where kids can Build-a-BOT and test drive the meeperBOT 2.0 with the new Controller App!

Learn more.

Bunker Labs Wisconsin, Inc. is now accepting applications for the 2017 Innovator Academy.  The program is designed for aspiring entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses, including working professionals who want to validate a business idea before disrupting full-time employment to pursue it.

Innovator Academy’s curriculum was designed to introduce new entrepreneurs and current business owners to “pressure test” their ideas, conduct customer interviews, and innovate their products by collaborating in teams to build their businesses and professional network.  The seven-session program held every other Saturday takes place at University Research Park in Madison.

The application deadline is Tuesday, January 31st. To apply, click HERE.

Economic development from the developers-eye view. Learn how you can get Main Street buildings up and running profitably. Three talks, three tours, three locally-sourced meals for the most needed conversations between the three parties that build city strength: private developers, city staff and concerned citizens.

What is Building Strength?

This 3-part series of conversations between participants and presenters has two principal goals – the first is an invitation to people with ideas, energy and wherewithal to generate income through property development in small Midwestern towns or larger cities’ neighborhoods. The second is a frank discussion of how city governments can go about partnering with small-scale developers to find alternative compliance paths that allow for productive city growth while ensuring citizen safety.

Steve Lewis, Craig Ellsworth, Conor and Rachel Nelan, and the siblings Erin Wallace, Ben Lembrich and Sarah Lembrich, invite you off the sidelines and into the game of economic development. They have renovated buildings in small cities and have filled them with thriving enterprises. This is a win for them, the tenants, and the little cities they are keeping vibrant.

Do not miss this rare chance to delve into city codes and ordinances from the developers-eye view, and to access the doers who can serve as a resource for you to get your own projects moving ahead with less risk and more chance for success. This is a time to access experienced architects and builders that develop our cities prosperous places:  learn, network, and invest in yourself and your community.  Conversations facilitated by Spencer Gardner and Beth Gehred.

Dates & Times

• January 27, noon – 4 pm, Fort Atkinson, Cold Spring Design, Craig Ellsworth and Conor and Rachel Nelan featured as well as Brian Juarez, building inspector for Fort Atkinson
• February 23, 8 am – 1 pm, Jefferson, Jefferson Area Business Center, Craig Ellsworth, and Steve Lewis plus many of his incubator tenants, featured
• March 8, 5:00 pm – 8:30 pm, Jefferson, Tea Tree Wellness Studio, The Lembrich family featured as well as Fred Walling, President of the Southwest Wisconsin Building Inspectors Association, and City of Delavan Building Inspector

RSVP online.

Join over 80 local businesses for the upcoming Sustainable Business Network Quarterly Breakfast Meeting, featuring Michael Mucha of the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District and Stephan Gilchrist of the Social Innovation and Sustainability Leadership Program at Edgewood College.

Leaders in sustainable business are often faced with emerging challenges and opportunities. Michael Mucha, Chief Engineer and Director of the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, will draw from his experiences in a broad range of change efforts to share the strategies and practices of Adaptive Leadership. Learn how to implement change in a dynamic environment, and join local professionals from diverse sectors at this quarterly breakfast meeting.

These quarterly meetings offer great networking opportunities and the chance to explore trends in sustainability as they relate to business with local business and thought leaders. Come to share ideas, hear stories, learn from case studies, and connect with other businesses interested in sustainability.

Networking starts at 7:30am with light breakfast and coffee. Program begins at 8:00 am. Learn more.