Excerpted from Janesville Gazette
By Gazette Staff

The Janesville Innovation Center has signed leases with its first two tenants.

Novak Networx is owned by Robert Novak III and is focused on information technology consulting, web design and spam filtering services.

That’s Kinda Cool, a company that provides website templates for photographers and other boutique businesses, will move in later this month. It is owned by Andrea Rubash of Janesville.

Novak, also of Janesville, recently began his business in his home and decided the company needed additional space to grow. He said his business interests and client base are expanding and the center would be an ideal place to move his business.

“The JIC provides a professional environment to meet with clients, while also offering me access to technical and business support to assist in further growing my business in Janesville,” he said.

Rubash has been a web and graphic designer since 1998. She began her website template business in her home two years ago.

The new innovation center, she said, will give her an opportunity to converse with other start-up businesses in the building.

“Sharing space with other creative start-up business owners is incredibly motivating,” she said. “I look forward to developing my business using the expertise and technical assistance available to me through the JIC partnerships.”

“The JIC offers a wonderful opportunity for businesses looking to get started in Janesville,” said operations manager Mike Mathews. “We are pleased to have Novak Networx as our first tenant.

“We look forward to working with That’s Kinda Cool on developing its business plan and connecting Andrea with business support to encourage her business to flourish and grow.”

Read the full article.

 

 

PRESS RELEASE: April 3, 2013

MadREP, the economic development partnership for the eight-county Madison Region, announces Michael Gay as its Senior Vice President of Economic Development. Gay comes to this position with significant experience and a proven track record in economic development, having served most recently as Director of the Center for New Ventures at UW-Platteville and previously in the City of Madison’s Office of Business Resources. 

As Senior Vice President of Economic Development, Gay will lead regional initiatives related to entrepreneurship and innovation, business attraction, small business development, and target cluster advancement. He will oversee the creation of an international business development program for the eight-county region, working closely with efforts already in place through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. Gay will also play a key role in the implementation of the five-year Advance Now Strategy for economic growth. 

“Michael brings a diverse and relevant set of economic development skills to this role,” notes MadREP president Paul Jadin. “He is deeply connected within this region and has a visionary understanding of the important roles that public- and private-sector partners play in expanding, attracting, and starting businesses within these eight counties. He has a proven ability to plan and execute economic and business development initiatives, and will certainly provide tremendous value to the growth of this region.”

In addition to Gay’s previous leadership positions with UW-Platteville and the City of Madison, he has worked for MSA Professional Services and the former Wisconsin Department of Commerce (now Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation). He has also worked internationally in Bogotá, Colombia, and holds a number of professional affiliations and certifications, including the internationally-recognized Certified Economic Developer classification. Gay has a Bachelor’s degree in Public and Environmental Administration from UW-Green Bay and a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from UW-Madison. 

“I look forward to returning to the Madison Region and working with my peers in the eight counties that MadREP serves,” comments Gay. “I am eager to implement priority items from the Advance Now Strategy and am committed to collaborating with our partners as we pursue the economic growth of our region.”

Gay will begin his post at MadREP in May 2013.

ABOUT MICHAEL GAY

Prior to joining MadREP, Michael P. Gay, CEcD, served as the Director of the Center for New Ventures (CNV) at UW-Platteville from 2011-2013. The CNV was created in May 2011 to help the university and its expansive educational resources become more entrepreneurial, promote research, and increase grant relationships. Before his tenure at UW-Platteville, Michael worked for the City of Madison for over a decade as the Business Development Coordinator, serving as the official liaison between city government and the Madison business community. Michael’s time and resources were focused on technology transfer, innovation, and the creation of new economy employment centers and business incubators. Other various functions of his City position include brownfield redevelopment, marketing real estate, providing technical and financial assistance to small business start-ups, business retention and expansion, major employer attraction, and business district planning. Prior to working for the City of Madison, Michael directed an office of a private Midwest architectural/engineering/planning consulting firm (MSA Professional Services, 1993-2000) as well as administered business development programs for the State of Wisconsin Department of Development (now Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation).  

Michael holds the Certified Economic Developer classification (CEcD) by the International Economic Development Council.  He has a B.S. in Public and Environmental Administration (UW-Green Bay) and an M.S. in Urban and Regional Planning (UW-Madison). During his undergraduate and graduate studies, Michael spent several years in Latin America volunteering for various non-profits involved in low-income housing and human rights, micro-enterprises and microlending, and performing his thesis research on non-governmental organizations. Michael still speaks Spanish.

ABOUT MadREP

MadREP is the economic development partnership for the eight-county Madison Region with a vision to create a dynamic environment where people and businesses prosper. MadREP’s mission is a five-plank platform, which includes: 1) Advance economic competitiveness; 2) Advance innovation and entrepreneurship; 3) Advance human capital; 4) Advance the Madison Region’s story; and 5) Advance regional cooperation, leadership, and diversity. Through these five goal areas, MadREP and its partners aim to proactively and strategically position the region to take advantage of economic opportunities while preserving and enhancing quality of life. The Madison Region includes Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Rock, and Sauk counties.

Contact: Betsy Lundgren
blundgren@madisonregion.org | 608.443.1961

 

Excerpted from Wisconsin State Journal
By Karen Rivedal

Organizers will hold a groundbreaking ceremony at 1 p.m. Wednesday for a food business incubator at Northgate Shopping Center, 1113 N. Sherman Ave.

The 5,400-square-foot, $1.4 million building is to open in August. It will be built in the center of Northgate’s parking lot and will have five commercial kitchens, with equipment for baking, produce preparation and processing, deli prep and meat processing. The kitchens are to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for hourly rentals, with dry, cold and frozen storage space available.

Developed through the Northside Planning Council, the incubator is being funded by private donations and government grants, including a $345,400 Community Development Block Grant from the city of Madison and $45,000 from the Wisconsin Buy Local program.

Already signed up to use the incubator, which will be available for nonprofit and for-profit use, are Madison Area Technical College, local caterers, REAP Food Group and food cart vendors.

Read the full article. 

 

BizTimes Media LLC, in partnership with Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, the University of Wisconsin System, and Associated Bank, unveiled the inaugural edition of WisconsinBiz, a special magazine and website promoting Wisconsin as a place to do business. The mission of the publication is threefold:

1. To provide resources for Wisconsin-based businesses to grow in the state
2. To provide resources for out-of-state busniesses considering a move to Wisconsin
3. To help attract and retain top talent in Wisconsin.

The publication serves as a toolbox for economic growth, highlights why Wisconsin is such a great place to live and work, and provides plenty of statistical snapshots and photographs of the state.

View the full publication.

MadREP is featured on page 100. 

Excerpted from Wisconsin State Journal
By Judy Newman

After Epic, then what?

For a growing number of alumni of the Verona-based electronic medical records development company, the answer is: Stay in Madison and start your own company.

Not only is Epic Systems Corp. rapidly growing — at nearly 6,400 employees, up about 1,000 from a year ago — but it is indirectly contributing to the Madison area’s entrepreneurial nexus.

Five of the companies launched by former Epic employees in the past three years have created a total of nearly 400 jobs.

“That’s very impressive when you think about it,” said Ald. Scott Resnick, 8th District, a member of the city Economic Development Committee. “It’s a number that’s only growing.”

Some ex-Epic staffers have found there’s a market in serving as a consultant to Epic’s client hospitals. Others have gone off in different directions, starting companies that offer services such as organizing athletic events for children, creating a social calendar for friends to plan activities together, and setting up a pet licensing system.

The Epic alums are helping to spread a startup fever in the area. They also are fueling a cluster of health information technology businesses in Madison, one of which recently won a nationwide apps competition and participated in a health IT accelerator program.

Is all of this enough to become the city’s new economic engine? Resnick thinks so.

“Dell is to Austin what Epic could be to Madison,” said Resnick, vice president of Hardin Design & Development and co-founder of Capital Entrepreneurs, a support group for leaders of young companies. “Dell is located in Round Rock, Texas, 20 minutes outside of Austin, and was one of the leaders in Austin’s startup renaissance. Hopefully, Epic can do the same here.”

At least five Madison companies in the health IT field, established in the past three years, were founded by former Epic employees:

• Nordic Consulting
• Vonlay
• BlueTree Network
• CenterX
• Moxe Health

Read the full article.