Category: Business/Technology

Q: You own another company that has nothing to do with boats. What is it? A: It?s all entrepreneurship. After graduating with an MBA from UW-Madison in 2008, I became an owner of ProactiCare, a company that is developing a patient monitoring device to prevent pressure ulcers and falls. Since then, I?ve helped write the business plan, put together the company?s strategic direction, set up the marketing and sales program and raised seed financing.

Downtown leaders are joining Madison officials in a push to improve safety in response to violence ? especially brazen behavior with guns ? in the central city. Some of the things being considered include putting more police on the street late at night and on weekends, enacting tougher rules on loitering and panhandling, seeking more cooperation between police and bar owners, and a grassroots initiative asking residents and others to report crime and suspicious behavior.

Only five months after approving a request to make Segredo among the largest entertainment venues in Madison, the city?s Alcohol License Review Committee now will review the Downtown bar?s liquor license as police probe two gun-related incidents in the last month.

A woman who was among at least three people shot early Saturday outside Segredo on University Avenue said one of the shooters was a rap performer who recently invited and paid for her and others to go to the bar. Kristina McQueen, 26, a nursing student at Madison Area Technical College and mother of a 4-year-old son, said she was shot in the back while fleeing the gunfire police say came from shooters around 1 a.m. in the 600 block of University Avenue.

Madison officials are vowing more police presence and other safety measures after shots were fired into a crowd outside bars on the 600 block of University Avenue early Saturday morning. Mayor Paul Soglin said Monday that the city is doubling funding to $100,000 for the Downtown Safety Initiative, which puts extra cops on duty on weekend nights. He also said he?s exploring changes to the city?s loitering, behavior and panhandling laws. Soglin said the city is also acting to help rid neighborhoods of those who choose to plague residents with crime, drugs and violence. The city is employing neighborhood resource teams and law enforcement, he said.

This story stretches from a long ago Madison clothing store to this week?s finale of “Dancing with the Stars,” and if you think that?s a reach, you don?t have the proper faith in the mustard seed. Jennifer Connor, the star of our story, has all the faith she needs. So does Donald Driver, the Green Bay Packers receiver turned celebrity dancer, who plays a supporting role. Connor, 38, a state native and UW-Madison graduate, is proprietor of the Mustard Girl line of mustards, currently manufactured in Pleasant Prairie and available in some 750 grocery stores around the Midwest.

Citing a study showing that all net new job growth comes from young companies, a Madison biotech industry executive Friday urged Milwaukee-area business leaders to support bipartisan policies that promote innovation and entrepreneurship.

A heroin user who needed money to buy more of the narcotic allegedly stole a tip jar from a food cart on the UW-Madison Library Mall before being chased by a cart employee and eventually arrested by Madison police. Dustin Skinner, 21, Waukesha, was tentatively charged with possession of heroin, possession of drug paraphernalia and theft, according to a police news release.

The lost-and-found bin will be smaller if an idea by a UW-Madison graduate takes off. Zach Haller, a Minnesota native, has expanded his lost-and-found service into Madison. Haller, 28, who still works full time as a paralegal in Chicago, created Found in Town in 2011. The service provides an easy way for people who find lost keys, cellphones and other valuables to contact the owner through a website ? www.foundintown.com.

It all started with a $20 purchase of a large quantity of lab glass at the UW-Madison Swap Shop. “I wanted to start a business selling things on eBay,” said Rhett Roeth. He had no idea what types of glassware were in the box, but when he picked up the first item, he realized he was on to something. “I knew the piece would sell for more than $20, so I earned back my investment with one sale.”

The University of Wisconsin-Madison recognized alumni and faculty for outstanding entrepreneurial achievement. [See final item.]

Ignore the headlines about job losses. For guys like Forrest Woolworth, these are exciting times. Woolworth, 26, is brand manager at PerBlue, a mobile and social gaming software company based on Odana Road in Madison. Launched by a group of computer science friends from the UW in 2008, PerBlue has grown from five to 35 full-time employees. And it?s hiring still.

In an increasingly digital world, a company started by University of Wisconsin-Madison graduates has built an online support network for students with problems. Spill LLC encourages students at 30 campuses in the U.S. and Canada to vent, or “spill,” their problems on its website.

There is still construction work going on — but much of it is on the University of Wisconsin campus or at hospitals not subject to the property tax. A lot of Madison companies are finding work — just not in Wisconsin.

“Madison is the perfect location for this event,” said Mayor Paul Soglin in a news release. “The combination of UW-Madison, Madison College and Edgewood College in conjunction with startup entrepreneurs provides a great environment.” Startup Weekend Madison is the latest in a string of almost 500 similar events that have taken place worldwide, with another 200 in the planning stages, according to a news release from the organization. Developers, designers, marketers, product managers and startup enthusiasts are invited, as well as anyone looking to test the waters of starting a business.

Two young UW-Madison graduates who had a vision about what complications could result from life in the digital world ? after death ? have sold their digital estate planning company to a Swiss competitor. Entrustet, 30 W. Mifflin St., will become part of SecureSafe, an online data storage service founded by DSwiss, of Zurich. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

A cross section of community leaders said they like seeing Cieslewicz?s commentary. Founder and sole employee of Dave Cieslewicz and Associates ? the associate is his dog, Calvin, he said ? Cieslewicz also is leading an effort ? funded by local hospitals, the university and Madison Gas and Electric ? to revitalize the Greenbush and Vilas neighborhoods on the Near West Side. The broad goals are to start a community development corporation to help convert former student housing back to single-family homes, redevelop some areas with workforce apartments, and revitalize Regent Street, he said. As an adjunct professor, he?s teaching two courses at UW-Madison: Introduction to the City; and Politics and Policy of Green Urbanism.”I love the environment,” he said. “It?s a lot of fun to be around young, bright people.”

Imbed Biosciences Inc. has received a federal research grant of more than $326,000 to continue developing biologic dressings that could be used to prevent wound infections and promote cell growth and healing.

UW-Madison?s annual real estate conference on June 1 will explore ways to build workable national housing policies in a polarized political environment. Boasting industry, government and academic perspectives, the conference will feature high-profile speakers including Karl ?Chip? Case, co-founder of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, and Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. Organizers hope ideas shared at the conference will translate to policies and actions that could spur the lagging housing market and help generate stronger U.S. economic growth.