Job Creation through Capital Donation

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BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation Celebrates five-year mark. Foundation also announces investment in Socialeads

Press Release
Wednesday, July 18, 2018

MILWAUKEE, July 18, 2018 - BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation this week celebrates the five-year anniversary of the foundation’s incorporation. In keeping with its unique mission of deploying donated capital into innovative, job-creating, early-stage Wisconsin companies, dubbed “venture philanthropy,” the organization has played a key role in the constantly developing entrepreneurial ecosystem throughout the state. 
 

Brightstar’s 2018 Hatch program starts off with two successful events---11 more planned statewide.

Press Release
Monday, June 11, 2018

MILWAUKEE, June 11, 2018 - BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation had a successful start to the 2018 HATCH entrepreneurial pitch program. HATCH is a rotating, high-energy idea pitch program designed to facilitate connections between prospective entrepreneurs and those within a community who support them such as industry experts, professional service firms, banks, non-profits, business leaders and investors.

BrightStar announces schedule for 2018 HATCH program

Press Release
Monday, April 30, 2018

MILWAUKEE, April 30, 2018 - BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation today announced the schedule for the 2018 HATCH entrepreneurial pitch program. BrightStar is expanding the program from one region in 2017 to three regions this year, with the assistance of an Entrepreneurship Support Grant from Wisconsin Economic Development Corp that will match BrightStar's expenses up to $65,000. 

BrightStar announces two new investments, releases 2017 annual report

Press Release
Thursday, March 29, 2018

MILWAUKEE, March 29, 2018 – BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation Inc. today announced that it has committed $100,000 to Cytometix Inc., d.b.a. Cmxtwenty, and $50,000 to GenoPalate Inc. Both companies are based in the Milwaukee area and have ties to the Medical College of Wisconsin.
 
During the past decade, Cmxtwenty developed a therapeutic pharmaceutical that is modeled after the body’s natural, pain-control chemistry. The result is a pain therapy that does not have the devastating effects of opioids and can be offered both orally and intravenously.

BrightStar announces new investments

Press Release
Tuesday, February 20, 2018

MILWAUKEE, Feb. 14, 2018 – BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation Inc. today announced that it has committed $260,000 to two companies, Inventalator Inc., dba Ideawake, Milwaukee, and ImageMoverMD Inc, Middleton. These investments bring the total of companies BrightStar has invested in to 40 in the four years since its first commitment in February 2014. These investments also take the total amount invested by BrightStar in Wisconsin early-stage companies to more than $6 million. 

BrightStar co-founder inducted into the Wisconsin Investor Hall of Fame

Press Release
Tuesday, November 21, 2017

MILWAUKEE, Nov. 21, 2017 – Tom Shannon, CEO and co-founder of the BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation, a unique philanthropic capital investment group, was inducted into the Wisconsin Technology Council's Investor Hall of Fame at the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium in Madison on Nov 15. Mr. Shannon was selected by a panel of 10 judges that included the five past Investor Hall of Fame inductees. 

HATCH pitch program winners announced

Press Release
Tuesday, November 21, 2017

MILWAUKEE, Nov. 21, 2017 – The HATCH Finale was attended by a crowd of almost 300 people who gathered in Stevens Point on Nov. 9. HATCH is a community-based startup pitch platform that aims to convert strong ideas into business plans that can help launch new companies. The program was a collaboration between BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation, which supplied funding and leadership, and NEWaukee, which contributed its experience and expertise in executing programs like this.

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