Job Creation through Capital Donation

News

MJS: Wisconsin 'Angel' Investors Getting Earlier Starts

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Saturday, January 7, 2017

Shortly after selling agricultural machine maker Miller St. Nazianz Inc., John W. Miller jumped into a riskier endeavor: start-up investing.

"I could have gone anywhere after selling the company, but I decided I wanted to stay and build more in Wisconsin," said Miller, who sold Manitowoc County-based  Miller St. Nazianz in 2014. "I'm only 42, so I still have some interest in taking an informed gamble on things."

BrightStar Announces New Investments

December Press Release
Monday, December 12, 2016

BrightStar announces new investments
 
MILWAUKEE, Dec. 9, 2016 – BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation Inc. today announced that it has committed $550,000 to three new companies, Access HealthNet, Onkol, and Rent College Pads. The investments bring the BrightStar portfolio to 32 companies in less than three years of investing.
 

BizTimes: Crossing the Valley of Death

BizTimes
Monday, December 12, 2016

Alana Platt waits in a line at the back of an auditorium at the Monona Terrace convention center in Madison.

When it’s her turn, Platt takes her place in the spotlight, in front of a red curtain, and presents the Whitefish Bay-based company she’s been working on for the past year-and-a-half—a fundraising management tool for school districts called Classmunity.

There are 50.4 million students in the U.S. and it takes about $11,600 per year to educate each one. Many schools have to fundraise to meet these costs, but fundraising is disjointed and prone to fraud, she says.

Fall Ad Campaign

Fall Ad Campaign
Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Dear BrightStar friends:

Hopefully many of you saw the ads that we are currently running in the Milwaukee Business Journal, BizTimes and Wisconsin State Journal. For those of you that haven’t seen it, click the link below.  

This is the second year that we’ve run our “donor appeal” ad campaign. Our BrightStar donors wanted everyone to know how their donations are working to keep Wisconsin’s best and the brightest in our great state by investing in early stage startups that have the potential to create many good paying jobs.

Video: BrightStar Progress Update and Comments From a Few of Our Entrepreneurs

Informational Video
Monday, July 11, 2016

BrightStar has been very active investing in early-stage companies that are creating high quality jobs in Wisconsin. Below is a link to a video that will update you on our progress, and has comments from nine of the companies in our portfolio. We hope you'll take a few minute to give it a view!

Click here to view our video

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