Level Up!
The Level Up! Program is a 5-month program designed to help startups from Southwest Wisconsin grow and scale. The program is run as a partnership with WiSys VentureHome.
The Accelerator is appropriate for entrepreneurs with a business that is either pre-revenue or early revenue. We expect you to have a good idea of your market, the problem you solve, and who your customers are. Deadline to apply is June 24th, 2022
Miner Liner
Miner Liner lines empty mines with a recycled plastic coating, then fills them with coal ash. This solution tackles the problem of old mines becoming sinkholes while finding a use for coal ash waste.
Skillzboard
The Skillzboard™ platform gives climbers the opportunity to practice new maneuvers and test new setups in a simulated environment where a mistake won’t mean injury or death.
Bitesize Tackle
Bitesize Tackle, LLC is the home of the Miller Wobbler and has been around since the early 1930s! This lure is one of the best kept secrets when fishing for freshwater fish.
Vault
Vault helps sports bettors responsibly enjoy sports games and betting through educating and providing tools to help them save time, bet confidently, and win more!
Prototype Your Life
Prototype Your Life uses engaging activities in 15 minutes or less to help develop the soft skills that entrepreneurs need.
Sunset Glow
Sunset Glow makes the flaptail lure, a special musky lure designed to catch more fish.
Clopas Games
Clopas is a family-friendly game studio
Modern Community Events
Modern Learners Community Builds Strong Communities by helping leaders design and execute meaningful events.
Onstitute
Onstitute helps professors keep computer science and data science updated, available, and accessible for university students.
Foundation Fitness
Foundation Fitness and Nutrition creates the tools for a foundation of lifelong health and wellness.
Trinity Alarms
Trinity is a gunshot alarm system that quickly and accurately locates an active shooter in your building.
Meet our Summer 2021 Cohort
Our first cohort took place from June to August of 2021 with 12 promising companies. We had a group of tremendous mentors and guest speakers. Additionally, we were joined every week by Alex Friedman, the CEO and Founder of Talk Howdy, a Techstars company.
2021 Schedule
June 14 - June 18
Intro, Mission, Vision: We kicked off the summer accelerator with a session on Mission & Vision, as well as some startup fundamentals. Our guest speaker will be Greg Floyd, CEO and Founder of Shower Stream (pictured at top of page in black t-shirt), who will talk about transitioning from engineer to startup CEO.
June 21 - June 25
Problem & Target Customers: Startups succeed when they can tackle a problem that matters to customers. We'll go deep on understanding the problem and target customer in week 2. We will have a special session on marketing by George Krueger.
June 28 - July 2
Mentorship: Many startup founders attribute much of their success to mentors who shared critical insights from their experience and made important introductions. Our cohort will meet with mentors starting this week and learn the basics of being exceptional mentees.
July 6 - July 9
Assumptions & Competitors: Having a hunch or gut feel is exciting, but an unvalidated assumption can kill a company. We'll dig into assumptions about customers and competitors in week 4.
July 12 - July 16
Revenue, Customer Acquisition Costs, Cash Flow, Burn Rate: The success of a startup often comes down to one simple question: Do customers pay enough for a business keep afloat? We'll cover some basic but powerful financial concepts in week 5.
July 26 - July 30
Startup Culture & Cofounders: Investors aren't looking for clever ideas and cool features so much as a great team that knows how to execute. In week 6 we'll also look at how to launch a company with a great culture. We'll be joined by guest speaker Michael Fenchel, founder of 100State, Breathe For Change, and The Paradox Collective
Aug 2 -Aug 6
KPIs (Key Performance Indicators): Startups must have a way of knowing whether they are growing or stagnating. Figuring out KPIs and revisiting them on a weekly basis is a great way of doing just that.
Aug 9 - Aug 13
Investors & Pitching: If a startup wishes to scale they will need investors. Our final week is where we dive into the basics on angel investors and how to deliver a great pitch. We'll be joined by guest speaker Claire Siegel, founder and CEO of Flourish, to talk about her experience raising money from angel investors.