Startup Milwaukee Week Announces 2020 Program, Goes Virtual

Milwaukee, WI – Startup Milwaukee Week, the largest entrepreneurship event in Southeast Wisconsin will return for a fifth year of programming on November 11 -18, 2020. The weeklong series of virtual events and programming aims to increase awareness surrounding the local startup ecosystem as well as inspire and equip the community to rally around the digital transformation taking place in the region.

Startup Milwaukee Week will feature over 30 events focused on connecting, educating, and celebrating high-growth entrepreneurs in Southeast Wisconsin. More than two dozen community partner organizations are leading the events and discussions that will provide training, skills, and development opportunities for participants. Key local partners for Startup Milwaukee Week include organizations such as The Milwaukee Tech Hub Coalition, P5, Visionary League, MWERC, UWM, Marquette University, Cardinal Stritch University, The Commons, Milky Way Tech Hub and MKE Food School.

“Startup Milwaukee Week provides a platform for entrepreneurs and the key stakeholders to come together, to learn, connect and drive meaningful and powerful change and transformation in the community,” said Matt Cordio, co-founder of Startup Milwaukee Week and technology recruiting firm Skills Pipeline. “Innovation and technology are vital to growing Milwaukee’s economy and creating new jobs, the programming occurring during Startup Milwaukee Week this year will continue to develop and strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region and move Milwaukee’s economy forward.”

Startup Milwaukee Week is supported by Husch Blackwell, Northwestern Mutual, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, The Milwaukee Tech Hub Coalition and Skills Pipeline.

The organizers of Startup Milwaukee Week view the annual event going virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic as a unique opportunity. “Going virtual gives us an advantage by enabling us to showcase Milwaukee’s startup ecosystem on a national level, anyone in the world curious about what’s happening in Milwaukee’s startup scene can attend our programming in 2020,” said Matt Cordio, co-founder of Startup Milwaukee Week and technology recruiting firm Skills Pipeline. “We’ve been able to secure prominent speakers and content from the country that might not typically be able to engage in Startup Milwaukee Week events in-person.”

Startup Milwaukee Week is part of Startup Wisconsin, an effort founded in 2017 that is focused on advancing and developing Wisconsin’s tech and startup ecosystems through unique programming, collaborative partnerships, and networking. The Startup Wisconsin network consists of several cities around the state who will simultaneously participate in Startup Wisconsin Week in November hosting over 100 virtual events. Some of the cities in the network are Beloit, Green Bay, Eau Claire, Madison and Sheboygan.

Some of the 30+ free, virtual events happening during Startup Milwaukee Week, November 11th – 18th, 2020 include:

Reverse Pitch Milwaukee – November 11th @ 3pm
Northwestern Mutual and Froedtert’s Inception Health will pitch startup founders on startup ideas they would like to partner with them on.

#StartupWI: Fundraising Friday – November 13th @ 11am
Will feature various VCs and Startup Founders from around the Midwest including Clara Sieg, Partner at Revolution Ventures, AOL founder Steve Case’s venture fund which has invested in Milwaukee startup Bright Cellars.

UWM: Business Model Canvas Mixer – November 14th @ 9:30am
UWM’s Lubar Entrepreneurship Center will host their annual Business Model Canvas Mixer events which engages dozens of students and community members in interactive ideation exercises.

The Rise of Startup Studios in Wisconsin – November 17th @ 11am
The Managing Directors of new startup studio programs including P5 Project + Milky Way Tech Hub Virtual Pitch Competition – November 17th @ 1pm
The two organizations will run a pitch competition that will provide $15,000 in cash grants to diverse startup founders.

To view, the full listing of Startup Milwaukee Week events and programming visit:

http://startupmke.org/week