By Carolyn Dunn
Just three years ago, the Greater Green Bay Chamber’s decade-long push to accelerate entrepreneurship had stalled. Longtime existing programs were underutilized, and the technology a new generation of entrepreneurs needed simply was not in place.
Led by new chamber Vice President of Economic Development Kelly Armstrong and a fresh team of players, a renaissance of sorts began. Today, the chamber boasts an entrepreneurial portfolio that includes a high-tech incubator filled beyond capacity, a bustling coworking space in downtown Green Bay and a new angel investor network that has already injected six startups with a total of $900,000 in capital.
“Existing businesses account for 80 percent of job growth in our community,” Armstrong says. “That leaves a substantial piece of growth coming from small business startups.”
Armstrong says the chamber wants to be the front door for entrepreneurs — helping them tap into all the resources available to them, set roots in the community and grow. “Right now, as you are starting your business, it might be you or a handful of employees, but we are investing in the hope that in 20 to 30 years we will see you hiring 1,000 employees,” she says.
At the center of the chamber’s renewed success is the Startup Hub, a 50,000-square-foot business incubator that was recently renovated and relaunched on the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College campus. It offers a centralized starting point for entrepreneurs and is configured into offices, office suites and manufacturing bays.
Along with the physical space, the Startup Hub advises businesses at every stage of development. Startup Hub Manager Ron Franklin serves as the first contact for business consulting.
“If you have an idea, we can help with a business plan, coaching and pointing you to funding,” he says. “And because we partner with organizations within the community, entrepreneurs have access to experts in banking, law, technology and more.”
In an effort to reach entrepreneurs at all points in the startup process, the chamber branched out from the cornerstone Startup Hub to create the Urban Hub and Tundra Angels. The Urban Hub is a modern coworking space and community located in the heart of Green Bay’s downtown, and Tundra Angels is an angel investor group housed in the Urban Hub. Together, the three are cultivating a thriving ecosystem for Green Bay area entrepreneurs.
Northeast wave
According to Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council, the infrastructure for young companies outside Madison and Milwaukee has grown tremendously in the last few years. He says many cities are doing well on the entrepreneurship front.
“Green Bay, Appleton, Sturgeon Bay — they are more robust than in the past. It’s not equally strong everywhere. but I am encouraged about what I’m seeing in Northeast Wisconsin,” he says.
While some communities, like Green Bay, have recalibrated their efforts and found momentum, others are in the early stages of reimagining entrepreneurship support programs.
Todd Nilson is one entrepreneurial visionary who brought his big-city experience to a small town but is facing a slower ramp-up than he expected. Nilson came to Manitowoc County almost five years ago after working in technology in Milwaukee. He opened the doors to his own digital strategy startup, Clocktower Advisors in Two Rivers, and looked to build a network of entrepreneurs.
“I was struck by the beauty of the lakeshore but was saddened by the struggles facing small businesses in the community,” he says. “In Milwaukee, I had been active in BizStarts, a group that brings entrepreneurs together for consistent networking, and thought it would be nice to have something around startups in this area. I started a local BizStarts and things were going well. Then the pandemic hit. I had to shut down the local group.”
But Nilson did not want to let go of his vision of strong entrepreneurship support. He connected with other local entrepreneurial advocates and started conversations with community and economic development organizations, including Progress Lakeshore.
Ann Flad-Jesion, director of entrepreneurship and business development at Progress Lakeshore, says community members like Nilson are vital to the success of Progress Lakeshore’s entrepreneurship programs.
“Todd was key in establishing our now-annual Level Up pitch competition and in building a network of entrepreneurs. We are using that momentum to rethink and expand the resources we provide to entrepreneurs,” she says.
Nilson emphasizes the importance of bringing together constituents interested in the topic locally and regionally. “We could all blaze our own paths, but why not build a road together?” he says. “Our collective goal is to build startup literacy because entrepreneurs don’t know what they don’t know.”
In the know
Andrew Schmitz is an entrepreneur who knew one thing he didn’t know: coding. While working as a consultant for a software company, Schmitz would moonlight on the side building training videos for manufacturing companies. He noticed inefficiencies with frequent video updating and had an idea for an app that would allow companies to create their own visual training content and make changes quickly.
“I’m not a technical founder. I don’t code. But I began by building a visual platform using low-code and no-code tools,” he says. “I then took that data and traction and recruited two technical experts.”
Schmitz and his cofounders launched Proceed.app in Appleton two years ago. He says his biggest challenge was his lack of experience launching a scalable company.
“It was important to find people to learn from, so I connected to resources through networking groups and by participating in regional and statewide pitch competitions,” he says. “I am a relatively young entrepreneur, but I can use that to my advantage. People love helping other people and are interested in helping a young startup.”
Start ‘em young
The Urban Hub in Green Bay has taken the concept of young entrepreneurship a step further with the launch of its Children’s Business Fairs. These reach out to young entrepreneurs with the goal of “validating the idea that they can create something and people will buy it.”
Emilee Rysticken is proof that young minds can produce solid business ideas. In 2016, the 14-year-old Two Rivers native took a trip to Europe, fell in love with the chimney cake and thought her hometown should have a doughnut cone shop, too. That idea sat in the back of her mind until her junior year of high school, when an offhand remark started her on the path to business ownership.
“The summer before my senior year of high school I was serving on the Two Rivers Main Street board and I casually mentioned that I always thought a doughnut cone shop would be great for Two Rivers,” she says. “The whole group was like, ‘Yes! You should do that!’”
By the time she entered her senior year, Rysticken had purchased a building on the main thoroughfare and began preparing for the opening of Scream ’N Conuts in June 2019. The doughnut cones were a hit, and Rysticken opened a second location in summer 2020.
Last fall, Rysticken purchased an old auto body shop in Two Rivers and plans to open The High Lift coffee shop and community gathering space in mid-2022. To help launch the new business, she entered Progress Lakeshore’s 2021 Level Up pitch competition and took first place. She went on to compete in the regional NEW Launch Alliance Pitch Event hosted by New North and repeated her first-place finish. Rysticken is just 20 years old.
Her advice to young entrepreneurs: If you are an entrepreneur and work hard to find resources, chances are you will. “Most importantly,” she says, “don’t let negative voices take over. Believe in yourself and just go for it.”
