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2014 Mentor Wish List

For 2014 one of Startup Milwaukee’s goals is to accelerate the growing startup community in Wisconsin.  One of the best ways that already established companies can help boost our startup eco-system is to provide mentors.  Your company can benefit from providing mentors to local startups.  These benefits include: 1)   Exclusive access to new ideas and technology.

2)   Inside knowledge of innovative Milwaukee companies.

3)   Personal development for you staff.

  1. Cultivate leadership skills.
  2. Encourage the entrepreneurial mindset.

4)   Social recognition to greater Milwaukee community.

  1. Public relations opportunities.
  2. Sponsorship opportunities.

5)   Access to potential new customers.

6)   Give back to the community.

The ability to act as a mentor will benefit your employees and our state as a whole.  In order to make lasting economic growth in Wisconsin we must foster an environment where innovation thrives.  Consider providing a mentor for one of the areas listed below in 2014.  To be part of the mentorship program in 2014 please e-mail Tim Grove at: Tim@startupmke.org

 

Startup Milwaukee Mentor Wish List
Law
Intellectual Property
Incorporation
Contract
Business Development
Customer Validation
Strategic Partnerships
Lead Generation
Negotiation
SEO/SEM
Lean Startup
Design
User Experience
General Design
Creative Direction
HR
Hiring Decisions
Insurance
Benefits
Management
Funding
Pitching
Financial Models
Selling
B2B
B2C

 

About the Author

Steve Anderson is an entrepreneur who lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Currently he is the CEO of Snapifeye. Steve has a masters degree from the Wisconsin School of Business and is a previous winner of Startup Weekend.

PKWARE is hiring a Human Resources intern

PKWARE, an established Milwaukee technology company with an entrepreneurial spirit is hiring a Human Resources intern. The intern will be primarily responsible for performing HR generalist duties in support of the VP of HR.

Roles and Responsibilities:

  1.  Monitors PKWARE career website and updates as necessary.
  2. Applicant data entry.
  3.  Schedules phone conversations between candidates and the VP or HR or with the Hiring Manager.
  4.  E-mails interviewing candidates appropriate paperwork.
  5.  Schedules on-site candidate interviews.
  6. Assists with post interview processes.
  7. Updates federal and state postings, as required.
  8. Completes miscellaneous HR clerical tasks.
  9.  Identifies and assists in the selection of job fairs, social networking sites, colleges and internet sites.
  10. Maintains recruiter activity log.
  11. Supports the Vice President of Human Resources in other projects and activities as needed.

Education:
Current student enrolled at a four-year college or university preferred with a minimum 3.0 GPA.

Experience:
Minimum one year prior professional office experience

Key Skills:

  • Time management
  • Knowledge of recruiting technologies and job portals
  • Knowledge of HRIS and Microsoft Office Suite; internet software; human resource systems.      
  •   Ability to write effective and well-written e-mails and routine reports
  •  Networking

About PKWARE: learn more about PKWARE at PKWARE.COM

How to Apply: Email resume and cover letter to Tammy McCormack at   tammy.mccormack@pkware.com.

Startup of the Week: Penrod Software

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Penrod Software is a consulting firm that provides expertise in business analysis and software development for companies implementing CRM and Big Data. Penrod specializes in working with health insurance carriers and agents to develop and create software to help provide customers with better prices and services.

Located in the Historic Third Ward, Penrod recently added an office addition to reach 2500 square feet in office space. Milwaukee’s tech scene and local university talent has allowed the company to grow 400% year-over-year. Working with the Milwaukee School of Engineering and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Penrod provides students with opportunities to learn and grow with their company.

Joe Taylor, one of Penrod’s co-founders, says the company “couldn’t be happier with the direction the city is headed in.” We couldn’t agree more.

Key Facts:

  • Founders: Joseph Taylor and Chris Widmayer
  • Founded: 2011
  • Employees: 9
  • Funding: Self-funded
  • HQ Location: Third Ward - 219 N. Milwaukee St. Suite 3E, Milwaukee, WI 53202.

For more information about this startup, visit PenrodCRM.com.

Featured Startup of the Month: Okanjo

Okanjo (oh-kahn-jo), which means “checkout” in Japanese, connects buyers, sellers and communities with the things they care about. Headquartered in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward, Okanjo launched on February 1. The site is a national platform, like eBay, with the locality of Craigslist, featuring a secure transactional platform. Okanjo also makes giving easy by providing sellers the opportunity to donate a portion or all of their proceeds from sales to any cause that they care about. To start selling easier and buying happier, visit www.okanjo.com.

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Startup of the Week: Small Shops United

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Small Shops United is a member-based program supporting locally owned and operated businesses in the community. We provide a consumer-friendly multi-merchant rewards platform customized to fit each merchant’s specific needs, while offering consumers the convenience of just one card to earn rewards at shops all around town. Cards may be obtained from any participating merchant location, and then registered online at smallshopsunited.com to setup a member account.

By providing each merchant consistent hardware using NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, merchants gain quick access to a member’s account in order to add or redeem credits in the most efficient manner. We are currently developing additional features for both the consumer and merchant interfaces on albuterol inhaler price the Small Shops United website, including data metrics and a local promotions platform. Become a fan on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to be among the first to learn of new developments.

Key Facts:

  • Founder: Eric Tallmadge
  • Founded On: 06/2011
  • Employees: N/A
  • Funding: Bootstrapped
  • HQ Location: Milwaukee, WI
  • Website: smallshopsunited.com

Startup of the Week: ZoomShift

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Employee Scheduling Software

ZoomShift helps small businesses operate better by giving them an easy way to schedule and communicate with their employees. With ZoomShift managers can create and post schedules quickly, and send email and text message notifications to everyone in the group. Employees are then able to sign in and see when they work, trade shifts with other employees, make availability requests and communicate with the whole team from anywhere at any time.

ZoomShift is positioned as a simple solution to a complex problem and serves restaurants, retail stores, universities, customer support teams, volunteer organizations and many other small businesses - including Chick-Fil-A, Sonic, Plato’s Closet and Little Caesars to date. ZoomShift uses a freemium model to give groups a chance to try out the software for 30-days risk free. After the trial ends, groups can continue using ZoomShift for a monthly fee based on the number of employees in the group. Any group with five employees or less can use ZoomShift for free forever.

Recently, Zoomshift launched a new, fully mobile, responsive version of their software. They’ve seen an uptick in sign ups, including free trials from software giants such as Google, 37Signals and SquareSpace.

Startup of the Week: Golf Pipeline

Golf Pipeline is quickly becoming the Facebook and OpenTable for the golf industry. Just as OpenTable did for the restaurant industry, Golf Pipeline offers golfers the ability to book tee times at their favorite local golf courses. And, using the power of social networks, golfers can invite their friends to play golf by selecting from fellow Golf Pipeline friends, Facebook friends, LinkedIn contacts or using a friend’s email address. Golfers can return to the website to track their scores, establish a USGA Handicap Index®, build a golf profile (which shows a golfer’s equipment and other preferences to Golf Pipeline friends) and see all golfer friend activity — who played where, what scores they posted and who became friends with whom.

Golf Pipeline has 350 golf courses available to book tee times at in 23 states, but heavily concentrated in Milwaukee, Chicago, Kansas City, Minneapolis and Detroit. However, the Golf Pipeline website is able to be used by any golfer and for any golf course in the United States — public or private. For golf courses that don’t yet offer tee times on Golf Pipeline, a golfer can manually add their tee time (and invite their friends to join) and post their score. Check out this great addition to your golf game. It’s FREE to join and once you do, you can use the social features to invite your golfer friends into your Golf Pipeline network!

GE Healthcare Global Design Challenge

We’re looking for new ideas from new people to help us build them! 

Wanted:  Fresh, Milwaukee area communications and creative agencies with the talent to help us build and deliver powerful messages for our global brand. Interest in underground initiatives, where ideas are in early proof of concept phases, is a must.   

We will pitch to YOU! 

We are experimenting with a new way to develop relationships with innovative, creative firms. We want you to get to know us and for us get to know you in an open format. We will immerse you briefly in our work and methods, reflect on your observations, and lay out the details of our impending projects. 

May 23 (If you have what it takes, you’ll make it in. For now, hold the date)

10am-1pm

GEHC Global Design Studio, Waukesha, WI 

Interested?
1. Send us a brief description of your firm with contact information. 

2. Link to some of your work
3. Email us the name(s), including a 1 line description, for 1-2 people from your firm that would attend the session in May. 
4. In a few words answer the question, what is your firm’s self-described style and why is it unique? 

Do this by May 10. Mail to Laurie.Schroeder@ge.com Subject: GD Challenge

We will review your interest and select several firms to participate in this first session. Notifications will be made by May 15.

Who is Global Design?
Global Design is a comprehensive, cross-functional design organization within GE Healthcare spread across 6 world class studios in 5 countries.  Our core mission is our responsibility to create breakthrough innovations for GE across all phases of patient care while driving design & design culture across the corporation.  We believe in gaining insights and empathy through cross-industry fertilization and experiences, and as such we actively seek to engage non-healthcare GE businesses to incubate new ideas and connections.  

Announcing our Mentorship Program!

We are excited to announce the launch of the Startup Milwaukee Mentorship program!

The program is designed to support entrepreneurs who are starting technology and technology-enabled service businesses in Southeastern Wiscosnin by connecting entrepreneurs to mentors from the entrepreneurial, corporate, investment and academic communities.

If you are an entrepreneur or mentor who would like to participate in the program, click here!