Marquette University will become the first university to host Launch Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Technology Council’s flagship startup and innovation conference, on Tuesday, Oct. 6, in the AMU Monaghan Ballrooms.
The daylong event will bring together entrepreneurs, investors, researchers and technology leaders from across the state to explore emerging companies, frontier technologies and the future of Wisconsin’s innovation economy. Provost Debbie Tahmassebi will welcome attendees to campus and open the conference.
Launch Wisconsin is the Wisconsin Technology Council’s new unified brand, combining its former Early Stage Symposium and Governor’s Business Plan Contest. The conference is designed to connect founders, investors, established companies and ecosystem partners working to advance innovation across Wisconsin.
“Marquette’s faculty, students and alumni are innovating and building companies that belong in this room,” said Dr. Kalpa Vithalani, executive director of technology transfer in Marquette’s Office of Research and Innovation. “Being the first university to host Launch Wisconsin puts them face to face with the investors, founders and partners who can help take their ideas from the lab to the market.” Vithalani serves on the executive committee of the Tech Council’s board and on the Launch Wisconsin conference steering committee.
The conference, which will run from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., is free for entrepreneurs and founders. Marquette students, faculty and staff can register for $49 (register as “student” to secure the special rate). Register online.
Following the opening session, attendees will hear from leaders in fusion energy, quantum technology and other frontier industries as they discuss why Wisconsin is an attractive place to build and grow technology companies.
Vithalani will also moderate a panel, “From Lab to Startup: Lessons from Wisconsin Founders,” featuring innovators who have translated academic research into commercial ventures. Panelists include Dr. Paige Peters, founder and chief technology officer of Rapid Radicals Technology, a Marquette startup that won the 2022 Governor’s Business Plan Contest grand prize, along with:
- Dr. Sanket Deshpande, CEO and co-founder of Dirac Labs, a UW–Madison quantum sensing startup developing an underground positioning system
- Dr. Eric Ostovich, co-founder of Built-N-Bioassays, a UW–Milwaukee startup helping detect chemical contamination in agriculture and water systems
- Dr. Christian Kastrup, founder of Syrina Therapeutics, a Versiti spinout developing self-amplifying RNA gene therapies
- Founders of startups from the Medical College of Wisconsin and WiSys are also expected to join the panel, pending confirmation
The conference will also feature the live finals of the Launch Wisconsin competition, where 12 early-stage companies selected through two rounds of judging will pitch their businesses to a panel of investors. The competition has awarded more than $3.1 million in cash and in-kind prizes since 2004.
After lunch, any entrepreneur, including Marquette founders, can take the mic for a two-minute open pitch, with no slides or advance sign-up needed. Founders can apply for Investor Intros, one-on-one meetings with investors from 15 investor groups.
Questions can be directed to Julie Johnson at julie@wisconsintechnologycouncil.com.
