Blogs - Propel Wisconsin Innovation

10 of the Best Social Media Tools for Entrepreneurs

Whether your company is just starting out, just starting to turn a profit or already on the verge of an acquisition, as an entrepreneur you’ll be constantly evaluating the tools that will help get your business to the next stage. Even if the ink on the business plan isn’t dry yet, you want to be armed with the social media tools that will play an important role in company communication, product and brand promotions, and business development for your start-up. Some of the tools in this list will… Continue

Added by Dave Neelsen on October 27, 2009 at 11:16pm — No Comments

A Model For Driving Economic Development in Younger Demographics

For the past two years Will Robus and I have been trying to determine the best way to approach the topic of entrepreneurship as it pertains to young professionals. As co-chairs of Madison MAGNET's Entrepreneurial Committee, we have explored several different types of events for this unique demographic. The current model is far from where we started, but has grown into… Continue

Added by Dale Beermann on October 23, 2009 at 10:22am — No Comments

Word-of-Mouth at It’s Best: Storytelling.

Everything old is new again, as the saying goes, and it’s certainly true about a communication tool that’s been around since the beginning of humanity. There’s no better way to convey ideas in a memorable way than to tell a story, either as part of your message or, sometimes, as the entire message. The ancient practice of storytelling, revived in recent years both as popular entertainment and as a powerful tool in business, is sure to play a valuable role in the currently hot practice being tou… Continue

Added by Dave Neelsen on September 25, 2009 at 12:00am — No Comments

Have you ever wanted to bring a new product to market or start your own business?

Ideas to Profits Conference "Innovation Across Generations" October 1-2, 2009 Chula Vista Resort, Wisconsin Dells The Wisconsin Innovation Service Center (WISC) out of the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater organizes an annual conference called "Ideas to Profits". This years targeted towards, technology entrepreneurs, independent inv… Continue

Added by Chris Nwakalo @CIKN on September 17, 2009 at 5:23pm — No Comments

Propel Wisconsin Innovation Convenes Board of Directors

It's an exciting time for Propel WI. For over a year we've been working to build an organization that cultivates the culture of entrepreneurship in the state of Wisconsin. With the announcement of our Board of Directors we have a new opportunity to accelerate our growth. The Board is made up of some of the most respected names among the entrepreneurial community here in Wisconsin. As such, they will play an integral part in facilitating the growth of programs that are in the best interest of ent… Continue

Added by Dale Beermann on September 3, 2009 at 9:38am — No Comments

Alternative Business Financing

Hi Everyone -- this is a great (free) talk tomorrow on the alternative business finance sources in Wisconsin. Tuesday, June 2 6:00pm - 8:00pm Business Finance Seminar Heartland Credit Union 6325 High Crossing Blvd., Madison FREE Register by e-mail shauna.rhone@wwbic.com or by phone (608) 257-5450 Overview: Learn about a variety of alternative business financing options from experts from the Small Business Administration, Madison Development Corporation, Wisconsin Housing & Economic Develo… Continue

Added by Ruth Rohlich on June 1, 2009 at 10:32am — No Comments

New to Propel - so parking "me" copy in a blog post

I'm interested in supporting any efforts towards fostering entrepreneurship in the region, thus I've joined this Propel ning community (and will be working to get a sense of what transpires here :) Very broadly, I'm into technology that can be built in high level programming languages that helps people collaborate, communicate, explain, or learn. I invent, design, or pull together whatever is needed to execute projects. I'm working independently right now (Q2 2009) rebuilding MediaLandscape (a… Continue

Added by Preston Austin on May 15, 2009 at 11:56am — No Comments

Last Two Weeks In Entrepreneur News: 4/26/09 - 5/9/09

Economy starts to show signs of hope, speakers say at forum - Green Bay Press Gazette May 7, 2009 The recession isn't over, but it might be ready to start ending. "The rate of decline has changed. It's not falling off a cliff," said Wade Rouse, economic outreach specialist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. "We are not out of the woods. We are… Continue

Added by Dale Beermann on May 11, 2009 at 1:30pm — No Comments

Last Week In Entrepreneur News: 4/19/09 - 4/25/09

Governor Doyle makes Wisconsin employment website, JobCenterofWisconsin.com, official site for recovery jobs - WisBusiness April 20, 2009 In a move to help the unemployed find work and get the economy back on track, Governor Jim Doyle today announced an executive order requiring all contractors and subcontractors involved in recovery projects to post job openings on JobCenterofWisconsin.com, Wisconsin’s Internet employment site th… Continue

Added by Dale Beermann on April 28, 2009 at 12:30pm — No Comments

What's With the Economy?

Being an entrepreneur I love to find different ventures to expand my business. However, being that my company is quite small and primarily managed by me, I can't make a living on it. I am graduating college and getting married in the next two months with no job or prospect. I can't afford to pay for more than two months of living outside of college and I have everyone nagging me to find a job. What if part of it is the fact I don't know what to do. Everyone continually wants to tell me what to… Continue

Added by Bryan Northey on April 23, 2009 at 4:20pm — 1 Comment

Last Week In Entrepreneur News: 4/12/09 - 4/18/09

Entrepreneurs need coaching - TheStar.com April 18, 2009 Struggling entrepreneurs, take heart. If your career goals are slipping away with the ebbing economy, it may be possible to stem the flow. "Some entrepreneurs have experienced tremendous loss during the past six months," says entrepreneurial coach Dan Sullivan. Read More...… Continue

Added by Dale Beermann on April 20, 2009 at 9:56am — No Comments

Last Week In Entrepreneur News: 4/5/09 - 4/11/09

Fox Valley's small business owners hope credit markets loosen up - The Post-Crescent April 9, 2009 New business owner Cindy Veit doesn't think she's asking banks to take on too much of a risk as she applies for a loan of at least $10,000. But after a few rejections, she's still peddling around to lenders her business plan, one that involves maintaining flagpoles and replacing tattered flags at commercial sites from t… Continue

Added by Dale Beermann on April 13, 2009 at 2:20pm — No Comments

Last Week In Entrepreneur News: 3/29/09 - 4/4/09

Metro Innovation Center provides incubator for University of Wisconsin-Madison entrepreneurs - WSJ April 3, 2009 A landmark Near East Side factory building has come back to life as a high-tech business incubator aimed at brewing the big ideas of University of Wisconsin-Madison students and faculty. The Metro Innovation Center is open for business — a sleek set of 10 suites equipped with the latest voice and data technology as well as two… Continue

Added by Dale Beermann on April 6, 2009 at 10:12am — No Comments

Last Week In Entrepreneur News: 3/22/09 - 3/28/09

Female entrepreneurs show a strong focus on goals - The Australian March 28, 2009 Jon Dobell, a partner at Ernst & Young and director of its Entrepreneur of the Year program, says female entrepreneurs continue to be well represented in its program. "We see this consistent pattern coming through, of women who have a strong focus on end goals," he says. "There's often a strong passion that comes… Continue

Added by Dale Beermann on March 30, 2009 at 3:20pm — No Comments

Last Week In Entrepreneur News: 3/15/09 - 3/21/09

Micro-loans for Americans? - CNN March 23, 2009 When the economic downturn took hold last autumn, the management team at non-profit Kiva.org made a calculated bet to curb investment, anticipating that donors would slow the volume of small loans they make to entrepreneurs in the developing world. That slowdown never came. Read Mo… Continue

Added by Dale Beermann on March 23, 2009 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Can you help me?

I have a simple survey for a product I am creating, if you could fill it out honestly it would make a big difference in my project for school! Thanks, here is the 5 minute survey link: Click Here to take survey Continue

Added by Nicholas Guenther on March 19, 2009 at 1:38pm — 1 Comment

Last Week in Entrepreneur News: 3/8/09 - 3/14/09

Here at Propel WI we'll be posting weekly summaries of important news for Wisconsin Entrepreneurs. Ideally this will be happening every Monday, so check back regularly to see what's going on. Last week's resounding theme in the news was based on the recession. The news was both good and bad. The idea of "forced entrepreneurship" has been showing up in several different media outlets. Janesville has been the center of focus here in Wisconsin. The bad news is that the… Continue

Added by Dale Beermann on March 16, 2009 at 8:30am — No Comments

Entrepreneurship Should Be a Requirement in Education, Not a Reason to Drop Out


Image by Image Zen

I'm growing more and more disturbed about some of the articles that I've seen denouncing a post-secondary education in light of starting your own company. The one that started it was an article about the… Continue

Added by Dale Beermann on March 12, 2009 at 9:00pm — 7 Comments

Get Found on Google Maps

Anytime I want to find something I turn to Google Maps. Yesterday I wanted to find a thai restaurant and BOOM! found a great one on Google Maps. Last week I needed a haircut and BAM! found one on Google Maps. The other day I wanted to make some copies and SNAP! found a great place on Google Maps. You get the idea. If you are a local business doing local stuff (pretty much any business) you need to list your site on Google Maps. It takes 1 minute to do.… Continue

Added by Rishi on March 10, 2009 at 11:30am — 6 Comments

Reid Hoffman: "Every individual is now an entrepreneur, whether they recognize it or not"

Reid Hoffman is the founder of LinkedIn and an investor in a ton of other companies including Facebook and Digg. He was on Charlie Rose last night and had some really interesting points about entrepreneurship, such as the one in the title. He also mentions how the stimulus package should address more entrepreneurial aspects, something I've been caught proselytizing about recently. For the full transcript, head over to… Continue

Added by Dale Beermann on March 6, 2009 at 11:55am — 2 Comments

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