Winter may have descended on Wisconsin, but South Second was on ? Wednesday night at Wisconsin Inno’s inaugural 50 on Fire Awards.
Our 50 on Fire celebration identifies the state’s hottest companies, organizations and people across a variety of tech and startup industries. We announced the 50 on Fire winners a few weeks ago, and on Wednesday, we partied together and revealed the five Inno Blazers, each of which received an actual red blazer.
So, what’s an Inno Blazer? The Inno Blazers, selected by a panel of local judges, are the top companies or people trailblazing new paths and blazing the brightest among their peers.
The 2018 Inno Blazers:
Brad Hollister, CEO of SwanLeap: SwanLeap, a Madison logistics technology company, brings artificial intelligence to the supply chain. This year the company took the No. 1 spot on the 2018 Inc. 5000 list, an annual ranking of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S.
Bright Cellars: Based in Milwaukee, the startup raised $2.8 million in funding from Cream City Venture Capital and Cleveland Avenue, a food-focused venture fund founded by former McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson. Bright Cellars delivers wine to your door based on a machine-learning algorithm that picks brands you’re likely to enjoy.
Doyenne Group: This Madison-based organization supports women-led and women-owned startups. Its goal is to build entrepreneurial ecosystems that invest in the power and potential of women entrepreneurs through events, mentoring and other resources.
gener8tor: The Madison-based accelerator has launched several new initiatives in 2018. It revealed Project North, which aims to connect tech startups with major corporations in hopes of launching partnerships. It launched a new gBeta startup accelerator in Madison aimed at social impact companies and nonprofits. Additionally, it took its operations to the west coast when it launched gBETA Musictech in Los Angeles.
Scanalytics: The startup, whose headquarters are in Milwaukee, makes floor sensor technology to track and collect data on human movement patterns. It has more than 100 clients, ranging from Microsoft to SAP, and its technology has collected over 188 million impressions, otherwise known as footsteps. Scanalytics has also raised $3.6 million in venture capital funding, and plans to hire more data engineers by the end of this year.
And a huge thank you to our 50 on Fire sponsors: The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and the Medical College of Wisconsin.
