In 2011, Capital Entrepreneurs companies created 121 full time jobs, 66 part time jobs, and raised $23.7 million in funding, all in a time when Wisconsin’s economy is struggling to grow. CE now is made up of 150 entrepreneurs who now employ over 200 full time and 100 part time workers. When I started CE in May 2009, I never thought our initial group of 10 entrepreneurs would ever grow to 150 members.
Since I first started traveling more in November 2010, Forrest Woolworth has taken over leadership of CE. He’s done an outstanding job finding sponsors, adding entrepreneurs, standardizing the membership process and adding additional events like Build Madison and CE Pitch Days. CE members have also been behind the Forward Technology Conference. Besides for Forrest, credit should also go to Justin Beck, Chris Meyer, Scott Resnick and the rest of the original CE members for making our founders group what its turned into today. I’m so proud to see Madison’s entrepreneurship ecosystem continue to grow and hope 2012 is even better than 2011!
From Forrest’s Capital Entrepreneurs 2011 Year End Review:
Capital Entrepreneurs companies are curing cancer, preventing suicides, and organizing community groups. They are making mobile apps and games used by millions, revolutionizing the digital music industry, making sense of social media, shaping some of the world’s largest brands, and much more. Capital Entrepreneurs companies participated in prestigious startup incubator programs including Y Combinator, TechStars, Startup Chile, and 94labs.
Over the last year, Capital Entrepreneurs companies were featured in news outlets around the globe. These included The New York Times, NPR, Mashable, TechCrunch, CNN, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, MTV, Sports Illustrated, AdAge, and more. Locally, Capital Entrepreneurs companies were the topic of two Isthmus cover stories, and were featured in the Wisconsin State Journal, Madison Magazine, and InBusiness.