Silicon Valley. New York City. Madison?
Okay, so while Madison (and Wisconsin in general), may not be the first locale that comes to mind among the big startup scene players, support for a vibrant startup community in Wisconsin is steadily gaining momentum. And UW Law alumni and the UW Law and Entrepreneurship Clinic are playing a critical role.
In 2009, the L&E Clinic formed to provide free legal services to help entrepreneurs and small business owners realize their potential and get off to the right start. Co-directors Anne Smith ’83 and Eric Englund supervise law students providing services ranging from business planning to trademark and copyright registration. L&E program graduates, in turn, often go on to start their own entrepreneurial ventures.
Two Law School graduates, Troy Vosseller ’10 and Joe Kirgues ’08, are co-founders of gener8tor, a startup accelerator program. UW Law connections don’t stop there: gener8tor has worked with a number of UW Law entrepreneurs, including Kelda Roys ’04, and Kyle Nakatsuji ’12. The graphics illustrate how gener8tor and the L&E clinic are transforming Wisconsin’s startup community.
— Karen Koethe
