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Center will contribute to entrepreneurs’ network

December 7, 2004

The Small Business Development Center at the School of Business will play a key role in the new Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Network announced by Gov. Jim Doyle.

The network is a collaboration between Wisconsin’s Department of Commerce, UW-Extension, Wisconsin Technical College System, WiSys Technology Foundation and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

The network is designed to:

  • work with entrepreneurs and businesses in all industries and stages of development,
  • provide business planning and access to capital and finance assistance and help with intellectual property and technology transfer issues, and
  • leverage existing public resources and those available in the marketplace, and help high-growth-potential businesses take their businesses to the next level.

The network is expected to assist more than 10,000 clients and help contribute more than $500 million to the state’s economy in its first year.

The business school’s Small Business Development Center will be both a regional technology-transfer and an intake center for the program.

Neil Lerner, the center’s director, says the network is an exciting step forward for economic development in the state.

“Funding the Wisconsin Entrepreneurial Network recognizes that new business development and growing existing small companies play a crucial role in economic development by creating quality, good-paying jobs,” Lerner says. “The coordination of all the players involved in this initiative will make sure that entrepreneurs from all types of backgrounds and all types of businesses will be served.”

The WiSys Technology Foundation, a nonprofit subsidiary of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation that protects and licenses inventions created by scientists at UW campuses outside of Madison, also will play a major role in the network.

The network will include four regional technology-transfer centers, 25 intake centers and 26 agriculture-based counselors. Regional centers are located at UW-Eau Claire, UW-Milwaukee, UW–Madison and the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay.