Firm’s owners fund fellowship for entrepreneurship students

Owners of a Madison information technology recycling business have given the School of Business $100,000 to help students learn about entrepreneurship.

Neil and Jessica Peters-Michaud, co-owners of Cascade Asset Management, will give $20,000 yearly for the next five years to support a graduate student in the school’s entrepreneurship program.

Neil Peters-Michaud, the company’s founder and chief executive officer, says he is grateful for the education he received while he was a student in the business school’s Weinert Applied Ventures in Entrepreneurship (WAVE) program.

As an MBA student, he developed a business plan with the help of a fellowship from UW System and also received seed money from the WAVE fund to help start his business.

Since he graduated in 1999, Cascade Asset Management has grown into a $3 million company with 35 employees. It is a nationally recognized leader in the safe disposal of electronics, such as computers and monitors.

Cascade’s success has made it possible for the Peters-Michauds to buy out the WAVE investment and offer a fellowship.

“It is gratifying to see students graduate, start new ventures and succeed,” says Assistant Professor Gerard George, who directs the school’s WAVE program. “Although it is early in their entrepreneurial careers, Neil and Jessica are already giving back to the university and the entrepreneurship program. We are happy to be able to offer this generous fellowship to an outstanding graduate student. Fellowships like these help us recruit the best students and raise the national visibility of our program.”

Peters-Michaud requested that the fellowship be named in honor of his great grandmother, Grace Michaud.

“My great grandmother,” Michaud says, “can be an inspiration to students looking to take the plunge into entrepreneurship.” He noted that she was unusually enterprising for a woman in the early- and mid-1900s. Neil and Jessica, who is the firm’s president, hope this fellowship provides support to allow other women to explore the opportunities of entrepreneurship.

Grace Michaud began her career selling shoes in a small business with her husband and later built her own home heating-oil-distribution business. She became a prominent business leader in her community and one of the first successful woman entrepreneurs in her industry. Extremely active in local civic affairs, she received many awards, including the distinguished service award from the area Chamber of Commerce.

For information on applying for the Grace Michaud fellowship, contact Belle Heberling at the School of Business, bheberling@bus.wisc.edu.