Writing about tech from Milwaukee always feels like astronomy, everything seems to be happening somewhere else. Many local business do a great job of embracing tech, but not a lot seems to be invented here. I was pleasantly surprised to find a story about angel investing in tech startups in NPR centered around MIlwaukee.
NPR reports that there are over 20 angel investing groups in the state, and they're eager to invest in tech start ups. As an example the article talks about local start up, HarQen which offers a variety of tools for recording voice conversations and summarizing and annotating them. It's a neat project that seems well outside the social obsessed projects coming out of Silicon Valley these days.
The article correctly states that this is the way to rebuild the economy of the area into something sustainable and long term. Or as Tim Keane puts it, "All growth in this economy comes from startups." We've seen Governor Walker and Mayor Barrett spend a lot of time courting big employers in the state and even crafting legislation and real estate deals just to lure them in.
However if they began to realize the untapped potential of making Milwaukee and Wisconsin in general a magnet for small companies and start ups they can generate a lot of new and high paying jobs rather than kowtowing trying to keep jobs in the state. We need something new in this economy and it's nice to see our city getting a nod to our innovation.
Comments