The producers of the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium are looking for cutting-edge companies from Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest to present at our Nov. 5-6 conference in Madison. Companies may apply to either the WAN track, a seven-minute presentation to investors, or the Elevator Pitch Olympics, a 90-second pitch to a panel of judges. For more information, follow this link.

Forty-seven angel and venture capitalists from five states attended the 2007 symposium.

The August edition of Venture Capital Journal covered Wisconsin in its "Off the Beaten Path" column in a story headlined "The Big Cheese." The five-page story concludes Wisconsin's strategies, investors and programs, such as investment tax credits and the Wisconsin Angel Network, are helping the state to make significant gains in building an entrepreneurial economy. Follow this link to more articles on Wisconsin.

Baird Venture Partners, which is rooted in Milwaukee, has announced a $170-million venture capital fund, which is expected to focus on health care, life sciences and business services. Follow this link to a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel story on the fund.

The Angel Capital Education Foundation, created by the Kauffman Foundation, recently issued a report on best practices for improving the early stage investment market. The report recommends that states direct their energies and resources toward building relationships, educating investors and entrepreneurs, and increasing the visibility of angel networks to entrepreneurs. In addition, the report recognizes involvement by science and technology councils and research universities enhance the effectiveness of these programs. The Wisconsin Angel Network and its parent organization, the Wisconsin Technology Council, are featured in the report. Follow this link to the complete report.

The World Stem Cell Summit, to be held Sept. 22-23 in Wisconsin, is a gathering of scientists, company leaders, ethicists, investors and more from around the world. The summit is being held in Madison, in part, because UW-Madison has assembled one of the world's strongest and most diverse stem cell research teams. Learn more about the summit here.

NanoMedex received an undisclosed amount from Kegonsa Partners.*
AquaSensors, a Silicon Pastures* portfolio company, was acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific for an undisclosed amount.
  *WAN Investor-member

Other News:
SWIB commits $40 million to alternative investments, read more.
Kegonsa Partners and the Wis. Dept. of Commerce teamed up to bring a Florida start-up to Wisconsin, read more.
UW-Madison team of researchers led by James Thomson received a $8.9 million stem cell grant, read more.
TomoTherapy received FDA 501(k) clearance for its new TomoDirect technology, read more.
Eighty-five Wisconsin companies made the Inc. 5000 list, read more.

Are we missing a deal or other news? E-mail info@wisconsinangelnetwork.com

Midwest U.S.-Japan Association Conference   Sept. 7-9, Milwaukee
NASVF National Conference   Sept. 10-12, Detroit
WIN-Milwaukee Surge in mergers and acquisitions   Sept. 11, Milwaukee
I-Q Corridor Investors' Forum - Video conference  Sept. 18, Madison
I-Q Corridor Investors' Forum - Video conference  Sept. 18, River Falls
WIN-Fox Valley Act 255: What's next?   Sept. 18, Appleton
WIN-Madison Special event: New center to be launched   Sept. 23, Madison
MidAmerica Healthcare Venture Forum   Oct. 1-2, Chicago
Commercialization: Is It Feasible? begins Oct. 1, Madison
WIN-Milwaukee Successful Entrepreneurs Investors   Oct. 9, Milwaukee
Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium   November 5-6, Madison
I-Q Corridor Investors' Forum - Video conference   Nov. 13, Madison
I-Q Corridor Investors' Forum - Video conference   Nov. 13, River Falls