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Selling or Buying a Business? Don’t Miss Your Moment! Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019 | 7:00 - 11:00 am | Pfister Hotel Is now the right time or is it better to wait until after the next recession? Either way, you need the right tools and knowledge to make this critical decision. Selling or buying a business is complex and infrequent. Make sure you are prepared to maximize your outcome. The program includes a buy side and sell side panel of business buyers, sellers and industry experts followed by concurrent breakout sessions.
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Keynote Presentation:
Cynthia LaConte, CEO, The Dohmen Company, will provide an overview, perspectives and lessons learned from The Dohmen Company’s experiences in M&A. (1)
Panel Discussions:
Buy Side Preparation: How to Seize the Moment • Brian T. Baker, President & CEO, Sentry Equipment Corp. (2) • Sequoya Borgman, Managing Director, Borgman Capital LLC (3) • Jim Frings, President, G3 Industries, Inc. (4) • Derek Smith, Commercial Bank Exec, SVP, Old National Bank (5) Moderator: Molly Dill, Managing Editor, BizTimes Media (6) Sell Side Readiness: How To Prepare For Your Moment • Rick Blaha, President, Pak-Rite Ltd (7) • Dr. Aly Gamay - Gamay Food Ingredients • Nate Neuberger, Shareholder, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren S.C. (8) • Steve Peterson, Managing Director & Co-Founder, Bel Air Growth Partners (9) Moderator: Ann Hanna, Managing Director & Owner, Taureau Group (10)
Concurrent Breakout Sessions:
• Maximizing Company Value – Beyond EDITDA: You will learn about the current M&A environment and key strategies for positioning your company for maximizing value at the time of sale. • An Honest Discussion About Financing the Deal: This panel will discuss case studies, best practices, the do’s and don’ts, and the nature of banking relationships. • Avoiding Deal Killers…There’s Always Something: There are many aspects related to the buying and selling of a company. You’ll hear about some lessons learned and what works, and what to do to avoid “disaster” so the deal doesn’t “blow up”.
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g n i g n a Ch the tor y traje c COVER STORY
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Entrepreneurship organizations aim to revitalize central city
Special Report
21 Health Care & Wellness Coverage includes a deep dive into the Inception Health innovation program at Froedtert Hospital, and insights on how to find a workplace wellness program that works for your business.
4 Leading Edge 4 NOW BY THE NUMBERS 5 REV UP 6 GETTING THERE MY FAVORITE TECH 7 FROM CONCEPT TO COMPLETION 8 BIZ POLL WHO’S ON THE BOARD 9 STYLE 10 THE GOOD LIFE
11 Biz News 11 G ROUP SAYS TRADE WAR COULD COST WISCONSIN MORE THAN 37,000 JOBS. 13 MADE IN MILWAUKEE
14 Real Estate ZAK GRUBER/SATURN LOUNGE PHOTOGRAPHY
BizTimes Milwaukee (ISSN 1095-936X & USPS # 017813) Volume 24, Number 21, February 18, 2019 – March 3, 2019. BizTimes Milwaukee is published bi-weekly, except monthly in January, July and December by BizTimes Media LLC at 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120, USA. Basic annual subscription rate is $42. Single copy price is $3.25. Back issues are $5 each. Periodicals postage paid at Milwaukee, WI and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: Send address corrections to BizTimes Milwaukee, 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120. Entire contents copyright 2018 by BizTimes Media LLC. All rights reserved.
Contents
24 Hospitality & Event Planning 31 Strategies 31 MANAGEMENT John Howman 32 LEADERSHIP Christine McMahon
34 Biz Connections 34 NONPROFIT 35 PERSONNEL FILE 36 SBA LOANS 37 AROUND TOWN 38 GLANCE AT YESTERYEAR COMMENTARY 39 THE LAST WORD
Tune in! Sponsored by Cardinal Stritch University & Peggy Ann’s LifeMoves • www.projectpitchit.com
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NOW
Foxconn says it will move ahead with plant in Mount Pleasant By Arthur Thomas, staff writer After a week of headlines suggesting Foxconn was abandoning or at least reevaluating plans for an LCD display fabrication facility in Mount Pleasant, the company said it will move ahead with plans for a Gen 6 fab at the complex. The company said it reached the decision following “productive
discussions” with the White House and a personal conversation between President Donald Trump and Foxconn chairman Terry Gou. “Our decision is also based on a recent comprehensive and systematic evaluation to help determine the best fit for our Wisconsin project among TFT
BY THE NUMBERS Astronautics Corporation of America will move most of its operations from Milwaukee to Oak Creek, bringing
450 JOBS
to the former Master Lock headquarters at 135 W. Forest Hill Ave.
4 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 18, 2019
(thin-film transistor) technologies,” the company said. The announcement came after recent reports raised questions about Foxconn’s Wisconsin project. A recent report from Reuters quoted Louis Woo, special assistant to Gou, saying, “in Wisconsin, we’re not building a factory. You can’t use a factory to view our Wisconsin investment.” Woo said that rather than focus on LCD manufacturing, as originally planned, Foxconn wants to create a technology hub in Wisconsin that would largely consist of research facilities, packaging and assembly operations, according to the Reuters report. That report was followed by an article from Nikkei Asian Review that said Foxconn was suspending work on the Wisconsin project. Foxconn pushed back on those reports in statements that said it was evaluating what kind of TFT technology to produce in Wisconsin. The company also detailed a number of advanced manufacturing plants it plans to build in Mount Pleasant in the next 18 months. An LCD display fabrication facility was not included in that list. But then, two days later, the company said it would move forward with plans for a Gen 6 fab at the complex after consulting with the White House.
Over the next 18 months, Foxconn said it plans to build assembly, packaging and molding operations in Mount Pleasant. Building those facilities first would allow the company to ship components to Mount Pleasant for assembly while the fabrication facility, which would actually make the screens, is built. Getting operations up and running would help the company increase its employment in the state, allowing it to potentially earn payroll tax credits. Foxconn needs to have at least 1,820 employees in Wisconsin in 2020 to earn any state tax credits for job creation. The Gen 6 plant, however, is still a departure from Foxconn’s original plans. When the project was first announced, the company said it would build a Gen 10.5 plant to make the largest screens in the world. The larger screen market, however, has been plagued by oversupply in recent years. Foxconn said last year it would opt for the smaller screens of a Gen 6 plant, which also would not require a glass plant to be built on site The price of a 65-inch display coming from a fab has fallen from $408 in June 2017 to $223. Industry observers, however, say the price drop could have been anticipated with the number of display facilities that had been announced at that time. n
PROMENTIS PHARMACEUTICALS INC.
LEADERSHIP: Klaus Veitinger, chief executive officer, and Dr. Thomas Beck, founder and chief medical officer.
LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY
REV UP
H E A D Q U A R T E R S: Milwaukee W H AT I T D O E S: Pharmaceutical development for neuropsychiatric disorders F O U N D E D: 2007 E M P L OY E E S: 6 NEX T GOAL: Complete Phase 2 study for lead compound; embark on Phase 3 study. FUNDING: Nearly $31 million in investor funding raised.
Promentis Pharmaceuticals enters Phase 2 trials for impulse control drug By Molly Dill, staff writer
Klaus Veitinger, CEO of Promentis Pharmaceuticals.
TRICHOTILLOMANIA is a neuropsychiatric disorder afflicting about 1 percent of the U.S. population. Those with the condition pull out their own hair. After a promising Phase 1 clinical trial, Milwaukee-based Promentis Pharmaceuticals Inc. in December entered Phase 2 of clinical trials for a drug to treat the condition, which is believed to be exacerbated by glutamatergic imbalance and oxidative stress – factors Promentis’ compound targets. And Promentis has raised most of a $26 million Series C round of investor funding to fuel its next stage of growth, with Brookfield-based Golden Angels Investors among the contributors. Promentis’ lead compound, SXC-2023, has the potential to treat not just trichotillomania, but also a wide range of adult impulse control diseases, said Klaus Veitinger, chief executive officer. “Right now, the goal is to show safety and efficacy for our mechanism of action,” Veitinger said. “…because once you are there, there are a lot of options because this mechanism’s applicable to a whole host of psych disorders and even some neurological disorders.” Promentis was established in 2007 by Dr. David Baker, a Marquette University professor and associate chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences, and John Mantsch, the chair of Marquette’s Department of Biomedical Sciences. The company has previously raised a total of
$5 million from investors. Its technology, which was in-licensed by Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, must go through one more phase of development before it can be brought to market, which chief executive officer Klaus Veitinger estimates will be around 2023. “The one thing about our industry is it’s a little bit almost like building the next 747, so it’s…a big project, very complex, and you have to think it through from the beginning to the end,” Veitinger said. Promentis has targeted trichotillomania because there is nothing approved to treat it, and there is a clear medical need, he said. The company, which has most of its employees in Milwaukee and a couple in a Boston office, is also working to launch a parallel study on obsessive compulsive disorder, for which it would need additional funding, he said. When Promentis was founded, there was a lot of investor interest in psych drugs, but it died down over the past few years, Veitinger said. Now, that interest is emerging again. “Psych is always a tempting investment for investors because there’s a lot of unmet need,” Veitinger said. “But it’s also sometimes scary because a lot of things have to play out, so it’s seen as risky.” Long-term, Promentis is expected to either go public or have a merger event, he said. n biztimes.com / 5
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BIZTIMES MEDIA – Like us
GETTING
THERE
How has your experience prepared you? “I have a myriad of different types of experience within the real estate industry, so that was one of the reasons I was previously asked to serve on the board for MLKEDC. I also have a pretty extensive background in human resources management, so all these things melded together. I previously provided pro bono services to the organization when it came to different real estate needs or negotiations.”
What drew you to the role? “It really was a fluid transition for me because I had worked before as a board member. What really attracted me is it’s a multidisciplinary role. You’re dealing with the transactional side of things, as well as the people side of things, as we get more involved in community organizing at a grassroots level.”
Challenges you’re looking forward to? “Our new initiative is called MLK Village, where we’re working closely with the neighborhood association, which is headed by Betty Speed. We’re working with her and her group to get more involvement from community members, whether that’s residents in our developments or commercial tenants. We’ve been hosting meet and greets and we’ve been working with Safe & Sound to decrease crime in the area.”
Favorite thing about Milwaukee? “A lot of what I enjoy doing is centered around the creative arts. A lot of times I’ll catch a show at the Marcus Center. I also love the art museum and the Milwaukee Public Museum.”
NICOLE ROBBINS Director of housing and real estate development MARTIN LUTHER KING DRIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP. AGE: 37 HOMETOWN: Brown Deer EDUCATION: Bachelor’s in business administration from Marquette University; Juris Doctor from University of Wisconsin Law School; Associates in Commercial Real Estate program certification. PREVIOUS POSITION: Court commissioner for Milwaukee County Circuit Court.
6 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 18, 2019
MY FAVORITE TECH SUSAN CORKUM Susan Corkum is the owner of Purloin Studio, an art gallery, coffee shop and bookstore in Menomonee Falls. The gallery showcases and sells the work of about 70 artists who specialize in mediums including oil painting, pottery, digital art, jewelry, photography and glass. Both personally and professionally, Corkum uses her favorite tech tools to operate her business more efficiently and stay focused at work.
iPHONE “My business includes 70 artists represented in the gallery and all are given my iPhone number for contacting me. It also works great for suppliers and customer emails. I use it for taking quick photos in the gallery. When customers are looking for information, I can send it out from anywhere.”
FACEBOOK “Facebook was the first app I used for promoting the gallery before I had a website. It was an easy site for everyone to use and provided me with a free advertising outlet. A few years ago, I started using its ‘boost’ option, which is another inexpensive way to advertise, though you need to understand who you are targeting and for what distance. Otherwise, it is money not spent well.”
INSTAGRAM “Instagram is a fun way to interact with potential customers and new clients. I like the fact that it is image-based. As an art gallery, we are all about imagery. I have found new artists and clients through this app.”
WORD SEARCH “I use Word Search when I need some downtime. Simple and easy to use at work, with puzzles from easy to difficult. Five to 10 minutes of that and I am focused again.” n
from
CONCEPT
Harley-Davidson LiveWire to
COMPLETION 2010: Keith Wandell, Harley’s chief executive officer from 2009 to 2015, previously worked at Johnson Controls Inc. Drawing on his experience in the company’s automotive battery business, he pushed for Harley to begin investing in electric vehicles. Olin said a small team of engineers started working on it, but the technology needed to advance.
It has been nearly a decade in the making, but Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson Inc. will sell its first LiveWire electric motorcycles this year. The bike has a suggested retail price of $29,799 and is now available for pre-order. It has an estimated range of 110 miles in urban traffic. A standard household outlet will add 13 miles of range per hour, while a DC Fast Charge station will provide full range in less than an hour. It also goes from zero to 60 mph in less than 3.5 seconds. John Olin, chief financial officer of Harley-Davidson, said that while LiveWire is more sustainable than internal combustion models, that’s not the main driver for developing it. “It’s one badass ride,” Olin said. “It is about the excitement of riding it. It is like being shot out of a cannon.”
1 2
2014: Harley introduced Project LiveWire, a prototype electric bike that had a range of 53 miles. With styling designed to remind people of the classic Harley racing profile, more than 30 units were made and customers took thousands of test rides.
2019: Harley announced the start of LiveWire pre-orders, with a nearly $30,000 suggested price. Olin said dealers will need to invest to be able to sell LiveWire and it won’t be available everywhere. Pre-orders will inform production numbers and the company plans to err on the side of limiting supply.
5
4 2018: Harley started the year by committing to launching an electric bike within 18 months. In July, it unveiled an $825 million plan to “change the trajectory” of its business, including production of LiveWire and two additional electric concepts. In the fourth quarter, Harley unveiled the production of LiveWire in Milan.
3
2014-2018: From the initial test rides, Olin said Harley learned people wanted LiveWire, but they wanted it with twice the range and half the price. Improved battery technology brought prices down and Harley made improvements to the battery pack for better performance. Other improvements included cellular connectivity and electronic riding aids.
biztimes.com / 7
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@BIZTIMESMEDIA – Real-time news
Who’s on the Board?
A recent survey of BizTimes.com readers.
Are you concerned about changes to Foxconn’s plans for its Mount Pleasant complex? YES:
NO:
59%
41% REV GROUP INC.
Share your opinion! Visit biztimes.com/bizpoll to cast your vote in the next Biz Poll.
• Paul Bamatter, partner with American Industrial Partners • Jean Marie Canan, former Merck & Co. executive • Dino Cusumano, senior managing partner with American Industrial Partners • Charles Dutil, president and chief executive officer of Manac Inc. • Justin Fish, partner with American Industrial Partners
Sullivan
• Kim Marvin, senior managing partner with American Industrial Partners • Joel Rotroff, partner with American Industrial Partners • Tim Sullivan, president and CEO of REV Group • Donn Viola, former chief operating officer of Donnelly Corp.
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DEERSKIN GLOVES $98 at Orvis, Glendale These chestnut gloves are made entirely of deerskin. The faux fur trim adds a stylish touch to these warm gloves for your work commute. Not only are they luxurious, but they are also lined with a lambswool, cashmere and nylon blend. The soft leather is great for grabbing onto a cold steering wheel and the pointer finger and thumb are also touchscreen compatible for your smartphone.
SUPPLE LEATHER GLOVES $24 at H&M, Glendale An inexpensive option for leather gloves this winter are these soft, supple leather gloves from H&M. With pure leather and acrylic lining, they will still get the job done. This pair’s premium quality will protect your hands from cold winter conditions.
COBRINO CORTO BY CAROLINA AMATO $130 at Aversa, Glendale These black leather gloves are made of embossed lambskin, with pure cashmere lining. They are made in Italy and are sure to keep your hands warm and dry. The soft leather is perfect for holding slippery cell phones on the go, and to keep you toasty when brushing your car off before work.
SHINOLA + GEIER DEERSKIN LINED GLOVES $148 at Brooks Brothers, Glendale These customized unisex gloves are perfect for frigid winter weather. Featuring a polypropylene-lined interior, the soft exterior is deerskin. The Shinola rivet is hemmed on the back bottom of each glove. They come in either saddle or black, and are available in half sizes to guarantee a perfect fit.
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BIZTIMES MEDIA – Connect
Neitzel’s fans find his art more than Palletable By Molly Dill, staff writer
I the
Good LIFE
t all started when Nick Neitzel had some extra pallets lying around after a landscaping job at his house. His wife mentioned some of the interesting pallet artwork she had seen on Pinterest, and Neitzel gave it a try. After making pallet walls for both his son’s and his daughter’s rooms, Neitzel added pallet shelving with uplighting, used a scroll saw to cut out decorative shapes, and began experimenting with stains and paints. He posted a couple photos of the finished projects on Facebook. And that’s when his hobby went viral. “Everyone started making positive comments and saying, ‘I’ll take one,’ and I said, ‘No, no I’m just showing what I did; I’m not selling these,’” Neitzel said. “People (were) offering to run my Etsy account and I said, ‘What the heck is Etsy?’ I have zero
woodworking background. This is just me monkeying around.” A 30-year fitness industry veteran, Neitzel’s full-time job is as facility services manager at the Wisconsin Athletic Club. But on nights and weekends, he’s salvaging free pallets from industrial parks and sawing away in his garage. Some of Neitzel’s most popular items are unique home décor pieces, such as state cutouts and clocks. The older wood with more patina has a barn-style look that appeals to many people, he says. His pieces sell for between $10 and $150, depending on the size and the time he put into them. While the hobby isn’t a moneymaker, he enjoys doing it. “I like seeing smiles on the faces of people I know,” Neitzel said. “Especially when they’re looking for something specific.” n
EVENT REGISTRATION OPEN! March 21, 2019 | 7:00am - 11:00am Italian Community Center
THE ANSWER IS LEADERSHIP… WHAT IS THE QUESTION? HOW THE BEST CEOs BUILD HIGH-PERFORMING COMPANIES A business will never outperform its leadership. John Lankford, author and four-time winner of the Business Advisor of the Year in North America, will present and lead an interactive discussion for Business Leaders who want to know more about: • Developing your leadership team using proven, strategic methods • Funding your company’s Leadership Development using solutions that pay for themselves • Impacting your company’s ability to recruit and retain great talent • Increasing the value of your company
This event is open to growth minded CEOs, Presidents, Owners, Partners, CFOs and COOs in companies with 10 to 100+ employees.
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BizNews FEATURE
Group says trade war could cost Wisconsin more than 37,000 jobs Sen. Ron Johnson calls projections ‘quite shocking’ By Arthur Thomas, staff writer THE CONTINUED ESCALATION of trade tensions with China and other countries could cost the U.S. more than 2.2 million jobs, including a projected net loss of 37,344 jobs in Wisconsin, according to data released recently by Tariffs Hurt the Heartland. The advocacy group has been holding town hall meetings around the country, including in Wisconsin, to draw attention to negative impacts of President Donald Trump’s efforts to use tariffs to force trade negotiations with a number of countries. In his State of the Union address, Trump said he is working to reverse “decades of calamitous trade policies.” “We are now making it clear to China that after years of targeting our industries, and stealing our
intellectual property, the theft of American jobs and wealth has come to an end,” Trump said in his prepared remarks. U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Oshkosh) and a bipartisan group of senators, including Democrats Tom Carper from Delaware and Mark Warner of Virginia and Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey, acknowledged during a press conference organized by Tariffs Hurt the Heartland the need to address Chinese practices, but questioned the Trump administration’s methods. “Our concern is really what the strategy is to achieve that goal and in particular, the harm being done along the way,” Johnson said. Tariffs Hurt the Heartland previously said increased tariffs cost Wisconsin companies $139 million
Austin Ramirez, president and CEO of Husco International Inc., talks to U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson following the Tariffs Hurt the Heartland event at Husco in October.
through October of last year. The group worked with Trade Partnership Worldwide, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting and trade analysis firm, to project the potential impact if the tariffs stay in place. The projected loss of 2.2 million jobs comes under a “trade war” scenario that includes the existing tariffs on steel and aluminum, tariffs on all Chinese goods coming in to the U.S., tariffs on automotive parts from a number of countries, and retaliatory actions corresponding to each new tariff. Laura Baughman, president of Trade Partnership Worldwide, said the projections use the same
model the U.S. International Trade Administration and the Department of Congress use to evaluate trade deals and make recommendations regarding new tariffs. If the trade war scenario were to stay in place, the tariffs and retaliatory actions would cut around 1 percentage point annually from U.S. gross domestic product and cost a family of four about $2,400 annually after a few years, the analysis found. The potential impacts were less severe under a scenario that only included the announced tariffs and retaliation, plus a 25 percent increase in tariffs on Chinese goods if the U.S. doesn’t reach a deal by biztimes.com / 11
BizNews
March 1. In that case, Baughman’s analysis found a 0.37 percentage point drop in GDP, a $767 increase in cost for a family of four and the projected loss of 934,700 jobs nationally. Wisconsin would lose around 14,100 jobs under that scenario. Under both scenarios, the manufacturing sector would see a net increase in employment, including around 236,000 jobs nationally under the trade war projections. Those gains, however, would be offset by losses in the service sector, including a drop of 500,000 in wholesale and retail trade, and another 330,000 in professional and business services. The analysis found that while steel and aluminum jobs would increase, higher prices for consumers would lead to additional job losses. The report also noted manufacturing jobs could benefit as more production is forced back
to the United States. But Johnson said tariffs could hurt manufacturing employment over the long term. He pointed out many manufacturers looking to export face pressures to produce overseas to be closer to end markets and the tariffs will increase the incentive to do that. Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson Inc., for example has said it will shift production of motorcycles for Europe to Thailand to avoid retaliatory tariffs levied by the European Union. The company had previously built the facility to help avoid existing motorcycle tariffs in China and other southeast Asian countries. Austin Ramirez, president and chief executive officer of Waukesha-based Husco International Inc., said at a Tariffs Hurt the Heartland event at Husco in October that the tariffs were costing his company $1 million per month.
In a December interview, he said the company is forced to incorporate higher prices into its cost structure, making it less competitive against companies in Germany and Japan. Customers are currently making decisions on programs that will go into production in a few years and run as long as a decade, meaning the impact of tariffs could linger for years to come, Ramirez said. Frank Carroll, president and CEO of Hartford-based Broan-NuTone LLC, said in October his company is being hit by higher steel and aluminum prices caused by the tariffs, even when he sources it from the U.S. There are also components he can only get in China and now has to pay tariffs on. His competitors, meanwhile, produce outside the U.S. and don’t pay either tariff, and many of their goods come in to the U.S. without tariffs.
“The longer this trade war goes on … the greater and more permanent the damage done will be,” Johnson said, adding the projections were “quite shocking.” He also pointed out the administration had said measures like the steel and aluminum tariffs were intended to bring countries to the negotiating table. With the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement signed and awaiting ratification by Congress, Johnson said the administration should follow through on its pledge to lift the tariffs. If the U.S. uses tariffs as leverage but does not remove them once agreements are in place, the approach loses strength in future negotiations, he said. Johnson also argued that wrapping up other negotiations could help in talks with China. “If we can go to China as a united world, we have a much better chance,” he said. n
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Evolve Brands seeks to take snacking to another level WALK IN to the Evolve Brands production area in Jackson and it is hard to miss the smell of bananas. The company uses a lot of them to bind together ingredients for Gorilly Goods, one of two snack brands under the Evolve umbrella. “We’re known to our banana supplier,” said Cindy Poiesz, a partner in Evolve Brands. “When they’re too ripe to sell to anybody else, she gives us a call.” It is also hard to miss the sound of the industrial dryers, part of a low-temperature process the company uses to keep nutrients in its products. Bananas are just one of around 50 ingredients Evolve puts into the different flavors of its two snack brands, Gorilly Goods and Supernola. The former is a harder, crunchy snack while the latter is softer and chewier. The products are sold in around 2,200 stores in the U.S. and Canada and Evolve also ships direct to consumers through online orders. Supernola is the brainchild of Poiesz, a former Wall Street investment banker who developed it to meet her own dietary needs and desire for a healthy snack option. She started to sell it at farmer’s markets before working with Frank Jimenez, a former food industry executive, to commercialize it. It was difficult for the duo to find a manufacturing partner that shared their values until they discovered Gorilly Goods, a Jackson-based company started in 2012 by Stephen and Chris McDiarmid. “What we found was this
awesome synergy between both brands, the philosophy behind the companies, even down to the core ingredients,” said Jimenez, also a partner in Evolve. With the McDiarmids looking to exit the business, Evolve acquired Gorilly Goods and moved Supernola production from Pennsylvania to Jackson in early 2018. The philosophical match between the two brands centers on mindfulness in nearly everything to do with the products. That approach includes powering the 6,500-square-foot office, production and distribution facility with renewable energy, using clean ingredients, and contributing a portion of proceeds to nonprofit causes. Two cents from sales of each box of Supernola goes to Girls on the Run, while two cents from sales of each box of Gorilly Goods goes to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. Evolve is also working on a partnership to do something with all the leftover banana peels from its production process. Instead of paying someone to haul them away, the company is dehydrating the peels, grinding them up and combining them with spent coffee grounds from Milwaukee-based Valentine Coffee Co. to create a natural fertilizer. “It isn’t core to our business, but it’s something we get to do from an upcycling standpoint that was waste before; we find even more benefit to it,” Jimenez said. The Evolve production space is currently set up to handle a number of different functions, from processing bananas to washing
O N S I N 2019
Frank Jimenez and Cindy Poiesz in the Evolve brands facility in Jackson.
EVOLVE BRANDS LLC
N173 W21170 Northwest Passage, Jackson INDUSTRY: Snack foods EMPLOYEES: 9
evolvesnacking.com
kale to producing product to packaging. Jimenez said while the company is still small, it is important to have flexibility to alter production as needed. The snacks are produced by mixing ingredients together and then spreading it on trays. They go in to the industrial dryers as a moist spread and come out hardened like a potato chip. Employees then break batches up by hand before packaging. “As we grow, there’s ways of mechanizing it,” Jimenez said. The long-term growth plans for Evolve include the addition – either through acquisition or internal growth – of more brands that share the philosophy behind Gorilly Goods and Supernola. Ultimately the company would include five or six brands, Jimenez said. To reach that point, however, Evolve needs to continue building brand awareness, increase distribution to more retailers and scale production. Jimenez said the growing acceptance of organic and gluten-free offerings helps Evolve, but larger food brands have also tried to capitalize on those trends. “It is very hard to combat marketing by other people,” Poiesz
said. “There’s so much marketing stuff out there, everybody’s confused, so how do you break through that?” She said as consumers look into Evolve’s products, they won’t find reasons not to trust the brand. Jimenez added that digital and social marketing also provides an avenue smaller companies did not have in the past. Owning its own manufacturing also gives Evolve the chance to control everything about its products. “We’re not going to use any shortcuts,” Jimenez said. n
ARTHUR THOMAS Reporter
P / 414-336-7123 E / arthur.thomas@biztimes.com T / @arthur8823
biztimes.com / 13
Real Estate
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COURTESY COBALT PARTNERS
A rendering of Cobalt Partners LLC’s West Quarter project.
Developments help West Allis reintroduce itself
AS A NUMBER of significant developments that promise to reshape West Allis are making strides, community leaders are actively working to reshape its public perception. The timing of the two couldn’t be better for the city.
West Allis officials last year launched an official rebranding, part of a longstanding effort to change public perceptions of the city being an old industrial town with not much to offer. Jonathan Matte, communications director with the City of West Allis, said this campaign relies on talking points such as strong neighborhoods, good schools, unique restaurant offerings and, of course, the major ongoing real estate developments. The list of projects includes Milwaukee-based Cobalt Partners LLC’s roughly $100 million West Quarter development along South 70th Street, which will transform 23 acres into mixed uses, including 300,000 square feet of offices, 18,000 square feet of retail, a hotel, residential and an educational component. The first portion to break ground this year will be the five-story, 128-room Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel. Planned office buildings will be developed once enough demand for the space is there, said Scott Yauck, president and chief executive officer of Cobalt. Beyond West Quarter is the $65 million Six Points project, which includes land to the north
JON ELLIOTT OF MKE DRONES LLC
BIRD’S EYE VIEW: T H E C O R R I D O R
14 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 18, 2019
The Corridor, a mixed-use development located along I-94 and west of Calhoun Road in Brookfield, is the site of plenty of building activity. Construction will be completed on the 125,000-square-foot Life Time fitness building, the Holiday Inn Express & Suites hotel and the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott hotel in the third quarter. The extension of West Golf Parkway is also under construction, which will complete the street grid to Calhoun Road and connect the development to the neighboring Brookfield Lakes Corporate Center. Meanwhile, construction is set to begin next month on an expansion building at The Shoppes at The Corridor, which will feature retailers Old Navy, Party City and Five Below. A remaining 2-acre site at Shoppes at The Corridor is available, possibly for a sit-down restaurant. Also planned is the seven-story, 208,000-square-foot Golf Parkway Corporate Center office building.
WHO REALLY OWNS IT?
and south of the intersection of South 66th Street and West National Avenue. Milwaukee-based Mandel Group Inc. was selected in 2016 as the project developer as the result of a competitive request-for-proposals process. Six Points focuses more on residential and food-based commercial uses. This plays in well with the West Allis Farmers Market site next door, southeast of the intersection of 66th Street and National Avenue, said Ian Martin, Mandel Group’s vice president of development. Building activity began in 2017 with the construction of a 30,000-square-foot Aurora medical office and clinic building near the corner of West Greenfield Avenue and South 66th Street. The second phase, which is under construction, will consist of 177 upscale apartments and food-based amenities. Mandel Group later this year will also turn its attention to the parcel south of West National Avenue, across 66th Street from the farmers market. This will be another mixed-use building with 40 to 50 apartments and 10,000 to 15,000 square feet of ground-level commercial space, likely to be used as a coffee shop and restaurant space. The remaining developable land could be used for a roughly 5,000-square-foot standalone restaurant, as well as a large event area, which would provide even more space for potential food and beverage purveyors, Martin said. West Allis has several positive attributes that make it attractive for developers. For instance, Yauck said the area around his development offers a nice base to build onto, such as the Summit Place office park to the east. There are good existing amenities along West Greenfield Avenue to the south, he added. Gone are the days of the demand for sprawling suburban campuses where employees have to drive somewhere to grab something to eat. What these more urban-style suburban developments offer office tenants
is the associated conveniences of a mixed-use environment with a more affordable price point, said Lyle Landowski, chief operating officer with Colliers International’s Milwaukee office. “I think Scott Yauck has a great track record in these kinds of developments,” Landowski said. “Secondly, I think West Allis has a great track record with these kinds of developments.” Specifically, he pointed out the success Summit Place has had in bringing in all types of employers. A similar argument can be made about new housing developments. “What we really like about West Allis is it gives us an opportunity … to deliver a housing product that’s every bit as nice, if not nicer, than what you would find in downtown (Milwaukee) at a price point that’s much more approachable for the majority of renters in this market,” Martin said. John Stibal, director of development for the City of West Allis, said the city also benefits from its proximity to both downtown and the Waukesha County suburbs. “It is halfway to everywhere,” he quipped. Stibal said that as part of the city’s rebranding campaign, officials stress all that West Allis has to offer. Thanks to recent and ongoing developments, they can boast about quality office and residential offerings cheaper than other nearby communities. “Those are the economic incentives that people will pay attention to,” he said. n
FORMER DOMINICAN SISTERS OF THE PERPETUAL ROSARY CONVENT Before moving to Greenfield a little over a year ago, the Dominican Sisters of the Perpetual Rosary had resided in the roughly 30,000-square-foot building near the corner of North 68th Street and West Mount Vernon Avenue in Milwaukee since 1926, said Mother Joanna Hastings. The Dominican Sisters resided in the building for 91 years before moving out in October 2017. Mother Hastings said the convent had just become too big for them. Wauwatosa-based Harwood Place Partners LLP purchased the building just over a year ago. The group, which provides skilled nursing and rehabilitation services, has so far not made any significant changes to the property. ADDRESS: 217 N. 68th St., Milwaukee OWNER: Harwood Place Partners LLP ASSESSED: $740,000
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g n i g n a h C t h ee c t o r y j a r t STORY COVER
NS ANIZATIO G R O IP SH AL CITY RENEUR ENTREP VITALIZE CENTR RE AIM TO
l, lly Dil By Mo
CHANTEL TEAGUE grew up off West Hampton Avenue on Milwaukee’s northwest side. E TEAGU Now the founder of a growing tech business, the 24-year-old plans to establish a physical headquarters in the same neighborhood when the time comes. “My family’s from urban Milwaukee and it’s really important to me that that community returns back to a solid community, which it once was,” Teague said. “I can look at the pictures of my family growing up and see it was thriving and there was a community aspect to it, and I think that has been lost. Having thriving businesses that have opportunities for the people in those communities would be beneficial.” Teague is working on an app, called StyleQ, that instantly pairs wellness professionals such as massage therapists and hair stylists with people seeking on-demand services. The platform is set to launch in April. “With technology, we basically optimize the booking process around the professional’s schedule, as well as the end user’s,” Teague said. StyleQ recently earned $2,500 in funding 16 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 18, 2019
riter staff w
from The Blueprint, an urban entrepreneurship training program that in November completed its first cohort at the Midwest Energy Research Consortium’s Energy Innovation Center on the northwest side. Through the Blueprint program, Teague gained access to new people that helped her build her business network. The near north side of Milwaukee has faced economic decline for years, which is inextricably linked with high levels of poverty and unemployment. The greatest concentration of unemployment in the city is on the near north side, which has a predominantly African-American population. While the City of Milwaukee had a 9 percent unemployment rate overall from 2013 to 2017, the 53206 zip code had a 20.4 percent black unemployment rate, and the 53216 zip code had a 12.3 percent black unemployment rate. There are several census tracts on the near north side in which, as of 2010, fewer than 50 percent of adults age 25 or older had a high school diploma. The overall City of Milwaukee poverty rate was 27.4 percent from
Que and Khalif El-Amin started The Blueprint in 2018 to help Milwaukee entrepreneurs get started.
2013 to 2017, but in 53206, the black poverty rate was 42.3 percent, and in 53216, it was 28.1 percent, according to the American Community Survey. Milwaukee’s central city needs more employers to create job opportunities for residents. But it has been hard to attract or retain businesses to the city’s low-income neighborhoods. Some say the solution is to help foster the creation of more new businesses in those areas. The Blueprint is one of several programs aimed at turning Milwaukee’s central city around via entrepreneurship.
THE BLUEPRINT The visionaries behind The Blueprint are brothers Que and Khalif El-Amin, owners of Young Enterprising Society. Two years apart, the siblings grew up playing sports together and always had a competitive drive. “We did pretty much everything together growing up as far as being involved in sports, going to the same schools until high school, but just always being around each other, whether that’s competing in the driveway, basketball, video games, in the classroom, whatever that may be,” Khalif said. “We just always had that sibling rivalry in a good way. I wouldn’t call it a rivalry (now) as more so just accountability and competition. Pushing each other to be the best that we know we can be.” The entrepreneurial-minded siblings have collected all of their efforts – small business consulting, clothing lines, exclusive parties, philanthropy, urban agriculture – under the YES umbrella since 2012. Their latest venture is The Blueprint, which launched in July with the help of funding from The Milwaukee Institute and Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. Targeted to any entrepreneur in the City of Milwaukee with an idea or a startup related to technology, advanced manufacturing or e-commerce, The Blueprint aims to help participants develop technology and innovation skills, and ultimately launch successful businesses. Being located in Milwaukee’s central city is important to the El-Amins, who grew up partly on the north side, and they hope to help boost the area around the Century City business park. “The reason we chose the City of Milwaukee is because we really wanted businesses to stay within the city because that’s what builds the city back up,” Que said. “And oftentimes we see…companies, especially in accelerator programs, com-
ing from different parts of the country or even different parts of the world…. Getting the knowledge, getting the information and getting the money, and then after the eight weeks is over, they’re going right out of the state. So that’s just a loss.” They’re also diligent about including entrepreneurs of color in their programs by targeting their message to the audiences they want to attract, Que said. “The location has less to do with it, but being intentional on who you want into your program and being culturally competent is another one,” he said. “You really have to make sure it’s tuned for your audience, and a lot of times curriculum is not tuned to people, or the message is not tuned and it just goes (unnoticed) so they don’t even get the people, because they’re like, ‘I don’t feel comfortable in that space.’” From among nearly 60 applicants, YES this fall selected 40 businesses for the first stage of the Blueprint program, a three-day business boot camp, and then narrowed the field to 12 companies that participated in an eight-week training program called The Cultivator. The 10 entrepreneurs who completed the training pitched their companies to an audience on Nov. 11. Ultimately, StyleQ and three other startups were funded by YES, with toilet scent packet manufacturer Potty Pearls earning the $10,000 top prize. It’s key for YES to provide tech-focused training to entrepreneurs, Que said, because technology moves so quickly. “If you read a blog about blockchain six months ago or even two months ago, it’s totally different than what it is now, so for them to be competitive in the market, they have to get information now,” he said. “And Milwaukee is often looked over in terms of technology, especially people of color. Just spreading the light on entrepreneurs that wouldn’t have got that exposure is something that’s really important.” The El-Amins bring in successful entrepreneurs and investors from the community to teach some of the classes, which cover topics including: how to build a profitable business, how to position your business to raise capital, how to write proposals, and how to deal with the psychological effects of being an entrepreneur. The brothers are relentlessly positive and, with a mental health therapist mother and nonprofit leader father, are hard-wired to help others. Khalif remembers their father, New Horizon Center Inc. chief executive officer Saleem El-Amin, frequently saying, “You learn, you earn and you return.” “I knew there was a need within the city that had given me so much,” Khalif said. “I wanted to give back.” On any given day, three or four entrepreneurs stop by the YES offices for assistance or to give an update on their companies. “We’ve got a Slack channel, so we’re conbiztimes.com / 17
STORY COVER stantly putting different events, funding opportunities, resources and things like that to make sure everybody is staying upbeat and staying abreast of the knowledge that we have,” Khalif said.
MWERC
to ask bakery owner Adija Smith about catering an upcoming funeral. Smith’s mother lives at North 37th Street and West Burleigh Street, and when civil unrest broke out in the neighborhood in August 2016, Smith was worried for her mom. “I was so concerned and wanted to capture her from that
YES recently moved in to the newly renovated space M-WERC has opened on the second floor of the tower at 4201 N. 27th St. While several Milwaukee
entrepreneurship programs are located downtown, the El-Amins prefer the central location of Century City and wanted to co-locate with M-WERC to avoid creating another silo, Que said. M-WERC, an industry trade association for energy, power and controls companies in the Midwest, has its own entrepreneurial training program. Its WERCBench Labs accelerator is focused on startups in the energy, power and controls space. Since it opened the new space, which is more lab-focused, five WERCBench Labs graduate companies have set up shop inside. And M-WERC is committed to helping rejuvenate the central city, as well. It recently announced it is adding a training program that will prepare workers in the Century City area for the jobs its startups and member companies are creating. “In Wisconsin, our unemployment rate is down to 3 or 4 percent, but in the Century City area, it’s 12 percent,” said Jacquin Davidson, managing director-Milwaukee at M-WERC. “So we really want to help train and make jobs for people that live in the neighborhood.”
SHERMAN PHOENIX On a recent Friday afternoon, Alan Moore was giving PJae Jones a haircut at 2 Kings Barber Shop while two of PJae’s friends made fun of him. The four were at the newly opened Sherman Phoenix entrepreneurial hub on Milwaukee’s northwest side. Moore, who co-owns 2 Kings with Darrel Pate, said he’s excited about the business opportunity at the Phoenix. “It’s an amazing project and definitely a big movement for the city. I love being part of anything that’s contributing to the growth of the community,” Moore said. Bring located at the hub, at 3536 W. Fond Du Lac Ave. in Milwaukee’s Sherman Park neighborhood, has helped Moore meet a lot of city leaders, as well as other business owners who are helping each other grow. Sonya Bland-Borden owns Grace Memorial Funeral & Cremation Services at 3029 N. 35th St., from the Phoenix. While PJae was getting his haircut, she was stopping in at Confectionately Yours for a sweet treat, and took the opportunity 18 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 18, 2019
and she was like, ‘This is our community and we’re going to stay here,’” Smith said. When JoAnne Johnson-Sabir and Juli Kaufmann decided to start the Sherman Phoenix to help revitalize the neighborhood and asked her to be involved, Smith said she saw it as a sign from God to come back to the community where she grew up. She was operating Confectionately Yours out of her home, with hopes to one day open a storefront, but she wasn’t sure where to start. “I didn’t have all the resources that I got when I was connected with this project,” Smith said. Now that she is part of the Phoenix, Smith has been linked to the African American Chamber of Commerce and has received business wisdom, tips on getting started, forecasting help and other assistance she wouldn’t have had access to at an independent storefront, she said. “The exposure that the Sherman Phoenix brought to my business was amazing. The business I’ve been getting, I didn’t imagine it to be what it is,” Smith said. While Smith was selling cookies, Angela Mallett and Meshika Stewart, co-owners of Honeybee Sage Wellness & Apothecary, were talking to a local resident about their herbal products and conducting inventory. The pair focuses on education for holistic therapies. They’ve found a supportive environment of other entrepreneurs in the Sherman Phoenix, who make referrals to one another and provide ideas for new products or services. Mallett, who lives in Washington Heights, has previously lived in Sherman Park and knows the neighborhood, but planned to open Honeybee Sage on North Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. “I definitely wanted to be in the inner city and make my offerings accessible to people of color,” she said, particularly because the central city has so many challenges. “One of the key things for me is the fact that so many children pass through here and they’re able to observe everyday people” running their own businesses. Johnson-Sabir, who had taken doula training with Mallett about five years ago, convinced her to open at the Phoenix instead. The Sherman Phoenix has surpassed expectations in its first couple months of operation, Johnson-Sabir said. And tenants are working together to help each
other succeed, whether it’s patronizing each other, offering free bootcamp fitness classes in the mornings to draw people to the space, or brainstorming new ideas. “There’s this amazing synergy, so I worked at the pizza shop today, and then the bakery owner, Adija, came over to say, ‘You guys need to make breakfast pizzas. …I make a good sausage gravy so I’ll make the gravy,’”
Johnson-Sabir related. “So there’s this great creative synergy that has been unleashed in this space.”
In March, the Phoenix will begin formal entrepreneurship training, led by the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp., and wraparound services, including wellness programming, Johnson-Sabir said. The Sherman Phoenix started as a response to the civil unrest in Sherman Park that left its nowhome burned out. The goal is to restore vibrancy to the neighborhood by providing a shared space for a group of entrepreneurs to set up shop. Entrepreneurs in Milwaukee’s central city have the same challenges and successes as those in other parts of the city, she said, but were in need of connections to experienced entrepreneurs who could help them grow. “What is needed would be the access, and the access is coming because now you can see us,” Johnson-Sabir said. “We’ve always been here. Just as brilliant and just as talented.”
LAUNCH MKE The civil unrest in Sherman Park was a wakeup call to Jay Mason that he needed to offer his skills to help revitalize central city neighborhoods. Mason established Launch MKE in April 2017 to help train entrepreneurs in Milwaukee’s underserved neighborhoods. Most of its businesses are in retail, service, food or consulting. “We want to do it on the north side of Milwaukee, some of those areas where we know in order to change the trajectory of a family or a community or a neighborhood, entrepreneurship is the way to go,” he said. Four cohorts totaling just more than 100 entrepreneurs have graduated from the nine-week program so far, which the nonprofit offers in cooperation with national entrepreneurial ecosystem builder Co.Starters. Participants meet in a classroom setting once a week for a three-hour session, learning skills like marketing and customer identification. Then they go out and use it for fieldwork. He has developed a strict regimen: If a student is late to class, he or she is not admitted. “It’s really for the students’ benefit. They’re accountable to each other, so if somebody comes in late, it hurts the whole class,” Mason said.
That’s because the program aims to school wannabe business owners in not just the hard skills, like how to file with the state, but also the soft skills, like organization and timeliness, Mason said. In October, board member Kenneth Harris became president of Launch MKE, the culmination of a yearlong transition. And the organization recently established a formal relationship with Concordia University Wisconsin, which includes access to a classroom space on its midtown campus at North 60th Street and West Capitol Drive. Mason has experience starting companies – most recently, Milwaukee-based Intellivisit. And he saw an unmet need in Milwaukee. “The opportunities for business formation are pretty obvious as you drive through many lowwealth neighborhoods,” he said. “Where neighborhoods begin to thrive, it’s often because of the development of businesses.” Harris plans to expand Launch MKE’s offerings to include the existing Co.Starters program, and also an earlier idea-stage course called Launch MKE Canvas, and later-stage one-on-one mentoring called Launch MKE Advanced. Harris said he doesn’t see the nonprofit as competing with other entrepreneurial assistance organizations, such as gener8tor and the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp., but serving as a feeder to them. “In my understanding of nonprofits, my goal is to put myself out of business,” Harris said. “My goal is to make sure everybody who wants to be an entrepreneur has an opportunity to be one. We don’t want you to stay with Launch. We want you to become bigger; we want you to become greater.” Launch MKE said so far, about 80 percent of its participants move forward with their businesses upon graduation from the program, which could mean taking an idea into an early-stage company or scaling an established company. Co.Starters’ fiveyear success rate is in the 50 or 60 percent range, which Mason hopes to see mirrored in Milwaukee. Launch MKE also partners with BizStarts to share mentoring and coaching services.
BIZSTARTS In 2014, BizStarts shifted its attention away from high-growth “gazelle” startups and toward the vast majority of small businesses, said Dan Steininger, founder and president. Established in 2008, the nonprofit was one of the first entrepreneurial assistance organizations in the Milwaukee area. For a while, Steininger was also an angel investor, funding area startups in the hopes of making a return on the investments. But high-growth, high-return startups are only a small fraction of the small business success stories, Steininger said.
Top: Sonya Bland-Borden buys a sweet treat from Adija Smith, owner of Confectionately Yours in the Sherman Phoenix. Middle: Alan Moore gives PJae Jones a haircut at 2 Kings Barber Shop in the Sherman Phoenix. Bottom: Angela Mallett works at the counter of Honeybee Sage Wellness & Apothecary in the Sherman Phoenix.
How to get involved
BIZSTARTS: Contact Dan Steininger, president and founder, at dan@bizstarts.com. THE BLUEPRINT: Contact the organization at yes@followtheyes.com. LAUNCHMKE: Contact the organization at contact@launchmke.org.
MWERC: Contact Jacquin Davidson, managing director-Milwaukee, at jdavidson@m-werc.org. SHERMAN PHOENIX: Contact JoAnne Johnson-Sabir, co-founder, at joannesabir@gmail.com. biztimes.com / 19
STORY COVER He pointed out that Milwaukee is the one of the poorest cities in the nation, and its north side has suffered most. “It’s almost impossible hoping to turn those neighborhoods around, hoping that some big employer is going to come in and locate in the inner city of Milwaukee,” Steininger said. “It’s not going to happen.” Organic, homegrown small businesses are the answer to restoring vibrancy to those neighborhoods, he said. Most of the approximately 240 entrepreneurs BizStarts helped in 2018 were “main street” businesses like hair salons and restaurants. Its services are free to entrepreneurs. If enough of them open storefronts in a particular community, they can create a multiplier effect on jobs, Steininger said. He likened the intended effect to the recent development in Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood. “It’s really very heartening to go there and see what’s happening,” he said. “And that same thing could happen on the north side of the city. We just need to get serious about doing it. There’s been very little citywide focus on the importance of getting small businesses started.” Steininger argues high-tech startups are chas-
Young Enterprising Society is in the process of moving in to the new lab and offices at M-WERC.
ing investor dollars and have no incentive to stay in Milwaukee. “How is that helping our local neighbors who are suffering and there’s poverty and homelessness?” he asked. And businesses in poverty-stricken neighborhoods face more barriers to success. Residents there may not have gone to college, and they may not have as many role models in business. “The needs of this community are considerably different,” Steininger said. “They need more than money; they need handholding, guidance, help, mentorship.” BizStarts sticks with entrepreneurs until their
small business is thriving, as long as five years, he said. Even so, the success rate of its clients is just 30 percent. “A lot of them, we are tough love. We say, ‘Don’t start this business,’” Steininger said. When businesses do make it, they have a tangible impact on the community, he said. “That’s what counters poverty. It counters crime. It’s what gives people reason to be proud of their areas, where they can shop right in their neighborhood,” Steininger said. n
Bold Leaders. Bright Ideas. Apply Today. Accepting nominations for the 15th annual
Ideal Bravo! Entrepreneur nominees are individuals who demonstrate the best traits of entrepreneurship, including willingness to take risk, drive, perseverance, and more! Ideal I.Q. (innovation quotient) nominees are companies who develop innovative products or services, or those with notably unique and innovative processes, operational structures and/or market strategies.
To submit your nomination visit www.biztimes.com/bravo Past Bravo! Lifetime Achievement award winners have included: Time Keane, Carol Schneider, George and Julie Mosher, Gary Grunau, Michael Cudahy, Sheldon Lubar, Fritz and Debra Usinger, Stephen Marcus, George Dalton and Robert Kern Past IQ award winners have included: AddeoFit, Containers Up, Design Fugitives, Francis Investment Counsel, Hamacher Resource Group LLC, HED Inc., Milwaukee County House of Correction, Remedy Analytics and WorkWise Presented By:
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Special Report HEALTH CARE & WELLNESS
FROEDTERT HEALTH
Inception Health drives innovation at Froedtert By Lauren Anderson, staff writer
Above: Inception Health is located within Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin’s North Hills Health Center in Menomonee Falls.
PROTEUS DIGITAL HEALTH
THE BRIGHT ORANGE, YELLOW AND GREEN WALLS – covered in notes, project progress reports and washable marker scribbles – on the second floor of Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin’s North Hills Health Center in Menomonee Falls more closely resemble a tech startup than the neutral-toned ambience one expects of a health care office. Its interior design telegraphs the unique role Inception Health LLC – Wauwatosa-based Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin’s innovation arm – plays in the health system: to change a change-resistant industry from within. From the digital health hub, which has largely operated quietly since it was formed in 2015, homegrown innovations are conceived and external innovations vetted in hopes of solving key health care problems. In the past three years, Inception has implemented more than 30 projects that are now live within the health system, with another 20 in the queue. “Health care is complicated,” said Mike Anderes, president of Inception. “We know we’re up against a tough starting point because of the regulatory nature of our business. But, even though it’s a little harder, it’s the same as other industries that have already gone through this. They have either changed themselves or have become obsolete. What we’ve been successful doing up to this point is becoming a magnet for people that want that change and giving them a way to do it so we get to the tipping point where it’s just the way we do things.” Contained within the company are three separate functions: the innovation operation; a clinical arm, from which Inception staff remotely monitor the implementation of digital solutions; and an investment arm, through which Inception executes Froedtert’s corporate venture efforts. The Inception team meets with Froedtert & MCW clinicians monthly to identify ways in which care delivery could be improved. While Inception’s projects are wide-ranging in nature, they trace back to the same initial question: What’s the problem? One innovation to have made its way to patients is digital medicine service from Redwood City, California-based Proteus Digital Health Inc., which produces FDA-cleared ingestible sensors that are co-encapsulated with medicine. When swallowed, the sensor is “woken up” by stomach fluid, which communicates with an adhesive patch on the user’s stomach and transmits information to a mobile app. The app tracks information for patients and issues
Right: Inception partners with California-based Proteus Digital Health, which produces FDA-cleared ingestible sensors that are co-encapsulated with medicine. When swallowed, the pill communicates with an adhesive patch on the user’s stomach, which then transmits information to a mobile app.
reminders for them to take their medication. While Inception isn’t invested in Proteus, it has been an early adopter of the technology. The goal is to “simplify and optimize” a patient’s medication regimen, which can often become burdensomely complex for those taking multiple medications, said Dr. Bradley Crotty, medical director for digital innovation at Inception. Follow-through on a medication plan is particularly important for those with hepatitis C, high blood pressure, diabetes, and now oral cancer medications. “In a lot of these cases, from a patient’s perspective, they are hard to take,” Crotty said. “We began to look to a solution: how can we best get data so we can make objective decisions around what medications people take? The solution we’ve found is Proteus.” Proteus allows care teams and patients to collaborate on their medication regimen over a twoto three-month program. If a patient were, for example, on three prescriptions for high blood pressure and the levels weren’t getting under control, Proteus would help doctors and patients determine whether it is an issue of dosing or the combination of medications. Inception has also partnered with Glooko Inc., a Mountain View, California-based startup that has developed a remote monitoring app for diabetes patients. The app syncs with a patient’s glucometer via Bluetooth, which allows the patient to share diabetes data with his or her health care provider in real time. It addresses a common problem in diabetes management: not being able to receive guidance or make adjustments between doctor visits. “The problem that will happen with diabetes management is there can be a paradigm of, if you’re not at goal, it will get adjusted and then they are told to come back in three to six months,” Crotty said. “People spend most of their time not in the doctor’s office, living life at home, and it’s an artifi-
cial thing to try to make a comprehensive plan in a 15-minute visit and have it stick in real life.” Glooko prompts users to check their blood glucose and take insulin and other medications through automated reminders on their phone. It also has built-in pattern statements, making it easier to identify their glucose trends and improve self-management. On Froedtert & MCW’s end, the pharmacy-led telehealth service allows patients to work with clinicians over the phone who have real-time access to the diabetes data. Crotty said nearly all of the hundreds of patients to participate in the program have seen their levels come under control. These are the kinds of results Inception is after. “Froedtert Health created Inception Health to drive innovation and successfully collaborate with innovative companies to solve key health care problems, develop new ideas, and scale those solutions across the health network,” said Cathy Jacobson, president and chief executive officer of Froedtert Health. “We enhanced our investment because, in just a few short years, we’ve seen qualitative and quantitative results improving the health of individuals.”
Nuturing innovation Inception’s existence as its own company – a separate entity from Froedtert & the MCW – allows the system to devote resources to innovation without siphoning from its clinical arm. “We can protect and nurture that work,” Anderes said. “We’ve intentionally moved it so it doesn’t have to compete. For us, it’s helped with our ability to actually execute. We can get things to implementation phase almost faster than anybody else because we’ve centralized that function here. If things are successful, we already have the DNA of an academic medical center to scale it.” biztimes.com / 21
Special Report
Inception is overseen by a six-person board, which includes Jacobson and Medical College of Wisconsin School of Medicine dean Joseph Kerschner. Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin recently joined Inception as a partner. The AVIA Innovator Network, a national consortium of 37 health systems, has played a key role in Inception’s success, leaders said. The Chicago-based consortium works with health systems to determine how digital solutions can support their strategic priorities, identify early-stage companies to work with and – often the most difficult part – support the scaling and adoption of the digital tools. Froedtert was an early equity investor in AVIA, and is among seven member-owners, including Providence St. Joseph Health and Rush University Medical Center. Advocate Aurora Health, of Milwaukee and Downers Grove, Illinois, is also a member. Mike Warren, vice president of client engagement with AVIA, said the partnership with Froedtert made sense from the get-go. “The bet Froedtert and Inception made on AVIA was consistent with what they wanted to do as an organization,” Warren said. “Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin is committed to
innovation; they’re committed to forming care at the health system. Cathy Jacobson has been out in front on these topics as a visionary leader, and Mike (Anderes) shares that perspective. What we’re trying to do and what they’re trying to do are incredibly consistent.” With the promise of new groundbreaking advancements in health care, particularly those driven by artificial intelligence and machine learning, leaders credit AVIA with helping them discern between “vaporware” and what’s actually going to drive change in their health system. The Inception team has reviewed an average of about 500 projects annually since 2016. “I have no doubt that machine learning and AI are going to revolutionize part of medicine, but not every early-stage company is going to do it successfully,” Crotty said. “So we have to separate the hype from, ‘What problem are you really solving?’” In late 2018, Froedtert – through Inception – committed to investing $15 million in early stage companies to further develop digital capabilities across the health network. To date, Inception has invested in only seven companies. The company is intentionally picky. For one, Inception maintains a rule that, if it in-
vests, it must implement the innovation within the Froedtert system. And it has to offer value beyond financial return, such as the ability to co-develop or have a board seat. “We try not to use the word ‘pilot’ here, because once we make a decision to implement one of these innovations, we want to see it succeed,” Anderes said. “We’re willing to continue to pivot to make it successful. ‘Pilot’ can imply that we’re just going to see how it goes, but it will go away eventually. We don’t think it’s a good service to those companies or to us.” The due diligence process is heavy up front, as the team is focused on “de-risking” investments by thoroughly vetting the project’s potential success, specifically within the Froedtert system, according to Anderes. “We want to see an impact on patient satisfaction, quality, cost, access to technology. It has to have something like that before we invest,” Anderes said. “Other health systems that have venture arms are sometimes more focused on return, thinking of it as another chunk of our balance sheet we can invest. They treat it more as a fund. Our intent is to use it as a tool to improve health in the community.” n
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HEALTH CARE & WELLNESS
Finding workplace wellness that works By Lauren Anderson, staff writer A FEW YEARS AGO, just 20 percent of GS Global Resources Inc.’s 175 employees opted to participate in the company’s wellness program. The Mukwonago-based hydraulic equipment supplier was using a wellness program offered through its health insurance plan. The program itself was good, but employees just weren’t participating in a way that allowed the company to make meaningful progress to head off unnecessary claims or prevent chronic illnesses, said John Thornton, president of GS Global Resources. “What we found lacking with just the insurance provider approach was engagement,” Thornton said. “It was a lack of personal engagement and someone being available and personally accountable to help you with your results.” So GS went a step farther, contracting with a company that provides employers with an on-site chiropractic and wellness coach to help employees four days a week. The result: engagement has increased by more than 30 percent. Wellness programs can inspire skepticism among employers, prompting questions such as: Will employees actually participate? Will it actually produce a return on investment by reducing health care claims and premium costs? “The biggest challenge for any employer is when you look at investing in a new machine or technology or a service, you’re going to ask, ‘What’s my payback?’” Thornton said. “It’s a challenge to quantify the benefits of a wellness program. I’m a CPA by training; I’m naturally skeptical about numbers. I want to see proof … But we’ve seen that the results are there. When done right, some employers are finding such programs can reduce health care costs over the long-term and serve as an employee attraction and retention tool in the current tight labor market. “It’s very hard to find qualified people and when you find them, you want to keep them,” Thornton said. “For us it’s all about: How can we have the most productive employees here and get rid of obstacles to their productivity? Health and wellness is a huge part of that.” Employers can often get stuck in an “old school” mindset when it comes to wellness programs that fail to connect with employees, said Jessica Ollenburg, managing partner of Milwaukee-based executive consulting firm Ollenburg LLC. “It produces a shame spiral or can make people roll their eyes when they communicate (to employees). ‘You don’t think I know how to eat right, to
Above: COR Wellness leads GS Global Resources employees in yoga. Right: Dr. Bryan Muth, an on-site COR Wellness chiropractor, works with a GS Global Resources employee.
drink water, etc.,’” Ollenburg said. “The best programs we’re seeing now are taking advantage of new information, new trends and the demographics of their employees.” GS Global Resources’ participation rate, prior to making the change, was on par with many companies, in which 20 percent of employees reliably engage in the wellness program, according to Jamie Howard, chief commercial officer of Sussex-based COR Wellness LLC. The challenge for employers is engaging the “middle 60 percent,” he said. “That’s where the bottom line is impacted dramatically,” Howard said. COR Wellness’ program, which sends chiropractors and wellness coaches to companies, is able to capture employees that might not otherwise participate, thanks to the convenience and consistency of having clinicians on-site at their work. Chiropractic appointments typically last 10 to 15 minutes, while a wellness check-in might take up to 30 minutes, making it easy for employees to stop by when they have time during the day. COR Wellness representatives will shadow workers in every job function, from manual manufacturing workers to those sitting at a desk all day, to find ways to improve their health. “The on-site model in the way we do it, is about not being reactive, not waiting for people to come see us because they are sick or hurt,” Howard said. “Driving people to work with us is the biggest key.” It’s also important for employers to embrace an
expanding definition of wellness, integrating financial wellness and emotional and mental health, Howard said. “We work on everything from pain management to nutritional issues to fitness to cognitive health,” he said. “That’s what many miss in wellness programs: looking at how employees are dealing with stress and how it impacts their business.” Ollenburg recommends employers review the effectiveness of their wellness programs no less than annually. A newly implemented program, she said, should show increasing engagement with each quarter, while existing programs should indicate greater effectiveness each year. Company leaders should look for a program’s impact on health care and worker’s compensation claims, but also less tangible metrics, such as improvements to office culture and the holistic wellness of employees. n biztimes.com / 23
Special Report HOSPITALITY & EVENT PLANNING
How to get the most out of networking events By Maredithe Meyer, staff writer BECAUSE OF A CONNECTION one of its employees made during a national technology conference last year, Milwaukee-based New Resources Consulting LLC recently onboarded Vail Resorts Inc., a national corporation that owns and operates mountain resorts throughout the U.S. and in two other countries. The conference was one of several out-of-state tech events the IT consulting firm attends annually, sending groups of four to eight employees. NRC covers the cost of attendance and travel, often to cross-country destinations like Orlando, San Antonio and Las Vegas. “We spend great amounts of effort and money to get boots on the ground,” said Don Weber, vice president of client services at NRC. Among its sales, recruiting and consulting teams, NRC employees attend tech-related events regularly throughout the year. While the smaller-scale local meet-ups are held more often and are less expensive, the larger regional and national conferences give consultants the opportunity to lead presentations on their area of expertise and interact with more industry executives – and in return, the NRC brand gets national recognition, Weber said. The costs of travel and attendance for multiple employees, and sometimes a booth sponsorship, add up, but the expense is well worth it, Weber said. That’s in part because such events also offer opportunities for the company to spark new connections with industry experts, potential employees and, in the best-case scenario, with other businesses that eventually become clients. Most recently for NRC, a new connection afforded the opportunity to help a national company
Attendees network at MMAC’s 2017 All-Member Meeting.
use its software more effectively. If done well, networking can build business relationships, helping companies grow, experts say. But when investing time and money into networking opportunities, whether that’s a large national conference halfway across the country or a local chamber event, how do companies put their best foot forward in an attempt to get a return on that investment? For some, it often comes down to selecting employees who will best carry out the company’s mission. “People often think you need to send someone (to an event) who is a really good talker,” said Eric Becher, director of sales at Milwaukee-based Hatch Staffing Services Inc. “From our standpoint, that’s not how we view it; we’re going to send our best listeners.” An employment agency that works to help people find jobs and companies find people, Hatch approaches networking opportunities with its core values in mind, asking not how the company can benefit, but how it can help, Becher said. “We’re used to doing interviews and listening to people, and we’re very interested in what companies do and how they do it; it’s part of what our industry does,” he said. “But you can’t help others if you’re always talking, so listening to who they are and what they’re looking for is important.” Along with an employee’s listening ability, Becher said he considers how passionate an employee
is about learning from the event and whether or not the event would benefit that person’s career. For pricier events like out-of-state conferences, employees must meet certain goals or win a contest if they want to attend. When it comes to expectations during the actual event, Hatch stands by a couple rules of thumb: to meet as many attendees as possible and, when sending a group of employees, to each sit at different tables. The morning after an event, employees report back to the team to discuss their experience, what they learned, who they met and what connections they made. “Our gauge is if they come back with really good information, we know they did well listening, but if they don’t come back with too much about the people they met, we probably know it wasn’t as valuable,” Becher said. Sticking to a plan like this one is crucial to getting the most out of a networking event, both as a company and as an individual. And for people who struggle to put themselves out there, having a plan can help, said Mervyn Byrd, vice president of sales and leadership development at the Waukesha County Business Alliance. Byrd heads one of the Alliance’s programs, called the Art of Networking. It’s an interactive class offered every other month that is designed to help attendees learn how to network effectively, acquire new strategies and understand the reasons
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behind and the benefits of the practice. Each workshop attracts about 30 attendees, ranging from young professionals who are new to networking to industry veterans looking to learn new techniques. Byrd encourages employers to think about the “long game” when investing in networking opportunities for their employees. “Networking isn’t about selling – at least, not upfront,” Byrd said. “I always say that people do business with whom they know, like and trust. If those three things are absent, nothing will be able to take place, so you have to be able to build that rapport. Giving your employees that opportunity to go to a networking event to build rapport, understanding that it’s not something that takes place overnight, and investing in them so that they can build these relationships – those things can be phenomenal for a company.” As an organization that hosts more than 75 events annually, most of which involve a networking portion for its members, the WCBA has its own best practices for planning functions that are worth attending. It holds the majority of its events early in the morning or during the lunch hour, rather than af-
ter business hours, in order to appeal to its target audience, said Amanda Payne, vice president of public policy at WCBA. “We are targeting business professionals and their employer is almost always paying for them to attend the program, so I think most employers are OK with employees doing that during the workday because they think it’s relevant to their career or personal development,” she said. AMP!, which is one of its most popular early-morning networking and professional development events, includes volunteer “ambassadors” who sit at every table to make introductions and facilitate conversation throughout the program. “They just make sure there is a friendly face there to welcome new people and get them introduced and make some connections for them right off the bat,” Payne said. Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, which is another major event planner for area businesses, also uses a similar ambassador concept for some of its events, said Karen Powell, director of events and programs. They help diffuse the awkwardness and difficulty of walking into a room full of people you don’t know, she said. MMAC hosts almost 300 events and meet-
ings annually – the largest being its 1,200-person All-Member Meeting every other year – that each include some form of networking, regardless of their size, Powell said. Before each event, an attendee list is posted on MMAC’s website. Powell said this allows attendees to use their time at the event more effectively by planning connections in advance. MMAC’s Business After Hours, which is a monthly networking event that attracts about 75 to 100 people, is usually held at a “unique” venue or location – for example, an up-and-coming neighborhood or a new building development. That gives attendees the opportunity not only to meet new people, but also to check out something new, she said. Its role in connecting the area business community at its many events, Powell said, is one of MMAC’s key functions as an organization. “That’s the way things keep moving – making those connections, introducing people to each other and people they didn’t know,” Powell said. “A big part of it, too, is introducing them to other places in the city they haven’t been, things that they didn’t know were going on in the region. Encompassing that educational component, too, is so important so we are always learning from each other.” n
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HOSPITALITY & EVENT PLANNING
ERIN PETERSEN
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Jan Serr Studio MILWAUKEE’S HISTORIC EAST SIDE goes modern with the newly renovated Jan Serr Studio, an industrial-meets-modern events space located on the top floor of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee’s Kenilworth Square East building. Floor-to-ceiling windows and a private penthouse balcony offer unbeatable ambiance and panoramic views stretching all the way from Lake Michigan to Milwaukee’s Downtown Skyline. JADON GOOD PHOTOGRAPHY
Jan Serr Studio’s modern industrial interior pays homage to the building’s origins as a Ford Motor Company plant. Renovated into a spacious, airy studio marked by expansive views, Jan Serr Studio also offers a first floor gallery as an enticing entrance to greet guests with the same style and charisma characteristic of Milwaukee’s vibrant East Side.
While the space and the staff are stunning on their own, you can rest assured you’ve done some goodwill amidst the celebrating, as a portion of every rental fee directly benefits educational and learning space upgrades for the students within UW-Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts. 26 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 18, 2019
JADON GOOD PHOTOGRAPHY
Partnering with Saz’s Catering, Jan Serr Studio provides experienced event planning support. Whether it’s a corporate retreat or a unique and festive celebration for the ages, they ensure a seamless and memorable experience for up to 450 guests. At the Jan Serr Studio, you can customize every last detail of your event, or learn on the expertise of the team to make your vision reality.
Jan Serr Studio 2155 N Prospect Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53202 (414) 256-8765 janserrstudio.com
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
HOSPITALITY & EVENT PLANNING
Lake Lawn Resort NESTLED ALONG TWO MILES of Delavan Lake’s shoreline, Lake Lawn Resort is the ultimate yearround destination for conferences, groups, meetings and executive retreats. Just 45 minutes from Milwaukee and centrally located in Southeastern Wisconsin in the Lake Geneva area, Lake Lawn Resort is set on 270-acres of natural beauty. Featuring 32,000 square feet of adaptable and flexible meeting space in 22 meeting rooms, along with 271 spacious, well-appointed guest rooms, and amazing lake views, the resort hosts groups of up to 600. Additional features include Majestic Oaks, an 18-hole championship golf course, three on-site restaurants, boat rentals and tours, water sports rentals, 3 pools, a 170-slip marina, a retail outlet, a fitness center and the always relaxing, Calladora Spa. Planners have come to rely on Lake Lawn Resort’s proven team as trusted partners in creating high-value, high-impact meetings and conferences in a comfortable, natural and accessible setting. The unique collection of amenities, custom programs and lakeside footprint, create countless opportunities to make conferences, teambuilding and meetings interactive, experiential and highly memorable. Whether your group prefers to be inside, outside, on the water, or all three, our team will handle every detail to perfection. Give a call to book your facility tour and learn about our current promotions, today! Visit www.lakelawnresort.com for complete details. Contact: Terri Bain, Director of Sales, at 262.725.9147 or tbain@lakelawnresort.com
Lake Lawn Resort 2400 E. Geneva St Delavan, WI 53115 (262) 728-7950 lakelawnresort.com biztimes.com / 27
HOSPITALITY & EVENT PLANNING
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Marcus Performing Arts Center YOUR EVENT, large or small, takes Center Stage at the Marcus Center! Located in the heart of Downtown along the beautiful Milwaukee RiverWalk, the Marcus Performing Arts Center has everything to help your next event or party shine, with spaces ideal for 102,500 people, non-profit rates, and exclusive in-house dining and bar service from Sazama’s Fine Catering. We invite you to bring your next business meeting, wedding reception, annual meeting, fundraising gala, or special event to the showplace of the neighborhood. With over 225,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor spaces as well as a connected parking structure, the Marcus Performing Arts Center has four state-ofthe-art performance spaces – three theaters inside the building plus an outdoor theater adjacent to the Milwaukee River. All of these spaces are available for theatrical performances, corporate meetings or other special events, including hosting meetings or dinners on one of our stages. Technical staff with extensive experience, including Broadway productions, are part of our team that will bring your next event to life at the Marcus Center. Combine your business meeting or reception with a live theatrical performance and provide your guests with the type of unforgettable experience that only the Marcus Center can offer. Contact us today for rental rates, availability, or to schedule a tour of our one-of-a-kind facility and see how it will perfectly suit your needs. Please contact John Hassig at JHassig@MarcusCenter.org or visit MarcusCenter.org 28 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 18, 2019
Marcus Performing Arts Center 929 North Water St, Milwaukee, WI 53202 (414) 273-7121
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
HOSPITALITY & EVENT PLANNING
The Ingleside Hotel LAKE COUNTRY’S FAVORITE VENUE is also now the newest. The Ingleside Hotel, formerly Country Springs Hotel, has completed a 14 million dollar property renovation. Conveniently located right off of I-94 in Pewaukee, the property features 194 guest rooms and suites, 40,000 square feet of flexible meeting and banquet space, Springs Indoor Water Park and Didi’s Supper Club. With over 40,000 square feet of renovated meeting and banquet space, The Ingleside Hotel can accommodate meetings for 2 to 720 attendees. In addition to the fresh neutral décor, upgrades were made to state of the art wireless internet and audio visual equipment. Outstanding food and beverage, flexible space, and unique outdoor space are some of the many reasons meeting planners and corporate travelers consider us one of the premier destinations in Wisconsin. The Ingleside Hotel offers 194 newly remodeled guest rooms and suites that feature beautifully appointed glass and tile bathrooms, flat screen televisions, and refrigerators. To make doing business easier, guest rooms and suites also include a work station with complimentary wireless internet. In addition, guests appreciate the numerous property amenities such as the indoor pool, newly renovated fitness center, and onsite dining. Whatever the size, substance or style, memorable gatherings are our specialty. We invite you to contact one of our experienced meeting specialists to schedule a tour. For additional information, please visit theinglesidehotel.com.
The Ingleside Hotel 2810 Golf Road Pewaukee, WI 53072 (262) 547-0201 theinglesidehotel.com biztimes.com / 29
HOSPITALITY & EVENT PLANNING
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
War Memorial Center MILWAUKEE’S LAKEFRONT boasts many beautiful attractions one of them being the War Memorial Center. Here at the center we have spaces where we best engage our veterans, community members and school children. But the War Memorial Center is not just for veterans; as one of Milwaukee’s prized landmarks, the WMC is an unforgettable space for your wedding or business event. This fabulous lakefront site has both indoor and outdoor event facilities. Memorial Hall; with scenic views of downtown Milwaukee can accommodate up to 300 guests while our unique outdoor plaza situated above Lake Michigan can accommodate more than 800 guests. WMC offers three meeting rooms on the fourth floor with breathtaking views of Lake Michigan. Rooms are equipped to ensure maximum productivity in a comfortable, unique setting. Our experienced and professional staff is committed to helping you plan an occasion that will be a truly memorial experience for you and your guests. So much of what you need is on site – chairs, tables, risers, dance floor, AV including sound system and projectors/screens. These amenities as well as setup and tear-down are included in the rental price. Now is the time to come experience all that the War Memorial Center has to offer. Contact us today to book your special event, meeting, or conference and let us help you make your event stand out!
30 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 18, 2019
War Memorial Center 750 N. Lincoln Memorial Dr. Milwaukee, WI 53202 (414) 273-5533 warmemorialcenter.org
Strategies MANAGEMENT
few ideas on what to do with the marginal or below-standard employee.
Better than nothing?
1. ADHERE TO A STANDARD. I recommend using a simple tool such as this:
How to handle your marginal employees THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE fell to 3.7 percent in September, the lowest in almost 50 years, and remains low, at 4 percent in January. That means many consumers who have jobs can buy our goods and services. However, finding and keeping good employees is more difficult than ever. Because of this, I hear one question more than any other in my consulting practice and in my role as a Vistage chair: “John, what should I do about (insert name)? His performance is extremely marginal and it’s not getting any better.” My first response is always, “Is he better than nothing?” That question sounds so cold – curiously, it usually gets a laugh (sometimes an uncomfortable laugh). But I am dead serious. When I owned my company, we had what we called “The Allied Minimum Standard of Employment.” Manager A would complain to me about one of her direct reports. I would ask if that person was better than nothing. That means, if we terminated him and didn’t replace him, would the company be better off? If the answer was “yes,” we took it a step farther and had a firm rule that if the offending employee was worse than nothing, he had to leave immediately. Typically, we reserved that standard for toxic employees, liars, thieves or anyone who operated outside our core values. Those terminations were fairly easy decisions. The tough calls were when someone was better than nothing, but not by much. So, in a tight labor market, with compensation rising and recruiting difficult, here are a
Let’s say someone is an “A3,” outstanding in job performance, but below standard in core values. We may not ever get that person to an “A1,” but we may be satisfied if he becomes “A2,” average or above in core values, and job performance continues to be outstanding. The question is, then, how much time do you devote to coaching that person to help him align more closely with core values? Depending on the employee’s tenure and financial value to the organization, I’d recommend 180 days maximum. 2. CAN WE PLACE SOMEONE ELSEWHERE IN THE ORGANIZATION? The more difficult situation is when you have somebody who is a “C1.” She is super high on core values but performing poorly. We need everyone performing, but we love the fact the person is “all-in” with the team. If there’s another role that’s a better fit for her, go for it! I worked with a client company that had a brilliant engineer who couldn’t relate to people. He was in a client-facing support role. While he was technically correct almost 100 percent of the time, the clients didn’t like him. Fortunately, we found a technical product development role which was a much better fit. He went on to create one of the more profitable product lines.
3. MOVE ON. PLEASE! But if coaching just doesn’t work within a reasonable period of time or if you aren’t so lucky as to have a role that’s a better fit for a C1 or A3 employee, be honest and help that person find the right fit outside the company in this great job market. Do it now! 4. WHY ARE WE KEEPING THE “C3” EMPLOYEES? I’m amazed at how often I see companies hanging on to people who are worse than nothing. I always hear a ton of excuses. “He’s been here such a long time.” “My father hired her.” “HR won’t let me terminate him.” If you have somebody who has been with you a long time and is worse than nothing, it will never get better. It might even get worse than worse. These people drag down the entire organization. They drive out your “A1” players and suck the life out of managers and supervisors. They’re demoralizing. My goal is to ensure everyone is “better than nothing.” Do it for your company, yourself and your employees. n
JOHN HOWMAN As a serial entrepreneur, business and community leader since 1983, John Howman has led a variety of businesses, from technology to consumer products companies. He leads two groups for Vistage, a professional development group for CEOs, presidents and business owners. He can be reached at JHowman@AlliedCG.com. biztimes.com / 31
Strategies LEADERSHIP
Great plan, poor results MOST EXECUTIVES ARE STRATEGIC, talented, experienced and persuasive. They know where they want to go and have a plan to achieve success. So why do those plans sometimes fail to deliver the right results? If this has ever happened to you, were any of these situations present? »» The loudest voice in the meeting derails the agenda so the right discussions did not happen on the right timing. »» People were working hard but weren’t getting the “right” work done. »» Cross-functional teams did not share common goals. »» Deadlines were missed without consequence. »» Mediocrity was never challenged. »» Blame was more common than collaboration. »» The culture lacked a “one team” mentality. »» Accountability was not fully embraced, so bottlenecks derailed due dates. These symptoms are nothing more than bad habits that develop when leaders fail to define the “What,” the “Why” and the “How” to the organization in a way that is easy for them to understand. The “What” represents the goals and what needs to be achieved. The “Why” describes the value of the plan and the important contribution it will make to the company. The “How” details the strategy to achieve success. People who understand the “What,” the “Why” and the “How” have a deeper understanding of what’s important and can buy into the plan for reasons that are meaningful to them. This shifts their mindset from being motivated – which is external 32 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 18, 2019
and short-term – to being inspired – which is internal and fully committed. Committed people strive for greatness regardless of the hurdles and resistance they encounter; they are driven to be and do their best. Imagine the possibilities that can result when you have a team of self-driven, self-managing and fully accountable people. The remarkable can happen. To assess how empowered your team members are, select three important projects that are important to the company right now. Then ask each of the people working on these projects to anonymously write down, in their own words, their responses to these three questions: For this project: 1. What do we want to accomplish? 2. Why do we want to do this? 3. What are the desired outcomes? When you read their responses, do they reflect your definition of the “What,” the “Why” and the “How”? If the answer is “yes,” congratulations! You have done a great job of setting this team up for success. If your response is “no,” then there is some communications and possibly process work to do to close the communication gaps. Ask yourself: »» Do team members understand the “What,” the “Why” and the “How”? »» Are they clear about their assignments? »» Are they working well together? »» Are timelines defined for each deliverable? »» Is progress being tracked and accountabilities managed? »» What disciplines or communications need shoring up? »» What support is needed from leadership? Regularly scheduled project meetings keep people informed and make them accountable. People are often time-challenged, so decide if the update can be provided using a project tracking tool or conference call, or if an in-person meeting is required. If it’s an in-person meeting, insist that people come to the meeting prepared with all of the relevant information and are ready to contribute. Following the meeting, send out a note or update the project management file summarizing the
meeting outcomes. Be sure to post this information in the same location/file so the team knows where to look for it. Now for a reality check. Select several projects from different levels of the organization and determine if: 1. Employees know why they are working on this project and how it helps the company. If not, revisit the project purpose. 2. Team members have the processes and disciplines for managing the project. If not, provide the templates and the appropriate training. 3. Cross-functional communications and personal interactions properly support the work flow. If you find that gaps exist, create alignment and eliminate redundancy. 4. Team members are focused on the key priorities. If not, revisit the “What,” the “Why” and the “How” and then empower people to problem-solve and make decisions at the level closest to the situation. 5. Accountability is common practice. When people fall short of expectations, is there a conversation to understand what happened? Are action plans put in place to ensure that this doesn’t become a habit? If this happens repeatedly, are consequences instituted? n
CHRISTINE M c MAHON Christine McMahon is a former sales executive for Nabisco, SlimFast and Procter & Gamble. She offers sales and leadership training, conference keynotes, and executive coaching. She can be reached at (844) 3692133 or ccm@christinemcmahon.com.
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2-shot molding • Injection Molds • 3D Printing/Additive Manufacturing
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262.574.1600 | www.pavlicvending.com Lobby furniture | Cubicle panels Office chairs | Carpeting
9034 W. National Ave.
Business Hours: Mon. - Business Fri. 9:30 -Hours: 5:30 Saturdays Mon. - Fri. 9:30 9:30- 1:00 - 5:30 Saturdays 9:30Hours: - 1:00 Business Mon. - Fri. 9:30 - 5:30 Saturdays 9:30 - 1:00
Phone: 414 • 321•1850 Fax: 414 •5999 Phone: 414• 321 • 321 •1850 9034 W. National Ave. kathysshadeshop.com Owner Fax: 414 • 321•5999 West Allis, WI 53227 - Custom Window Treatments Phone: 414 • 321•1850 kathysshadeshop.com Owner - Commercial and Residential Fax: 414 • 321•5999 - Repairs of most Shades and Blinds kathysshadeshop.com Owner WestW. Allis, WI 53227 9034 National Ave. West Allis, WI 53227
Kathy Fucile
Kathy Fucile
Kathy Fucile
Commercial + Residential
CARPET CLEANING
Call Mark today: 414.610.9507 | meyercarpetcleaning.com
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BizConnections NONPROFIT KOHL’S DONATES $500,000 TO MILWAUKEE-AREA NONPROFITS Menomonee Falls-based Kohl’s Corp. announced it will donate $500,000 in grants to 22 local nonprofits through its Hometown Giving Program. The funding, which is generated by the Kohl’s Cares philanthropic program, will support Milwaukee-area initiatives focused on health and wellness, arts and culture, conservation, education, and social services. Grants will range from $2,500 to $50,000. The recipients include: City on a Hill, Ex Fabula, GPS Education Partners, HOPE Network, Just One More Ministry, Lutheran Counseling & Family Services of Wisconsin, Make-A-Wish Wisconsin, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Milwaukee
Christian Center, Milwaukee Rescue Mission, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Urban League, Neighborhood House of Milwaukee, Northwest Side Community Development Corp., Outreach Community Health Centers, Pathfinders, Progressive Community Health Centers, Running Rebels Community Organization, SHARP Literacy, St. Vincent de Paul Society of Milwaukee, TRUE Skool, and United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County. The company’s Kohl’s Cares program sells children’s books and toys, and donates 100 percent of the net profit to charitable initiatives nationwide. — Lauren Anderson
nonprofit
SPOTLIGHT
B R YO N R I E S C H PA R A LY S I S F O U N D AT I O N P. O. Box 1388, Waukesha (262) 391-1533| brpf.org
Facebook: facebook.com/ bryonrieschparalysisfoundation Year founded: 2001
c alendar Herzing University will host its inaugural B.A.S.H. gala and dinner on Friday, March 1 from 5 to 11 p.m. at the Marina Shore Building, 302 58th St. in Kenosha, to raise funds for the coming year. The event will include dinner, raffles and live entertainment by local entertainer The Eddie Butts Band. The event is open to students who have achieved academic excellence, Herzing alumni and community partners. More information is available at eventbrite.com. Women for MACC Inc. will host Pasta Fest on Sunday, March 3 from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Serb Hall, 5101 W. Oklahoma Ave. in Milwaukee. The event will feature a pasta meal, with homemade Italian-style meatballs, salad, garlic bread, dessert and beverages, along with raffle prizes, face painting, balloon animals, a band and a photo booth. All proceeds will benefit the MACC Fund – Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer Inc., which supports childhood cancer research and cures. More information is available at womenformacc.org/pasta-fest-2019.
D O N AT I O N R O U N D U P The Waukesha County Park System has received a $45,000 donation from the Waukesha Rotary Club to support new outdoor educational components that will be accessible for all ages and abilities at Retzer Nature Center in Waukesha. | WaterStone Bank has pledged to make a $10 donation to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin for every Moola Moola Kids Savings account opened in 2019. | Kohl’s is donating $750,000 to Hunger Task Force to increase access to nutritious meals for local families, children and seniors through the expansion of the Hunger Task Force MyPlate program.| Komen Wisconsin announced it allocated $485,000 to support women in 22 counties through its Breast Cancer Assistance Fund.
34 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 18, 2019
Mission statement: The Bryon Riesch Paralysis Foundation’s goal is to find a cure for paralysis through funding the latest in medical research, and to provide assistance to those that suffer from neurological disorders. Primary focus: The Bryon Riesch Paralysis Foundation has been serving people with spinal cord injuries, paralysis and neurological disorders since 2001, having raised $5 million since then. The foundation supports three main programs: charitable grants for individuals suffering from spinal cord injuries and other neurological disorders; research to help find a cure for paralysis; and scholarships for individuals suffering from paralysis or those who have a parent dealing with a neurological disorder. Other focuses: Education about paralysis and speaking engagements to talk about paralysis and the BRPF. Employees at this location: Two Executive leadership: Brad Schlaikowski, co-founder and executive director Key donors: West Bend Mutual Insurance, Crawford Evaluation, Medical College of Wisconsin, ProHealth Care, InPro, Secura Insurance, Acuity Insurance,
Marquette University, R&R Insurance, Inlanta, KS Energy Services, Meijer, Roell Capital Investments, R.W. Baird, IVEC, Sikich, WaterStone Mortgage, Ventura Foods, Harley-Davidson. Board of directors: Don Levings, Terry Jannsen, Cindy Bassett, Janet Curtis, Julie Crawford, Dan Knapp, Tim Noonan, Nick Loughrin, Kristin Freiberg, Lori Willkom, David Crawford, Lori Bruss, Ken Riesch and Carolyn Hahn. Is your organization actively seeking board members for the upcoming term? Yes. What roles are you looking to fill? The BRPF would assess the best fit given their background. Ways the business community can help: Sponsor events; get teams to attend and participate in events; ask the BRPF to participate in a lunch and learn; designate BRPF as the recipient of a casual day fundraiser; volunteer for events. Key fundraising events: Team Challenge event on March 2 at Elite Fitness; This is How We Roll Fashion Show on April 7 at Ingleside Inn in Waukesha; 20th Annual BRPF Golf Outing on June 3 at Silver Spring Golf Club; Kayak 4 a Cure on June 23 in Oconomowoc; 10th Annual Bryon’s Run/Walk/Roll to Cure Paralysis on Oct. 6 at Carroll University.
PERSONNEL FILE BANKING
INFRASTRUCTURE
LAW
MARKETING
Waukesha State Bank, Waukesha
Aries Industries, Waukesha
MWH Law Group LLP, Milwaukee
Derse, Milwaukee
Aries Industries has promoted John Kudis to national accounts manager. Kudis has 15 years of experience at Aries Industries, during which he built a network of strong customer relationships across the northeastern U.S. In his new role, Kudis will focus on business development with large contractors and supporting the growth of existing large contractor accounts.
The Milwaukee office of MWH Law Group LLP recently hired Eric Andrews as a senior associate. Andrews, previously with McCoy Leavitt Laskey LLC, has litigation defense experience in personal injury, civil rights, property damage, toxic tort, product liability and premise liability matters.
Derse recently transitioned Brett Haney from president to chief executive officer. As CEO, Haney will be responsible for the strategic direction and profitability of the company. Haney served as president for the past three years. Haney also serves on the board of directors for Sho-Link, Derse’s preferred installation and dismantle company throughout the U.S.
Hernandez
Mierzwinski
Waukesha State Bank announced the promotions of Mondi Hernandez, Angela Mierzwinski, and Reiners Katie Reiners to assistant vice president-bank manager. Hernandez will serve the Waukesha office, Mierzwinski will be responsible for the Oconomowoc office, and Reiners will lead the Brookfield office. In their new positions, the three will be responsible for all aspects of daily operations, including business development, personnel management, customer service, lending, relationship management and community service.
HOSPITALITY
Saint Kate, Milwaukee Milwaukee independent arts hotel Saint Kate recently hired Scott Sloan as general manager. Sloan will oversee all daily operations of the 219-room hotel. This includes managing all pre-opening and opening activities, overseeing the creation of three new restaurants, leading more than 170 employees, and collaborating with community influencers and artists.
Submit new hire and promotion announcements to: biztimes.com/personnel
INSURANCE
MANUFACTURING
A. O. Smith Corp., Milwaukee
Robertson Ryan & Associates, Milwaukee Robertson Ryan & Associates recently promoted Christine Rogers to the newly developed position of senior vice president of customer service. In her new role, Rogers will oversee all customer service. This will create a more unified approach for the company’s processes, policies and culture. Rogers has been with Robertson Ryan for 24 years.
INVESTMENT
Borgman Capital LLC, Milwaukee Borgman Capital LLC has hired Michael Pepke as a managing director. Pepke will remain a shareholder at Reinhart Boerner Van Dueren s.c. In his new role, Pepke will focus on expanding the firm’s deal flow and managing investment strategies. His law practice involves advising a wide range of privately-owned middle market companies, with a focus on acquisitions and succession planning.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Forward Careers, Pewaukee
Gurholt
Kempken
A. O. Smith Corp. has named Helen Gurholt vice president and controller. In her new role, Gurholt will be responsible for the accounting, financial planning and risk management functions. Dan Kempken has also been promoted to senior vice president, corporate development and strategy. Kempken will be responsible for partnering with the executive team to identify and define corporate strategic initiatives globally, as well as oversee the company’s merger, acquisition, divestiture and joint venture activities.
MANUFACTURING
Drive Source International, Sturtevant Drive Source International/ Dynamatic recently named Gary Steinhart chief executive officer and president. Steinhart will focus on increasing market share of the Dynamatic product line throughout a variety of industry applications, and the introduction of its total system solutions. He previously was senior executive, with more than 25 years of experience.
Forward Careers, formerly known as WaukeshaOzaukeeWashington Workforce Development, recently appointed Cindy Simons president. Simons joined Forward Careers in 2007 and has held several key positions of responsibility. She most recently served as operations manager.
NONPROFIT
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee, Milwaukee Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee recently named Joel Cencius vice president of development. Cencius will oversee all fund development responsibilities for the organization. As a certified fundraising executive, Cencius has more than 12 years of nonprofit fundraising experience, with time spent in both direct fundraising leadership positions and organizational management roles.
biztimes.com / 35
BizConnections SBA LOANS: DECEMBER 2018 The U.S. Small Business Administration approved the following loan guarantees in December:
Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp.;
KENOSHA COUNTY
Hangout MKE Café & Lounge Co., 1819 N. Farwell Ave., Milwaukee, $453,500, The Huntington National Bank;
D & A Fleming Properties LLC, 6127 Green Bay Road, Suite 200, Kenosha, $335,300, JPMorgan Chase Bank; MILWAUKEE COUNTY
3CP LLC, 724 N. Milwaukee St., Milwaukee, $572,000, First Business Bank; Bestway Logistics LLC, 701 W. Cleveland Ave., Milwaukee, $2.6 million, The Huntington National Bank; Bestway Logistics LLC, 701 W. Cleveland Ave., Milwaukee, $200,000, The Huntington National Bank; Bridgewater Performance LLC, 6542 S. Lovers Lane Road, Franklin, $200,000,
Delta Partners Inc., 3636 S. 108th St., Greenfield, $1.8 million, Byline Bank;
Keeling Real Estate Holdings LLC, 5535 S. 108th St., Hales Corners, $448,000, First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co.; Milwaukee Dancing LLC, 109 E. Silver Spring Drive, Milwaukee, $322,300, Bank of America; Olivia Inc., 4114 N. Oakland Ave., Shorewood, $1.6 million, Byline Bank; PLC Investments-Oak Creek LLC, 7195 S. First St., Oak Creek, $830,000, WBD Inc.; Ravneet Petro Inc II, 2812 W. Fond Du Lac Ave., Milwaukee, $861,900, WBD Inc.,
SH Firehouse LLC, 407 N. Hawley Road, Milwaukee, $768,500, Waukesha State Bank; Slick & Buck Associates LLC, 9105 W. Lincoln Ave., West Allis, $186,000, WBD Inc.; State Disposal Services LLC, 9530 N. 107th St., Milwaukee, $1.8 million, Byline Bank; The Law Office of David Watson LLC, 500 Silver Spring Road, Glendale, $400,000, Associated Bank; TSGMJG LLC, 9418 W. Schlinger Ave., West Allis, $617,000, The Huntington National Bank; Uppa Yard LLC, 4943 Fond Du Lac Ave., Milwaukee, $816,000, First Home Bank; Uzelac Industries Inc., 6901 Industrial Loop, Greendale, $1.2 million, Byline Bank; Uzelac Industries Inc., 6901 Industrial Loop, Greendale,
$500,000, Byline Bank; Wilcraft Can, LLC, 2480 W. Grays Lane, Oak Creek, $190,000, Community State Bank; OZAUKEE COUNTY
Jacob 1214 LLC, 12141218 13th Ave., Grafton, $1.4 million, U.S. Bank; RACINE COUNTY
MARCK Enterprises LLC, 1201 Milwaukee Ave., Suite A, Burlington, $465,500, The Huntington National Bank; WASHINGTON COUNTY
Leitner Homes LLC, 730 E. Washington St., Slinger, $350,000, Bank of the West; WAUKESHA COUNTY
Blizzard Lighting LLC, N24 W23750 Watertown
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Road, Waukesha, $1 million, Waukesha State Bank; Brook-Falls Ventures LLC, N48 W14850 Lisbon Road, Menomonee Falls, $2.5 million, Bank of the West; CC Retail Holdings LLC, 18000 W. Bluemound Road, Brookfield, $228,500, U.S. Bank; Council Crest Properties LLC, N94 W14664 Garwin Mace Drive, Menomonee Falls, $1.7 million, Wisconsin Bank & Trust; Council Crest Properties LLC, N94 W14664 Garwin Mace Drive, Menomonee Falls, $1.4 million, Wisconsin Bank & Trust; Council Crest Properties LLC, N94 W14664 Garwin Mace Drive, Menomonee Falls, $300,000, Wisconsin Bank & Trust; Jupiter Electric Corp.,
Lake Country Brookfield LLC, 20152 Union St., Brookfield, $3 million, Byline Bank; Lovejoy Controls Corp., N30 W22377 Green Road, Waukesha, $350,000, Waukesha State Bank; Perfect Timing LLC, 21461 E. Moreland Blvd., Waukesha, $486,000, First Citizens State Bank; Unite Utility LLC, N33 W33433 Hickory Lane, Nashotah, $1 million, Waukesha State Bank; White Swan Events LLC, 815 N. Road, Waukesha, $400,000, Byline Bank.
MAY 30, 2019 CONTACT LIN DA C R AW F O R D T O DAY ! (414) 336- 7112 | BIZTIM E S. C O M /BI ZEXP O 20 19 PRESENTED BY:
A N N UA L
Exhibit AT B I Z EXPO
Jupiter Electric Corp., 1100 Cottonwood Ave., Hartford, $1 million, The Huntington National Bank;
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1100 Cottonwood Ave., Hartford, $1.7 million, The Huntington National Bank;
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With over 2,400+ annual attendees, BizExpo is the place where businesses grow. Exhibitors leave feeling inspired, energized and confident to take their business to the next level of success. With the right combination of powerful business leaders and potential customers, BizExpo will give your company the brand exposure it needs to be a leader in your industry.
City of Milwaukee’s 173rd birthday party
AROUND TOWN
The Milwaukee Press Club recently hosted its annual birthday party for the City of Milwaukee at The Grain Exchange in downtown Milwaukee. In addition to celebrating the city turning 173, the event honored the leaders behind this year’s biggest news stories.
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NINA PENSON and SAMANTHA SCHWALBACH of La Macchia Group.
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MARK KNAPP of Quorum Architects Inc.; JOSH MORBY of FirstPathway Partners; DAN SCHLEY of Appraisals by Schley; and CHRIS HAU of Quorum Architects.
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JUDGE DANIEL GABLER of Milwaukee County Circuit Court and RORY MAGUIRE.
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BARCIE BENZSCHAWEL, LINDA MAY, PATRICIA ALGIERS, OLIVIA ALGIERS and KATHLEEN MAGUIRE of Chemistry in Place.
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DAVID COHN of The First Tee of Southeast Wisconsin and RYAN O’DESKY of the Milwaukee Public Museum.
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RANA ALTENBURG of Marquette University and JOEL HAUBRICH of We Energies.
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JOEL DRESANG of Landaas & Co. with NICOLE GULATZ and JUSTIN KERN of American Red Cross.
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KELLY MALLEGNI of The Bartolotta Restaurants and TIFFANY CORIS of Pabst Theater Group.
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PATTI KEATING KAHN of PK2group, CHUCK KAHN of A Neutral View and JOHANNAH KARSTEDT ST. JOHN of Professional Dimensions.
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Photos by Lauren Anderson
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Economic Trends 2019
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BizTimes Media hosted its annual Economic Trends event on Jan. 25 at the Italian Community Center in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward. Economist Michael Knetter gave his annual macroeconomic outlook. Dwight Diercks of NVIDIA, Michael Stull of Manpower North America and Terry Tuttle of HellermannTyton North American gave insights on their expectations for their industries in the year ahead.
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10. ROBERT RECK of Kilbourn Marshall and ERIC ZWICKY of Johnson Financial Group. 11. SUSAN BALL of CliftonLarsonAllen and JEFFREY TICKNOR of BMO Harris Bank. 12. ROBERT JANSEN of Bridgewood Advisors and DAVID ANDERSON of BMO Harris Bank.
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13. JEFF DOCALAVICH of B2B CFO and COOPER WAGE of Old National Bank. 14. JOHN OLLENBURG of HRS and STEVE KOHLMANN of Independent Business Association of Wisconsin. 15. MIKE TILLMAN and KENNETH PHELPS of MP Systems Inc. 16. JEFF HOFFMAN of Cushman & Wakefield | Boerke and BRIAN BAKER of Sentry Equipment Corp.
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17. SCOTT HEBERLEIN of Mortenson, ANDREW THOMAS of First Citizens Bank and BRIAN TOBICZYK of Mortenson. Photos by Molly Dill and Madison Goldbeck biztimes.com / 37
BizConnections VOLUME 24, NUMBER 21 | FEB 18, 2019
GLANCE AT YESTERYEAR
126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120 PHONE: 414-277-8181 FAX: 414-277-8191 WEBSITE: www.biztimes.com CIRCULATION: 414-336-7100 | circulation@biztimes.com ADVERTISING: 414-336-7112 | advertising@biztimes.com EDITORIAL: 414-336-7120 | andrew.weiland@biztimes.com REPRINTS: 414-336-7100 | reprints@biztimes.com PUBLISHER / OWNER Dan Meyer dan.meyer@biztimes.com
SALES & MARKETING
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Mary Ernst mary.ernst@biztimes.com
EDITORIAL EDITOR Andrew Weiland andrew.weiland@biztimes.com MANAGING EDITOR Molly Dill molly.dill@biztimes.com REPORTER Lauren Anderson lauren.anderson@biztimes.com REPORTER Maredithe Meyer maredithe.meyer@biztimes.com REPORTER Arthur Thomas arthur.thomas@biztimes.com REPORTER Alex Zank alex.zank@biztimes.com
This photo, taken circa 1925, shows a partially open bridge on the Milwaukee River in downtown Milwaukee. The city has numerous bascule and vertical lift bridges over the river, which move to allow boats to pass under them. In recent years, Milwaukee has been renovating several of the bridges downtown. — This photo is from the Milwaukee Public Museum’s Photo Archives collection.
COMMENTARY
Foxconn, what’s up? WISCONSIN’S DEAL WITH FOXCONN has been getting a lot of negative media attention lately, including the recent cover of Bloomberg Businessweek with the headline, “Did Foxconn Con Wisconsin?” It’s too early to give up on the Foxconn deal or to call it a “disaster,” as some have. But it’s not too early to be concerned about the changing nature of the project and the lack of detail provided by the company. In a 2017 announcement at the White House, Foxconn chairman Terry Gou said the company would build a $10 billion, LCD 8K+5G manufacturing complex in Wisconsin. It could eventually have 13,000 employees, then-Gov. Scott Walker said. To attract Foxconn, Walker and the Republican-controlled Legislature approved $3 billion in state incentives, tied to job creation and capital investment. Another $1.5 billion was committed in local incentives and infrastructure upgrades. Foxconn selected a site in Mount Pleasant and work there began last spring. Initial plans 38 / BizTimes Milwaukee FEBRUARY 18, 2019
called for 15 buildings, including a generation 10.5 LCD fabrication facility (to make huge display screens). Then, in May 2018 a Nikkei Asian Review report said Foxconn was changing its plans and would not make large LCD screens in Wisconsin. Foxconn called the report “inaccurate.” But in June Louis Woo, special assistant to Gou, told BizTimes the company would build a Gen 6 plant in Mount Pleasant (not a Gen 10.5 plant as originally planned) to make smaller screens. The change gave the company more flexibility and removed the need to have a Corning glass plant on-site. Part of the justification for the Foxconn subsidies was, in addition to the thousands of jobs it would create, there would also be a massive supply chain creating thousands of additional jobs. Dropping plans for the glass plant was significant. But Woo said Foxconn would still create 13,000 jobs and invest $10 billion in the state. Construction work progressed in Mount Pleasant and the first building was completed. Then in late January, Reuters reported that Foxconn was reconsidering plans to make LCD panels in Wisconsin. The company is creating a technology hub in Wisconsin with research
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Paddy Kieckhefer paddy.kieckhefer@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Molly Lawrence molly.lawrence@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Maggie Pinnt maggie.pinnt@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Christie Ubl christie.ubl@biztimes.com INSIDE ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Amanda Bruening amanda.bruening@biztimes.com SALES INTERN Tess Romans tess.romans@biztimes.com
ADMINISTRATION
INTERN REPORTER Madison Goldbeck madison.goldbeck@biztimes.com
Open sesame
DIRECTOR OF SALES Linda Crawford linda.crawford@biztimes.com
ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR Sue Herzog sue.herzog@biztimes.com
PRODUCTION & DESIGN GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alex Schneider alex.schneider@biztimes.com
Independent & Locally Owned
ART DIRECTOR Shelly Tabor shelly.tabor@biztimes.com
— Founded 1995 —
facilities, the report said. Foxconn said it needed to make changes to the project to adjust to global economic shifts, but remains committed to creating 13,000 jobs in Wisconsin. The company also detailed its Mount Pleasant construction plans for the next 18 months, listing no LCD fabrication plants. Two days later, Foxconn issued another statement saying after consulting with the White House, including a personal conversation between President Donald Trump and Gou, the company actually would move ahead with plans for a Gen 6 LCD fabrication facility. What’s going on here? Foxconn has moved quickly while only providing generalities of its evolving plans. It seems like the company is still trying to figure out what it’s going to do here. Wisconsin taxpayers, who have so much invested in this project, deserve a more detailed explanation. n
ANDREW WEILAND EDITOR
P / 414-336-7120 E / andrew.weiland@biztimes.com T / @AndrewWeiland
LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY
the LASTWORD
SUZ ANNE POWERS |
BROKER OWNER
Trust Yourself Suzanne Powers started her residential real estate business in 2011 with no outside investors or partners. In 2018, the company sold nearly 600 homes for a combined $190 million. Powers says trusting herself was a key part of helping the business grow. “When I was starting my own business, there were many people who told me not to do it. That it was too risky. That it was going to be too hard. But I didn’t let them shake my confidence or change my mind. Instead, I listened to my inner voice and my gut. I trusted I had the experience, the knowledge and, frankly, the sheer audacity to succeed in a male-dominated industry. “Of course, there will be failures along the way. Believing in yourself doesn’t guarantee easy success, but I know firsthand that failure is the beginning of success. You learn from mistakes you
make and problems you encounter, and you find a way around them. The faster you fail, the faster you learn, and the faster you’re able to get on a path to success. “Over the years, I’ve realized that the best way to reach your goals is through rigorous daily habits. And you must be extremely disciplined about executing those habits. Identify the small things you can do every single day to get results, increase your efficiency and add to your competency. Those are the habits that propel you forward and allow you to trust yourself.
Suzanne Powers Realty Group Inc. 4214 N. Oakland Ave., Shorewood Industry: Real estate Employees: 34 powersreality.com “The other thing about trusting yourself is realizing it will take time. I had to learn this because patience isn’t my strong suit. For most of us, success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes thousands of hours of hard work, determination and incredible discipline. Finally, create a realistic timeline and specific goals so you can measure your progress and evaluate your results.” n biztimes.com / 39
The peak of success doesn’t come without challenges.
MMAC/COSBE’s
We’re looking for companies reaching new heights. The process is simple. If your company meets four basic criteria, journey to www.mmac.org/F50.html to fill out the 12-question application. Winners will be announced in May and formally recognized at the annual awards luncheon on Friday, September 20.
1.
Growth of sales and employment (averaged over the past three years)
2.
Criteria
Headquartered in the 7-county Milwaukee Region
3.
Independent, private ownership (not a subsidiary, franchise or division)
4.
In business for at least three years
Apply today for the MMAC/COSBE Future 50 Award! Application Deadline: March 15, 2019 For more information, contact Alexis Deblitz at 414-287-4130 or adeblitz@mmac.org
www.mmac.org/F50.html Presenting Sponsor
Media Partner
The Future 50 Awards Program is a service of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) and its Council of Small Business Executives (COSBE).