THE FIRST TREATMENT WE PRESCRIBE IS KINDNESS.
Featured on the front cover and in these photos are owners of The Black Orchid Catering, Aisha and Fatima Umar. The sister duo started their business as entrepreneurs with a strong desire to give back to their community. They have a vision of a Greater Green Bay where everyone feels connected, supported and proud of a shared community built together. They are fulfilling that vision one dish at a time.
Every thriving economy is the result of entrepreneurial spirit and a drive to innovate. Ideas shape industries, spark job creation and redefine what is possible. From small business startups to groundbreaking tech ventures, innovation is more than a buzzword. It is the foundation for resilient, forward-looking communities.
In this issue, we focus on the support available for entrepreneurs and innovators in Greater Green Bay. We explore the ecosystem that supports them from incubators and mentorship networks to investment opportunities and education, including the resources offered by the Greater Green Bay Chamber.
Join us as we celebrate the visionaries guiding the future of Greater Green Bay and take a closer look at how innovation and entrepreneurship are transforming our local economy, one idea at a time.
The Power of Connection and Community in Entrepreneurship
Written By: Shane Kanneberg, Entrepreneurship and Startup Manager, Greater Green Bay Chamber
When I joined the Army, they sent me to Fort Benning for basic training. I was nervous. It was my first time flying commercially, and the recruiters made it very clear: don’t mess anything up. My journey included a layover in Minneapolis, and before I boarded, the recruiter told me, “When you land, don’t leave the terminal. Your next flight is from the same place.” I trusted that advice.
But as time passed...45 minutes, 30, then 15...my flight never appeared on the monitor. Finally, I asked an attendant for help. She looked at my boarding pass, then back at me with urgency: “You need to be at the opposite end of the airport.” I sprinted and made it just before they sealed the gate.
That moment stuck with me. I wasn’t lost because I lacked the destination. I was lost because I didn’t know where I was in relation to it.
That’s exactly how I felt when I began my entrepreneurial journey. I knew where I wanted to go but had no idea where to start. That experience is shared by nearly every entrepreneur I meet. At the Startup Hub and the Greater Green Bay Chamber, our job is to serve as that helpful attendant, a trusted guide who can say, “Here’s where you are. Here’s where to go next.”
We do this by connecting entrepreneurs to a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, a complex web of partners, mentors, and resources that exist to support them at every stage of their journey.
The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Task Force is central to strengthening this ecosystem. This working group includes founders, technical assistance providers, and experts from organizations like the SBDC, Packers Mentor Protege Program, UW Green Bay, and more. Together, we are driving forward the entrepreneurship priorities outlined in the Chamber’s Economic Development Strategic Plan, which recognizes entrepreneurship as a critical driver of long-term economic growth.
Whether you are a founder, funder, or someone working to support startups, this task force may be the right place to put your passion and expertise to work. You will help shape the future of innovation in Greater Green Bay and maybe help the next entrepreneur find their gate before it closes.
GET CONNECTED! Reach out to
Lisa Jossart VP of Economic Development ljossart@greatergbc.org
Shane Kanneberg Entrepreneurship and Startup Manager skanneberg@greatergbc.org
1 DISCOVERY & INQUIRY
An aspiring entrepreneur learns about the Startup Hub through a friend, online search, or event. They visit the website, stop in for a tour, or contact staff for more info.
DID YOU KNOW?
150+ inquiries per year
CHAMBER SUPPORT:
Personalized intake conversation with our Startup Hub team
2 ONBOARDING & ENTRY
They decide to join—either as a virtual client, in an office, or in a manufacturing bay. A simple onboarding process ensures they’re set up for success.
DID YOU KNOW?
Virtual office space starts at $99/month, private offices start at $300/month, Manufacturing bays start at $1.25/sqft/month
CHAMBER SUPPORT:
Introduction to partners, SCORE, SBDC, WWBIC, etc.
3 ACTIVATION & INTEGRATION
The entrepreneur attends their first networking breakfast, connects with other tenants, uses shared meeting space, and starts meeting mentors.
DID YOU KNOW?
42 businesses currently housed in the Hub across various industries including manufacturing, consulting, nonprofits, logistics, and more
CHAMBER SUPPORT:
Monthly programs, curated introductions
4 GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
E Y
Their business begins to scale— they hire their first employee, launch a product, or secure funding. They might take part in a cohort or intensive mentorship.
DID YOU KNOW?
90% five-year survival rate for businesses launched in an incubator setting like the Startup Hub v. 44% survival rate without support
CHAMBER SUPPORT:
Access to partners to source talent, interns, etc.
HUB
5
GRADUATION & TRANSITION
They outgrow the space, move into their own commercial facility, or expand operations. The Startup Hub celebrates their journey and shares their success story.
DID YOU KNOW?
Dozens of businesses successfully launched into the community
CHAMBER SUPPORT: Exit planning, site selection support, storytelling support
Investing in Ideas at The Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Written By: Paul Werner, Assistant Teaching Professor of Entrepreneurship, University of Wisconsin—Green Bay
Every once-and-a-while, an idea comes to mind. Some people dream about how awesome it would be to have their idea come to life. Dreamers. Some people fret about losing their life savings on a fleeting idea. Flee-ers. Some people analyze and re-analyze their idea from all sides and bemoan all possible ways to fail and become stuck. Paralyzers. Some people believe in their idea and take actions to give their idea life and capitalize on it. Entrepreneurs.
Look about you. The things you operate, consume, swipe, and otherwise use are all ideas that came to life from an entrepreneur. They believed in their idea against all odds and opposition. From automobiles to single-serve coffees, entrepreneurs persevere. They work hard and know their idea will be successful. They sleep under their desk and on the factory floor. They refine, revise, rework. They promote, position, and pitch. Entrepreneurs have a distinguished mindset.
The entrepreneurial mindset is an attitude and a way of thinking. It’s a way of thinking that is proactive, creative, resilient, resourceful, and capitalistic. It’s an attitude of adaptability, flexibility, passion, collaboration, networking, and continuous learning. Resourcefulness is a key attribute of an entrepreneur, and they seek out knowledge acquisition that will advance their idea and skills. The
empowers unique, hands-on opportunities and network building. Guest speakers and other events bring together local entrepreneurs, business students, budding inventors, and the generally curious. Events are designed to develop the entrepreneurial mindset. And to make connections.
You already know that “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” The Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation creates an environment where networking is a key component. The Kitchen Table Series is a recurring event where a regional entrepreneur is invited to have dinner with a select group of students. They eat, talk, network. Students get a chance to learn from the entrepreneur. They learn about resilience, dedication, commitment. They talk about start-up and operations. They discuss the regional business environment. They talk about the local entrepreneurial ecosphere.
The Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation is part of the local ecosphere for entrepreneurs. This center is positioned as a hub and part of the network of interconnected stakeholders who can compete and drive innovation and growth. This is a center where openness and inclusiveness connect students, government, business, education, investors, and other various stakeholder forming a bottom-up approach in developing a sustainable network. This part of the regional
effective problem solving. The Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation encourages dynamic interaction where students and guests interact with each other, collaborate on projects, and compete for resources.
Innovation and ideas flow from various events where University of Green Bay students participate. Business pitch competitions are where students can develop entrepreneurial thinking and pursue business ideas. The Innovation OnRamp is a project that students compete and invent a new product, identify a target market, develop launch plans, and bring the idea to a pitch competition where they can win real money. The Innovation On-Ramp is embedded in classes withing the Entrepreneurship program at UWGB.
Another pitch competition is Solving NEW Challenges. This competition is about solving Northeast Wisconsin challenges using the entrepreneurial mindset. Previous pitches were about solving environmental challenges, solving traffic safety challenges, solving food waste challenges, solving braindrain challenges, and many more. These are student-led entrepreneurial ideas. These competitions are designed to pique entrepreneurial curiosity and to assist in the development of the entrepreneurial mindset. In academic lingo, these are experiential learning activities. These are what the educational technocrat would call “Authentic Assessment,” where students complete assignments that mimic actual entrepreneurial activities providing an authentic experience.
The Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation is part of the University of Wisconsin—Green Bay’s entrepreneurship program. This program is part of the Cofrin School of Business. This institute supports entrepreneurship students by creating a safe and supportive environment where students can develop ideas and network within the local entrepreneurial ecosphere. The entrepreneurship program awards various degrees from certificate, minor, and emphasis within the Business Administration department.
You can learn more about the Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation by visiting this website.
Angela Jellum, Director of Sales and Marketing at Hotel Northland, presents her project management plan for the NFL draft to students in the Entrepreneurial Marketing course at the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Wisconsin—Green Bay on Wednesday April 30, 2025.
From Greater Green Bay to Global: Tundra Angels Is Helping Build the Future
Written By: Matthew Kee, Manager, Tundra Angels
On a quarterly basis, a network of investors from all over Northeast Wisconsin gets access to the future.
It is not the future of local real estate or of a cause or movement. It’s access to the future of entire industries and markets, powered by the scale of technology.
Each quarter, three or four tech startup CEOs deliver an 8 minute pitch, 8 minute Q&A, followed by a five minute investoronly discussion at tables.
If it sounds like Shark Tank, that’s not too far off - but there are no TV cameras, no live negotiation, and no Mr. Wonderful.
This is Tundra Angels. It’s a lived experience with unique access where individuals in Northeast Wisconsin invest capital in high growth startups that are
building the future of industries and markets.
The way it works is that individuals pay an annual fee to become a member of Tundra Angels, which allows access to investible startup opportunities, a network of high-powered CEOs and executives who help de-risk the opportunities, and the ability to impact entire industries through the companies they invest in.
We invest in high growth startups to ultimately realize the financial upside that comes upon a successful exit of that company.
The Catalyst
The Greater Green Bay Chamber had the vision to develop an economic development strategic plan. This plan detailed the area’s need for a pre-seed capital source.
When I joined the Chamber in 2019, I was exiting a five year journey as a startup
CEO in the financial technology space. I had previously executed on taking a concept, building out a tech product, and raising venture capital from a Fortune 500 corporation. In Summer 2019, the Chamber hired me to help build out this pre-seed capital source, detailed in the strategic plan. We identified that Northeast Wisconsin lacked an angel investor network - a connected ecosystem of individual that could provide capital in exchange for equity in high growth startup companies. Thus, in July 2020, Tundra Angels was born. As Base Companies President and Tundra Angels member Paul Belschner notes,
”A strong start-up ecosystem, and access to capital, is vitally important to growth and stability of our regional economic development efforts.” Thus, in July 2020, Tundra Angels was born.
Now, Tundra Angels exists as an independent entity outside of the Chamber. At the time of printing, Tundra Angels has nearly 50 members and have
made 22 startups investments with over $5 million across startups around the state of Wisconsin.
The Collective Impact
But beyond $5M invested and the 22 companies we’ve invested in, each of these companies represents a story about the future that creates impact across the city, country, or world.
Here are just a few out of the many company stories that we’ve been able to invest in:
• Octane Coffee: A robotic automated coffee drive through that is primed for national franchising.
• Immuto Scientific: A UW-Madison spin out with technology that brings previously “undruggable” drugs to market.
• EVEN: A music technology platform that allows artists to directly sell their content to fans ahead of going
onto streaming platforms and make 100x more money than they would with streaming alone.
• Cylerity: AI-software that predicts the payment of Medicare claims to get healthcare providers reimbursed in 12 hours after claim submission.
The access to create a real impact across different industries, along with potential financial return, is one of the most attractive parts of Tundra Angels. Noting the impact, Adam and Amanda Kroener, co-founders of Carbliss and members of Tundra Angels, share, “As founders of a fast-growing startup ourselves, we understand firsthand just how vital angel funding can be at various stages of growth. That’s why being part of Tundra Angels for us feels both impactful and personal.”
How it Works
We also have a ton of fun.
The foundational experience of Tundra Angels is the quarterly pitch meeting. At the pitch, we take interest in each company to either move it into further due diligence or pass on the company. But, the pitch meeting is just one touch point in the process. In the due diligence process, a member brings his or her own expertise to de-risk the investment opportunities that we pursue. For example, we recently invested in AIQ Solutions,
a software company with technology invented at UW-Madison that gives oncologists visual clarity on the effectiveness of cancer treatment. Tundra Angels members with expertise in that domain raised their hand to offer to help vet out the company. In this case, we had a retired physician with oncology experience to vet out the opportunity from a physician’s perspective, a former medical sales rep to assess the viability of the company’s go-to-market strategy, and a former IP litigator to analyze the company’s five issued and three pending patents. The expertise of our members is not only a major de-risking lever in the investment process, it’s incredibly fun and fulfilling to access insider intelligence from other Tundra Angels members on the startups that we evaluate.
“Tundra Angels is, without question, the most valuable organization I’m part of,” says Tundra Angels member Justin Vannieuwenhoven, who is a serial entrepreneur and Innovation Council Chair of the Sheboygan County Economic Development Council. “It’s incredibly inspiring to see the innovation happening right here in Wisconsin—and even more rewarding to be part of a group that doesn’t just watch it happen, but actively fuels it.”
Tundra Angels gives investors in Northeast Wisconsin financial opportunity while creating immense impact across industries and marketsfrom greater Green Bay to the world.
WORK SOLUTIONS FOR EVERY PROFESSIONAL
JESSICA REED
HOWCAN TH E URBAN HUB WORK FOR YOU?
DEREK LANDRY
Learn more at wpr.org/sponsor, or contact Sherry Boushele-Walter at sherry.boushelewalter@wpr.org or 920-810-6841.
JUNE
2025
BUSINESS RECOGNITION LUNCHEON AWARDS
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
10:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
KI Convention Center
A celebration designed to recognize and honor individuals’ and companies’ achievements, growth, innovation, and exceptional business practices in Greater Green Bay. Please join us and show your support for the accomplishments of local businesses.
CHAMBER GOLF CLASSIC
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Morning round: 8 a.m.
Afternoon round: 2 p.m.
Northbrook Golf & Grill
Join us this July for the second year of our unique golf format! We are hosting one of the area’s largest golf outings at a single course in a single day, featuring two rounds of golf! With two dynamic shotgun starts— morning and afternoon—golfers can select the tee time that best suits their game.
Realtors, LLC
10 Years
• Green Bay Area Crime Stoppers, Inc.
• Lakeland Care Inc.
• Kalypso Salon & Boutique, LLC
• WEC Energy Group 15 Years
• Koss Industrial, Inc.
• Sadoff E-Recycling & Data Deconstruction 20 Years
• College of Menominee Nation 25 Years
• NAI Pfefferle 30 Years
• Boys & Girls Club of Green Bay 45 Years
• Robinson, Inc. 143 Years Years
• Johnson Financial Group
• Sanimax USA LLC
JULY
5 Years
2025
15 Years
• CJ & Associates Inc.
• A&R Integrative Building Services
• BelGioioso Cheese, Inc.
• Elmstar Electric Corporation
• The Air and Water Store 20 Years
• University Avenue Market 30 Years
• Bank First 35 Years
• Services Plus 50 Years
• Midwest Communications, Inc./ Northeast Wisconsin (WIXX, WTAQ, WNCY, WNFL, WGEE, WYDR)
105 Years
• Green Bay Press-Gazette
• JPMorgan Chase
• Wisconsin Public Service
143 Years
• Associated Bank Green Bay
