Building Wisconsin's tech future

"The Emerging Tech Consortium comes from deeply understanding both the support and the gaps within the Wisconsin startup and tech ecosystems. It's a vision of how we could fill in those gaps together."

I've participated in startup programs in Milwaukee, Madison, Kenosha, and Green Bay over the past ten years. Lately, I've been more focused on other ecosystems that were better able to support me and building out AR/VR, blockchain, and AI startups. This has taken me around the world. It's also created opportunities for me to build out over 18 different tech innovation and science ecosystems globally — from decentralized science hackathons in San Francisco to events in Bogota, Colombia to summits in Lisbon, Portugal to a 500-person blockchain hackathon right down the road in Chicago.

I've also run a science and emerging tech fellowship program as an incubator. I have four cohorts under my belt based on a peer-to-peer learning style which would be implemented at the etc. fellowships here too. My fellows have gone on to co-found companies that have raised millions of dollars and distributed millions in funding to different research projects. They've gone on to run month-long residencies and become essential core team members of the leading companies in this industry. It's a proven model.

I've built emerging tech communities, programs, technologies, and startups before and I want to bring this back to Wisconsin. This is my home, and I want to make sure it can feel like home for all of the innovators who are here so we don't have to go to the coast or international to find other people who think, operate, and create like we do.

I'm excited for Wisconsin's next era. I hope you are too.

I hope I get the chance to bring this to life. If you see this vision too, please sign this letter or reach out so we can make it happen. So Wisconsin can be so much more… etc.

—Erin Magennis