What is Bright Cellars, and how did you get where you are today? Bright Cellars is the data-driven wine subscription service that matches members to wine they’ll love. You start by taking a 7-question quiz and our algorithm takes those answers and curates your first experience. Our co-founders are 2…

What is your name and profession? My name is Laura Kaiser, and I started my career as a reformed banker, but left the banking world and am now a conference planner and social media director for the Wisconsin Tech Council. How did you get to where you are today? I…

Do you think the next big idea is just outside your doorstep? Innovation in the Midwest is more widespread than you think. Transcend UW is a unique student organization; our purpose is to foster innovation and entrepreneurial collaboration among students. …

What is your profession? I’m an Intellectual Property (IP) manager at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, better known as WARF. WARF is UW-Madison’s dedicated technology transfer office and moves innovations from campus into the marketplace in order to generate revenue that supports campus. WARF also manages investments and supports various…

How I got started: Prior to teaching at the L&E Clinic I had a number of careers: I was a software developer for multiple Fortune 500 companies; I was a trademark and copyright lawyer for a small intellectual property boutique law firm in Chicago; I was a litigator and intellectual…

Three months shy of graduation, many students are still struggling to land an entry-level job. But Zach LaVallee is getting ready to run the company he started as an undergraduate. LaVallee, about to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in mechanical engineering, co-founded Emonix along with Neil…

Emonix develops a smart water softener, saving University of Wisconsin facilities thousands of dollars. — One PhD engineering student was working on a project in Chadbourne Residence Hall when a maintenance man approached him, asking him if he could take a look at the building’s water softener. The student evaluated the system and setup some crude sensing equipment to moderate its salt consumption.