Forward Fest 2026

Tuesday August 18, 2026 8:30am - 10:30am CDT

Bandit - Tacos & Coffee @ 640 W Washington Ave, Madison, WI 53703, USA

Limited Capacity seats available

First In Breakfast is a gathering designed to bring together founders, investors, and operators from across the Midwest startup ecosystem. The event is intentionally structured to maintain a strong mix of builders and capital providers, creating an environment where meaningful conversations and real relationships can take shape. The format includes a short, insight-driven discussion followed by open networking.

Hosted by Gateway Capital X Mastercraft Ventures

Event Organizers

Lamarr Banks

Venture Associate, Gateway Capital

Mason Cook

Managing Director, Mastercraft Ventures

Pre-seed startup investor.

Tuesday August 18, 2026 8:30am - 10:30am CDT
Bandit - Tacos & Coffee 640 W Washington Ave, Madison, WI 53703, USA

Category Social Good, Tech / Software
Interaction Type Happy Hour, Social, Short discussion and open networking

10:00am CDT

Design Workshop: Building a New Knowledge Stack

Tuesday August 18, 2026 10:00am - 12:00pm CDT

State Line Distillery @ 1413 Northern Ct, Madison, WI 53703, USA

Limited Capacity seats available

Why Workshop a new knowledge stack?

In 2026, most teams are stuck in a loop of under-delivering on what AI promises for the future.

Teams don't have a tool problem, we are playing around with a beginners mindset.
Teams have a fuel problem, we are limited by what the tools need to truly shine.

If you've heard:
🥔 "This help center is a (maintenance) mess"
😖 "My team is burning out answering the same 5 questions"
💸 "Our customer support is is too expensive / too reactive"
📈 "We need a more sustainable way to scale"

Make your fuel work:
• Your fuel is unstructured data,
Conversations and natural language are messy.
• Your resources, docs, knowledge articles, blog posts are duplicative or inconsistent
Which makes machines who regurgitate your stuff "hallucinate" through its' confusion.
• Meanwhile search tools have evolved into chatbots
Proving this moment of organizational change is led by technology.

If you're asking for help - you don't want someone who is messy and hallucinating.

Amidst this we all know
• We are beginners, learning.
• We have the answers, we have the know-how.

My work focuses on the rigorous practice for teams to share what we collectively know - if we don't then we won't be able to scrape anything useful together to feed the AI future.

This session is for leaders to:
Take a breath
and join others in finding better ways to work (with AI).

AGENDA

10:00 AM Welcome and Overview
Knowledge-as-a-service, Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS©) methodology and it's various applications.

10:30 AM Share your Story
We all have a (customer service) story to share - some good, some bad, and some extremely ugly. We'll share experiences from the real life and I'll share some gems from my time with over 100+ different customer service teams.

BREAK

11:00 AM Design Workshop
Participants will sketch their "2026 Knowledge Stack", creating a physical ARTifact to bring back into everyday operations.
With any luck, this session will inspire participants to build better service through designing and future-proofing your organization's knowledge.

12:00 PM Lunch:
Join an optional lunch nearby with your fellow participants to reflect together and enjoy the outdoors in beautiful Madison, Wisconsin.

LOCATION:
Hybrid
• Virtual on zoom
• In person @ State Line Distillery - staff will be around to pour drinks.

QUESTIONS:
Contact Christina Libs at any time.

About Christina Libs:
Christina improves accessibility and reusability in organizational operations. She is a fractional knowledge systems program manager for enterprise businesses. She's open to project-based contracts for any small (5-50) teams supporting large customer bases (100s-1000s+). She is a KCS® certified practitioner ♻️, ex-Zendesk Engagement Manager and Manager of Proactive and Automated Support 💚, ex-Epic Implementation Services and Post Go Live Support Program Manager ❤️, and UIUC Graduate in Communication and Sociology 🎓. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin and loves to 🌱 🏒 🥏 🏄‍♂️.

Event Organizers

Christina Libs

Knowledge Strategy Consultant, Service Knowledge Operations

Questions? Contact Christina Libs at any time.
About Christina Libs:
Christina improves accessibility and reusability in organizational operations. She is a fractional knowledge program manager for enterprise businesses. She's open to project-based contracts for any small (5-50) teams supporting large customer bases (100s-1000s+). She is a KCS... Read More →

Tuesday August 18, 2026 10:00am - 12:00pm CDT
State Line Distillery 1413 Northern Ct, Madison, WI 53703, USA

Ticketed, Hybrid (Design Workshop)

Category Arts, Tech / Software, General, Customer Service, Knowledge Work
Interaction Type Workshop

10:30am CDT

10x Faster Without the Burnout. How Laws of Energy accelerate growth and returns for Successful Entrepreneurs

Tuesday August 18, 2026 10:30am - 12:30pm CDT

StartingBlock Madison @ 821 E Washington Ave 2nd floor, Madison, WI 53703, USA

Limited Capacity seats available

Madison’s startup ecosystem operates under intense pressure to:
• Accelerate timelines to market
• Deliver strong financial returns
• Compete for capital in a demanding investment environment

However, herein lies the problem:
Financial results are not delivered through physical effort alone.
More hours, more hustle and more pressure often produce exhaustion not outcomes.

Because money doesn’t just follow effort.
Money follows energy.

And without disciplined financial systems, even high momentum turns into waste.

The entrepreneurs who apply both the Laws of Energy and financial discipline will outperform the market. This event will guide them to that competitive advantage by introducing a new operating model for founders and growth leaders navigating today’s reality:

A Dual Engine for Modern Growth
• Applying the Laws of Energy → Drives productivity, momentum, and speed without burnout
• Applying Financial Discipline → Drives measurable returns, capital efficiency, and investor confidence

Presented by MJ Reiners, Founder of Summerland Education and Victoria Thayer, Founder of Novii CPA, this session bridges the gap between:
• Why growth is slower than expected
• Why hard work does not create burnout and what does
• And how to accelerate both execution speed and financial performance

Hosted by Summerland Education and Novii CPA

Event Organizers

Dave Igot

Business Operations Specialist, Novii CPA

MJ Reiners

CEO, Summerland Education

I love discovery. And the only thing better than discovery itself is sharing it. That is the work I do. For 25 years, I studied and quietly mastered the Laws of Energy to gain a deep understanding how invisible forces drives business results. Now I am on a mission to share this with... Read More →

Sponsors

Novii CPA

Summerland Education

Tuesday August 18, 2026 10:30am - 12:30pm CDT
StartingBlock Madison 821 E Washington Ave 2nd floor, Madison, WI 53703, USA

Category Bio / Health, Social Good, Tech / Software
Interaction Type Workshop

10:30am CDT

Is the Government Your Next Growth Customer?

Tuesday August 18, 2026 10:30am - 12:30pm CDT

Recovery.com (8th floor cafe) @ 316 W Washington Ave 8th floor, Madison, WI 53703, USA

Limited Capacity seats available

A practical workshop for Wisconsin founders deciding whether government sales can become a real growth channel — and which path to pursue first.

Agenda:
The Wisconsin Opportunity Map
What Wisconsin companies already sell to the government, including defense manufacturing, food/ag, healthcare, logistics, construction, technology, and professional services.

The Founder Decision Tree
Should you pursue direct federal contracts, subcontracting, prime-supplier channels, SBIR/STTR, state/local contracts or hold on government contracting for now?
Government Revenue Fit Canvas

A hands-on exercise to map your customer, end user, buyer, funding source, channel partner, compliance gaps, and next test.

The Readiness Check
What you need before pursuing this channel: customer fit, delivery capacity, compliance, registrations, certifications, working capital, insurance, cybersecurity, and sales-cycle tolerance.

How Deals Actually Happen
A candid conversation with a founder/operator, prime or supply-chain buyer, procurement expert, and capital provider.

90-Day Action Plan
Each founder identifies one target customer segment, one likely entry path, three next steps, and one thing not to waste time on yet.

Event Organizers

Babs Karney

Laura Strong

CEO, Valency Fund

Sponsors

Valency Fund

Tuesday August 18, 2026 10:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Recovery.com (8th floor cafe) 316 W Washington Ave 8th floor, Madison, WI 53703, USA

Category Tech / Software, General, Growth, Customer
Interaction Type Conference, Workshop, Networking

12:30pm CDT

Navigate Environmental Requirements with Confidence: Tools and Support for Wisconsin Entrepreneurs

Tuesday August 18, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm CDT

Virtual @ 316 W Washington Ave 8th floor, Madison, WI 53703, USA

Starting or growing a business comes with challenges, including understanding environmental requirements. Fortunately, help is available! Join this webinar to learn how Wisconsin DNR’s Small Business Environmental Assistance Program helps entrepreneurs save time, avoid compliance headaches and make informed decisions from the start.

We will showcase free services, practical tools and one-on-one assistance available to small businesses, including a demonstration of the new Enviro-Nav tool that is designed to help businesses identify environmental requirements, permits and resources relevant to their operations. Whether you are launching a new business, expanding or simply looking for trusted guidance, this session will connect you with resources built specifically for small businesses.

Hosted by Wisconsin DNR Small Business Environmental Assistance Program

This is a virtual event. For those who are logged in and have RSVP'd, the streaming link will appear on this page starting 10 minutes before the session.

Event Organizers

Jennifer Feyerherm

Tuesday August 18, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm CDT
Virtual

Free, Virtual

Category Environmental Health and Compliance
Interaction Type Workshop

12:30pm CDT

AI Fluency for Executives and Small Business Owners

Tuesday August 18, 2026 12:30pm - 3:00pm CDT

Century 21 Affiliated Office @ 221 W Beltline Highway, Madiosn, WI, USA

Limited Capacity seats available

Start thinking in AI.
You have a personal Chief of Staff in your pocket for $20/mo, but you don't know it. You've tried ChatGPT. Maybe you use it to draft an email or summarize a document. And honestly? You're a little underwhelmed. Or a little intimidated. Possibly both.
The hype says this technology will change everything. Your personal experience says it's a slightly better Google. That gap isn't because AI is overhyped. It's because nobody has taught you how to actually think in it.
This session closes that gap.

Who this is for
You're not an engineer. You don't want to be one. You're a decision-maker, an owner, a leader — and you've been quietly frustrated that your personal use of AI hasn't matched the promise. You've dabbled. You've been impressed once or twice. But you haven't crossed the line from ""occasional tool"" to ""this is how I work now.""
Maybe your company is trying to figure out the perfect strategy, but you don't know how to help.

What you'll leave with
A working operating model for AI — the same one I use with private coaching clients. You'll walk out able to: separate real capability from vendor theater, identify the three highest-leverage AI moves specific to your work (not generic use cases), run a 90-day adoption plan that doesn't stall in month two, and speak fluently enough to lead your team through the transition instead of following them.

What we'll cover
The fluency gap — why most executive AI training teaches the wrong layer.
The capability map — what today's models actually do well, where they fail, and how that's shifting.
The delegation question — what to hand to AI, what to hand to humans, and how to tell the difference in your own workflows.
Real-work demos — no abstract examples. We'll rebuild pieces of a real business in front of you.
The org change problem — why most AI rollouts quietly die, and the three patterns of the ones that don't.

Why now
In twelve months, the people around you — peers, competitors, employees, the person pitching you — will be working this way by default. Not as a novelty. As their baseline. The question isn't whether you'll adopt AI. It's whether you'll leverage it to create better output, value and time for yourself, or be left behind.
Bring your hardest question. You'll leave with a clearer answer than anyone's given you yet.

Hosted by Rejoin Coaching

Event Organizers

Michael Gardon

Rejoin Coaching

Tuesday August 18, 2026 12:30pm - 3:00pm CDT
Century 21 Affiliated Office 221 W Beltline Highway, Madiosn, WI, USA

Category Tech / Software, Leader Education
Interaction Type Workshop

1:00pm CDT

MadAI/IEEE - Engineering Software with AI

Tuesday August 18, 2026 1:00pm - 4:00pm CDT

Madison Public Library - Central @ 201 W Mifflin St, Madison, WI 53703, USA

Limited Capacity seats available

MadAI will be discussing engineering challenges of using AI code automation tools, such as claude code and code, to build and ship code bases which solve problems. We will first discuss a real world use case and then work together on building a solution to the use case in this session. Bring your laptop and a friend, we are going to get our hands dirty and build.

Hosted by IEEE/MadAI

Event Organizers

Christopher Harrison

Founder, Prismscope.ai

Tuesday August 18, 2026 1:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Madison Public Library - Central 201 W Mifflin St, Madison, WI 53703, USA

Free, Hybrid

Category Tech / Software
Interaction Type Conference, Workshop

3:00pm CDT

Pressure Chamber 2026

Tuesday August 18, 2026 3:00pm - 6:00pm CDT

The Sylvee @ 25 S Livingston St, Madison, WI 53703, USA

Limited Capacity seats available

SEPARATE REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR ALL ATTENDEES - REGISTER HERE
Free for Greater Madison Chamber Members and Forward Fest All Inclusive Pass Holders | $30 for Non-Members

Pressure Chamber returns for its 13th year as the region's top emerging companies pitch for the coveted "golden suitcase," which guarantees a reserved spot in the Chamber's exclusive Greater Madison startup meetings with top Silicon Valley investment firms this fall. Participating companies will present in front of a panel of national investors and a live audience, with the winning company chosen based on a combination of judges' scoring and audience votes.

Thank you to Presenting Sponsor Michael Best; Supporting Sponsors State of Wisconsin Investment Board, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), UW–Madison Office of Business Engagement and Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation; Reception Sponsor Fetch; Voting Sponsor Associated Bank; Student Sponsor Madison College – Center for Entrepreneurship; Community Sponsors JP Cullen and The Gialamas Company; Investor Sponsors HealthX Ventures, Idea Fund, Mastercraft Ventures, Rock River Capital Partners, Wisconsin Investment Partners; and Venue Sponsor FPC Live.

Hosted by the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce.

Event Organizers

Rylee Gaber

Alanna Thiede

Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce

Sharla Rowe

Events Manager, Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce

Sponsors

Associated Bank

Fetch

JP Cullen

Madison College - Center for Entrepreneurship

Michael Best

The Gialamas Company

WEDC

Tuesday August 18, 2026 3:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
The Sylvee 25 S Livingston St, Madison, WI 53703, USA

Ticketed, In Person

Category Bio / Health, Social Good, Tech / Software, Business
Interaction Type Happy Hour, Social, Live Pitches

5:00pm CDT

AI & Open Source Mixer

Tuesday August 18, 2026 5:00pm - 8:00pm CDT

The Rigby Pub, Grill, and Event Venue @ 119 E Main St, Madison, WI 53703, USA

Limited Capacity seats available

Cloud Native Madison presents the AI & Open Source Mixer!

Following a massive Agentic AI Summer, we’re heading to The Rigby Pub for a night of technical networking focused on the real-world side of innovation. Talk shop with experts from Red Hat, Solo.io, and more while enjoying complimentary food and refreshments, plus a drink ticket to get you started. We’re also giving away a $999 Ardan Labs Mastery Bundle (Go, Rust, and K8s) to one lucky builder. If you’re building, engineering, or interested in experimenting, come hang out, meet the community, and become part of an ever-growing local ecosystem.

Plus: Win tickets to DevFest WI! 🎟️
We'll be giving away tickets to DevFest WI — a positive, inclusive conference at Forward Fest for all technologists happening Wednesday, August 19 from 8:30 am–4:30 pm at Tripp Commons, Memorial Union. Organized by GDG Madison, Madison Women in Tech, and local volunteers, this year's theme is inclusivity: building teams and products that welcome everyone. Expect inspiring talks, a free hands-on "Anyone can build with Google AI" workshop sponsored by Google, and top-notch networking.

About Cloud Native Madison
Cloud Native Madison is the official Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) chapter for Madison, WI, fostering collaboration, innovation, and community growth in cloud-native technologies. CNCF projects are the foundation of cloud native computing. As part of the Linux Foundation, we provide support, oversight and direction for fast-growing, cloud native projects, including Kubernetes, vLLm, kServe, Kubeflow, kagent, and more.

Find our LinkedIn, CNCF Page, and more on our Linktree.

Event Organizers

Ryan Etten

Principal Solutions Architect, Broadcom

Ryan Etten builds cloud-native systems and rebuilds the communities that run them. A Principal Solutions Architect at Broadcom, Red Hat Certified OpenShift Architect, global speaker, and certification exam developer, he leads secure cloud-native digital transformations across the... Read More →

Sponsors

solo.io

Tuesday August 18, 2026 5:00pm - 8:00pm CDT
The Rigby Pub, Grill, and Event Venue 119 E Main St, Madison, WI 53703, USA