A 1-hour session for founders who are building a business — not running errands for one
You launched a startup to build something. Instead, you're switching between 8 tools, chasing invoices, fixing shift schedules, and wondering why your ""lean team"" still feels like chaos.
This session is for founders who are done with that.
In one hour, we'll show you how fast-moving startups are collapsing their entire ops stack — CRM, projects, HR, contracts, billing — into a single platform, cutting $3,000+ a month in subscriptions, and getting back to the work that actually grows the business.
What you'll walk away with: - A clear map of which tools you can replace today - A live look at how OneHermes works in a real startup workflow - A 30-day plan to simplify your stack — no migration nightmare
Format: 20 min talk · 25 min live demo · 15 min open Q&A
Seats are limited. Bring your mess — we'll show you how to clean it up.
The Badger Startup Summit is Wisconsin’s premier gathering for entrepreneurs, innovators, and supporters of the startup ecosystem—and the official kickoff to Forward Fest 2026.
Founded over 14 years ago, the Summit brings together founders, builders, investors, and community leaders for a full day of ideas, insights, and connection that set the tone for the entire week.
The program features a curated lineup of talks and discussions designed to be both inspiring and practical, covering topics such as: • Lessons from experienced founders (“Chapter Zero”) • The future of AI and agent-driven technology • Real-world startup journeys—from bootstrapped to venture-backed • What it actually takes to raise capital in today’s market This year, the Summit will feature interactive programming designed to engage attendees more directly, including opportunities for founders to share ideas, get feedback, and connect with peers and experienced operators in a more open, collaborative format. The Summit also includes a VenFair and networking lunch, connecting attendees with valuable resources, partners, and fellow entrepreneurs. Whether you’re launching your first idea, scaling a company, or supporting the innovation ecosystem, the Badger Startup Summit is where Wisconsin’s startup community comes together to kick off Forward Fest.
After several months and tens of pitches, your MVP is done and ready for prime time. Entering the commercial stage of your business requires another adaptation: you need to ditch the pitch and learn to guide a conversation with your ICP. It's not about you anymore, now it's about them. Who needs your product? ... for what, when, and how? Start developing a sales strategy that will lead you to find the answers and activate that much needed cash flow. In this interactive workshop you will discover a few insights to translate your features into crisp business messages for your client conversations. Drop by, bring a pen, and get ready to draft your next sales call.
Sales Coach and Consultant. I took what I learned in 25 years of selling telcom gear and now work with growing tech companies to build an impactful sales strategy. Goals: shorten sales cycles and build meaningful relationships with higher-ups.
Monday August 17, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm CDT StartingBlock Madison821 E Washington Ave 2nd floor, Madison, WI 53703, USA
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.
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.
DevFest WI, https://www.devfestwi.com/, is an in-person conference for all technologists, organized by GDG Madison and volunteers from the Madison tech community. It will take place on Wednesday, August 19 at the Memorial Union in Madison, WI.
Our conference theme is inclusivity: how to create development teams and software products that are welcoming to everyone.
We are seeking presentations on a broad range of topics related to inclusivity in tech. We are particularly interested in talks on topics that you, the speaker, are excited about, and that can be understood and appreciated by non-specialists.
Here's a list of some options:
* online privacy and security * accessibility * localization * web performance * diversifying teams * tech interviews * empathetic code review * mentoring and teaching * cross-cultural design * AI and ML * neurodiversity, * tech talks / public speaking
Submissions will be accepted on a rolling basis; submissions will be accepted until Wednesday, June 17th. As a relatively small conference, we are unable to provide funds for travel, but we are excited to provide free entrance to the conference, as well as a small speaker honorarium. (The exact amount depends on the year, but we expect it to be $50 to $100.)
A high level introduction to patenting innovations for entrepreneurs. Learn from a seasoned pro when patenting an innovation is or is not appropriate, the different paths that can be taken to receive a patent, and when is the right time to consult a patent practitioner.
Hosted by E Epstein Patent Agency
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.
Join us for a special Cup of Joe conversation featuring Oscar Aguilar, founder of Novel Minds, a Wisconsin-based technology consulting firm focused on innovation, strategic leadership, and custom technology solutions. Oscar will share his entrepreneurial journey—from building a business around problem-solving and technology to helping organizations turn ideas into action. We'll explore the challenges, lessons learned, pivotal decisions, and opportunities that have shaped his path. As always, Cup of Joe is an authentic conversation between entrepreneurs—no presentations, no scripts, just real stories from the trenches.
As a woman with over 10 years of experience in the highly male-dominated engineering world, I wish to share insights that have helped me stay. This field is, at times, unwelcoming or even outright hostile. A key to my success has been developing business acumen, sometimes learned through entrepreneurial events including Forward Fest! Key topics:
• Why gender bias is so sticky in fields like engineering and law, and why we can't expect to solve this problem with more pipeline
• How to get past broken rungs in the corporate ladder by thinking of yourself as if you were a one-person business
• Develop your personal brand to bounce back from setbacks such as non-inclusive workspaces, gatekeepers, or reframe inappropriate attention.
Today’s workforce is more diverse than ever before, with six generations working side by side, each bringing unique perspectives, experiences, and relationships with technology. While this diversity creates incredible opportunities for innovation and growth, it also introduces real challenges, especially when organizations are implementing new tools, systems, or digital strategies.
Bridging Generations at Work is a dynamic, beginner-friendly session designed to help leaders, entrepreneurs, and professionals successfully navigate generational differences while driving meaningful progress through technology. This session will explore how communication styles, expectations, and comfort with technology vary across generations, and how these differences can either hinder or accelerate success.
Attendees will gain practical strategies for leading multigenerational teams, fostering collaboration, and implementing technology initiatives in a way that brings people together rather than creating friction. We’ll also explore the power of mentorship (including reverse mentorship), inclusive leadership, and cross-generational collaboration as key drivers of innovation.
Whether you're leading a startup, scaling a business, or managing a growing team, this session will equip you with actionable tools to strengthen your workforce, improve adoption of new ideas, and unlock the full potential of your team.
Agentic AI UW is a new club founded just this April. The purpose of the club is that there's a missing opportunity on campus. There are a lot of engineering clubs on campus that focuses on a single project where a team of engineers work together. However, UW-Madison lacks that kind of project-based clubs for CS students. We're at a turning point in history where three things converge into one, the massive amount of GPUs for compute, the massive amount of image/text data on the internet, and the innovational Transformer architecture. With the help of the Large Language Model (LLM) and Vision Language Model (VLM), the possibilities of AI becomes tremendous. AI agents is able to use tools inside your browser and inside your OS to help you complete the most boring/redundant tasks. Come here to learn about how Agentic AI is catalyzing in UW-Madison and what this club has done over the summer and is planning to do starting in the Fall.
While we should all strive to retain the skills and attributes that characterize us as being authentically human, it is easy to surrender control to technology that makes our lives easier-- but at what cost? Join two experts in artificial intelligence (AI) and psychology as they lead a presentation through conversation, games, and team activities that explores our reliance on technical automation and AI. We'll identify the possible pitfalls that we may stumble into which arise from an over-reliance on the technology. Ultimately, we will introduce a process that one can use to identify when to use artificial intelligence and when to rely on our own native intelligence. This event is suited for anyone who may have roles in the creation of products and services, analysts and technicians, management, medicine, and education.
Time: 1000-1230p
Location: Goodman South Campus, Madison College 2429 Perry Street Madison, WI 53713
You have the big idea, the technical expertise or know-how, and a product or service you believe in and excites you. But if you feel like you haven’t unlocked the same level of excitement and awareness from potential buyers, you’re not alone. Understanding how you can apply principles of marketing strategy in your business could be the missing puzzle piece to fuel the next level of your company’s growth. During this session, you’ll get an actionable crash course in marketing strategy, including understanding what a “market” is and how to define your target audience and create personas, how to conduct a competitor analysis and define your differentiators in order to develop your unique positioning, and more. After the session, you’ll be able to apply marketing strategy principles to connect more often and more authentically with your right-fit potential buyers.
