From 25 communities statewide, 52 entries advance in 2025 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest

MADISON, Wis. – Fifty-two entries from 25 distinct communities have advanced to the semi-final round of the annual Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest, contest producers announced.

Contestants emerged in first-round competition involving an independent panel of about 70 judges organized through the Wisconsin Technology Council and its programs, the Tech Council Innovation Network and the Tech Council Investor Networks. There were 153 first-round entries spread over four categories.

[inarticled]The semi-finalists represent those same four categories: advanced manufacturing (12), business services (13), information technology (13) and life sciences (14). Within those broad groups, plans range from novel metal separation technologies to turning dairy waste into sugars; from PFAS filtration for municipal water systems to new medical tests, treatments and devices; and artificial intelligence solutions for a variety of uses.

Those 52 plans also represent the geographic diversity of Wisconsin, with 25 coming from outside the state’s two largest cities. Communities represented include Appleton, Coon Valley, Eagle, Janesville, Kohler, Muskego, Neenah, Oshkosh, Rhinelander, Waupaca and Whitewater.

“Trends reflected in the top 52 entries match up well with Wisconsin’s traditional and emerging strengths,” said Gary Frings, chairman of the Tech Council. “Good ideas come from all high-growth sectors of the economy and from all corners of the state.”

The 52 entries competing in Phase 2 of the contest will write 1,000-word executive summaries. Each summary describes the core product or service, defines the customer base, estimates the size of the market, identifies competition, lists members of the management team, and provides key financial data.

Once Phase 2 judging is complete in late March, the 52 entries may be made available for inspection by accredited investors through the Tech Council Investor Networks, which includes angel networks, early-stage funds and corporate funds, among others. About two-dozen plans will tape a 15-minute pitch deck for judges in phase 3.

The top dozen contestants will give live presentations at the annual Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference June 4 in Madison. Category winners, as well as the 2025 Grand Prize Winner, will be announced June 5 during the conference.

Sponsors are contributing cash, office space, legal assistance, accounting, marketing, social media management and more. About $2.9 million in cash and in-kind prizes have been awarded over time. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. is a major sponsor.

Additional lead sponsors of the 2025 contest thus far include Phil Ouellette OES Implementer; Pieper Properties; SCORE; Spencer X Smith; Ward4; Quarles & Brady. Associate sponsors include Starting Block and Wisconsin Technology Council. Additional sponsors are Focal Point Consulting; Madison Gas & Electric; UW-Madison Office of University Relations and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

Here are the 2025 semi-finalists. Reporters wishing to contact individual contestants may do so through the Wisconsin Technology Council by calling 608-442-7557, extension 1.

Submission Name	Applicant Name	City
Badger Dental Products	David Poetker	Madison
BreezyFile	Matt Campbell	Rhinelander
Carbon Rose	Troy Sonnleitner	Sun Prairie
CellTrack	Victor Santoro Fernandes	Madison
Colorful Connections	Morgan Phelps	Milwaukee
Dysphagia Delights	Nicole Rogus-Pulia	Middleton
EMND	Emily Thomas	Milwaukee
Equability	Hilary Pham	Madison
Eventini	Jesus Gonzalez	Milwaukee
Exosome Therapy for Acute Radiation Syndrome	Kyle Wolf	Madison
FerroMX	Jiajie Sui	Madison
Galasys Incorporated	Jarryd Featherman	Janesville
Geodesic High Tunnels	Andrew Cegielski	Waukesha
Grab a Wash	Cristal Jackson	West Bend
HemPFAS	Samuel Enerson	Madison
Korus Health Innovation	Bruce Korus	Brookfield
Mira Divine Beauty	Lilliana Miranda	Fitchburg
MYIP	Oday Albakri	Waunakee
Neubode	Mehul Basu	Madison
OhmCo	Mel Ohlinger	Neenah
Okkanti	Karen Laing	Madison
PetBliss	Ron Brooks	Waupaca
Phenolvation	Steve Karlen	Madison
Phoenix-Aid	Ashwinraj Karthikeyan	Oshkosh
POMster	Houston Hoskins	Kohler
Reliable Residence	Christina Henderson	Madison
Reliacy	Eric McKinney	Madison
Safepro Technologies	Paul Eckert	Dousman
SALUBATA	Fela Akinse	Madison
Saturn Agrisense	Kuan-Yu Chen	Madison
Sea Change Silicides	Steven Girard	Whitewater
Seen Hiring	Marc LaPierre	Madison
SeLight	Amani Gillette	Wauwatosa
Sentinel IQ	Ivan Rahman	Eagle
Service ID	RJ Pire	Fitchburg
Silken Biotech	Sundus Jaber	Milwaukee
SmartTriage Pod	Ruben Ngnitewe Massa a	Sun Prairie
Smore Supports and Services	Chelsey Myhre Foster	Coon Valley
SpayVac	Thomas D’Orazio	Madison
Spectacle Health	Eric Leventhal	Madison
Strudel AI	Kristin Isaac	Madison
Sunnyday Technologies	Nick Sonnentag	Appleton
SwallowEase Diagnostics	Sara Gustafson	Waunakee
Synpha Biosciences Corporation	Phil Huss	Madison
SynXT Therapeutics	Taufeeque Ali	Milwaukee
Syrenn Corp	Colin Guest	Madison
Talkbox AI	Dan Fogarty	Madison
Tykr	Sean Tepper	Pewaukee
Universal Real Time Power Conversion	Debiprasad Panda	New Berlin
University of Wisconsin-Madison	Haocheng Yang	Madison
Versai, inc.	Eric Maynard	Jackson
Yarrum	Murray J.R.	Waunakee

 

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.