Here’s a collection of recent headlines in Wisconsin’s tech and innovation community:
—Microscopy Innovations, a Marshfield-based company that makes tools for microscopy labs, has raised about $750,000 from investors, increasing the size of a funding round reported last year by about $340,000, according to SEC documents.
—Madison-based Fetch Rewards received a $500,000 loan from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. WEDC also certified Fetch for a program that will allow its investors to claim state tax credits. Fetch, founded in 2013 by a University of Wisconsin-Madison student, created a mobile app that helps grocery shoppers find discounts, make lists, and more easily pay at the checkout lane.
—Scale Up Milwaukee just wrapped up its second “Scalerator” program, a six-month series of mini-MBA courses and entrepreneurship training that aims to help existing businesses push for more rapid sales growth. Scale Up said the 15 graduating companies are projecting 159 new hires and an average of 45 percent sales growth this year. Collectively, the companies generated $37.8 million in total revenue last year.
At the same time, Scale Up project leader Elmer Moore said the Scalerator program could open up to even larger companies that generate more than $15 million in annual sales, according to a report by WisBusiness.com.
—MobCraft Beer provided an updated tally of how much it raised from investors through Wisconsin’s first equity crowdfunding campaign. The final total was $68,525, less than the $75,000 originally committed because five investors backed out when MobCraft failed to hit its goal of $250,000, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. The company is looking for additional financing in the hopes of building its own brewery by the end of the year.
