good place to go.
But those businesses can take 15 or 20 years [before they begin to attract acquirers]. A lot of entrepreneurs and investors, including me, look at that horizon and see that information technology, digital, and software is a three- to seven-year plan, not a 20-year plan. I’d say people have been starting to drift that way. With Epic Systems here, there’s a lot of healthtech. That’s shorter-span than life sciences, but it’s not overnight either. There’s still a good mix.
X: Neider & Boucher is fairly visible in Madison’s startup community. For instance, your firm has been a sponsor for events like Forward Fest and the Wisconsin Innovation Awards, both of which you helped to get off the ground. Do you still need to seek out entrepreneurs, or is it more often the case that they come to you?
JB: I’m 64 and have been in this game for a while—by this point, more people seek me out than vice versa. But any time you can meet and be around people who are creative and energetic, it’s good for you and good for them. So we rent a space at Horizon Coworking now. I go there every Wednesday afternoon. Drew Coursin goes over to 100State. Those type of places are where young people are, typically.
X: Wisconsin is not where it wants to be in rankings of states by entrepreneurial activity. The remedies observers have recommended include not allowing companies to make noncompete agreements as restrictive as is currently possible, reforming the tax credit system for investing in early-stage companies, and providing more public support to higher education. Do you feel those are good suggestions?
JB: Those are factors. But you know what the most important factor is? Attitude.
I’m not saying the noncompete laws here are perfect, and couldn’t be edited. I’m not saying we couldn’t have better incentive programs in some regards, tax-wise. I’m not suggesting those things don’t matter, because they do.
But look at California, which doesn’t have any noncompete laws. Everyone realizes that they’re competing all the time, and they’re upbeat, working to make it. They have the attitude of success. The most important thing they’ve done is be attractive to young people. Silicon Valley is loaded with people in their 20s who want to make something of themselves. It feeds on itself.
