The fifth annual UWM Innovator’s Expo kicked off at 5:00 p.m. on May 8th, exactly one year after the opening of the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center and the UWM Welcome Center. The annual Innovator’s Expo is a celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship at UWM and in the Milwaukee community. While the current circumstances required a pivot of hosting the Expo virtually, the fundamental goal was still achieved.
Over 60 people attended the live Zoom call to celebrate the hard work and continuing innovation taking place in Milwaukee, and over 400 people participated in voting for award winners. The Lubar Entrepreneurship Center was able to recognize many of the amazing entrepreneurs through various awards. Overall, 14 awards were presented to Expo participants, and the three winners of the UWM Qualifying Competition for the Wisconsin Big Ideas Tournament were announced.
Award winners:
Best Booth Design: Levor (Loren Nelson)
The Green Award: Gemüsekiste (Rebecca, Marvin, and Leoni)
Story Well Told: Red Yeti Racing (Michael Cerny)
Best Video Produced: Dabble (Ross Younger & Yundan Chen)
Doing Good Award: Wellness Space & Cafe (Amelia Coffaro)
Most Generous: Jackson House LLC. (Crissi Bates)
Best Pivot: Elle Nevada (Elle O’Hagan)
Best Pivot: Doco Disco (Kali Knutson)
Most Improved: Greenway (Paolo Gratton and Andreas Soerenson)
Staff Picks: Hope Glassel Photography (Hope Glassel)
Staff Picks: Dabble (Ross Younger & Yundan Chen)
Staff Picks: Embodied (Gina Roethle)
Staff Picks: Crowned Soles (Chineva Smith)
Staff Picks: Aran Ma (Multiple startups)
Wisconsin Big Ideas Tournament Qualifying Competition Winners:
1st: Levor – Loren Nelson
2nd: Street Dreams Soccer Academy – Azal Flores and Team
3rd: MuStick – Kai Kishpaugh
Congratulations to all the winners of the Expo, the UWM Qualifying Competition for the Wisconsin Big Ideas Tournament winners, and to all of the Expo participants (community, students, faculty, startups, and more) who hustle and innovate tirelessly year round. It has been a wild academic year, but that hasn’t and won’t stop Milwaukee innovators and entrepreneurs.
The Lubar Entrepreneurship Center looks forward to another year of innovation and excitement and cannot wait to see what new innovations the UWM and Milwaukee community create.