Despite confinement requirements, Milwaukee’s business community is still coming together, this time virtually. The first annual OnRamp Impact Conference, which will bring together more than 45 investors, corporations and venture capitalists, as well as more than 300 startups, will take place on Thursday, Sept. 17.
The conference is organized by gener8tor, an accelerator that supports the growth of companies and individuals, in particular artists and entrepreneurs, throughout the United States and Canada. The upcoming OnRamp Conference falls in line with their usual programs, which are meant to help startups network and gather resources to accelerate their growth.
On Sept. 17, the virtual conference will be kickstarted by a speech from keynote speaker Jewel Burks Solomon, managing partner at Collab Capital and head of startups for Google, followed by roundtable discussion about social impact.
“Our vision of social impact is providing support to diverse founders, providing support to startups that have a positive impact in our community, whether it’s for nonprofit and for-profit companies,” says Charmyse Tillman, associate director of business development at gener8or. “Maybe if it's an environmental organization, or they're solving water issues or a major problem in their city or housing. Or maybe it's a new makeup line that is providing foundation colors for diverse people. Social impact is, overall, having a positive impact on the community and providing a platform for diverse founders.” Throughout the conference, and in the long run, gener8or hopes to promote not just business, but ethical and diverse business ventures.
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While the morning’s program is open to all, the afternoon is dedicated to helping each startup that joined the conference. The virtual startup track, for which startups can apply until Monday, Aug. 24, is a series of free, one-on-one discussions between participating startups and corporations—represented there by corporate social responsibility executives and impact investors.
The startups “will share five minutes pitches, and then have 15 minutes to network. They can explore potential networks for partnership, investments if appropriate, as well as customer relationships,” says Tillman. This is the chance to get potential business partners or investors—or, if that doesn’t work, to obtain information, experience and mentorship. “It’s a great way to provide visibility and get them in front of an investor or corporation that they may not have the opportunity to contact if they sent a cold email, for example,” Tillman explains.
Among the lineup of corporations that will be present, there are Allianz, American Family Insurance, the Medical College of Wisconsin, Northwestern Mutual, Ben & Jerry’s and many more.
The OnRamp conference is the first of its kind, but it is building upon the experience of February’s CommUNITY Growth Summit in Milwaukee. And, while the conference lasts only one day, it is meant as the point of contact for long-term business relationships on the national scale.
