Raise a Glass to Successful Ventures in the Madison Region
The Madison Region offers a business-friendly climate, with the talent to support it. The eight counties boast 617,000+ workers and a 1.66 workforce dependency ratio, higher than the state and national average. (The workforce dependency ratio is the number of people in a dependent age group compared to the number of people in the working-age group.)
Top industries include advanced manufacturing, health care and information technology. But the opportunities go well beyond the core industries, allowing people to follow their dreams. Meet three people who are forging their own paths and making their mark on the Madison Region.
Growing the Local Tech Scene
Bryan Chan, CEO and founder of SupraNet Communications, started the internet service provider and data center in Madison in 1994.
Bryan Chan
“I got started selling dial-up connections to the internet initially and then have evolved into providing fiber and wireless internet to lots of local organizations, including the Dane County Regional Airport and Overture Center, in addition to providing cost-effective internet for families around town,” he says.
Chan enjoys networking with the vibrant and growing tech scene in Madison.
He helped found Forward Festival, Madison’s flagship technology and entrepreneurship festival, and SupraNet hosts meetups for tech workers called High Tech Happy Hour.
“Madison has one of the fastest-growing tech communities in the country,” Chan says.
He is originally from the San Francisco Bay area but fell in love with the region while attending University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“For people who want a career in tech or to start their own business, Madison is a great place for that,” Chan says. “There’s always somebody who wants to help you. It’s a very collegial and collaborative environment for startups and entrepreneurs, especially in the tech sector.”
A Serendipitous Suds Story
Sarah Ferree, taproom manager and assistant brewer at Ooga Brewing Co. in Beaver Dam, found herself working in the region’s bustling brewery scene by happenstance.
“My background is actually in dental lab technology, and I stuck with that career from after college until my second child was born,” Ferree says.
After staying home with her children for a decade, Ferree was ready to re-enter the workforce.
“I took up home brewing as a hobby,” Ferree says. “My husband was volunteering with our local chamber of commerce, which puts on an annual beer and cheese tasting. I brewed a special batch of beer for The Taste of Wisconsin two years in a row. Being a fairly small town, Ruth and Jim Metz (owners of Ooga Brewing) heard about me brewing and asked if I would like to be involved with the brewery they were building.”
Since then, Ferree says she has done a little bit of everything at the taproom.
“I spend quite a bit of time on the business side of things, making sure invoices are scanned and sent to accounting, running payroll, and scheduling and managing a fantastic taproom team,” Ferree says. “I am also in charge of planning events, festivals and live music.”
What Ferree enjoys most about the industry is the diversity. “Our clientele come from all walks of life, as do my peers in the industry,” she says.
Doing Well By Doing Good
Max Duckworth co-founded MaSa Partners, an impact investment venture, with his wife, Sarah.
Max Duckworth
“What we are trying to do is prove out the hypothesis that you can do well by doing good,” Duckworth says.
“You can do well financially by doing good in terms of investing capital – not just financial capital, but human capital, relationship capital and time capital, behind early-stage companies that are disruptive, innovative and trying to address real-world problems.”
Over the last decade, Duckworth has made several investments, including in Abingdon Health, a now publicly traded company in the UK that’s establishing its U.S. business in Madison. As an early investor, Duckworth has served on the board and as a U.S. adviser for the company.
Duckworth has invested locally in Wisconsin as a way to bridge the capital gap between the two coasts and the Heartland but has since expanded his thinking.
“Now, I’m also trying to get some of the companies that I’ve invested in to move here,” Duckworth says. “I’m thrilled that Abingdon Health independently made the decision to set up its U.S. headquarters in Madison. I want to encourage and facilitate more of that.”
Duckworth, who’s originally from England, notes he’s typically been a big-city guy.
“Madison is the smallest city I’ve ever lived in in terms of population, but it has not disappointed,” Duckworth says. “Quite the opposite. Madison is a small city that punches well above its weight.”