New Venture Capital Law Will Invest $25 Million Into Startups

More state money will go into helping startups in Wisconsin under a venture capital bill now signed into law.

The bill sets up a $25 million program run by the state Department of Administration (DOA). The DOA will form a committee to choose an investment manager that will pair up state funds with private investment dollars and sink them into young Wisconsin businesses.

At the bill signing, John Torinus of the privately based Wisconsin Super Angel Fund welcomed the state’s help; he said the matching state funds would enable his group to increase the number of companies it helps from 13 to 20.

This version of the venture capital bill had wide, bipartisan support. That wasn’t the case with a previous proposal under which Governor Scott Walker would have created a much larger program managed by certified capital companies (CAPCOs). The CAPCOs ran into problems running an earlier Wisconsin venture capital initiative.

Walker says he’s happy with the $25 million investment.

“Going forward though, it just puts a greater impetus on seeing results so we can reinvest that and potentially add more in the future,” he says.

The $25 million is in the state budget. The remaining critics of the new law say some of the jobs may be created outside of Wisconsin, and that some industries won’t have access to the state funds.