A river city once forged in heavy industrial manufacturing, Beloit is reinventing itself as an entrepreneurial hub for young professionals and high-growth startup companies. With a convenient location on the Wisconsin-Illinois border, beautiful renovations to a historic downtown, and multi-million dollar industrial redevelopments, the city is an attractive location with a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem. Wisconsin Startup Week will provide opportunities for engagement with the startup community and the chance to learn from a variety of local success stories, all of whom are contributing to the revitalization of this innovative community.

January 24, 2017 – Janesville Innovation, Inc. (JII) has been awarded a $66,000 grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) to help fund the organization’s efforts to advance the climate for entrepreneurship through the new Rock County Entrepreneurial Business Development Program (RCEBD).

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) today announced that 11 organizations have been awarded nearly $500,000 in grants to help develop or expand innovative programs aimed at advancing the climate for entrepreneurship throughout the state.

The business incubator provides office, storage and manufacturing spaces at low rent costs, allowing small local businesses to get off the ground, Gale Price, Janesville economic development director, said. The center was able to provide low-cost space due to city support, but now has enough tenants to sustain itself independently.

Goepfert said Simply Solutions has distribution deals unfolding with at least one national grocery store conglomerate. The deals would land the company’s patented line of all-natural LipLoob lip balm and other personal lubricants on the shelves of thousands of chain retail stores across the country.

Tax increment financing District 22 has helped fund the Janesville Innovation Center since it was created in January 2013. The city has poured an estimated $1 million into the center, about $200,000 of which has been for operations, said Gale Price, city economic development director and Innovation Center board member.

As the result of a grant received by the Janesville Innovation Center (JIC) from the George Parker Foundation, the JIC has established a Tenant Loan Fund. The purpose of the JIC Tenant Loan Fund is to provide working capital to JIC tenants for projects and investments that accelerate revenue growth, increase profitability and/or enhance the ability to secure additional capital. Loan amounts will range from $250 – $750 per project, with corresponding terms that are event or milestone based.