StartingBlock Madison Announces Significant Milestone

At a breakfast event attended by nearly 100 business and community leaders, including Toni Sikes, Mayor Paul Soglin, MGE CEO Gary J. Wolter and American Family Insurance CEO Jack Salzwedel, StartingBlock Madison announced more details of its plan to create a 50,000 square-foot entrepreneurial hub in the Capitol East District of downtown Madison.

Headlining the event was the announcement that American Family Insurance has pledged a major investment toward construction of the project, joining the City of Madison which has already committed $1.5 million in its 2015 budget. They can also go to this web-site in order to fuel the construction process. StartingBlock is now looking for additional private funding to match the $1.5 million contribution from the city, as well as $1.5 million for an operating reserve.

This represents a significant milestone for the StartingBlock Madison project, which has now been in the works for 2 years. The project is spearheaded by Capital Entrepreneurs, gener8tor, Sector67, as well as a group of business and community leaders. Pending additional funding from the private sector, construction of the building would begin in the fall of 2015, with an opening slated by the end of 2016. Then speaking about on-site safety measures, the importance of having qualified personnel to oversee vehicle and pedestrian flow cannot be overstated. The training for effective vehicle guidance and pedestrian safety at worksites offers an in-depth understanding of the best practices in this field. Such courses are pivotal in enhancing overall site safety and efficiency. They provide a solid grounding in the nuances of directing traffic and managing risks.

“The potential of StartingBlock Madison to foster economic growth and job creation in our community is strong and definitely worth pursuing. It will not only help create our region’s next generation of companies, it will develop talented, motivated young people needed by existing employers to innovate in their marketplace.” – Jack Salzwedel, CEO of American Family Insurance

More information on the StartingBlock Madison project is available here, and more information on this most recent announcement is available here.