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EatStreet Co-Founders Named Finalists for EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2015 Award in the Midwest

Publication: Transforming Network Infrastructure Industry News
Date: April 29, 2015

 

MADISON, Wis., April 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Earlier this week EY announced EatStreet Co-founders Matt Howard, Eric Martell, and Alex Wyler are all finalists for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2015 Award in the Midwest.  The prestigious award, celebrating the country’s most innovative business leaders, awards entrepreneurs who have demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success not only in financial performance but who have shown a clear commitment to their businesses and communities.

The selection coms with the celebration of EatStreet’s five-year anniversary, while the Madison based company has emerged as the nation’s largest and fastest growing independent online food ordering company.

“This is a humbling moment for us and we’re honored to be considered. It seems like just yesterday we were all hanging out, eating pizza and entering menus onto the site,” says Howard, CEO. “It’s validating given some of the previous finalists included GrubHub’s CEO Matt Maloney and Groupon’s co-founderAndrew Mason. That said, we’re still working harder than ever to execute against our plan.”

EatStreet’s strategy to build and grow Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities nationwide has fueled explosive growth.  “We have a very efficient plan that allows us to sign up restaurants and acquire new diners in both current and new cities alike.  So far we’ve exceeded all 2015 expectations.”  The company has grown substantially year over year in Sales (+228%) and Active Diners (+202%). As Tech-savvy professionals and millennials continue to demand improved mobile experiences, EatStreet’s mobile platform is core to the company’s growth and accounts for almost 50% of orders currently (+216% vs LY).

While the award winners will be announced on June 17th, EatStreet will continue to streamline the online food ordering experience, connecting hungry diners with local restaurants. The company looks to reach a total restaurant list of 25,000 by the end of the year. “The momentum we have is incredible,” says Howard, “and we won’t stop until EatStreet is a household name.”

EatStreet is online and mobile food ordering service that connects over 15,000 restaurants with diners in more than 150 cities nationwide. In addition to an online ordering platform, EatStreet also offers restaurants custom websites, mobile websites, and Facebook ordering. Through its “Serve Up A Smile” program, EatStreet proudly supports Meals on Wheels of America. Founded in 2010, EatStreet is a privately held company based in Madison, WI.

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Milwaukee’s Next Step Forward

Author: Joe Kirgues
Publication: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Date: April 27, 2015

 

About three years ago we invited a few local business leaders with us on a trip to 1871, which labels itself as Chicago’s entrepreneurial hub for digital tech startups. We frequently travel there with our portfolio companies to set up pitches for Wisconsin startups seeking funds from Chicago investors. (I’m on the train to Chicago for that purpose as I write this post).

Whenever I go to 1871 I feel like I’ve looked through a window into tomorrow—the place is crawling with excitement and new companies. The facility’s champion JB Pritzker has used his efforts to highlight Chicago’s move into the knowledge economy.

We’ve wanted something (and someone) like that for our community.

Among those who attended the tour that day were Brian Taffora and Pat Farley from CSA Partners. As we left the tour, Pat and Brian told us their group (led by Chris Abele) was interested in building a similar community in Wisconsin. They explained to my co-founder and I that they believed any successful local effort would require investment capital tied with an entrepreneurial hub such as 1871. We agreed.

 

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Why Big Brands Use Indie Artists

Author: Steve Olenski
Publication: Forbes.com
Date: January 15, 2015

 

And the company that helps facilitate the use of indie artists with some of the biggest brands in the world is Music Dealers, who not all that long ago, proudly announced that they had earned over $15 Million for independent artists all over the world.

“The awe inspiring aspect of this achievement is that before Music Dealers many of these artists did not have a foot in the door, let alone a significant source of revenue,” says Eric Sheinkop, CEO of Music Dealers.

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The Story of Connectivity Told by a Christmas Tree

Author: Frank Cavallaro
Publication: EBNonline.com
Date: December 23, 2014

 

If your smartphone in the near future displays competitive pricing information of the product that you have stopped to eye in more detail, chances are you have stepped onto the SoleSensor, an intelligent floor mat by Scanalytics. The mat measures foot traffic down to each individual step. To quote the company, “SoleSensor evolves the physical world into a virtual space with predictive patterns and thresholds.”

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The Caribbean Music Summit Announces Keynote Speakers

Publication: PRWEB
Date: December 23, 2014

 

The Caribbean Music Summit, a three-day music and entertainment event taking place on 1-3 February 2015, at the Hilton Barbados, announced today the addition of Joe Belliotti, Head of Global Music Marketing at The Coca-Cola Company and Eric Sheinkop, CEO of Music Dealers, as keynote speakers.

“As the music industry adapts to an era of unprecedented change, the collaboration of Coca-Cola with emerging talent has provided artists with meaningful resources to develop their careers, hone their craft and share their art with new fans across the world,” said Eric Sheinkop, CEO, Music Dealers. “This partnership adds tremendous value for the artist and the brand simultaneously.”

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First look at Ward 4, Pritzlaff startup hub from CSA Partners

Author: Alison Bauter
Publication: Milwaukee Business Journal
Date: December 18, 2014

 

CSA Partners LLC is finalizing developers this week for Ward 4, a planned startup hub to open April 1 inside Milwaukee’s historic Pritzlaff Building.

The venture investment firm backed by Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele is finalizing plans for the space to house startups, small businesses and large corporations in a collaborative environment.

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CSA Partners and SpiritShop

Author: Joe Kirgues
Publication: JSOnline.com
Date: November 10, 2014

 

Recently, local venture capital fund CSA Partners founded by Chris Abele, partnered with other Midwest investors Detroit Venture Partners and LightBank (Chicago) to invest in Midwest startup SpiritShop. SpiritShop.com is the leading online retailer and eCommerce platform for officially licensed, Kindergarten through High School apparel and merchandise. SpiritShop sells through its own 100,000 online school stores offering hundreds of products with stock and customizable designs. SpiritShop also powers white-label eCommerce stores for schools, teams, national and state athletic associations as well as local and national sports media companies.

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5 Internet of Things startups to watch

Author: Conner Forrest
Publication: TechRepublic.com
Date: October 22, 2014

 

5. Scanalytics

Scanalytics wants to make physical spaces part of the Internet of Things, and it is part of Microsoft’s new Internet of Things accelerator. The company’s flagship product is an intelligent floor mat called the SoleSensor, which measures foot traffic. It works like a touch screen for the floor and the company claims that it can measure 100% of foot traffic in an area, down to each individual step. The potential for the enterprise is huge, especially in retail, because SoleSensor can measure what part of the store customers are frequenting and even connect with other devices to prompt actions based on customer behavior.

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CSA Partners plan startup hub

Author: Alison Bauter
Publication: Milwaukee Business Journal
Date: August 29, 2014

 

CSA Partners LLC, a venture investment firm backed by Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, in March registered a new company named Ward 4 LLC.

On Aug. 21, the firm revealed plans to create what managing director Brian Tafforacalls a “curated community, where people, companies and organizations apply for space.”

Slated for Milwaukee’s historic Pritzlaff Building, Ward 4 will house startups, small businesses and large corporations looking to glean some of that innovative thinking.

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CSA Partners to build start-up hub at Pritzlaff building

Author: Kathleen Gallagher
Publication: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Date: August 20, 2014

 

CSA Partners LLC, a venture capital fund backed by Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, plans to build a hub for start-ups and related companies in the Pritzlaff building complex, south of downtown Milwaukee.

The hub, called Ward 4, will occupy 35,000 square feet that CSA Partners has leased or taken options on across the entire second floor of all six buildings in the Pritzlaff complex. The fund hopes to move its offices into Ward 4 early next year, said Brian Taffora, a managing director for the fund.

CSA Partners will work alongside the start-ups, related service providers and sponsors, all of which would have to apply to be included, Taffora said.

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