By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
As 2016 begins winding down, recent results reveal the Whitewater Innovation Center has enjoyed another banner year as new, emerging companies continue sprouting up within the local business ecosystem.
Mark Johnson, executive director of the center, came before the Common Council on Nov. 1 and issued an annual report on the entity’s performance this past year.
At the moment, Johnson said the center is at 92 percent occupancy. Disparate companies, falling within a variety of sectors, are currently housed within the facility. Finance and technology are among the categories.
Nineteen companies currently operate out of the Innovation Center, which has been in operation the past half-decade and grew legs through a partnership between the city and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Seven of the 19 businesses are new to the center within the past year, Johnson said. By design, the center hosts a revolving door of businesses because of the nature of its operations plan.
The Innovation Center acts as an incubator, providing resources to entrepreneurs and new businesses that could prove difficult if the companies operated on their own. On average, Johnson said a business within the center typically reaches maturity after 25 months.
Seventy-six full-time employees currently work for one of the Innovation Center’s 19 companies — a point Johnson trumpeted as meaningful to the city’s local workforce.
Within the past year, the Innovation Center brought in $18.5 million in gross revenue. Grant programs, an important lifeblood to some of the incubating businesses, totaled $3.6 million.
Council member James Langnes III, who is a UW-Whitewater student, lauded Johnson and others associated with the Innovation Center for its ongoing success.
“I appreciate the Innovation Center and support it fully,” Langnes said. “It’s a great asset to the community.”
