Start-Ups

Had the economy been more favorable, IB could have written about the opening of Kim and Jake Bauer's Middleton jewelry store five years ago. In the long run, however, delaying the store's debut may prove to be fortunate. Full Story 

Bobbi Gallina might say her new baby gift company, Divine Baby, was the result of divine inspiration. The name, after all, came to her in a dream. But when the high-end baby blanket company launches online in March, it will be the crowning moment of a 10-year quest to carve her own legacy. Full Story 

Moving is rarely a pleasant experience, but Oregon residents Lori Carlson and Mike Bleker are working to make the process easier, cleaner, and greener than ever before. Bleker, 44, oversees apartment communities in Madison and Milwaukee, while his domestic partner, Lori Carlson, 38, is a former audiologist turned home cleaner. Together, the Oregon residents launched Madison Green Box, a service that rents out plastic, eco-friendly boxes as an alternative to cardboard moving boxes. The idea sprung from Bleker's frustration at seeing apartment dumpsters overflowing with cardboard after tenants moved in. "He didn't like the eyesore the discarded cardboard was creating," said Carlson, "but I was more excited about the green component of the idea." Full Story 

The national economy might be entering another slow-down phase, but a Madison-based start up will use an infusion of angel capital to help more businesses speed up, and take some of the hassle out of, the collections process. TermSync has closed on a Series A investment round that generated $630,000 in angel capital, with funding from a group of private investors that includes TermSync board members Brian Wiegand of Jellyfish.com and Alice.com fame, and attorney Mark Burish, a shareholder in the law firm Hurley, Burish & Stanton. Full Story