Spring tech kickoff draws hundreds (Madison.com)

[The following are excerpts from the online article that appeared in Madison.com on March 28, 2014.]

Around 250 techies, entrepreneurs and their supporters partook of pizza and beverages, and shared news of their latest ventures Wednesday night at Madison’s Spring Tech Kickoff and Capital Entrepreneurs Open Social.  It was the largest event yet for Capital Entrepreneurs, founded in 2009 as a resource for budding business starters

While the new generation of tech entrepreneurs is commonly seen as recent college grads in their 20s, and while many of these startups in Madison have come from alums of electronic medical records giant Epic Systems Corp. in Verona, not all fit that mold.

One example is 32auctions, a website for conducting online silent auctions. 32auctions was created in April 2009 by Steve Klodd, 39, of Madison, and Curt Pederson, 44, of Sun Prairie, then info tech employees of American Family Insurance who became friends working on a project together.  In five years, the website has hosted more than 13,000 silent auctions worldwide, Klodd said, for a wide variety of causes, from fundraisers to help people with health emergencies to Fortune 500 companies trying to raise money for United Way.

Klodd and Pederson are still the only employees, available to answer clients’ questions, no matter where or when. “For us, it brings great satisfaction to know that the thing we’re doing every day is helping people,” Klodd said.

Read the full article at Madison.com at: http://host.madison.com/business/technology/biotech/tech-and-biotech-spring-tech-kickoff-draws-hundreds/article_2e91fb7b-e596-5992-a7c6-a48158de00b7.html

Blogger's Note: A great example of entrepreneurship from Sun Prairie.  Congratulations Curt and Steve on a great article and a great business idea!

Follow Sun Prairie Resident Trying to Buy a New Car Using Just Social Media (SocialPoser.com)

I’m Buying a 2011 Ford Explorer in Madison, WI. Who Wants my Business?

Link to the Full Blog Post: http://socialposer.com/im-buying-a-2011-ford-explorer-in-madison-wi-who-wants-my-business/

Blogger's Notes: Sun Prairie resident Collin Kromke is in the market for a new car. He already knows what he wants. He also knows how he wants to get it. Collin is using Twitter and Facebook to see what Ford dealers in the Madison area are actually using these social media to serve their customers. If they want the deal, its going to have to be made online using social media to negotiate it. Why? Because Collin takes his social media pretty seriously, as he is the Social Media Administrator and Marketer for American Family Insurance. And I think he just wanted to see what would happen.

He's had mixed but interesting results, including his first contact back being from a Ford dealer in Canada! Follow Collin's online adventures on any of the following media to see how this turns out:

Social Poser (Collin Kromke's blog): http://socialposer.com/
Twitter: @collin_k
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/collin.kromke/posts/10150284810717349