One of Wisconsin’s strengths is talent and ideas within life sciences and technology. Let’s talk about it.
I’ve been learning a lot about biotech in Wisconsin from people like Ben Sajdak, Laura Strong, Jessica Silvaggi (editing episode now!) and Justin Byers (just recorded an interview with him for the Startup Wisconsin podcast).
I can’t stop thinking about this though…
👉 We have more going on than most people realize.
Like we have collaborations with NASA happening in Northeast Wisconsin!
Seriously. 🧑🚀
And how do we make that more visible to lean into our strengths?
(I don’t have an answer, but I think it’s worth talking about)
Another case in point. A biotech startup based in the San Francisco Bay Area recently set up a research lab. In Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Not in Boston. Not in San Diego.
Oshkosh. 💪
Fauna Bio came here because Wisconsin had something they couldn’t easily replicate anywhere else. A 20-year-old breeding colony of hibernating ground squirrels. Institutional knowledge. A university willing to get creative with industry partnerships.
“Why not Oshkosh?”
Ben Sajdak told me when I visited the lab.
“That’s kind of the point.”
We talk a lot about brain drain in the Midwest. But maybe we are focusing too much on trying to be great at everything when we can leverage our strengths first?
I don’t know. I’m just processing what I see and hear.
And I’m still learning.
Maybe one problem (we can control) isn’t capability.
It’s visibility. It’s connection.
And maybe it’s time we start telling these stories a lot louder.
Link to my recent article on this topic with StartMidwest in comments 👇
