Summerfest’s annual technology showcase is shifting from its annual two-day event to a one-day virtual event this year.
Milwaukee World Festival Inc., which produces Summerfest music festival, will hold the virtual event on Sept.2, the organization recently announced.
At this year’s Summerfest Tech, startups will pitch to notables in the venture capital community with four companies having a chance to take home $20,000. The event will also have several presentations from company leaders at Johnson Controls, Dell Technologies, Data Holdings and U.S. Cellular.
A final keynote presentation will take place at the end of the day from Rashaun Williams, a former investment banker who become a venture capitalist focused on tech, consumer products and media companies.
Williams, who is currently a general partner in MVP All-Star Fund, will share his story as an African American moving through the ranks of Wall Street, becoming a venture capitalist and the need for diversity in the venture capital and private equity industries, according to a press release.
Startups interested in pitching at Summerfest Tech can still apply but must have raised less than $250,000 in funding or generated less than $500,000 in revenue. Illegible startups must operate in health, mobility, AgTech, WaterTech, EnergyTech, FinTech, InsureTech, advanced manufacturing or future of work.
“Shifting Summerfest Tech to a virtual platform allows Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. to continue to be a resource for the region’s tech and business communities,” Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. president and chief executive officer Don Smiley said in a statement. “It is our hope that participants leverage Summerfest Tech as a way to grow in the current climate, network with business contacts and enhance their opportunity for success.”
