Milwaukee entrepreneurship assistance organization BizStarts helped the southeastern Wisconsin companies with which it worked in 2016 create 486 jobs, according to its annual report.
The organization assisted 148 entrepreneurs last year. Those companies were in a variety of sectors, with 20 percent in the service industry, 10 percent in food and beverage, 10 percent in retail, 7 percent in manufacturing, 6 percent in entertainment, 5 percent in IT, 0.5 percent in agriculture, 0.5 percent in water and 41 percent in “other.”
In 2016, 34 percent of the businesses BizStarts served were woman-owned and 5 percent were veteran-owned.
About 48 percent of the entrepreneurs served by BizStarts in 2016 were white, 20 percent were African-American, 9 percent were Hispanic, 2 percent were Asian and 21 percent were “other.”
The organization, which works with established and emerging companies in Milwaukee, Kenosha, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha counties, said 16 percent of businesses it served last year were located in a disadvantaged neighborhood.
The services BizStarts referred entrepreneurs to for additional assistance in 2016, in order of frequency, were: financial, loan, marketing, business plan, mentor, legal, market or team assessment, facilities and prototype.
Dan Steininger, president of BizStarts, said the organization spends about $500 on the average entrepreneur in terms of staff time and effort.
