Scale Up Milwaukee

Scale Up Milwaukee, an initiative of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, is transforming the culture of growth in the region. We host impactful events and accelerators designed to infuse growth into every corner and help spread inclusive economic prosperity.

We believe that by working directly with ambitious business owners, CEOs, and the stakeholders that support them, companies will grow, thus accelerating the environment that makes growth a core, self-sustaining part of the fabric of the region.

To achieve these tangible results, Scale Up focuses on membership,  accelerators, and networking events.

Scale Up Milwaukee is transforming the culture of growth in Milwaukee

Scale Up Milwaukee is, at its very core, an initiative to infuse a greater ambition and capacity to grow into our region. By working directly with ambitious entrepreneurs and the stakeholders that support them, Scale Up Milwaukee helps companies grow, accelerating the environment that makes growth a core, self-sustaining part of the fabric of Milwaukee.

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Meet the team

Jared Lee
Jared LeeMarketing & Content Manager
Need help telling your story? Connect with Jared to find the best tactics to share your story with the world.
Elizabeth Cizinsky
Elizabeth CizinskyDirector of Programs and Impact
Looking to Join us for one of our Accelerator, Networking, and Informational events? Connect with Elizabeth to find out more about our programs and how they can impact your business needs.
DeShaun E Robinson
DeShaun E RobinsonBusiness Coach
Interested in becoming a member? Need coaching or looking for a mentor? Connect with Deshaun E Robinson

History

The first
phase of the
project ran
for 6 months

launching in April 2013. The goal of phase one was to create a broad awareness among public and private leaders and stakeholders of what to do, a commitment to do it, and a plan of action.

The Project

The project is an initiative of the Greater Milwaukee Committee (GMC), having started by working closely with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Administration (WHEDA) and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). This coalition, along with many other stakeholders, has produced an actionable blueprint for Milwaukee that will help lead to a measurable increase in growth driven start-ups and successful scale-ups.

As evidenced by American Express OPEN’s leadership in convening a broad group of stakeholders in support of Small Business Saturday, OPEN has helped to mobilize organizations to cultivate high-growth entrepreneurship as part of OPEN for Enterprise: Coalitions for High-Growth Entrepreneurship. American Express OPEN’s focus is to develop an actionable blueprint in partnership with entrepreneurship expert Daniel Isenberg that can be implemented in a wide variety of U.S. cities, starting in Milwaukee in 2013, to scale new and existing ventures.

In Milwaukee, American Express OPEN served as a catalyst to foster a self-sustaining entrepreneurship ecosystem. Supporting the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and the diverse group of private and public organizations it is bringing together, American Express OPEN helped generate awareness of this initiative and its outcomes locally and nationally. American Express OPEN will not be involved in matters of public, legislative or regulatory policy.