At the 2025 Wisconsin Entrepreneurs Showcase event, students, faculty, and community members gathered to hear from three standout Badger founders, Nick Lawton of SideShift, Chris Fernandez of EnsoData, and Marie Moody of Stella & Chewy’s, turned their bold ideas into thriving companies. Hosted by the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship, Discovery to Product (D2P), and the StartUp Learning Community, the event spotlighted how UW–Madison’s entrepreneurial ecosystem helps students and alumni transform innovation into impact. While SideShift and EnsoData were born out of UW–Madison classrooms, Moody’s journey with Stella & Chewy’s began in her New York apartment and grew into a national brand, showing that entrepreneurial spirit can take root anywhere. Together, the three founders offered unique perspectives on creativity, resilience, and the value of staying true to one’s purpose.
Read the full story: https://business.wisc.edu/centers/weinert/blog/wisconsin-entrepreneurs-showcase-3/