Startup Wisconsin Podcast
Startup Wisconsin Podcast
Podcast Description
Discover the untold stories of innovation across Wisconsin's growing tech startup ecosystem. From Madison to Milwaukee and everywhere in between, we go behind the scenes with the founders, investors, and community builders shaping Wisconsin's entrepreneurial future.
Each episode features in-depth conversations with entrepreneurs who are leveraging Wisconsin's unique advantages to build sustainable, impactful companies across industries like healthcare, manufacturing, and agriculture. You'll hear from ecosystem builders creating opportunities statewide, investors backing the next generation of Wisconsin companies, and community leaders connecting talent, resources, and ideas.
Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, seasoned founder, or simply curious about Wisconsin's startup scene, this podcast showcases the real stories of innovation happening right in our backyard.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on various topics surrounding entrepreneurship and innovation, including episodes that explore new approaches to sales training, thought leadership strategies, community building in startups, and educational programs enhancing entrepreneurial practice. For instance, one episode discusses the innovative AI-powered sales training provided by Syrenn, while another features insights from Dan Fogarty on authentic thought leadership.
Discover the untold stories of innovation across Wisconsin’s growing tech startup ecosystem. From Madison to Milwaukee and everywhere in between, we go behind the scenes with the founders, investors, and community builders shaping Wisconsin’s entrepreneurial future.
Each episode features in-depth conversations with entrepreneurs who are leveraging Wisconsin’s unique advantages to build sustainable, impactful companies across industries like healthcare, manufacturing, and agriculture. You’ll hear from ecosystem builders creating opportunities statewide, investors backing the next generation of Wisconsin companies, and community leaders connecting talent, resources, and ideas.
Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, seasoned founder, or simply curious about Wisconsin’s startup scene, this podcast showcases the real stories of innovation happening right in our backyard.
Rukmini Banerjee spent her career inside companies like CUNA Mutual, Fetch Rewards, and Vouch Insurance. Starting a company was never part of the plan.
Her parents were living with her older sister in Melbourne, her in-laws were in India, and family members were scattered around the world. Rukmini started seeing how much of the day-to-day burden was falling on the person physically closest to her parents.
That experience became CuroNow, a Madison startup building one shared place for families, caregivers, and eventually home care agencies to stay connected around an aging loved one.
Rukmini joins Jacob Miller to talk about the moment that pushed her into entrepreneurship, what families actually need when coordinating care, the feature users surprised her by loving, building CuroNow with co-founder Pat Setji, going through Creative Destruction Lab Wisconsin, and why Madison’s startup community has made such a difference.
Tune in to learn:
How Rukmini turned a personal caregiving challenge into the foundation for CuroNow
Why family caregiving breaks down across scattered apps, group texts, and disconnected information
How building in Wisconsin helped Rukmini find support, mentors, and a stronger startup community
Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Introduction
(02:42) The personal story behind CuroNow
(07:05) Why Rukmini became a founder
(10:01) Finding the right co-founder
(12:47) Why family care coordination breaks down
(16:20) Creating one shared care hub
(19:39) The feature families use most
(21:55) Supporting doctors without adding work
(24:56) Privacy and HIPAA by design
(26:17) Storing documents in the Vault
(28:54) Building for home care agencies
(30:29) Connecting agencies, aides, and families
(36:22) Co-founder strengths and roles
(38:31) What Creative Destruction Lab taught them
(45:37) Madison’s supportive startup community
(47:40) The reality of entrepreneurship
(50:00) How to support CuroNow
Connect with Rukmini Banerjee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rukminibanerjee/
Check out CuroNow: https://www.curonow.com/
Podcast Sponsor
Valency Fund
Flexible funding solutions designed for sustainable growth of Wisconsin companies.
Learn more at https://www.valencyfund.com/
🔻 Connect With Us 🔻
Subscribe to the Startup Wisconsin Newsletter
Upcoming Tech and Startup Events in Wisconsin (400+ every year)
https://www.startupwi.org/events
Follow us on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-wisconsin/
Connect with Jacob Miller:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kineticbear
Interested in being a guest? Reach out!
Startup Wisconsin’s mission is to connect, educate, inspire, and grow tech startup communities across the state, not just during events, but year-round. This podcast is part of that vision, creating deeper connections and sharing the knowledge that helps Wisconsin’s startup ecosystem thrive.
This podcast is made by your friends at Headway.
Disclaimer
This podcast’s information is provided for general reference and was obtained from publicly accessible sources. The Podcast Collaborative neither produces nor verifies the content, accuracy, or suitability of this podcast. Views and opinions belong solely to the podcast creators and guests.
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