Over the past 18 months, Richard A. Ericksen's pitch has been batted down by three banks, six venture capitalists, several wealthy investors - and the State of Wisconsin. The Germantown entrepreneur's company makes software to warm the hearts of anglers, but he didn't get a nibble from venture capitalists and the state's leanding program.
Versions also are available for northern and southern Minnesota.
While the climate in Wisconsin for entrepreneurial firms like Great Outdoors Software Co. still lags many areas of the country, a growing number of movers and shakers are working to match good business ideas with funding. Now, many of those investors say, entrepreneurs like Ericksen need to figure out how to do a better job of selling their ideas to get the money they need. Richard Ericksen's story is an object lesson for those with a good idea but little skill in trolling the money pond for the trophy catch. He lives in Germantown. The CD-ROM product, developed with three software engineers and fishing map guidebook publisher Sportsman's Connection, of Superior, has three versions, tailored to Wisconsin and northern or southern Minnesota.