Culture of investment thriving in Wisconsin

New Brunswick has found a model for promoting entrepreneurship in a U.S. state whose economy has traditionally relied on farming, mining and forestry.

Wisconsin's love affair with startups and investors - which has transcended the business community and made its way to the state legislature - has had the New Brunswick Securities Commission and other interested parties playing copycat.

"They, at the peak of the dot-com boom, they discovered they were in 48th or 49th place. They said, jee, everybody else is doing well, why are we last?" said Rick Hancox, the executive director of the securities commission.

"There was a real recognition that they had to encourage that investment culture."

Hancox recently returned from a trip to the state, his second in three years, to see how its economy has benefitted from new investor and entrepreneur networks, research and development commercialization programs, aggressive tax reform and a governor's business plan competition.

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