Lakeland looks to boost rural innovation
Lakeland University is part of the newly launched FIRE Consortium, a group of organizations working to help rural founders ignite their ideas, launch and scale startups.
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) has sponsored the 2026 FIRE (Fueling Innovation in the Rural Ecosystem) Consortium event series, which includes the Lakeland University Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship's event Vibe Madness.
The FIRE Consortium strives to connect founders outside of Wisconsin’s largest cities with the resources and community necessary to help them hit their next milestone. It is focused on supporting founders outside Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay, who tend to have easier access to most of the startup resources in the state.
Vibe Madness, part of the 2026 FIRE Consortium Event Series, is an opportunity for Wisconsin-based entrepreneurs to bring forward their ideas for software, a video game, an app, website or something that can be coded using tools like Lovable, Replit, Claude, Base44, TrySolid, Bubble, etc.
Preference will be given to founders located outside of Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay to help support rural founders.
The top eight startups will be invited to the Vibe Madness Showcase on Tuesday, April 7, from 5-7 p.m. at Jake's, A Lakeland Community, 529 Ontario Ave., in downtown Sheboygan, Wis.
Ideas will be judged on scalability, feasibility, desirability, viability and other factors. Cash prizes are available.
For complete details including a timeline and to access the form to submit your idea, visit the Vibe Madness website. Initial ideas are due by March 5, and the top 16 ideas will advance to round 2.
