Business

Funding for Madison Tech Company Opens New Possibilities

MILWAUKEE COURIER — This September, Madison startup company SciArt Software, Inc. was awarded a $530,000 investment from the Idea Fund of La Crosse.

Published

7 years ago

January 6, 2019

Oakland Post

By Ethan Duran

This September, Madison startup company SciArt Software, Inc. was awarded a $530,000 investment from the Idea Fund of La Crosse. The tech company developed Pareto, a plugin system for digital design programs that allows engineers to calculate the strength of materials more efficiently. Now, Pareto is being used by companies like Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation in Brookfield to speed up the design process and make vehicles more fuel efficient.

Karen Caswelch, the CEO of SciArt, was born in Milwaukee with her three brothers before her family moved to St. Louis. After graduating MIT, she worked and travelled for General Motors for 10 years, then spend 10 years afterward with different startup companies. She said that a major trend in technology today is weight and fuel efficiency. Design engineers are scrambling to make transportation lighter, which saves companies money and puts a little less carbon into the atmosphere.

Caswelch has been working with her co-founder Praveen Yadav, a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in SciArt Software since 2016. “The amount of inventions and technology out of Madison is impressive. This is a really solid place for technology,” Caswelch said.

According to the Idea Fund of La Crosse website, the Ideas Fund investment strategy is to work with companies at their earliest stages by supplying venture capital. In a press release, Idea Fund’s Managing Director Jonathon Horne said that the organization is excited about the potential of SciArt’s innovative technology. Caswelch said that SciArt got the funding it did because 85 percent of its customer base renewed Pareto for the next year, despite how small that base started at first.

While Pareto hasn’t been used by any metal companies based in Milwaukee yet, Caswelch says that being in close proximity to Milwaukee makes it easier for SciArt to work with companies there than companies halfway across the world.

“We’re constantly talking to customers,” Caswelch said. “Any metal design company in Milwaukee has potential to use our program. There aren’t a lot of aerospace companies in Milwaukee, but one potential product would be motorcycles.”

Caswelch’s advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is to be able to handle failure, stress and uncertainty. She also said to be willing to listen and learn to people, because people will give you the benefit of the doubt.

“There are so many paths to entrepreneurship,” she said. “Mine was getting solid experience at a large company before moving to startups. A lot of people and business experience helped with that. The path that I took was the right one for me.”

This article originally appeared in the Milwaukee Courier.

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Oakland Post: Week of March 18 – 24, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 18 – 24, 2026

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March 22, 2026

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Financial Wellness and Mental Health: Managing Money Stress in College 

While everyone’s financial situation is unique, several common sources of stress have the potential to strain your financial health. These include financial and economic uncertainty, existing debts, unexpected expenses, and mental or physical health changes. Financial stress may differ from situation to situation, but understanding the factors contributing to yours may help you begin to craft a plan for your unique circumstances.

Published

3 weeks ago

March 17, 2026

Oakland Post

Sponsored by JPMorganChase

As a college student, managing financial responsibilities can be stressful.

If you’ve found yourself staying up late thinking about your finances or just feeling anxious overall about your financial future, you’re not alone. In one survey, 78% of college students who reported financial stress had negative impacts on their mental health, and 59% considered dropping out. While finances can impact overall stress, taking steps to manage your finances can support your mental, emotional and physical well-being.

When it comes to money, the sources of stress may look different for each student, but identifying the underlying causes and setting goals accordingly may help you feel more confident about your financial future.

Consider these strategies to help improve your financial wellness and reduce stress.

Understand what causes financial stress

2. Determine your financial priorities

Start by reflecting on your financial priorities. For students this often includes paying for school or paying off student loans, studying abroad, saving for spring break, building an emergency fund, paying down credit card debt or buying a car. Name the milestones that are most important to you, and plan accordingly.

3. Create a plan and stick to it

While setting actionable goals starts you on the journey to better financial health, it’s essential to craft a plan to follow through. Identifying and committing to a savings plan may give you a greater sense of control over your finances, which may help reduce your stress. Creating and sticking to a budget allows you to better track where your money is going so you may spend less and save more.

4. Pay down debt

Many students have some form of debt and want to make progress toward reducing their debt obligations. One option is the debt avalanche method, which focuses on paying off your debt with the highest interest rate first, then moving on to the debt with the next-highest interest rate. Another is the debt snowball method, which builds momentum by paying off your smallest debt balance, and then working your way up to the largest amounts.

5. Build your financial resilience

Some financial stress may be inevitable, but building financial resilience may allow you to overcome obstacles more easily. The more you learn about managing your money, for instance, the more prepared you’ll feel if the unexpected happens. Growing your emergency savings also may increase resilience since you’ll be more financially prepared to cover unexpected expenses or pay your living expenses.

6. Seek help and support

Many colleges have resources to help students experiencing financial stress, like financial literacy courses or funds that provide some assistance for students in need. Talk to your admissions counselor or advisor about your concerns, and they can direct you to sources of support. Your school’s counseling center can also be a great resource for mental health assistance if you’re struggling with financial stress.

The bottom line

Financial stress can affect college students’ health and wellbeing, but it doesn’t have to derail your dreams. Setting smart financial goals and developing simple plans to achieve them may help ease your stress. Revisit and adjust your plan as needed to ensure it continues to work for you, and seek additional support on campus as needed to help keep you on track.

 JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC