The Venture Center

Meet Our Team

The People behind Venture Center

Amy Pietsch

As Director of the Venture Center, Amy is focused on creating training and development programs that focus on business innovation and entrepreneurial ventures. Since 1997 she has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs launch and grow their ventures in Wisconsin and beyond. Her technical entrepreneurial training taps on her experience with conducting feasibility studies, developing business plans and securing debt and equity financing for their ventures. The Appleton Post Crescent’s recent 50th Annual Report recognized and profiled Amy as being On the Rise and one of the people who is powering the Fox Cities’ progress.

Ms. Pietsch holds a BA, with honors, in Business & Management and Professional Communication from Alverno College. In 2000 she received certification as an Economic Development Finance Professional from the National Development Council. In 2001 Amy was certified as a NxLevel Instructor and prior to being named Venture Center Director, was the lead instructor for E-Seed, a 15-week entrepreneurial training series sponsored by Fox Valley Technical College. In 2003 Amy was awarded FVTC’s adjunct faculty Instructional Excellence Award and in 2005 was named the first recipient of Alverno College’s Young Professional Achievement Award.

Amy service on small business organizations include:

Judge for the State of Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest and in 2005 was a judge for the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Wisconsin Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Member of the Small Business Committee for the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Member of the Wisconsin Innovation Network Northeast’s planning committee
steering committee member for the Northeast Wisconsin Entrepreneur Networking Day.

Gary Vaughan

As Associate Director of the Venture Center, Gary Vaughan has shown a passion for economic development and working with entrepreneurs to successfully grow and strengthen their operations. His management experience in several industries including; retail, wholesale, petroleum and manufacturing brings a real-life perspective to entrepreneurs and developing business.

Gary has a Master of Science degree in Management and Organizational Behavior from Silver Lake College, Wisconsin. He earned a Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree with a business administration minor from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. He also holds a Professional in Human Resource Certification from the Society for Human Resource Management. Gary has earned a certificate as an NxLevel Instructor from the University of Colorado at Denver and is an instructor for the E-Seed, Entrepreneurial Training Program.

Gary’s service on business related organizations includes:

Vice-Chair of the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry Small Business Committee.
Member of the Wisconsin Entrepreneur’s Network.
Past judge State of Wisconsin Governor's Business Plan Contest
Member of Appleton Downtown Rotary International.
International relations include travels to China to identify import/export opportunities for businesses operating in northeast Wisconsin, travels to Kurgan, Russia as a part of the Kurgan/Appleton Sister City Program to assist in the development of entrepreneurial education and training in Kurgan. Gary currently serves on the board of directors of the Kurgan/Appleton Sister City Program, Inc.

Mark Van Pay - Instructor

Mark Van Pay is an instructor for the E-Seed, Entrepreneurial Training Program. He is the owner and founder of Convergent Marketing Inc., located in the NEW NORTH, and is a strategic marketing, branding and advertising expert. He has over 25 years of experience in the disciplines of sales and marketing, from strategic development through tactical implementation. He has worked with small, medium and large corporations in various capacities. He is also a past small business owner.

Mark’s background has touched varied industries in manufacturing and service including capital equipment, energy production, food, and paper, financial services, insurance, education, entertainment, engineering/architectural, and store-front customers. This broad based experience brings practical knowledge to entrepreneurs.

Mark is the Chairperson of the by-invitation-only Senior Marketing & Sales Executive Group based in the Fox Valley. He also volunteers his time with the Fox Valley chapter of SCORE and is currently an adjunct instructor for the E-Seed program at the Venture Center.

Dale Walker - Instructor

Dale’s professional career spans twenty six years and includes experience in the oil and gas, consumer goods manufacturing, retail, and technology services industries. In particular, Dales eight years with the Pepsi Cola Bottling Group prepared him for the challenges associated with becoming an entrepreneur. In 1992 Dale launched what became a chain of six specialty retail stores in Wisconsin and Illinois. Upon the successful sale of these outlets in 1999, Dale then launched a professional services firm which now has 7 locations across Wisconsin. While still a partner in this business, Dale recently accepted the position of Director, Business and Industry Services with Fox Valley Technical College. In this position Dale is responsible to bring the resources of the college to the business community of the five county district in which the college provides education and technical services.

Dales holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is pursuing a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Dale's service in business organizations includes:

Charter Member of Strategic Area Networking Entrepreneurs (SANE) 2002 -2007
Certified NxLevel Instructor
Franchise Advisory Board-General Nutrition Centers 1995-1999

Robb Shaffer - Instructor

Robb Shaffer is an instructor for the E-Seed, Entrepreneurial Training Program where he brings 23 years of industrial sales and marketing experience from the chemical field. Robb holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Houston at Clear Lake and is able to provide a perspective in communications and training for entrepreneurs and developing businesses. Most recently, Robb's experience has been in minority outreach for Fox Valley Tech and for a faith-based organization in Green Bay. He is a volunteer for Casa Hispana and is active in his church.

Jill Seidl

Jill has held several administrative assistant positions including working for the City of Appleton and FVTC's Business and Industry Services prior to joining the Venture Center team. Jill as been working behind the scenes with the E-Seed Series since fall of 2003 and is currently the office manager for the Venture Center. She enjoys the energy of working with entrepreneurs and coordinating the events and services offered by the Venture Center—and is herself, a source of our team energy!

Jill holds an associates degree with honors from FVTC and has completed course work at UW-Green Bay.

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