Class Is in Session: Meet the 2026 Madworks Cohort

The 2026 Madworks class is officially in session — and this year's roster does not disappoint. This year's cohort is a mix of food companies and SaaS companies spanning various industries, with two UW student companies and several recent graduates making it one of the younger cohorts in recent years.

Madworks Program Director Susie Younkle, along with StartingBlock CEO Scott Mosley and Director of Programming Beth Ott, reviewed all applications and conducted interviews jointly before selecting this year's group. The result is a cohort that is energetic, motivated, and deeply coachable — talented in their respective domains and excited to learn from each other.

"Every year we look for founders who are go-getters — people who are genuine about the problem they're solving and driven enough to push through the hard parts. This cohort has that in spades, and we are thrilled to support them as they grow right here in Wisconsin." Beth Ott, Program Director, StartingBlock

Without further ado, let us introduce the Madworks Class of 2026.

Local Food & Beverage

Stellie's Ice Cream / Stella Buckley Artisan ice cream company that specializes in unique flavor offerings, special event catering, and customization packages. Stellie's has a storefront and production location on Madison's East side.

BeneBlends / Laura Behrends BeneBlends offers a wide variety of healthy, whole-food based smoothies, bowls, and juices that are dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan. Storefront locations in Middleton and Verona.

Top Floor Beverage / Will Rutkowski Premium canned vodka cocktail supplier.

Health & Safety

Datalily AI / Sumanth Karnati & Elly Kruse Prevents surgery cancellations at ambulatory surgery centers through AI-powered pre-operative screening, insurance verification, and risk flagging.

Service ID / RJ Pire Helps water utilities find and remove lead faster and cheaper using machine learning and computer vision.

ClaimReady / Aditya Parekh & Team AI-powered platform that turns home photos into a claim-ready inventory to help families prepare for and recover from natural disasters faster.

Community & Economic Access

WiDonate / Haakon Anderson & Michael Flowers Digital-first fundraising tool purpose-built for non-profit organizations and athletic departments to engage their donor base in innovative ways.

Workonesia / Edward Passagi Cross-border talent marketplace that helps U.S. small businesses hire and manage high-quality Indonesian professionals compliantly, at a fraction of local hiring costs.

Madworks is designed to meet founders where they are and help them get to where they want to go. Each company enters the program with different goals, different gaps, and different definitions of success — and that's exactly the point.

"The 2026 cohort represents the Madworks sweet spot — companies that are ready to scale and intentional about strengthening their operations. Through a founder-focused curriculum and hands-on mentorship, we'll help each team refine strategy, improve execution, and build investment readiness." Susie Younkle, Madworks Program Director

The 2026 cohort kicks off March 11th.

For more information about Madworks, contact support@madworksaccelerator.org StartingBlock Madison is the place in Madison to start and grow your business. For more information about StartingBlock contact Beth Ott beth@startingblockmadison.org.