Chad was featured on the Jody & Joan InBusiness Magazine Podcast July 22.  To listen to his story, please go to  http://podcast.loyalears.com/wtdy.php?task=browse&file_id=4802.  He was also featured with Nicole Koglin grilling out for everyone at the station on Channel 6 FOX's Weather Deck. Please watch: http://ow.ly/lgOb

In addition, Chad has developed a new seminar for the University of Wisconsin that he will be teaching this fall, which will be open to undergraduate students interested in conceiving and commercializing inventions. The seminar is not for credit and will accompany the Innovation Days competition. 

Wisconsin State Journal: http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad/latest/455966 Fox Sports: http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/9727544 Deadspin: http://deadspin.com/5295371/wisconsin-actually-has-an-inspired-sense-of-humor

Todd Muderlak

1999 Graduate

Xela Innovations, LLC

Entrepreneurism has been a common theme throughout my life. From humble beginnings throughout middle and high-school managing a landscaping business and supporting my father’s product development company, I knew my future would only be fulfilled with the excitement and challenges of entrepreneurism.

Consequently, upon graduating from college it was my objective to become exposed to everything from sales and marketing to operations and international relations. All of which I felt was required to successfully lead an organization from "nothing to something". You mix these experiences with my sense of adventure, impatience and "A.D.D. – like" tendencies, you then have someone presumably prepared for the peaks and valleys experienced in any new venture.

As an overview, these adventures brought me from selling Prozac with Eli Lilly and managing commodities on the Board of Trade to developing grass root businesses for three years with the World Bank as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, El Salvador and Panama. Later, I had the opportunity to consult process and marketing strategy with Accenture (previously Andersen Consulting) with a wide variety of companies around the world. Consulting was a phenomenal opportunity as it provided exposure to so many business challenges, cultures and mentors in such a short period of time.

These and other experiences provided me the core set of tools needed to better lead an organization. However, I lacked some key strategic financial, marketing and managerial skill sets related to initiating, leading and growing a business.

After traveling to many MBA programs, I was introduced to the Weinert group at UW - Madison. Most specifically, I met with the "face" of the program, Dr. Bob Pricer….Bob OOZED entrepreneurism in so many ways…. He had done it all and spoke with such a zeal for the program and most importantly earnestly cared for all of us that wanted to "learn" the tools of entrepreneurism. After many discussions with Dr. Pricer, a few interviews and applications, I was accepted to the program. From there, my life turned into non-stop learning, teaching and applying key strategic methodologies of Weinert to small ventures around Wisconsin.

Aside from the core methodologies learned from the program, I developed a core network of consultants, entrepreneurs, financiers, educators and friends that have become the most invaluable resource for my managerial, business, and personal growth. Even today, fellow Weinert Grads, friends and successful entrepreneurs like Marsha McVicker, Andy Garni, Jay Ebben, Neil Peters Michaud and Adam Bock seem to always be there for questions and support. Since graduating from Weinert, I have been fortunate to manage and grow a few businesses that each possesses unique challenges.

The first and founding organization was Muderlak Design, Inc (MDI - www.muderlakdesign.com) http://www.muderlakdesign.com based in 3rd Ward of Milwaukee. My father founded the product design and development company in the late 70’s. An artist by trade with also the uncanny knack for engineering product, he was extremely successful innovating products from idea through detailed engineering and manufacturing. Over the last 25 plus years, MDI has innovated some of the most successful and recognizable mechanical and automatic hygiene solutions found in the washroom. To name a few, these products include many versions of the Auto Flush, Auto Faucet, Automatic and Mechanical Soap, Auto Clean (for Urinals and Tank Toilets), and Passive / Auto Fragrance Dispensers. In addition, MDI was the invisible hand behind Trek’s helmets and Look bike pedals, Promega’s packaging and a UW – Madison engineer’s product, the TurboTap. Once my father and I had the mutual respect required to work together (IE: no bickering), I joined MDI as the president while my father focused on innovation. Never running a design business before, it was quite a learning process; however, my background in process, sales and management helped me to streamline MDI’s services and effectiveness as a design and development team. Our new global design process and larger, experienced team helped grow the business from $250K in profits to over $1.2 Million in four years. Most importantly, our streamlined design and development processes were ready to be applied to my number one objective: A Sales and Marketing Firm.

As exciting as providing design and development services can be, I felt it was time to own these innovations, build brands, create infrastructure and sell. Expensive and challenging goal, but my entrepreneurial spirits would accept nothing less and the long term residual rewards were enticing! The sales and marketing company is called,, Xela Innovations, llc, http://www.xelainnovations.com/index.html. The objective of Xela was to redirect MDI’s strategic intent from a design and development service company to a global manufacturer, distributor and marketer of its innovations. Aside from a couple medical and Homeland Security products, Xela’s objective is to focus on what we know best: kitchen and washroom hygiene. Consequently, the MDI innovation team was transitioned under Xela to form its own research and development division. In 2007, Xela launched a new global hygiene brand, Pūrleve (www.purleve.com) for the "Away from Home (Commercial)" washroom. At this time, Pūrleve manufactures and markets its first of many upcoming hygiene products: a proprietary line of hygienic door handles.

The transition from a service company to a "product sale" organization has been quite the experience. It has presented a slew of challenges and strategic variances. All of which, Dr. Pricer and the other Weinert professors focused on throughout the program. Specifically, they ensured we fully understood the fundamental managerial and financial (cash management) differences between a product and service organization. Consequently, this transition has taken almost seven years! Today, I continue to lead MDI and Xela. The stresses range from managing a development team of polar opposites: engineers and designers; to developing brand, hiring sales resources, setting up global manufacturing initiatives and most importantly, developing the business plans and related pro-formas that lead to the MONEY that finances all of these expensive initiatives.

The journey has been a whirlwind and I still much to do and learn. I thank the UW- Madison MBA team and Weinert Center program for the invaluable access to key tools to succeed in the vast world of entrepreneurism. Last, I would like to thank the likes of Dr. Pricer and the other key educators, administrators, consultants, board members, financial backers and my personal network of "friends who are entrepreneurs". Similar to hiring the "right" people to help manage and grow MDI, Xela and the related Pūrleve brand, selecting the Weinert program was evidently the only choice!