The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Milwaukee, and Anna Baxter Kirk is determined to prove it.

An entrepreneur herself -- she founded and is the president of Launchpad MCPR -- Baxter Kirk created Launch Angel (formerly L'entrepreneur), a program that that would make the initial struggle of starting a business a little easier for a fellow southeastern Wisconsin entrepreneur.

Debuting her contest in November '05, Baxter Kirk accepted applications from all over southeastern Wisconsin through Jan. 12.

Her search yielded 14 prospective business plans, though she and her team of "Angel Advisors" -- area business professionals -- could only chose one as the recipient of the $15,000 business-building Launch Package: Pragmatic Construction of Milwaukee.

"We had a truly diverse, dynamic group of applicants this first year, (but) more than any other applicant, Pragmatic Construction clearly defined a solid business concept and the positive impact their business will have on the southeastern Wisconsin business region," says Baxter Kirk. "In addition, they demonstrated a need for nearly all of the products and services offered in this year's Launch Package."

As the winner, Pragmatic Construction receives 15 start-up components such as 40 hours of marketing communications and public relations from Launchpad MCPR, $3,000 toward advertising in the Small Business Times, up to five hours of general corporate counsel and entity formation assistance from Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren S.C. and the sponsorship of a one-year membership to the Metro Milwaukee Association of Commerce from Park Bank.

Founded in 2005 by Juli Kaufmann, Steve Servais, and Nikolai Usack, Pragmatic Construction is a green construction company aimed at advancing the principles of sustainable development within the urban environment by building and remodeling residential and commercial buildings in the greater Milwaukee area using green and energy-efficient technology.

Kaufmann says that she and her business partners were inspired by examples of visionary business ventures that successfully fuse entrepreneurialism with social activism.

"We aim to effect lasting change in the construction industry and consumer behavior through a pragmatic appeal to economics, not idealism," she says.

The trio's foundation is a shared belief that traditional construction is unnecessarily expensive, wasteful, time-consuming and impractical. To remedy this, the firm integrates a variety of green building methods and materials, including passive solar design, Aerated Autoclaved Concrete (Pragmatic Construction will be the first firm to introduce "AAC" to this region), geothermal heating, green and steel roofing, water catchment systems and incorporation of recycled and reclaimed materials.

So far they have built one house in Riverwest, at 2911 N. Bremen St., and are in the process of another in Walker's Point.

"The Launch Angel contest really helped us to think more critically about our vision, and to begin to organize a formal business plan," says Kaufmann. "Winning the competition has resulted in access to first-rate local business resources that have been helping us to establish a solid foundation for the launch of our business. Of equal importance, our participation in the competition and our resulting victory has provided us with confidence and validation that taking the entrepreneurial leap will be worth the risk."

Launch Angel's 14 entrepreneurial applicants were:

• Three professional services companies (construction firm, residential leasing agency, professional assistant firm)
• Community investment cooperative
• Community dance education/training/performing group
• Online job sourcing network
• Local media outlet (magazine)
• Product development and manufacturing company
• Two retail companies (gifts, fair trade items)
• Restaurant
• Non-profit (children/youth services)
• Two personal services firms (babysitting service, personal concierge service)

The other two finalists are JuJu Gifts, Accessories & Décor, a soon-to-be-realized retail experience in the Third Ward and Big Shoes Network, a side-job turned full-time entrepreneurial adventure that is now connecting area companies with potential employees.

Having delivered a successful Year One pilot program, Launchpad MCPR will announce the Second Annual Launch Angel program in late June 2006. The Web site is launchangel.com or launchpadmcpr.com/launchangel.