The Confucious saying “choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life,” seems like a good fit for Brian Jensen, CEO and co-founder of Fishidy and an avid fisherman.

Launched in July 2011, the map-based, fishing social network helps anglers have a better fishing experience, according to Jensen, a Sun Prairie native. The idea came from one of his fishing trips.

Since then, Fishidy has seen validation of its service, as evident in a partnership with Walmart that started in May 2013. In this case, Walmart’s in-store customers are able to use Fishidy to access maps, tips, fishing reports by zip code and a checklist of recommended items to bring on their fishing outing.

“We’ve had a lot of success with Walmart,” Jensen said. “They’re a good partner.”

In April, Jensen won the the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce’s inaugural Pressure Chamber pitch contest, earning him a June trip to Silicon Valley to meet various venture capital firms.

“The Chamber did a phenomenal job of setting it up,” Jensen said. He noted that the VCs “were surprised by what’s happening in Madison.”

June also was the month that Fishidy announced it closed a $1.5 million Series A round. Jensen said the company is using the money to build a responsive website, develop a new algorithm for anglers for day-long fishing and expand into fly fishing, among other objectives.

For the rest of the year, Jensen hopes to grow Fishidy’s member base to 300,000–the company gained 100,000 in the first six months of 2014, matching its entire total from last year–and build its advertising model, which, in addition to premium memberships, comprises the revenue model.

In the meantime, be on the look out for Jensen on the lakes this summer doing what he loves best.